Entered CNET Catalog: 09/17/2004
SKU: CLP5US-BT
Manufacturer: ALK Technologies
Manufacturer description
Pocket PC 5 is the newest and most innovative GPS navigation system available for your Pocket PC. Loaded with great new features, Pocket PC 5 is more powerful and easier to use than ever!Product summary
The good: Improved interface; excellent reception; voice-guided turn-by-turn directions; integrates with Pocket Outlook.
The bad: Directions are occasionally confusing at complicated intersections.
The bottom line: The new and improved CoPilot Live takes an already user-friendly in-car navigation package and makes it even easier to use.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 09/21/2004
The $350 package comes with a Bluetooth GPS antenna (works with any Bluetooth-enabled PDA running Pocket PC 2002 or Windows Mobile 2003, first and second editions), a car charger, and a vent mount. Alk also offers several different packages, including a software-only package for $199 and a CompactFlash bundle for $299. The Bluetooth-based antenna, which measures 0.7 by 2.0 by 3.5 inches and weighs 2.1 ounces, uses a SiRFstarIIe/LP chipset that supports up to 12 channels. The antenna includes a rechargeable battery that takes only one hour to charge and is rated for six hours. We managed to get slightly less than eight hours out of one charge. Despite the good battery life, it would have been nice if Alk had provided an AC power supply so that the antenna could be charged at home or the office. (This accessory is available for $30 via Alk).
To get started, you simply enter the street address of your destination. CoPilot calculates the route and provides turn-by-turn directions from your current location. CoPilot interfaces with Pocket Outlook, so you can even pick addresses from your Outlook contacts--a nice feature. You also have the option of avoiding specific roads or requesting a detour to the provided route. If you make a wrong turn or miss your exit, CoPilot automatically recalculates your route. Finally, if you need to plan a pit stop, CoPilot makes it easy with a plentiful database of 3 million points of interest.
Designed with driver safety in mind, CoPilot's visual directions are simple, displaying the next turn and the remaining distance in bright yellow text on a purple background. When you are going less than 10mph or approaching a turn, CoPilot switches to map mode to show your next turn overlaid on a street map. With the voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions, however, you never have to look at the display. We highly recommend choosing the text-to-speech option when you install the software, as it provides specific instructions, such as "Turn right onto Broadway and continue for a quarter mile," as opposed to the prerecorded voice option, which provides more generic guidance, such as "Turn right ahead."
We tested CoPilot in Brooklyn and parts of New Jersey and got excellent results. Satellite acquisition was almost instantaneous and held steady, although, like many GPS receivers, CoPilot had trouble when we drove through tunnels. Though it got us to our destinations, we didn't always agree with the logic behind some of its routing choices. In some cases, it instructed us to make several turns on small side streets when one turn on a major thoroughfare could get us to the same end point. Also, the directions provided at complicated intersections, such as tangled highway interchanges, can be confusing.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7out of 7 user reviews
Nice graphics can't make up for poor accuracy.
Pros: Beautiful graphics and maps, BT antenna works well.
Cons: Often inaccurate.
out of 7 user reviews
inaccurate and confusing
Pros: very good maps
Cons: very difficult to navigate gives wrong turn directions
out of 7 user reviews
Excellent maps and options for a Pocket PC GPS
Pros: Much improved display and destination entry options, good Bluetooth receiver,
Cons: HArd to hear instructions out of Pocket PC speaker, erroneous directions not uncommon,may lockup on PDAs with complex features
There are a few problems. Overall, directions are good and it will usually get you where you need to go, but like all portable GPS units, it does occasionally have trouble. The instructions are not always correct. Going from Durham NC to the RDU airport, it told me to turn west on I-40 when you need to go east (the text display said west, the voice said west, but the map showed east!). It also seem to have a problem finding the entrance to Nashville airport coming from the city. Instructions around complicated ramps are often impossible to intrepret. Try entering the approach ramps to the George Washington Bridge coming south on the Henry Hudson Parkway in NYC. It told me to take an exit that doesn't exist and did not display the correct ramp until I was already on it.
I have a complex PDA, the HP6315 ipAQ which is also a GMS telephone. CoPilot does not interact well all of the time with my other applications, such as GPRS Email and telephone and the PDA will occasionally lock up freezing the GPS. Not nice when you are driving on a busy freeway and coming up on your exit. However, the fault here probably isn't with CoPilot -- it's, of course, the flaky OS from you know who.
out of 7 user reviews
Frustrating !!!
Pros: Easy to understand menu, 3D menu soft in the eyes to look at.
Cons: slow gps pick up, slow cold start
out of 7 user reviews
Generally very good. Some problems.
Pros: Very good interface on the highway. Interface to contact information. Flexible.
Cons: On local roads it can be unreliable. Responds slowly to lots of turns. Has tried to send me the wrong way on one-way streets. Needs overview of route as mentioned elsewhere
out of 7 user reviews
many more features at www.truckmap.com
Pros:
Cons: no overview, no multiple destinations, no edit pins, can't hold state of Texas on 256 MB card, can't save multiple routes,
out of 7 user reviews
GREAT UPGRADE FROM VER 4.5
Pros: EASY SETUP, COMFY TO USE, VERY GOOD VOICE DIRECTIONS - USE IT 3TIME/WEEK FOR MY BUSINESS
Cons: WOULD LIKE TO "SEE" THE WHOLE ROUTE, RIGHT AFTER DESTINATION ENTRY
%20-%20Car%20GPS%20(Navigation)s%20-%20CNET%20Archive&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigation/copilot-live-pocket-pc/1707-3430_7-31122073.html&x_breadcrumb=10863:3424:3430){kind=small}