The Bottom Line
- Very dependable, failed only once -- when I lost GPS signal while stuck under a concrete bridge
- Reports your position with an excellent accuracy
- High usability, straightforward and efficient
- No continuous maps may be a problem if you sometimes want to drive on your own, following a map...
- Offers local guides to gas stations, restaurants and shops but no live gas price or traffic reports
Description
- GPS Navigation software for cell phones, requires a built-in GPS receiver or a Bluetooth-enabled phone with an external GPS.
- Free download but requires a monthly subscription of 10$ for unlimited use or $3-a-day, with no charge for the data.
- Displays turn signs and remaining distance, 2D maps at turning points, and speaks real time road directions.
- Currently downloadable or pre-installed on Verizon Wireless phones, and available at other carriers under a different name.
Guide Review - VZNavigator Review
Simple To Use
Usability was near perfect. Resuming to the last address, or typing a new one was quick and easy -- It even has auto-fill like web browsers. VZNAvigator
also has an option to take or make a call. There is a button to repeat the last prompt, a function my absent-minded
mind appreciated. It is surprisingly quick to recalculate a route if you miss a turn or get lost.
Not Always Optimal
VZNavigator's main drawback: Sometimes but rarely, I didn't feel it was really picking the best route. In one case, it chose a long street with many traffic lights
and even a school zone instead of a nearby freeway that would have been, yes, slightly longer in distance but, undoubtedly faster in time and easier to deal with than
the 10 miles of traffic lights it was sending me on...
On another case, it chose a toll road that only made it slightly shorter but had the disadvantadge of cost and time lost lining up to pay a toll. Yet,
in both cases, I was able to force VZNavigator my way by drifting appart and letting it recalculate.
VZNavigator is now pre-installed on all Verizon Wireless cell phones. Even though it doesn't have as many features as other GPS navigators, it provided excellent navigation assistance.
