From what I have seen, google satnav on an android handset seems to be the weapon of choice for pretty much every minicaber around here.

I love the Google Navigation on my Desire. Look up an address online, or click on it through a contact, or even just click on a road on Google Maps, either way it's quick and easy to load up a route and map to go with it. It hardly uses any data and the fact the road name/number etc are read out is a bonus. I can use my Desire to guide me by using the voice alone and don't even look at the maps on screen once i'm set up. Yes the voice is a little tinny and mis pronounces things at times, but that is because it is a synthesiser on the phone which reads out rather than constantly using data by downloading sound files with the correct names all the time.

Caching maps can be handy, but then comes the problem of map accuracy. At least with a system like Google Maps you always get the most up to date maps available without having to manually download updates.

By the way, Orange branded Android phones do not have google Maps, only Orange Maps which is due to the fact Orange charge for Orange Maps on many of their price plans. It is also the same case for GTalk, Orange remove this and give you Orange Messenger instead - a chargeable version of Windows Live Messenger.

I think that the Map software will constantly evolve and map caching may soon become a reality for Google Maps, but in the mean time i am still happy to use it as it is reliable enough for my needs.

That's not right - mine is Orange branded but has Google maps as well as Orange maps (both helpfully named 'Maps' in the apps list!). I agree that they should publicise it more, it might not be quite as polished as the non-free alternatives but I've got no major issues with it.

Yes, this is what I love about it too. The whole plain English search thing is just genius. There are few if any other sat navs that would allow things like "Tate Modern in London" or "Thai restaurant in Rugby" as a destination. In my secondary line of work I get a lot of bookings at halls, clubs and social clubs, and for the most part I can just put the name of the club and its respective town and have precision-perfect guidance all the way there.

I appreciate what people are saying about GMN's beta status but it hasn't stopped Google themselves advertising it - have seen quite a few web-based adverts for the app. It's not perfect, but again I come back to my first point: if you're buying a new phone, would you rather know it has a (fully-functional but perhaps not perfect) satnav built in for free, or that when it rings someone's Facebook status comes up on screen?

I'm a big Android fan of two months (previously Win Mob) and have been moving from MS to Google Mail, Cal, Docs on top of Maps and Search over the last couple of months to get away from cr@ppy cumbersome MS. However I agree that at present G Nav, which is still beta and may be the polished article when fully released, still needs work.

For a start some of the locations are off by tens of metres. Not a big issue if you know where you are going (which begs the question why are you using G Nav..) however essentially for finding, for example, your daughter's friends house in a village 8 miles away that you don't know that well. Also, to really compete with Nuvi series real time traffic congestion re-routing is a must. That said, there is huge potential. For a start it is free and the map updates are free, which they are certainly not with Garmin. I've had a Garmin GPSmap 60Cx for a number of years, and although a top piece of equipment, especially off road where the mobiles are vulnerable to the elements, I bulk at the cost (~£100) of updating the maps.

Wait until G Nav is a full release product. I'm sure Google will flaunt it more then

Also, G Nav has limited use outside of the UK as the data costs are prohibitive. Anyone who drives on the continent even only once a year is unlikely to bin their pro nav solution...

I use the free Google Navigation on my Nexus One all of the time. I went from Ipswich to Maidenhead a couple of weeks back which took about 3 hours and not once did Google Navigation miss a beat. I didn't keep an eye on the signal but there must have been a couple of times when I had no signal. It even works great where I live which is out in the sticks which means no 3G or EDGE and an average to low GPRS signal and it still works just fine. Also, I thought the Voice thing was a bit of a gimmick at first, but it is actually useful. I can say something like ASDA and it will take me to the nearest one. The only thing it can't understand is post codes, but you can type those in anyway.

I have never found Google Navigation to be off. I assume it is based on Google Maps, so it you put in the correct end destination then it should always get you there exactly.

I am going to Scotland in a couple of weeks, that should definitely give Google Navigation a good test.

There are better out there, although if you are not fussy then it is more than good enough. One place I would not use it is abroad. I wouldn't like to think what the data charges would be. For that I would borrow the families TomTom.

Sometimes the house numbers aren't quite in the right place but if it can get you to the right road, and roughly in the right ball-park, your eyes can do a decent job of finding the actual house you're looking for. I don't know if other satnavs are better for individual houses but I do know that you can "fine-tune" individual houses on Google Maps which I assume will filter through soonish to Google Navigation.


It actually downloads very little data but you're right, this is the main disadvantage of the OTA navigation system. Though when I did my USA road trip last year, all the hotels we stayed in had Wi-Fi so if I did the same again I'm sure I could get the directions (and cache the route) at the hotel and then off for the drive with beat-perfect navigation. But yes, in this case, an offline solution is probably better.