Entered CNET Catalog: 11/01/2006
SKU: CNETTELENAVGPSNAVIGATORSOFTWARECINGULAR
Manufacturer: TeleNav Inc.
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 12/04/2006
Earlier this year, Verizon launched a navigation app for its cell phones called VZ Navigator, and judging by the user opinions, it has been well received. Now, Cingular has launched its own location-based service, called TeleNav GPS Navigator. During our tests, we found it to be a useful and accurate navigator, though a bit slow to perform some tasks such as redrawing maps. Still, if work (or pleasure) requires you to be on the road a lot--and you're a Cingular customer--TeleNav GPS Navigator is worth the $9.99 per month for unlimited use or $5.99 for up to 10 trips. The service works with a number of Cingular's smart phones, including the Palm Treo 680, but you can check for compatibility on TeleNav's Web site. Also, unless you own one of the HP iPaq hw6900 series models, which have built-in GPS antennas, you will need to get a Bluetooth GPS receiver.
From the main menu, you have six options: Navigation, Biz Finder, Map, GPS Tools, Preferences, and Support. The Preferences page is a good place to start, as you can set your measurement unit (miles/feet or kilometers/meters), how you want routes calculated (fastest, shortest, avoid highway, prefer highway, or pedestrian), your navigation screen, and more. From there, you can start planning your trip via the Navigation menu--where you can enter a specific address--or, if you don't feel like typing, by calling TeleNav for directions. In most cities, this option allows you to use a toll-free number, but in some areas the system will default to a local number. TeleNav says you shouldn't see a difference at all, as local and toll-free numbers are both charged at the same airtime. If you don't need guidance to a specific destination, you can go into the Map menu and simply get a general map overview of your current location or any recently visited areas.
Maps are presented in 2D or 3D view. Of course, a smart phone's smaller screen isn't optimal for in-car use, but it gives you a good idea of your location, and could be a lifesaver when you're completely lost. You also can zoom in and out of maps, but we noticed it takes some time for the app to redraw maps, which was a tad frustrating. When following a specific route, TeleNav also gives you visual prompts about the current street you are on, the next street to turn onto, remaining distance to your next turn, and so forth. In addition, you can get a text-based preview of your entire route. TeleNav GPS Navigator automatically recalculates your route if you happen to get off track, and supports text-to-speech functionality to speak actual street names rather than generic directions.
Biz Finder is essentially your points-of-interest database. You can search for all the major attractions, such as lodging, ATMs, and gas stations. There's a great feature called Fuel Finder that lists gas stations near your location by fuel price so you can find the best deal. Also handy is the ability to search for restaurants by cuisine type and call a listed number directly from your phone.
Some other helpful extras include a compass and an option to record and name your location. These can come in handy if you're unfamiliar with the area and need to, for instance, mark where you parked your car, or if you'd like to record frequently visited sites, such as your home, and use them as a Favorites list.
We tested the TeleNav GPS Navigator on the Palm Treo 680, pairing the smart phone with the TeleNav Bluetooth GPS receiver. We downloaded the app from the mobile's Web browser and though it took a few minutes, it was easy and required minimum effort on our part (just a few Yes or No questions). Overall, the service was easy to use with a simple and clean interface. It took a couple of minutes to acquire a GPS fix, but once located, the service did a good job of tracking our position. The rate of route calculation was acceptable, but more importantly, TeleNav GPS Navigator provided accurate directions.
User opinions
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User Rating: 
9/10
Used the AT&T Naviagator from Miami to Michigan
Pros: I used the Iphone with AT&T Navigator to go from Miami to Michigan, long trip. It worked awsome, never lost connection on the GPS even though the cellphone did not have signal. It even helped us get out of two traffic jams along the way.
Cons: The only item that needs help is the voice is very low, but then I have a Mini van with 3 daughters talking, the DVD movie playing, and even Granda Talking on her Cellphone.
User Rating: 
2/10
AT&T Navigator stinks
Pros: It has gotten me to quite a bit of locations in one piece. It drains the battery down to nothing on my blackberry. It also takes WAAY too long to re-route and the volume is too low for freeway driving even at its highest level.
Cons: For the $ I paid AT&T every month I could've bought a very nice GPS stand-alone unit by now. As soon as I do - I'm DROPPING this service! On on trip it died 7 minutes before I reached my destination and I didn't have my car charger with me.
User Rating: 
3/10
Buy any dedicated handheld GPS, etc., instead.
Pros: looks pretty
Cons: Prepare to be under-informed at best, and often very lost.
User Rating: 
1/10
Useful tool while far behind free app LifeInPocket i
Pros: Turn directions are clear, straight forward menu.
Cons: When you spend $10 per month, you are expecting to have much more features, powerful utilities etc. than free apps. While comparing with the free app LifeInPocket, Telenav becomes a small toy by missing so much power and features.
Why would any one want to spend more money for less product and services?
Telenav was a good product 5 years ago but better and cheaper (or even free) products are here now.
User Rating: 
8/10
Great for Windows Mobile 6.1 phones!
Pros: Great re-routing if you change course, voice is not obnoxious, had no problems losing my signal at all (only in 1 place, but it was in the boonies and I expected it) - it was able to find a GPS signal in 99.9% of places we went from PA to GA.
Cons: A bit slow - the GPS takes a while to load. One thing I had problems with in Atlanta was that it would give me the turn literally as I was sitting on top of it. This only happened 1-2 times, so it wasn't a huge deal.
Overall, I will definitely use this service again- a few more tweaks and it will be perfect!
User Rating: 
6/10
Needs a little more development
Pros: Loads very quickly (usually 10 seconds or less). Voice usually tells you what to do before you need to turn. You can repeat command by pressing (in my case) the space bar. Nice route map that follows bend in road very accurately.
Cons: Slow to update as you travel. Misses now and then. Traffic info inaccurate.
User Rating: 8/10
Easy to set up and use, easy to navigate the program.
Pros: Easy to set up, simple menu, easy to navigate, accurate mapping system,
Cons: Sometimes takes a bit longer to load maps than I'd like. While in a different city, I was trying to find a restaurant and had a bit of difficulty with this.
User Rating: 2/10
Unreliable
Pros: The software is nice and actually has more features than I anticipated.
Cons: Finding the requisite satellite signals is challenging. I'd estimate I've only been able to access a signal 10% of the time, rendering the service mostly useless. And their customer support is about as reliable as their satellite signal.
User Rating: 
5/10
Works OK when it Works
Pros: Clear directions mostly accurate; a few strange directions, not especially atypical for all GPS units I've used. Fairly rapid on my MOT 9H.
Cons: Doesn'tt seem to work where there is no cell tower coverage. I use AT&T. On a recent trip from NYC to Chicago, there were frequent losses of signal and GPS failures.
The POI don't seem to include museums and parks.
User Rating: 8/10
Not bad for a phone system. Quite functional
Pros: Fairly accurate directions. Good voice commands. Traffic alerts.
Cons: Slow. Positioning is not very precise.
Overal, the system performed fairly well, better than expected.
Pros:
The directions are pretty accurate. Sure, knowing the city I could probably find a better route, but overall it picks sensible directions. The system can be programmed for the fastest/shortest routes. The POI database is quite good. Finding destination points is failry straight forward, and can be done with either typing of voice commands, which work fine. Driving in the Chicago and suburbs for several days, I never lost signal, exceps when on the lower levels of multi-level streets (however, my TomTom 920 also looses signal there). Voice directions are very good: frequent, loud, clear, timely, and accurate. The traffic alert feature is useful, as is rerouting capability. I used it several times driving in unfamiliar areas, and it always quickly pointed me to the right direction.
Overall, I found it to be quite usable. If you do not get irritated with some of the negatives (see below), I think it can be used as a substitute for a more expensive dedicated systems, especially if you already have a data subscription with AT&T.
Cons:
The system is slow. If you loose GPS sinal for a prolonged period of time, it needs to be refreshed every time prior to use. This requires going through the phone menus and the process does take 3-4 minutes. This can be quite irritating if you are in a hurry. Finding POI and getting a route also is slow, usually taking 1-2 mins. Although voice directions are on time, loading and changing maps takes 5-10 sec, which can be too long in a busy downtown traffic. So, you have to listen to the directions, which, by the way, can be reapeated by pressing the space key. Rerouting works well but also takes 5-10 sec. The positioning is not always very accurate, and you may have to drive 100 feet before it locates you correctly. The traffic alert works, but again is not very accurate. It does warn you of the traffic jams on the highways, but the location of the accident may be off by a mile or two.
On the bright side, the system is also limited by the available hardware. For example, having a faster processor on the cell phone, 3G network, and aGPS may solve many of the problems with speed. It would be interesting to try Tele Nav with the top of the line phones.
In conclusion, I found the system to be quite usable for in-car navigation, with the main issues beeing related to the sdeed of the data transfer. If you do not mind having some patience, it can work quite well.
User Rating: 5/10
Not a replacement for Garmin GPS
Pros: Navigation on your blackberry
Cons: slow, no service w/o cellular coverage, not great if you talk a lot while driving
User Rating: 2/10
Not impressed
Pros: Voice guidance, accepts voice commands
Cons: Unreliable, slow route calculations
User Rating: 1/10
Telenav has horrible customer service
Pros: GPS traffic info is helpful
Cons: customer service bad, slow to latch onto satellite
User Rating: 9/10
Excellent, great pease of mind.
Pros: Really works!
Cons: Wish phone was louder
User Rating: 1/10
Horrible Customer Service
Pros: Voice navigation is ok
Cons: Poorly integrated, delivery and service were horrible
User Rating: 3/10
Not recommended for people who want to be on time
Pros: Easy to install
Cons: Slow and not user friendly
When you start TeleNav it makes you acknowledge that you shouldn't use while driving. This happens every single time you start the application. When you exit TeleNav, by selecting the Exit softkey it would ask you if you wanted to Exit. This was rather annoying.
It takes an unnecessarily long time for the GPS to find your location. I would have to start TeleNav before I left my home and start driving to my location before it completed finding my location.
There are two ways to enter a destination. You can speak it which involves having the application dial a number and for you to speak to an automated system which would then save the location to the recent history in the TeleNav application. You can also type a destination, however if your destination includes a street that is numeric, for instance 12th street you cannot use the function keys on the phone to switch between alphabetic and numeric entry. The workaround is to type in the address without a space. I'd have to type in 42112th st and then insert a space between 421 and 12th st. Then it would again take a long time for the application to find the directions.
TeleNav also adds some menu items to Contacts on your phone, it adds Drive to and Map it. When I was subscribed to the service if I chose Drive to it would completely hang my device and I would have to pull the battery in order to recover.
After the free period ran out I cancelled this service. Even at $10 a month it wasn't worth the pain. I went back to using Google Maps to find directions, it was much faster and less frustrating.
User Rating: 8/10
Great system if you travel
Pros: Portable, Easy to use
Cons: Small Screen depending on the phone
User Rating: 
4/10
Average Product - Above Average Price
Pros: Works as advertised
Cons: A little slow. Too Expensive
Google Maps offers essentially the same service for the Blackberry and other devices, including weather and traffic reports, can use either GPS or Cell Tower Triangulation, FIND (address or business name) and it is FREE. Oh, and you can get a satellite view (very much like Google Earth). Did I mention it was FREE?
User Rating: 2/10
I am not impressed
Pros: portable, that's all
Cons: battery hogger, cannot connect server, need network plan, GPS receiver is extra cost
First thing I noticed is without a GPS receiver this is not usable.
2nd thing is without network plan this is impossible to use. If Sprint network coverage is not there, Telenav is a blind.
3rd is I have to charge it all the times. Or, my phone battery won't last too long.
Last time I used it was to take a long trip from bay area to LA. I encountered cannot connect to server error when I need GPS instruction the most at downtown LA. Have to reboot the phone, resync the GPS receiver then found out GPS is not that accurate at downtown LA. AAA map is my backup plan.
I came back bay area and returned it.
Bought a real GPS and happy with it.
User Rating: 8/10
Works Pretty Well
Pros: no need for an extra gizmo - cheap to use
Cons: gets behind a lot
The only issue I have with it, and it sounds like a problem with all phone based GPS (and maybe all GPS, I have never used any other GPS product) is that it gets behind sometimes which can be very annoying. You can't be zipping through turns because it will sometimes get lost and have to recover itself.
I did not want to have to carry around yet another gizmo but I did need GPS help. I am really glad I found this and would never get a phone without GPS capability.
User Rating: 9/10
I love these guys- responsive to my qs and great strides with each update.
Pros: Portable, not bulky, works with my existing phone, up to date business info and maps, gas prices-- too many to name.
Cons: I want this on a larger screen device. I should get a Blackberry just for running TeleNav
I love their new social networking gig with Share address and Refer Friend. In fact now my friends can also experience TeleNav.
Last winter I took my parents on a road trip and they only eat Indian food- I was able to find Indian restauarants using TeleNav in the middle of Flagstaff and also on I-10 - who knew.
All in all -my expectations are rising and I want more out of TeleNav- can't wait.
User Rating: 9/10
Will Never Leave Home Without IT Again
Pros: Great with my Cingular 8525 Smart Phone
Cons: Keeping up with the receiver unit
Cingular 8525 Smart Phone, it is the best
value for a great GPS voice turn by turn
system. No maps to download or keep current. I recommend Tele Nav without
qualification.
User Rating: 9/10
Handy, pretty accurate
Pros: Works well with EVDO networks
Cons: Not always the best route
User Rating: 3/10
Why spend money on this when GoogleMaps is free??????
Pros: It seems to work fine
Cons: Why pay $10 a month for a service like this
User Rating: 2/10
Definitely NOT worth the monthly cost
Pros: nice integration with cell phone
Cons: multiple problems
It doesn't work half the time, even when I'm in a clear open area that is not obstructed by any trees or buildings. It is not reliable enough for me since my work involves traveling to multiple locations on a daily basis. I don't have time to wait for it to "feel" like receiving the signal.
Also, you can't talk on the phone and use TeleNav simultaneously. It's either one or the other. That is such a pain, especially when there is a need to converse with clients while traveling.
It's accuracy is typically off by about 200 to 300 feet. It claims accuracy within 150 feet (50 meters), which is not very accurate in my opinion.
However, it does have some nice features, such as the biz finder, which finds locations of businesses and restaurants. It also provides the phone number and you can instantly call the business. You can also find the closest locations with the lowest price of gas.
Overall, it's not worth it. You shell out an upfront cost for a receiver and then $10 monthly fee (plus taxes and fees). If you plan on using GPS for more than a couple years, you'd be better off to go with a stand alone GPS navigator.
For the Treo 680, you have a to have a bluetooth receiver in order to use TeleNav. If you travel a lot for work and are using this continuously, it will put a drain on your Treo's battery.
User Rating: 5/10
Convenient for Treo 680; sporadically reliable
Pros: Accurate guidance with good visuals
Cons: Needs constant resetting. Slow bootup
User Rating: 8/10
GPS Navigation on my CrackBerry ??!!!
Pros: Intuitive Interface , Easy to Use
Cons: What do I do when on a call ?
It recalcultes new directions from wrong turns like a chanmp.
This is a must have add on !
User Rating: 9/10
Love this thing
Pros: Very easy interface, easy to install and operate, great customer and tech support. Very affordable
Cons: You need practice to master all of the features
User Rating: 2/10
You pay for what you get with electronics.
Pros: This is cheap for GPS. Most run in upwards of 700.00 but this one is only 9.99, and they give you a trial.
Cons: To many to name. This software is terrible. It looses signal and takes forever to regain.
Secondly this service leaves much to be desired. While going doen the interstate it looses signal and takes forever to reagin the signal. This may be due to the GPS signal from the phone but I doubt it. maybe try an external GPS receiver if they have them. For the love of anything don't get off the interstate of deviate from the route it tells you becasue you cannot recover. It freaks out by changing routes several times and never recovers. We took a trip to NC from GA. During this trip we had to basically reset the software every time we stopped for gas or bathroom breaks. The thing is not to be trusted. At the last leg of the trip it had us going in circles becasue it would change routes while going down a straight road.
Basically if you want a cheap GPS to play with this is the way to go. But if you need to rely on your GPS to get you where you are going do't get Tele Nav.
User Rating: 
7/10
Nice complement to my smartphone
Pros: Easy to use, Bluetooth
Cons: None so far
User Rating: 8/10
This service is nothing new
Pros: GPS in the palm of your hand
Cons: Monthly subscribtion
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