The only problem with most sat navs is that you need to keep them up to date all the time. Roads close and new ones open, layouts change, and speed cameras shoot out of the ground like the spores of a particularly nasty fungus. If you don’t upload map updates to your device, you’ll likely eventually be instructed to go the wrong way down a one-way street, or to take the detour when a much faster route is available. This is why I like TomTom’s Mapshare feature so much – it allows users to update each other on important road changes for free. And that’s also a reason why “live” phone navigation software like Telmap and Wayfinder 8 – tested here – work well.
Rather than storing all map data locally, Wayfinder’s maps are stored on a server and, just like Google Maps, portions of them are downloaded as needed. This not only ensures that the maps are automatically kept up to date, but also that the memory footprint is minimal. All you have to install on your phone is the application, so the rest of your storage space – especially important if you have a phone without an expansion slot – can be dedicated to storing videos, pictures and music. The route calculation also takes place entirely on external servers and is not dependent on the possibly low computing power of your mobile phone.
It’s also available on a wide range of phones – not just Symbian S60 and UIQ devices, but also Windows Mobile 6 Professional phones and Blackberries (see the Wayfinder website for the full list). And if you find you don’t like the thing, it hasn’t necessarily cost you the earth – the cost is £40 for a 12-month subscription and just £48 for three years.
What’s more, it’s packed with clever features. Log into the companion website – MyWayfinder – and you can add ‘favorite’ destinations without the hassle of typing them into your phone’s number pad. The application on your phone will then sync with the website and download the locations for local use. There’s also a Facebook app to post your location and a Google Earth tracking utility. Turn on the latter (and the tracking mode on the phone) and all your movements over the past week will be recorded in a downloadable KML file, with the track overlaid on the map. You can also download parts of the map from the MyWayfinder website and install it locally – useful if you know you’re going to an area with a weak mobile data signal.
Of course, the theory behind Wayfinder sounds like a brilliant idea, but how does it work in practice? Well, for simple point-to-point navigation, it’s a pretty good solution. I particularly enjoyed the voice instructions that are repeated, then repeated over and over as you approach each intersection. That can get a little irritating for passengers, but it’s worth it for the driver, who is unlikely to ever miss a turn because one of the kids in the back threw a tantrum.
The maps themselves are extremely clear in both 2D and 3D modes – even on the screen of a relatively small phone like the Nokia N82 that I used for testing. The track layout is clearly shown with a bold red line and POIs, such as gas stations, are shown as colourful, easy-to-see callouts. Of course, you’re not presented with as much information as you would with a dedicated device – there’s no ETA, remaining distance or even the name of the next street here – but the essential information is clear and doesn’t clutter up the screen. An icon for the next turn is displayed in the top right corner (or left, depending on your phone) next to the distance to that turn and an icon for satellite signal strength. Underneath you get a hint about the current street. Obviously a lot of thought has gone into the design of the map display.
But there are weaknesses. The most obvious is that you can’t do multipoint routing. This was an error I pointed out the last time I looked at Wayfinder and it is a serious issue that has yet to be fixed. This is a much more important feature than Facebook or Google Earth tracking, so I’m not entirely sure why it was implemented. Also missing – and one more important thing – is manual redirection. Wayfinder will recalculate your route for you (and quickly) if you get lost, but you can’t tell it to find the best route around a roadblock or traffic jam right in front of you — you have to guess that Your next right/left turn is the best way.
Other vulnerabilities are the constant problems of live navigation, which you rely on your mobile data connection (the reliability of this connection depends on your network and your location in the country) and the Wayfinder servers, which remain active. To be fair, Wayfinder tries to circumvent this potential stumbling block by downloading map blocks and caching them in the phone’s memory, so you always have some map data to work with. It also offers these map downloads. But if you get too far off track and lose your data connection (I’ve found my T-Mobile connection to drop on occasion, even in London), you’re going to get stuck. Using the product abroad won’t be a realistic proposition either, as the mobile data plans are such a rip-off, although that’s not the Wayfinder product’s fault – blame your cellphone provider.
What you can blame Wayfinder for is the cost of additional extras. Where the main product is reasonably priced, the speed camera and traffic information functions are not. Live navigation software is the ideal means of transmitting such data and keeping it reliably updated – it can be downloaded at the same time as route information – but you’ll have to pay a hefty premium if you want the privilege of having annual speed cameras -Updates cost £28 and traffic information an additional £20 per year.
It’s worth noting that Telmap and CoPilot Live 7 (the latter being my current favorite phone navigation application) both include free traffic information and Telmap’s rolling contract, which lets you pay just £5 for a month of navigation and then opt out, is much more flexible.
“‘Verdict”‘
So when it comes to ultimate flexibility, traffic, European mapping and speed cameras, Wayfinder will never be able to compete with full-fledged dedicated devices like TomTom’s excellent range of navigation devices. And it’s not as good as CoPilot either.
But I think that despite the lack of free traffic information, it’s – just – a better choice for live navigation than Telmap. It has more innovative features and better flexibility, and at £48 for three years of map updates, it’s a lot cheaper in the long run. If you want a basic navigation product that doesn’t exhaust your phone’s storage potential, it’s the best product of its kind that I’ve used.