Best Reviewed
GPS Apps
- Best GPS app for iPhone Navigon MobileNavigator *Est. $90
- Budget GPS app ALK CoPilot Live *Est. $35
- Most-compatible GPS app TeleNav GPS Navigator/AT&T Navigator *Est. $10
- Free GPS app Google Maps Navigation *Est. $0
Get info about new reports and updates
Budget GPS app
- Inexpensive
- On-board maps require no cell signal
- Big, easy-to-read buttons
- Speaks street names
- Optional traffic alerts
- In-app iPod control
- Easy-switch travel modes
- Can't find some addresses and points of interest
- Large app file consumes phone space
ALK CoPilot Live outclasses all other budget-priced GPS apps in reviews. It offers most of the features you'll find on the pricey, top-rated Navigon MobileNavigator (*Est. $90) -- on-board maps, spoken street names, optional traffic information for $20 extra -- with similarly clear maps and controls. Like Navigon's GPS app, CoPilot is available for several geographic versions: North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Australasia, the Middle East, Turkey and certain regions of Africa. Unlike the iPhone-only Navigon, CoPilot is compatible with iPhone, Android and more than 170 Windows Mobile phones. Testers also like CoPilot's easy-switch travel modes, which tailor its directions for car, RV, walking or cycling.
CoPilot lacks Navigon's lane guidance and reality view. But testers are more concerned that it can't always find longstanding addresses and points of interest. Still, this is a common problem with budget-priced GPS apps, and reviewers say CoPilot's advanced features and low price make it a better bet than most.
Plenty of users at the Apple App Store have rated the latest version of ALK CoPilot Live, which includes major new features. The latest update fixed some of the shortcomings found in earlier expert tests, including those at ConsumerReports.org, Gizmodo.com and 148Apps.com. Most reviews test CoPilot Live on the iPhone, but the U.K.'s TrustedReviews.com tests the Windows Mobile version.
Our Sources
1. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
ConsumerReports.org tests ALK CoPilot Live and finds several drawbacks. Some of them have been fixed in the latest update (the app now speaks street names, for example), but the maps are not always as accurate as rivals'. Unlike a lot of the other content you'll find here, ConsumerReports.org 's GPS information is available to all site visitors.
Review: CoPilot Live North America GPS iPhone Navigation App: First Look, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, October 2009
2. Gizmodo.com
ALK CoPilot Live wins this test of cheap GPS apps, beating Gokivo Navigator and Sygic Mobile Maps. CoPilot has its flaws, but its on-board maps -- and low price -- lift it to the top of the list.
Review: iPhone Navigation App Battlemodo, Part II: The Best Cheap GPS App, Wilson Rothman, Sept. 24, 2009
3. 148Apps.com
Reviewer Jeff Scott likes ALK CoPilot Live better than any other GPS app, awarding it 4.5 stars (out of five). He particularly likes the Premium Live Services (including live local search and gas prices), which cost $20 extra.
Review: CoPilot Live North America, Jeff Scott, Sept. 18, 2009
This British site tests several smartphone GPS apps, including those from TomTom and Navigon, but ALK CoPilot Live is the only one to earn a Recommended rating. James Morris tests the Windows Mobile version, which he says is "the best, fully featured sat-nav app" available for that platform.
Review: ALK CoPilot Live 8 for Windows Mobile, James Morris, Aug. 17, 2009
5. Apple App StoreDetails/Subscribe
ALK CoPilot Live earns a high average rating for a budget-priced GPS app at the Apple App Store: 3.5 stars (out of five). Nearly 200 users have rated the latest North American version, with some adding short written reviews.
Review: ALK Technologies Ltd. CoPilot Live North America, Contributors to Apple App Store
GPS Apps Runners Up:
3 picks by top review sites.
3 picks by top review sites.
3 picks by top review sites.
2 picks by top review sites.