Database Develop

Best GPS Software for Kaiser?

Hey Folks -
I'm looking for the killer turn-by-turn software (with US Maps) - that I can digitally buy and install to my MicroSD. I've done a number of searches online looking for a product I can order and download (yes, I have the fever - IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION IS NECESSARY) and get working with.
POI's are very important to me as is speed and stability...
Can anyone chime in with their preference? Please also supply a URL where I can purchase your favorite application...
Thanks!
StacT

uh tomtom?

there's a million threads like this, just use a search.. u'll get ur answers instantly and won't have to wait.
Having said that, I tried Destinator, TomTom, Garmin XT, TeleNav and I still stayed with iGo, which I love above all others.
Some have cool features like traffic and all that.. some are just pain in the ass (destinator).. so if you can - try it all before u buy.

Of course - I know about the players (MIO, TOMTOM, etc...) but can't find a digital distributor for just the software to install on my kaiser (like pocketgear or handango)... do you have a link?

http://www.navngo.com/pages/global/eng/where_ro_buy
scroll down to USA
wow.. they're actually really close to me, like 15-20 miles from me..
Anyway.. they have excellent US maps, at least I'm very happy with CA map - very detailed, over 2 million POIs.

Thanks for all the thoughts so far, but neither of them fits the bill -
1] The software must have North American/USA maps... iGo doesn't
2] The software must be downloadable...
Thanks!

Google maps. real-time and cheap!

liquidsilver said:
Google maps. real-time and cheap!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh, cheap? It's free and sucks since you're download as you drive so a lot of the time maps just time-out. Mio Maps is one of the best, and TomTom is probably the best as far as being user friendly and simple, but, TomTom is pretty slow compared to Mio.

How about iGuidance v.4?
I've been using it for a few months. It has text-to-speech. The only problem is, you might i need GPSgate as some of the WM6.1 here doesn't refresh the screen often enough.
I've used TomTom too, it was nice but doesn't have text-to-speech.

I've used TomTom and it was pretty good, user friendly... only thing I didn't like about it was the routing and as the screen is touched it'll take you to the menu.
I've switched to Garmin and found that the one which suits me well so far --- more detail on maps, nothing popping up while touching the map on the screen, and looks a lot simpler. Its navigation software is not as "realtime" as TomTom, but is probably the most simplest to setup, install, and use

stact said:
2] The software must be downloadable...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know of one of the majors that is. With bandwidth costs they rarely fancy giving you GBs of map to download. Just buy one on a disc.

does anyone know of a good free one which allows you to put your own maps eg a photo of an os map or jpeg in for calibrating for camping hiking walking about woods ect.

I have been using a combination of TomTom and Google Maps. I use Google Maps for most of my POI's since they are updated, contain phone numbers, and are just plain easier to use. The TomTom POI's aren't that fantastic I've noticed. But I will take the location I find in Google Maps and then use TomTom to navigate me there since navigation in Google Maps isn't really turn by turn and can't redirect you automatically if you miss a turn.
My only complaint with TomTom is that you need around 1GB of storage on your SD card so you need a large one (I'm holding out for those 32s!) and it looks ugly when installed on the card. Random files and folders everywhere and it has to be on the root of the card. I'm a neat freak when it comes to file layouts so it drives me crazy.

what about ms live search?
I used it a few times on my recent vacation, it worked very well. Same benefits and drawbacks as google maps, but I think I like it's interface better than google maps.

Live Search has an arguably better navigation setup that Google Maps. GM closes when it loses it's data connection so it's worthless between cities where cell coverage is weak. MS does a better job of caching the maps and will stay active, showing the route and turns even when the data connection is lost. if I could only have one of them for road trips, it would be MS Live Search.

I've had no problems using iGuidance other than on several occasions, it took about 3 minutes to open for some reason. I also use Live Search and Google for a quick find when I need it.

godfa7h3r said:
But I will take the location I find in Google Maps and then use TomTom to navigate me there since navigation in Google Maps isn't really turn by turn and can't redirect you automatically if you miss a turn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha i do the same exact thing,.... now if somebody could make a program where with one click u can transfer the address from google maps to tomtom, i'd pay for it

co-pilot live 7 will interface directly with MS live search if they ever release the NO CHARGE upgrade. it has been announced and was scheduled for release this month
BTW I paid $199 when Co-pilot 7 was released last year but the current price is $99 i guess the <$100 competition is getting to them.
I use and like Co-pilot live USA. I can't speak for other maps. the software comes preloaded on 2 gig SD card but you also get it on DVD. I copied the SD folders to my 6 gig SD card and all worked fine. the activation key is stored on local file sysem. but if you have to do a hard reset you can reactivate on same phone with no hassel.
for more info see www.alk.com

I have copilot as well, but at the $99 price point. The WM version is very nice. It comes with companion software for the desktop that just wont work on my vista laptop though.
Still for $150, you could buy a stand alone gps. But I thought about it and I always have this with me, so why buy another device? I didn't want to carry one.

iGuidance and Garmin users

Can you do me a favor and post a screen shot of your UI and a Map?
I want to see which UI and Maps I like better.
Also if you want to add what you feel makes yours better than others please post that too.
Don't think I'm lazy, I've seen the ones on the product sites but you and I know it always looks different in real life.

I have tomtom6 and garmin installed, i switch between the two, both have their pros and cons but together they fill in each others gaps..
head over to garmins site https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=11413# and you can see screen shots of garmin mobile xt...
too lazy to actually take screen shots of mine then upload them..

I'm an iGuidance fan.
1 - The prog comes with PPC, PC and UMPC versions at no additional charge.
2 - Whole US, Canada in 1.2gig, no map loader juggling needed
3 - It has a "hibrid" Text-to-speech engine that talks directions with full street names.
4 - You can run it from your own memory card and not have to insert a specific "garmin" memory card. (This alone is a deal breaker for me, Garmin can pound sand until they stop locking their software to memory cards and external GPS receivers).
5 - I'm too lazy to post pics, but the iGuidance is a very mature product. It has 2D, 3D views with programmable hardkeys, I've used it since v1 beta and it's the best overall value in my eyes. I own TomTom, Mapopolis, Copilot, PMN, Destinator and prefer iG4.

fone_fanatic said:
I have tomtom6 and garmin installed, i switch between the two, both have their pros and cons but together they fill in each others gaps..
head over to garmins site https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=11413# and you can see screen shots of garmin mobile xt...
too lazy to actually take screen shots of mine then upload them..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, you're saying that Garmin on the PPC is pretty close to or exactly what you see on the screenshots. That's great.
But I gotta tell ya, I'm glad the guy below says you have to run it from THEIR card because I have an 8gb and I can't bare to be without it. So Garmin XT is totally out.

RemE said:
I'm an iGuidance fan.
1 - The prog comes with PPC, PC and UMPC versions at no additional charge.
2 - Whole US, Canada in 1.2gig, no map loader juggling needed
3 - It has a "hibrid" Text-to-speech engine that talks directions with full street names.
4 - You can run it from your own memory card and not have to insert a specific "garmin" memory card. (This alone is a deal breaker for me, Garmin can pound sand until they stop locking their software to memory cards and external GPS receivers).
5 - I'm too lazy to post pics, but the iGuidance is a very mature product. It has 2D, 3D views with programmable hardkeys, I've used it since v1 beta and it's the best overall value in my eyes. I own TomTom, Mapopolis, Copilot, PMN, Destinator and prefer iG4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iGuidance is it then! Thanks for the tip about Garmin. Didn't know you needed their GPS receiver and to use their card. Pound sand on that ****....DEAD ON.
I loaded Tomtom and it was out immediately, their GUI was so raggedy.
Now I just gotta research vendors.

One note on iGuidance and WM6.1 roms, you need this dll workaround;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=368373
Otherwise you need GPsgate software as there is something going on the the internal GPS port. iG4 works fine with WM6.0 roms. Also you need to close any active data connection before launching iG4 or it won't start up. You can open a data connection after iG4 is running. These are minor to me and will probably be fixed in the next release as 6.1 goes mainstream.

you can see some of the screen shots from their website:
http://inavcorp.com/product/gallery/iguidance_gallery.php
looks like they are showing a UMPC screen, but it looks the same (except for the dimensions) on the Tilt.

Here's the PPC Screen shots;
http://inavcorp.com/product/gallery/iguidance_gallery.php?cd=3. PPC

xultar said:
So, you're saying that Garmin on the PPC is pretty close to or exactly what you see on the screenshots. That's great.
But I gotta tell ya, I'm glad the guy below says you have to run it from THEIR card because I have an 8gb and I can't bare to be without it. So Garmin XT is totally out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is not 100% correct... they WANT you to run it from their card, yes. There are some very simple hacks to copy it to whatever card you want... I have it running on 8GB right now. I like it.

Sadly, nothing I have done will get GarminXT running on my Tilt on my own memory card.
It launches, but it refuses to find the maps. I have gone through several steps to try to resolve this, including the "fixes" mentioned.

Synssins said:
Sadly, nothing I have done will get GarminXT running on my Tilt on my own memory card.
It launches, but it refuses to find the maps. I have gone through several steps to try to resolve this, including the "fixes" mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works fine for me. I have found there are several different how-to's... I have cleaned up the one I found to work.
If you have your unlock codes for your maps, which you do I'm sure, then this will get your own SD card working just fine.
HOW-TO...
1. Connect the phone via Active Sync and browse to the storage card.
2. Copy the Garmin folder onto the storage card.
BUT, don't move the two .unl files or the map file to the storage card.
3. Run Mapsource on the PC and go to tools> get unit id. Copy the Device ID to the clipboard.
or Run IMEI Converter, put in Phone IMEI and convert to 'Garmin Unit ID'.
4. Using Garmin Unlock Generator tool (Keygen v1.3.exe) paste in 'Unit ID'
5. Select map product
6. Click both generate buttons.
7. Copy 'GM XT Device unlock code' from keygen into notepad, save as 'SW.unl'
8. Copy 'SW.unl' to 'Storage Card\Garmin' on the phone.
9. Copy the 'map unlock code' from the keygen.
10. In Mapsource go to utilites>unlock maps. Complete the wizard using the map unlock code.
11. In Mapsource choose the maps that you want to transfer and select transfer>to device.
Using this method, there appears to be no need for the GMAPSUPP.UNL file. Also, I did not need to run QueSetupSP.cab. I also did not seem to need reboot the phone.

Using the steps you outlined resulted in Garmin hanging during launch.
I am hard resetting my phone right now and starting fresh.
Question: Which phone are you using, and are you using a Garmin bluetooth GPS receiver, or the integrated GPS in the phone?

I was a long time user of iGuidance. Garmin XT is much better...
I would go into all of the reasons but I cant be arsed.
I can also tell you that you CAN get it to work on your own SD card (cause the one it comes on is WAY too small for anything else)
I still use iGuidance on my carpc because it is pretty good and no otehr company has a touch screen friendly interface (at the moment)
Later, Lew

What GPS software r u using?

Colleagues,
I am getting a Fuze for XMas and would like to know what GPS software are you all using?
Regards.

I use a free over-the-air package, amazegps.com. It does turn-by-turn voice prompting, moving 3D maps, etc. I've been very pleased with it so far.

WMM,
I take it you live in the US; do you know how it compares to others, whether paid or free?

I haven't done extensive comparisons; my use of GPS navigation is pretty limited, and the amazegps.com package meets my needs very well, so I haven't had much motivation to look further. I did sign up for the free trial of the TeleNav (AT&T Navigator) package and tried it a few times. As you would expect for $10/month, TeleNav is definitely flashier -- you can give the destination address using voice recognition, and it has text-to-speech to read you the names of the roads onto which you will be turning. It also has traffic advisories. If I used it a lot and were in a city with traffic jams to worry about, I'd definitely think the TeleNav features were worth it.
I've also seen rave reviews for OnCourse Navigator 8 (OCN8). Although I haven't used it myself, the screen shots and descriptions were really impressive.
Those are the only other two products I know anything about. For myself, amazegps.com gets me reliably from point A to point B without getting lost, and without my paying a cent for it, so that's more than good enough for me.

I've used Telenav and like the features. Text to speech (tells you the name of the street or exit to turn on) is great, the ability to send your phone a destination via the PC is nice as well. I've used the voice recognition feature but it's cumbersome and doesn't work well while driving (where this is needed).
I have use Copilot on the PC and love it. I would have purchased it for the ppc but it's expensive.
I am now using Garmin XT and have been for over a year. They have recently improved the OSD while navigating and knowing where to turn is a lot easier. Garmin XT does not have text to speech but does have almost every other feature of the top Garmin stand alone navigation devices. The program even has some features that are better than the Garmin PND. The app comes installed on a 2 gig micro sd card but there are ways of moving it to bigger cards. I have used this app on my ATT Tilt, HTC Advantage and now the ATT Fuze. Like the advantage I can start a music playlist then open the Garmin app and begin to navigate.
There are others I would like to try (TomTom, Navigon, IGo and Copilot) but my $$ is the bottleneck to new gadgets and toys.

how does that AmazeGPS compare to GoogleMaps?
I went on the website and it says their both free. So im guessing its the same quality as googlemaps.

Thanks for your replies.
Anyone else know of any other freeware?
Regards.

TomTom_Navigator_7.450.9028 does the trick for me!
I use it every day

Garmin Mobile XT 5.0.20w

can google maps be used like a gps device?

I have been using OCN6 for Street Navigation. I have ordered OCN8 which looks amazing. I use Memory-Map Navigator for topographic Navigation.

Alucard_11 said:
how does that AmazeGPS compare to GoogleMaps?
I went on the website and it says their both free. So im guessing its the same quality as googlemaps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are for different purposes. Google maps can use the GPS to show you where you are on a map; it can give you a route from one place to another; and it can follow you as you drive along. It is not a turn-by-turn navigator program; i.e., it doesn't give you spoken prompts like "In 500 feet, turn right" and such, and it doesn't given you a "3D" map were you appear to be flying over a map with perspective, both of which AmazeGPS does. I have and use both; Google maps is better for "where am I," and AmazeGPS is better for "take me to XYZ."

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Does GPS require/use a data package?

Telmap. Not sure if it's free still... it was earlier this week in beta, and so far... it's pretty damn good. Voice navigation, built in POIs, traffic reports, fast to get GPS signals, and more. It also showed me a better route to take which was faster than what I would have usually done.

Nav4all
Check out nav4all its pretty good its nav4all.com

legend12 said:
Thanks for all the great suggestions! Does GPS require/use a data package?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends. Programs like amazeGPS and TeleNav get all their data, except for your current coordinates, over the air and thus require a data package. Programs that you buy or install on an SD card have the maps on your phone but will still use data for things like traffic and weather information (but I believe you can configure them not to use data if you want).
AmazeGPS has an interesting mode where you need data only when you're doing the routing. That way you can construct the route using an ActiveSync or wifi (i.e., possibly free) connection, and then while you're driving, it will still give you vocal prompts but only show you arrows for your turns instead of moving maps, so it doesn't use any over-the-air data while navigating.

After vmm mentioned amAzeGPS I have done more research and I have read amAzing things about it so I will give it a try when I get my Fuze.
Thank you all.

MenosOcho said:
Garmin Mobile XT 5.0.20w
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same. Really like it.

I used Tomtom 7 Navigator Black Edition
FUZE GPS really sucks

i used Nav N Go iGO 8.

GPS app for ppc (specifically Diamond)

I am looking for a GPS app for my Diamond - WM6.1 that does certain things and do not know which forum to ask for help. I noticed one thread that had quite a bit of information concerning GPS apps. I've tried a few that use bitmap maps and I can't tell from them that you can actually create a route with them. Ideally I would like to use the built in GPS capabilities of the Diamond but I do have a BT GPS receiver also if I need to fall back on it. I do not know how to set up the internal GPS to use with apps. I have Microsoft Street Atlas which supposedly allows you to create routes and maps on the desktop and sync them to the phone but I often have trouble with my syncing and you have to be by your pc in order to create a route that you don't have the map for. I also can't get it to create a route on the phone even if I have the map installed.
I guess I just want a self-contained app that I can install and not need to sync maps (especially bitmap maps) and that I can enter an address (preferably also latitude-longitude addresses) and it will create the route and guide me as I go. Since I have tried several apps that were unsuccessful (for what I wanted them to do) I am a bit leary about spending lots of money just on the hope that it might be what I am looking for.
The Navigational software that was pre-installed (GPS Nav from Bell Canada) works well for most cases but I haven't figured out yet how to add stops along the route and I can't enter latitude and longitude - for non-city places that have no street address.
Any suggestions I can get would be great

Look for Garmin solutions for PPC, www.garmin.com.
Software is free, but you must buy maps.
http://www8.garmin.com/solutions/handset/smartphones.jsp

I had a look at the Garmin site and finally found where to download the app. One question I have is can you enter multiple stops along your route or just a start and stop point?
Also, it says the app is pre-loaded on an sd card. The diamond does not accept SD cards so can it be copied from a pc and transferred to the Diamond? Also it says there are no maps available for North America for the Mobile XT. Am I doing something wrong or is that true. If they are not available for North America then its useless for me.

Do you have a data plan?
I find google maps works well for me, but it downloads the maps as you are going, so if you are charged for data this is no good.
I also have tomtom, this allows you to input longitude and latitude coordinates however the software is not cheap.

kaos_king said:
Do you have a data plan?
I find google maps works well for me, but it downloads the maps as you are going, so if you are charged for data this is no good.
I also have tomtom, this allows you to input longitude and latitude coordinates however the software is not cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
software is free, u can download TT7 from these forums. Its the map u have to pay for. u get 1 free map tho.
TomTom allows you to put in points along the route too.

mugglesquop said:
software is free, u can download TT7 from these forums. Its the map u have to pay for. u get 1 free map tho.
TomTom allows you to put in points along the route too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where can I download TT7 from these forums? Also, would I get to choose which map is free?

Igo (MyWay) 8 vs TomTom Mobile Navigator - why Igo Wins

First and foremost. This may be just my imagination, but I'm starting to think that part of the GPS issues that everybody experiences with the Raphael (Fuze) might be due to TomTom's DLLs...
I've used TomTom extensively on my past 3 phones - an 8525, a Kaiser, and now my Fuze. I just got Igo MyWay 8 - and have to say that overall, I'm much happier with Igo (and I loved TomTom in spite of it's shortcomings with this phone).
Satellite lock and speed
- Igo gets a satellite lock *MUCH* faster than TomTom ever could. I assumed that this wouldn't change, assuming it was a hardware anomaly - but it appears the DLLs used to communicate from software to OEM device vary from app-to-app. Igo wins this one hands down - I get locks inside my house inside of 20 seconds COLD and within 3-5 seconds "hot" or outside. No, I'm not on acid. That fast.
Ease of use
- TomTom *is* more customizable. But many of the customizations you can make are... well... useless. TomTom has the edge here, but not by much.
Features
- Igo has Text-to-Speech (TTS) - something that apparently TomTom has no intention of supporting. I've heard rumors that the current version of TT does support TTS, but I have the current version and could find nothing on it. In the directions, the saying of street names is VERY helpful. Igo matches TT feature-by-feature, the only thing I missed in Igo was the browse map of TomTom (you can browse in Igo - it's just not as intuitive). Also, Igo has actual 3D mapping of both topography and major cities. Way cool - know where the next big hill is, navigate based on building shape, etc.
Igo wins hands-down.
Cost
- Both have the pay-for-map business model, though Igo's at least for the moment are significantly cheaper. Igo wins again.
POIs
- TomTom seemed to have a bit more POI's loaded stock, but the difference was negligible. Even.
All in all, I'll keep TomTom on my phone, but purely for reference if needed. Since I installed Igo, I've not used TomTom even once.

I have to agree with you on all points. I used to be a big believer in Tomtom, but after trying iGo 8 i will not be going back!

I've read a bunch of good stuff about Igo... the thing that sucks is that apps like footprints are usually tomtom compatible and nothing else.

I guess it all depends where you are... I've researched igo a bit and I dont think the maps released for north america as up to date as TOMTOMS... I could be wrong though. If they are... do they have 3d landmarks like they do in Europe? By like they do in Europe I mean as many...

Contacts?
Can you navigate to your contacts addresses with Igo?
I used Igo before and the reason I switched back to TomTom was simply because I use it for business.
So navigating to my contact addresses is a must.
Does your version of Igo support contact addresses?

p50kombi said:
Can you navigate to your contacts addresses with Igo?
I used Igo before and the reason I switched back to TomTom was simply because I use it for business.
So navigating to my contact addresses is a must.
Does your version of Igo support contact addresses?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. I don't see any contact adress implementation in iGO8. Seems like a very difficult feature though... You never know if you wrote all street names correctly

I've used both IGO and TomTom and I disagree with the results here.
1. TomTom makes usage of special tools such as traffic, downloading extra extra POI with ease, and also editing your map with ease
2. TomTom has MANY more POI then IGO, my entire town had like 10 POI on IGO, on TomTom it has more than 100
3. I feel the TomTom is easier to manage in terms of locking on a GPS, setting it up (depending on where you configured it) and other methods.
TomTom wins

KRAZzysoldier said:
Nope. I don't see any contact adress implementation in iGO8. Seems like a very difficult feature though... You never know if you wrote all street names correctly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not really true.
If TomTom gets confused, it shows you the options that it thinks are most likely to match the contact address and you can choose the one you think it is.
So for me, TomTom wins by a landslide.
btw, with Igo, I had much more GPS lag than with TomTom.

p50kombi said:
That's not really true.
If TomTom gets confused, it shows you the options that it thinks are most likely to match the contact address and you can choose the one you think it is.
So for me, TomTom wins by a landslide.
btw, with Igo, I had much more GPS lag than with TomTom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! I didn't know that because I never used TomTom as they don't make uptodate maps for my country. Igo has always provided the best routes as it has the most up to date maps for me... it seems that the app one might prefer more depends on the location. Afterall that's what gps navigation software's main purpose is.

The definitive answers
When I saw a new Igo8 thread, why, I immediately pitched a tent in my pants, round house kicked and double fist pumped!
Igo8, when customized the right way, is the best hands down.
I currently have R3 Igo 8.3 (Jan 7). Now, you don't want to use the most current POI files that come with it (as they are limited)-use previous versions (8.0 or 8.01) and modify the ,txt file so the program recognizes it.
[poi]
enable_pois_before_090117=1
Igo CAN navigate your contacts, the only prerequisite is that NO APARTMENT/SUITE numbers be in the contact address. Igo will tell you which addresses cannot be found by going to (when running Igo):
menu/manage/geocoding errors
There, you'll be able to see which contacts failed.
Activate phone option (so you may call a poi/contact directly from igo). Sys.txt addition:
[Phone]
Driver=TAPI
Class_name=exe_path="/windows/prog.exe
Win_name="phone"
SKIN IT!
Full screen at its best, download the Gurjon (only 8.3.x.x) skin, Excellent.
BRAND IT!
Download a branding.zip to enable icons to be seen (Texaco, Schmcdonald icons seen on screen. Nice!
Okay, tent down...
Edit: Added skin (only for R3 igo8) and sys.txt

telegraph0000 said:
...
Igo CAN navigate your contacts, the only prerequisite is that NO APARTMENT/SUITE numbers be in the contact address. Igo will tell you which addresses cannot be found by going to (when running Igo):
menu/manage/geocoding errors
There, you'll be able to see which contacts failed.
Activate phone option (so you may call a poi/contact directly from igo). Sys.txt addition:
[Phone]
Driver=TAPI
Class_name=exe_path="/windows/prog.exe
Win_name="phone"
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW! 10x, I really didn't know this feature was embedded, although I've been using iGo for 3 years now.

There are some newer TeleAtlas maps floating around for iGo 8.3. I haven't tried them yet though, but I think they're 2008.10.
TomTom uses TeleAtlas maps as well, although I don't know what the latest version is.
For me, Navteq maps are more complete in my area, but I might have to try the newest TeleAtlas ones to see if they have my subdivision yet.
Garmin Mobile XT has always been the most trustworthy for me, plus the embedded Google Local Search is the BEST thing for GPS on these phones. If you have data, you can search Google for POI's from within Garmin. This is so much better than relying on static, built-in POI's.
For example, last night I was going to Toys R Us in Rockford, IL. I knew where it was but when we got there we found out they moved. I wasn't sure where the new location was. I used the Local Search in Garmin and it had the new location.
Garmin has its quirks as well, but this feature, along with live traffic and fuel prices is the reason I stick with it. I do miss TTS and some other features of iGo, but I can also live without them.
The only thing that has kept me away from TomTom over the last few years is that the maps in my area weren't as complete.
iGo was great when I used it. I liked TTS and the terrain. Its choice of routes was questionable at time, and I've always had an issue with the ETA. For a 5-5.5 hour trip it would show about 6.5 hours and the ETA time wouldn't be accurate until I was within about 30 minutes of my destination.

It's a bit of a fault of the map. If it uses some default speed limits it can even suggest a wrong route. Example. There is a road in my city, that has speed limit 80km/h, but it's set as 50km/h so it usually doesn't suggest a side trip to that road, when it's much faster (also, almost everybody drive over the limit on that road), it's the road that continues as E80 .

I run TomTom on my Fuze and I can say that I have zero issues with it. It works exactly, if not even better, as it did on my 8125 (Wizard) and my 8525 (Hermes).

Igo
Igo, Igo and Igo !
I didn't know about the phone settings but it only make it more interesting ....
One other thing : maps files are a lot smaller in Igo than in Tom Tom so you can put more maps on your sd card.
Igo is a lot more customizable than Tom Tom and poi's are not really an issue because there is so much available. By the way, if it is for poi uses Google maps and its online search.
Garmin has a great reputation but I find it less interesting.
I have tested the latest garmin, Tom Tom 7.9 and I go 8.3 and I stick to Igo but the latest AmIgo (Igo 8.4) is something difficult to swallow. They say that they have removed all the difficult parts for the user but I think they have removed too much lol

I completely agree with your Amigo comment (flying carpet? Please). It is stripped down, bare bones, a beginner gps program that grandma can easily use.
The thing I love best about Igo (Besides using it as my own 411 directory) is its seemingly endless customization. The skinning makes it worthwhile to search for thst perfect skin. There are skins that alter/add menu options (more than just Route, manage, settings, find).
I upgraded to Gurjon GJ6.2p (www.Gurjon.com)...great upgrade. I can now:
1. Run a program (calculator, calendar, contacts) directly within Igo.
2. Multi-route (fast, short, economical, easy, scenic) and see all on the screen and color coded.
3. Add 10 additional Map screen settings (3d settings, lane info, short menu, turn settings, transparency, bars and pads, waypoint & destination, and more...)
4. Bluetooth enabled.
5. See the actual direction of a poi (with an arrow pointing the direction and distance based on your current location.
Yeah..lag, what can you do with it...

The TomTom version I have supports TTS but yeah I agree that it takes a lot of time to lock. Maybe after some time I will give Igo a shot

As I said - the lag issue seems to be a hardware issue and is still present with Igo (but I still say the positional lag issue is a non-issue for me - I can live with a 1-2 second delay).
For me, the maps (topography as well as 3-d building in major cities) coupled with the TTS makes Igo *very* attractive. I didn't even know about skinning it until I read the responses above this - another big plus for me.
As far as not (to my knowledge) having traffic or weather plugins - honestly - who cares? TomTom charges what I feel is an exorbitant fee for these services and thus renders them useless features to me.
And above all, I still say the satellite locking is faster with Igo.
Mileage may vary - and everybody will have features that are more important to them (like navigate to contact) - but as for myself - I've not loaded TomTom even once since putting Igo on.
A note about POIs... TomTom was anything but complete either - to the point that I never relied on it. When it comes to adding POIs, I'd say that both are equally adept and again makes this a non-issue.
Additionally, for me personally, any service that would rely on a data connection is out the window - I travel off the beaten path and into the sticks quite frequently where data connections are often a pipe-dream. That said - even if I were to pay for (eg) weather service, online poi ability - the services would be totally unusable when I've got no data connection. Again - rendering the ability a total non issue.

Hmm
I have been trying iGo8 and came to this discussion because I think it is awful to use, and was looking for something else.
I have it on an HTC Touch HD. From the outset it made little sense, wanting to plan a route from A to B seems impossible, only from GPS to B.
Today my iGo thinks Im somewhere on the M25 where google maps knows I am home in West Sussex. I have exited Igo twice and restarted, same issue.
Thumbing a map to see where you are or to look at surrounding areas on iGo is a joke, simply awful. It uncontrollably moves waaaaay past a mere gesture, and even when you press your thumb down to stop it moving, it continues.
I really hope TomTom is better, or I will need to buy a "real" GPS for my car... but at this point iGo gets a thumbs down.
Mark.

You probably have an addition to your sys.txt that makes the map move in that manner. Don't remember what the coding is...but I too hated it and removed it to scroll ONLY when I touched the screen.
As to routing...all you need to do is touch start point, 'cursor'-->set as start point. Then touch your destination, 'cursor'-->set as destination---simple.