Having had my Droid a few days now and after a mini road trip today, I thought I'd share some initial thoughts on using the Droid as a GPS Navigator. I've been a heavy Garmin user over the last several years and have depending on it for my job.
The dock is cool, but somewhat limited. The Droid looks great in it and it holds firmly to the windshield, though it does vibrate some, not as rock solid as the Garmin mount. I hate that it doesn't have a built in power jack. Connecting a seperate power cable ruins the look and makes it more difficult to take in and out.
The built in GPS eats your battery for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In an hour drive using just the battery, I was nearly depleted when I reached my destination. The external power cord is a must, even though it makes docking the Droid a pain.
The software is the best I've seen outside of Garmin. It has it's weak points, which I will get to in a bit, but it's clean, bright and easy to use. I love the voice search function. My Droid has yet to misunderstand me, and has nailed my search requests every time. It's a bit of a lot of menu searching to get it to start navigating, but once you're on your way it'll get you where you need to go, and even re-route you if you make a wrong turn. The option to use satellite images is awesome, I just wish there was a way to have it on by default, rather than to have to go in and turn the layer on every time. The street view is a function I couldn't figure out how to use. The only time it popped on was when I reached my destination and a still photograph came up and stayed. I don't care for the tracking of the arrow that represents your vehicle, it jumps like a frog along the road. Kind of annoying. Wish it were smooth like the Garmin. I couldn't find an option to tell you what time you will arrive at your destination, or an option to tell you your current speed. Both standard on most Garmins. The spoken directions and street names is a nice touch, cheaper GPS units don't have that.
The GPS always seemed to be just a bit off. When I put in my home address it showed it around the corner, good for getting to a general area, but not precise enough for my needs. Also, when travelling through a rural area where Verizon's signal is weak, the GPS goes away. I drove on some missing roads as well.
I also like to fiddle with my phone at stoplights, in the drive through, and other times when the car isn't moving. When it's all buttoned up in the dock and navigating, I can't get it down and play with it like I want. A minor issue, but something I noticed today.
I feel like I'm focusing on the negatives a little too much, but it's only with the thought of making this the best navigator on the market. It's a good start, I love it and I'll use it. It won't replace my Garmin 765T just yet, but with a few tweaks I can see it becoming my primary GPS unit.
The dock is cool, but somewhat limited. The Droid looks great in it and it holds firmly to the windshield, though it does vibrate some, not as rock solid as the Garmin mount. I hate that it doesn't have a built in power jack. Connecting a seperate power cable ruins the look and makes it more difficult to take in and out.
The built in GPS eats your battery for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In an hour drive using just the battery, I was nearly depleted when I reached my destination. The external power cord is a must, even though it makes docking the Droid a pain.
The software is the best I've seen outside of Garmin. It has it's weak points, which I will get to in a bit, but it's clean, bright and easy to use. I love the voice search function. My Droid has yet to misunderstand me, and has nailed my search requests every time. It's a bit of a lot of menu searching to get it to start navigating, but once you're on your way it'll get you where you need to go, and even re-route you if you make a wrong turn. The option to use satellite images is awesome, I just wish there was a way to have it on by default, rather than to have to go in and turn the layer on every time. The street view is a function I couldn't figure out how to use. The only time it popped on was when I reached my destination and a still photograph came up and stayed. I don't care for the tracking of the arrow that represents your vehicle, it jumps like a frog along the road. Kind of annoying. Wish it were smooth like the Garmin. I couldn't find an option to tell you what time you will arrive at your destination, or an option to tell you your current speed. Both standard on most Garmins. The spoken directions and street names is a nice touch, cheaper GPS units don't have that.
The GPS always seemed to be just a bit off. When I put in my home address it showed it around the corner, good for getting to a general area, but not precise enough for my needs. Also, when travelling through a rural area where Verizon's signal is weak, the GPS goes away. I drove on some missing roads as well.
I also like to fiddle with my phone at stoplights, in the drive through, and other times when the car isn't moving. When it's all buttoned up in the dock and navigating, I can't get it down and play with it like I want. A minor issue, but something I noticed today.
I feel like I'm focusing on the negatives a little too much, but it's only with the thought of making this the best navigator on the market. It's a good start, I love it and I'll use it. It won't replace my Garmin 765T just yet, but with a few tweaks I can see it becoming my primary GPS unit.
