Preface: I don’t know what it is about reviewing GPS apps that turns me into a word nerd. Maybe it’s because they tend to be pretty feature-packed and full of menus and settings. Whatever the reason, like many of my other GPS app reviews, this is more than the typical cursory app overview. I have broken it up with feature headings to aid you if you are just interested in skimming and hitting the highlights.
Ever since Apple started allowing turn-by-turn GPS apps into the App Store a couple of years ago, there have been many companies both large and small who have thrown their various hats in the ring. While some of the smaller companies have come up with some really innovative products, what people really anticipated early on were apps from the big names in the GPS arena. Navigon, TomTom, Magellan, and ALK all obliged by releasing apps around the same time two years ago. All three had on-board maps, additional services like Live Traffic and Google Local Search, and large built-in POI databases. They also started with big price tags as well, which was pretty shocking considering the relatively low prices of other apps in the App Store. Thankfully, those high prices have moderated with time through price cuts, sales, and more limited versions.
Until recently, the most conspicuous absence from the App Store’s Navigation category has been Garmin. One of the biggest names in the stand-alone GPS arena, they had taken a very different approach to the mobile phone market. Rather than get involved in apps, they partnered with Asus to brand and sell their own Android phone, pre-loaded with a customized app and their maps and POI database. Unfortunately for Garmin, this phone had little chance of success pitted against other high end cell phones running iOS, Blackberry OS, and Android, as the vast majority also had GPS capability, as well as a choice of apps to make use of it.
Garmin eventually saw the writing on the wall, and decided to move away from the cell phone market once their agreement with Asus ended. As expected, about a month ago Garmin joined the iOS Navigation app fray with their new StreetPilot offering, which with a recent update is now at Version 6.5.3 (this number surely reflects a collection of apps beyond the iOS version). So how does this new entry stack up against its many competitors? Well, Garmin has certainly taken a different path than their fellow big-name GPS contemporaries. Let’s take a closer look at what they have come up with, and how it stacks up.
Maps
At $39.99 for covering both the US and Canada, Garmin’s StreetPilot comes in cheaper than the rest of the high end competition. However, unlike the offerings from Navigon, TomTom, Magellan, and also some less expensive apps, StreetPilot does not include any on-board map or POI information. Instead, all of the app’s navigation data is downloaded from the Internet on-demand. StreetPilot does cache portions of your chosen route to allow for interruptions in Internet service.
As an example, the screenshot above was taken with my iPhone 4 in Airplane Mode, after powering the phone off and back on. The map data for my location shows up, even after the reboot, which is impressive. This means you should have cached data for areas that you commonly travel. However this is still somewhat limited.
In this screenshot, you can see that as I zoom out, I end up going beyond the data that is held in the cache, and end up with an empty map. While there are limitations, at least Garmin has given users some means of riding out a loss of signal.
On a positive note, while getting the maps and POI information from the Internet requires a constant 3G or EDGE connection while on the go, it does insure that you get the most up-to-date map and POI information that Garmin has available. If you tend to travel in areas with good cell service, then this is probably an acceptable trade-off. If not, then StreetPilot in it’s current form is probably a non-starter for you. If Garmin doesn’t plan to offer complete on-board maps in the future, then it would be nice if they would allow users to download or manually cache region, state, or metro area maps. In my mind, having this kind of control over the cache would be a perfectly acceptable trade-off.
Value
The lack of on-board maps may seem hard to swallow for an app that costs $39.99, but there are other things to keep in mind when considering the value of Garmin’s StreetPilot. While many other GPS apps charge extra for in-app purchases or subscriptions for services like Voice Navigation, Text To Speech and Live Traffic, StreetPilot offers all of these things included in its up-front purchase price. In the end, I don’t really think that value is as big an issue as some users and other reviewers have made it out to be.
Interface
So, we already know that there are some trade-offs with Garmin’s StreetPilot. Let’s put that aside for now, and take a look at StreetPilot’s layout and features. One of the things that varies wildly between different some of the different GPS app is the interface. Some are more iOS-centric, with menus and screen layouts similar to what you might see in other apps. Others are much more proprietary looking, with the developer choosing to retain a more stand-alone GPS feel. I would definitely put Garmin’s StreetPilot in the second camp.
As you can see from the screenshot of the Main Menu above, StreetPilot looks very much like a Garmin Nuvi unit when from the first moment you open it up. While I am a big fan of the typical iOS interface, Garmin has done a nice job of making StreetPilot easy to operate, with buttons that are easy to see and text that is easy to read. I also like the fact that the Night and Day modes even extend to the menus for maximum readability all of the time.
All of the basic features are accessible within one or two taps, which is a hallmark of intelligent design. Anyone, whether they are familiar with GPS units or not, can understand and use this interface.
Main Menu
One thing that I love about Street Pilot’s Main Menu is the Search bar right at the top of the screen. From here, you can not only search Garmin’s POI database, but any other data in the app, as well.
If you type in the nickname for one of your saved locations, it will show up with the appropriate icon. If you search for something that isn’t in the POI database, StreetPilot will use Google Local Search to find it for you. If you are planning a route or trying to quickly search for a location, this is a great way to do it. The only thing that I would love to see Garmin tweak is the size. There is plenty of room on this particular screen, so a bigger Search box and larger font would be welcomed.
The rest of the main menu options are pretty much what you would expect. From the “Where To?” menu, you can enter an address, navigate to your saved home location, go to a recent navigation point, access your favorites, search Garmin’s POIs, look up a Contact from your Address Book, or use Google’s Local Search. This is the same kind of feature set that we have all come to expect from other full-featured GPS apps. The main thing I like about Garmin’s interface is the large buttons and text for each item, which make them a lot easier to get to while on the go.
Google Local Search
The other welcomed addition is Garmin’s treatment of Google’s Local Search, which is included in just about every GPS app available today, both paid and free. The competition may all have it as well, but Garmin has perfected it. Instead of the single text entry field that every other app that I have tried offers, Garmin has gone the extra mile and added a category button interface to aid you in looking up local information on the go.
Instead of having to key in the name of a restaurant, or type of location you are looking for, you can use an interface similar to Garmin’s own POI database to search Google without typing a letter.
If you prefer to type your Google requests, you can still do so from either the Spell Name button in the Local Search menu, or from the already mentioned Search dialogue box on the Main Menu screen. While I appreciate that Garmin gives you both search entry methods, the category buttons really stand out for me. This unique interface gives StreetPilot the best Google Local Search implementation in the App Store, and from what I can tell, it’s not even close. For a company that is a little late to the iOS game, having a feature that is immediately best-of-breed is definitely a feather in Garmin’s cap.
POI Mapping
Another notable feature in StreetPilot’s location and POI searches is how they are presented after the search is complete. Your chosen location is displayed on the standard 2D map view, with a large thumbtack marking it for you.
From here, you can zoom in or out with the on-screen buttons or pinch-to-zoom to see what is around the area, including other POIs, which are noted with red dots.
At the bottom left of the screen, we have a menu that will allow you to display a list of POIs near your searched location, view the traffic or weather in that location, or save it as a favorite. I found this to be a very handy feature. When I am traveling, even to a known location, and I want to find a restaurant or hotel nearby, this is a perfect way to do it.
Having the Call Button right on the map screen is another nice touch. If you searched a Contact, or a business with a known phone number, then you can call with a single tap. Most of the other GPS apps have some form of call integration, but I like the fact that Garmin puts it within one tap of your search.
The 2D Map View
Moving on through StreetPilot’s Main Menu, the View Map button gives you a quick look at the 2D map view of your current location.
If you have just started up StreetPilot, you can quickly and easily see what is around you, and can zoom in and out using the included buttons, or the traditional iOS pinch-to-zoom. There is also a button for bringing up the app’s music interface, which is also a common staple of iOS navigation apps. More on this feature in a moment.
The best feature of the 2D map is the ability to access POIs on the map by simply touching them. That sounds so basic, but not every GPS app has this feature or implements it so well, including my beloved Navigon MobileNavigator. As nice as the search interface is, sometimes it is preferable to look at the map to see what’s around you, especially when you are getting your bearings in an unfamiliar location.
Traffic and Weather
The Main Menu is rounded out with links to your current location’s Traffic and Weather, and StreetPilot’s Settings. Both the Traffic and Weather are what you would expect. The Traffic view can list events by distance or traffic impact, and also includes an impact rating, and a map view to see the exact location of the problem.
The Weather report shows your detailed local current conditions, including temperature, humidity, and wind speed, as well as a 6-Day Forecast.
Tapping on any of the days in the 6-Day Forecast brings up a detail view for that day’s High and Low Temp, Sunrise and Sunset, and Forecast information.
In all of the views, the condition icons and text are large enough and easy enough to understand, that they quickly communicate the info you need while on the go. While StreetPilot’s Weather page doesn’t link to another web site for additional information like some other apps, it gives you what you need to see in the context of navigation.
Settings
If you’ve spent time in a lot of the other iOS GPS apps like I have, then you may be surprised to see how limited StreetPilot’s Settings are. I’ll be honest, while all of the primary functions that you would expect are covered, I have seen free apps that offer more flexibility. You won’t find any social network integration, integrated map reporting, alternate route suggestions, or background operation options here. Compared to the other bigger-name GPS apps, StreetPilot definitely seems a little feature-poor right now.
On a more positive note, the features that are included in StreetPilot’s features work well.
You can filter the POIs that appear on the map, set your home location, as well as change the backlight behavior, color mode, volume, and spoken direction and instruction settings. You can also set up types of roads to avoid during navigation (toll roads, unpaved roads, etc), your routing preferences, mode of transportation and route view.
You also have the ability to turn on-map traffic and Junction Views on or off. Again, these cover the most basic settings that you need to make a worthy navigation app.
Considering Garmin’s reputation in the GPS industry, and the fact that StreetPilot has only been available for a short time, I will cut them some slack here. They were probably more concerned with making the initial release more polished and stable than feature-packed, and for the most part it is. There has already been one update to StreetPilot in the short time that is has been out, so it is a pretty safe bet that Garmin will be aggressively addressing bugs and adding more of the features we are used to in iOS navigation apps as time goes on. They will certainly need to considering the head start that the other major players have, and the pace of innovation in this category of the App Store.
Navigation
The litmus test for any navigation app on any platform or hardware, no matter how many features it has, is how well it works when your car’s rubber meets the road. Fortunately, this is one of StreetPilot’s strongest attributes. For the most part, I experienced the kind of performance you would expect from a Garmin GPS product. While it at times suffers from a lack of polish, the voice guidance gets the job done, and the maps look good, have plenty of color contrast, and are very accurate.
The map interface, like the main menu, is well designed and very functional. The text font and color contrasts in both Day and Night modes are ideal, and the turn and lane indication arrows are also easy to see.
The on-screen buttons could probably be a bit bigger, but they are still very easy to see and press while driving. Unlike some other GPS applications, which will automatically determine and lock the map zoom level during navigation, StreetPilot allows you to use the on-screen zoom buttons to select your desired zoom level while driving. You also have a button for fast access to the listing of traffic issues affecting your route.
The button turns dark grey when there are no traffic alerts for your route, and turns yellow and displays the length of delay for your route, when necessary. I thought this was a nice interface touch.
Music and Audio Control
This may seem like a small thing, but one of the map features that really stands out from the iOS GPS crowd is the music controls. The vast majority of navigation apps that I have tried have some type of in-app iPod control that can be accessed from the map while driving. Unfortunately, Apple has really hamstrung this feature, leaving developers access only to building custom playlists for those who choose to implement it.
You can’t even select from already built playlists. You have to build a new one every time, no matter what. Anyway, thanks to this shortcoming, many of the apps I have tried only make half-hearted use of this capability.
Garmin has taken their music integration a step further, however. While they are stuck with the same playlist builder as everyone else, they have built what is by far and away the best on-screen music control interface that I have seen.
Once your music is started, you can bring up a music control bar with Time Elapsed, Time Remaining, Artist, and Song Title displayed by tapping the on-screen iPod button. Below the music information display, you have buttons for Previous, Playlist, Play/Pause, Shuffle, and Next. The music bar can be hidden by tapping the iPod button again, or it will disappear on its own in around 10 seconds. Being able to control your music without leaving the map or without having to double-tap your iPhone’s Home button to bring up music controls on the Multitasking Bar is much safer and easier while driving.
I listen to music and podcasts all the time while driving, so this feature is a big deal to me. After using Garmin’s music interface, I wish every app had it, because it just works perfectly. Sure, it is a little bit of a hassle that you have to go into the iPod app to start your music, but that isn’t Garmin’s fault. However, once you get things rolling, you have almost complete control of the listening experience right from your map screen. The only real drawback I have found is that the controls don’t work with any 3rd Party apps, like Podcaster or Pandora. If it is possible for Garmin to add this capability, I hope they will implement it in the future. This is a minor complaint, however. I still chalk the music controls up as another win for Garmin.
Turn-By-Turn Directions
Another nice touch on the map screen is the fact that you can pull up a turn-by turn text description of your route with a single tap on the direction indicator area in the top left corner of the screen. The text and turn arrows are large and very easy to read, making this view easily usable, even while driving. Again, this is one of those features that many other GPS apps have. However, I have never seen another that has successfully set it up one click from the map screen for easy access while driving.
Route Settings Menu
Garmin took a page out of the iOS native Maps app for their Route Settings menu. Tapping the page curl at the bottom right corner of the screen folds the bottom portion of the map over to reveal some useful route functions. The Route Overview gives you a 2D look at your entire route. The Directions button brings up the same, already mentioned Turn-By-Turn list that is available on the map screen.
The Walking Mode button brings up the 2D map with a portion of your route shown with a direction arrow indicating your current heading. Going to this mode also turns off all voice navigation prompts. When you go back to the Route Settings Menu, the button has changed to Driving Mode to allow you to switch back. The Stop Navigating button will cancel the current route. A handy Volume slider is also included, which can control both the voice navigation or the music volume.
Voice Navigation
Speaking of voice navigation, that’s one of the main measuring sticks for any GPS app. Frankly, StreetPilot is a bit of a mixed bag in this department. On the one hand, the instructions are easy to understand and are accurate. They have not steered me wrong yet in all of my testing. Also, Garmin is one of the few developers that has managed to pull off full text-to-speech voice navigation with Internet-based maps. There is nothing about the performance of the voice navigation in StreetPilot that would lead me to say that it doesn’t work.
Unfortunately, while StreetPilot’s voice navigation many be perfectly functional, it still lacks a certain level of polish. Things have improved since the app’s release, as there were many complaints about the voice quality and lack of volume in the early user reviews. However, there are still kinks to be worked out. First, while it may be better than in the original release, the voice samples are a little robotic sounding and still sort of stuck on FM Radio quality. Garmin still has some work to do to catch the competition in this department.
Secondly, the voice navigation implementation could use some more options, in my humble opinion. Whenever music is being played during navigation, StreetPilot fades out and pauses the music during spoken instructions. I personally find this to be pretty annoying, especially when you get into portions of your route with lots of instructions in quick succession. Also of concern is the fact that, during phone calls, there are no spoken instructions or pop-up prompts. Garmin would do well to take a cue from their competition, and add some alternatives, such as Navigon’s instructions spoken over the music, or TomTom’s local notifications while the app is in the background. ALK even went to the trouble of adding both of these voice nav features, as well as some others to CoPilot Live, allowing the user to pick the one they like the best.
While StreetPilot’s voice quality and implementation leave something to be desired, they aren’t necessarily deal-breakers. The biggest problem that I encountered during my testing of StreetPilot is the complete lack of background navigation instructions. One of the biggest features that Apple touted with the release of iOS 4 last year was the arrival of multitasking, especially the implementations for streaming and navigation apps. Soon after its release, all of the major GPS apps had updates that allowed for continued voice navigation instructions while running in the background.
Considering how refined parts of Garmin’s StreetPilot are and how good it is overall, I can’t for the life of me figure out why they would release it without a feature that every other competing app already has. I realize that you can work around this by keeping Garmin in the foreground all the time while driving, but that just isn’t always practical in real-world usage. That’s one of the reasons Apple allowed navigation apps access to true multitasking, rather than just fast app switching.
During my testing, I noticed that StreetPilot often keeps the GPS receiver engaged while running in the background. While this can drain your battery if you don’t realize it, it is no different than how other GPS apps work. What it really means is that StreetPilot is ready to go with your current location and navigation instructions as soon as you bring it back up. This is a desirable attribute, but with this capability already built-in, I just don’t understand why background voice nav hasn’t been addressed yet. The PR department at Garmin assures me that this feature is coming. As far as I’m concerned, it can’t get here fast enough.
Conclusions
At the end of the day, Garmin’s StreetPilot is a tough app to get a bead on. Most of its features work very well and the music controls and Google Local Search are the best of their type in the Navigation category of the App Store. Having to stream your maps over the Internet can be a hassle at times, but the map data and POI database are solid, and Garmin’s interface is well designed. Also, while $39.99 may seem a bit high at first glance, the features in the total package demonstrate that the app’s value for the money is as good as its competitors. In other words, there is a lot to like about this app.
However, the issues that are present in StreetPilot are definitely enough to give me some pause. There are some rough edges and bugs that need to be worked out, but that is the case with many apps early in their lifespans. The lack of polish in the voice navigation department would be an example of this. StreetPilot’s lack of features and settings, at least when compared to the other high-end GPS apps in the App Store, is another. However, the omission of background navigation is a big problem for me, especially considering that even many free and much less expensive alternatives exist that have this feature included.
So, where does this leave Garmin’s StreetPilot? If you are a big fan of Garmin navigation products, you will probably love this app, despite whatever flaws it has. They have done a good job of porting their interface over to iOS and creating an experience that will seem very familiar. Also, if you get good Internet signal where you tend to travel and don’t mind losing your navigation prompts if you check your email or switch your music up while on the go, then StreetPilot’s shortcomings probably won’t bother you enough to be put off by them.
However, if either of these issues are going to cause you some pain when you travel, you might want to hold off for a bit to see how and when Garmin addresses them. As I stated earlier, considering that Garmin has already addressed some of StreetPilot’s initial release issues with a quick update, and the fact that they are a major, high-profile player in the GPS space, it is a very safe bet that they will not leave their latest creation to wither on the vine. Updates aren’t a matter of if, but when and what will be addressed. In other words, you won’t be throwing your money away if you buy now and wait for changes to come.
Despite my concerns, I would describe my test drive of Garmin’s StreetPilot as very positive overall. I switch back and forth between apps on the go, so I missed having background navigation instructions. I also didn’t like the jerky and stilted feel of having my music and podcasts paused all the time. However, StreetPilot didn’t steer me wrong, and did a really good job in most other respects. Can I recommend StreetPilot? Yes, with some reservations. Am I ready for it to replace my current GPS app of choice? No. Would I be open to reconsidering this down the road? With the right updates, I think I might. Considering how much I like my current GPS app, that’s not a bad start.
Garmin’s StreetPilot is available in the App Store here.
Garmin provided a 30-Day promo code to iSource.com for the review of StreetPilot. For further information regarding our site’s review policies, please see the “About” page.
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TAGS: App Store, Apple, Garmin, Garmin StreetPilot, Garmin StreetPilot for iOS, iOS GPS apps, iOS navigation apps, iphone apps, iPhone GPS apps, iPhone navigation apps, iPhone turn-by-turn navigation apps
