UK Users - Potential Co-pilot style software

phil.45 · 07-23-2002, 06:55 AM

I just found this, which if you read all the rave reviews looks absolutly amazing and could be our answer in the UK. Now heres the problem, on the makers website, www.powerloc.com the advertise it as a addon for Ipaq/Casio/Hp PDA's, but if you look at the above website it is also shown as for laptops. And the sales code is DESTLAPSEREU which looks like it could mean Destinator Laptop Serial Europe, as all the others are stuff like DESTIPAQEU for Destinator Ipaq Europe.

I have sent both Powerloc and the GPS site emails to find out what the situation is. The best thing is the also make software only versions for exisitng NMEA GPS recievers. I will update if I get a reply. If anyone else knows anything please post, this could be the ultimate finishing touch for my system!

phil.45 · 07-23-2002, 12:07 PM

I have recieved back confirmation, this WILL run on PC's. The new PC version was released last week.

Will be ordering my copy tommorow! Its also available for European countries, for those who have also been waiting for Co-Pilot to produce some euro maps.

Andrew Chappell · 07-24-2002, 05:03 PM

As a poor student, I'm just off to rob a bank in order to afford this great looking software - is it just me or is £250 inc vat a bit steep?? I suppose it's less than Co Pilot, but I still get the feeling that it isn't priced for the mp3car fan is it??

I'm just downloading the SDK so I'll let you know if it ends up being integrated into my software or not. By the look of it, there may be support for both Co Pilot and Destinator. I don't know how complete the SDK is - I may well ask your oppinion on the whole app phil. Where did you buy it from??

Cheers

Andrew

phil.45 · 07-25-2002, 02:11 AM

I got it from www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk. The guy said that the desktop windows version only came into stock on Tuesday, and I just happened to stumble across it.

It should be delivered to me by tomorrow, so I can post a couple of screen shots and let you know how it performs. The price is steep, but I think its because they are using NavTech maps which is bumping the price up. However, the laptop version comes with maps for the whole of Europe, which does work out good value if you plan to travel that far as the add-on maps seem to be split into pairs like germany and switz, which are around £50. Its far cheaper in the long run.

Also look at this way, it IS still cheaper than co-pilot, AND you get the same map data as used by all the major car manufacturers like BMW Mercedes et al.

phil.45 · 07-25-2002, 03:08 PM

OK I got it, all I can say is WOW! This is light years ahead of any GPS software I hve used previously.

First thing you notice is that the box only talks about PDA's. There hasnt been any new packaging produced so the requirements state obscure stuff like "needs a 96mb flash card". The only clue is a small label which states "For notebooks". The box talks about a free charger, but again this refers to PDAs only and is not supplied. What you do get i a GPS antenna, carry case, and the software for the whole of Europe on 2 discs. GPS is serial for communication, plus it uses a PS2 port for power, though curiously has no pass through to conenct a mouse/keyboard.

Stick the installation CD in, and the quality hits you in the face. The presentation of the installer, normally an afterthough for most, is excellent. You can choose to install as much or as little of europe as you want, though there appears to be no run from CD option. The first time I ran Destinator it aquired a GPS lock from cold in under 10 seconds. My other ETAK antenna takes around 5 minutes from cold.

OK, all set up, I went for a test drive. Enter you destination, using the on-screen keyboard which helpfully fills half the screen making it very easy to use, and your guided visually by the now familiar (for car systems) arrows, plus a soft speaking lady who has the kind of quaint English accent youd find in American films. I think she may be related to the queen! Missy helpfully says things like "Stay left ahead, take roundabout first exit.". I also got a telling off for exceding the speed limit!

At the top of my road, there is a mini roundabout. Up till now, every piece of guidance software has said "Turn left, enter roundabout, take first exit", when it should actually be "take second exit". Dont know where the extra left comes from, but unfortunately Destinator is also convinced you must turn left before you get to the roundabout. There is obviously something wrong with the nations road plans, so I wont hold this against it. Otherwise it performed faultlessly, except when it told me to take 1st instead of second exit about half way through the route. At least it rapidly recalculates a new route for you without any input. Since the maps are supplied by Navtech, I can confidently say this same error must be in all NavTech based systems.

I have used a few aftermarket systems from major manufacturers, including the £2k Kenwood system, and this is easily up there with them. In fact the advantage I have is I can bump up my processor and memory and get it to calculate routes even quicker, something you cant do on an aftermarket system. One slight gripe, which could be user error, is that you can only select a region at a time, like South-west, or South-East. Looking at a region which is not the current one results in a blank display. Unfortunately switching maps also deletes the route! I am yet to see what implications this has for guidance.

Overall, 100% recommended. There are some improvments that can be made, however this is a unique product in the UK, there simply is no competition. Incidently, Co-Pilot owners may wonder why I am so excited. Its simple, Co-Pilot is not available here.

Andrew Chappell · 07-25-2002, 03:32 PM

Now I am just green with envy

. Anyway, I'm not going to be able to buy it cause it's too expensive for the time being (my free copy of Autoroute 2001 will have to do for now) but with any luck I will be able to support it in my upcoming mp3car software as they have released an SDK. Donations so I can buy this baby are welcome - then you'll definitly get support (joking!). Perhaps phil could post some screenshots just to make us even more envious!

So far, this looks like the best UK product and although not cheap it looks like it will do the job nicely. Better get saving...

Cheers

Andrew

phil.45 · 07-25-2002, 03:40 PM

Obligingly.

phil.45 · 07-25-2002, 03:41 PM

And number 2

brooksy69 · 07-29-2002, 10:02 AM

this is probably a completely dumb question, but have you found this to work well in terms of the 'voice directions' and playing mp3s at the same time? (ie can you have voice directions and mp3s playing at the same time?)

phil.45 · 07-29-2002, 10:07 AM

Yeah, what I have done is set the winamp preamp mixer lower than normal, making the mp3 quieter. That way, during normal listening to mp3s that voice directions can be heard "over the top" a fair bit louder. I find this works well, but changing mp3s on my system is a pain when you cant see the on-screen display which is totally obscured by the map.