Sat-nav Phone Apps

Mobile sat-nav apps mean you’ll never lose your way. We test the best, plus reveal how to make the most of them

Auto Express Car Reviews

April 2010

Sticking a sat-nav to your car’s windscreen is a great solution for finding your way if you know you are going to need directions from the off. But what if your plans change and you are stranded without maps or a route home?

Having sat-nav on your mobile phone can make all the difference, and downloads of these applications, or apps, have rocketed in recent months. They can also provide a viable option for infrequent users reluctant to invest in a portable system. But which should you choose? We booted up eight to find out.

The Test

We used the Apple iPhone 3GS, Nokia N97 Mini, HTC Touch 2 running Windows Mobile and Blackberry Curve 8900 to cover the most common options. Many apps are available on more than one platform, though.

The routing instructions and POI (points of interest) were tested by picking a garage as our destination. We checked if call handling and music playback remained while the sat-nav was operating. We also assessed ease of use, quick rerouting and price. Our top tips (right) will help you get even more out of your phone.

Verdict

The most popular platform is Apple’s iPhone, but while the long-awaited TomTom app did well here, its high price counted against it, and so it had to settle for third. Last year’s winner CoPilot Live and Ovi Maps from Nokia battled for the win, but as the Finnish phone giant offers for free many functions charged for by other programs, it came out on top.

Top 3

Ovi Maps
CoPilot Live 8
TomTom

< Previous Next >

2 Comments

Sat Nav app review

I read the review with interest, I use the sygic with the sony ericsson satio, I suspect the reviewer had the sygic in pedestrian mode when it tried to send them along a foot path, the software is good and cost £28.

By detailer on 20 April, 2010, 11:45am

To expensive

At the £40-50 mark u may as well buy a spare TomTom from halfolds on your way back. As an iPhone user myself when u add the bracket, charger and app it becomes very expensive to use your smart phone, and anyway if u do get stuck just pull over and either use google maps ( for free ) or pull out the dusty map from the boot! :)

By Nealpalmer1974 on 28 April, 2010, 5:35am

You need to register to post comments. Existing members can log in below to comment, otherwise click here to join.