ALK CoPilot Live 8 for Windows Mobile Comments

Will you be reviewing the Android version separately as I'm definitely interested in getting that for the HTC Hero.

I use CoPilot 7 on my iPaq PDA, its definitely the most used application, so its great to see continued support for the product (unlike HP themselves). The lack of QWERTY is a real pain however and seems inexplicable given that ALK make the specific claim to have improved the UI. On the plus side, they have kept the great choice of destination input methods, including OS grid references, which I used recently to navigate to a location I found in a guide to swimmable rivers - much more appropriate than a postcode.
ALK also seem confused as to whether CoPilot Central 2.0 (the desktop companion software not mentioned in your review) will be compatible with WinMo (it says Android only on the download page) and with 64-bit Vista (Central 1.0 is only 32-bit compatible). Perhaps TR could dig a little deeper and find the answer?
I do find that CoPilot 7 makes the occasional slip of the tongue, for example telling you to take the wrong number exit on a roundabout (go the the end of the A55 on Anglesey, all in the name of journalisitc investigation of course, for one example) and has a tendency to take me on some strange routes sometimes, so I was hoping TR might have had more to say on the actual routing engine in this review, but I didn't really get the feeling from the review that you had done much more than rephrase the speil on the back of the box and maybe try out the demo mode. Be honest guys/gals - how far did you drive?

My street in a new development in Essex where development started in 2004 and finished in Dec 2007 is missing from Copilot Live 8.

I have a slight problem though. I have screen lock set up on my phone (HTC Touch Pro 2) at 5 mins. When Copilot is running I expect the screen to stay unlocked as the phone is in use but it still locks out at 5mins. This definitely didnt happen when I used Copilot 6 on my previous phones (Charmer or TyTN 2). Anyone with a solution to this problem?

My street in a new development in Essex where development started in 2004 and finished in Dec 2007 is missing from Copilot Live 8.

I have a slight problem though. I have screen lock set up on my phone (HTC Touch Pro 2) at 5 mins. When Copilot is running I expect the screen to stay unlocked as the phone is in use but it still locks out at 5mins. This definitely didnt happen when I used Copilot 6 on my previous phones (Charmer or TyTN 2). Anyone with a solution to this problem?

Actually Ed, I was going to ask where was the video review, I just get a blank page!
See here to see if you get what I get:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/video/ALK-CoPilot-Live-8

Ed - it could be a little local difficulty with AdBlock Plus, I have now found the Video!
Cheers!

Hmmm, I thought everyone at TR hated the TG01?! :P

Does the Detour/Avoid function actually provide an alternative route in this version? It never seems to work at all for me in V7, especially when trying to avoid traffic - it just gives me the same route as originally planned.

I see ALK has cleared up my confusion by adding the words "and Windows Mibile" to the download page for Copilot Central 2.0. So it is now billed as working for both Android and WM, for both 32-bit and 64-bit Vista. Good news!

@Ed Thanks for the info. If it's similar on the iPhone I would assume (hope) that it's the same on Android as well. I think I could be very tempted to get this and a nice in car mount - a full on sat nav for about £50 in total. Much cheaper then a stand alone device.

I used TomTom Navigator 6 on my MDA Vario for 3 years before I used CP7 on MDA Compact IV. I also installed TomTom which worked well, (once I had help from CS installing it). Now I use only use CP7 on my Compact V, (Diamond2). I used a 'proper' TomTom from work yesterday, as a comparison, on a known route, whilst still using my device. I can safely say that the TomTom is better for the actual instructions, but the maps on CP7 look better, and the unit responded slower than my device, running several apps alongside!

CP8 looks impressive. I like CP Central, especially the ability to EASILY create journeys and send to the device. It is much better than the TomTom equivalent, but I did like TomTom weather on my device.

Also Nav6, with BT receiver cost around £100. This is only £20 ish without. That's VERY impressive isn't it?

I got CP7 free with my phone for 18months. Still a great deal!

i used to use mcguider on the e71 which was pretty faultless except for lack of touchscreen.
ive used copilot 8 for a week now. Here are my comments:
1. support have not answered any comments
2. it crashes often. gps lock is often (every journey) lost requiring restart of the app.
3. its not possible to download all the maps or select individual maps e.g. turkey, egypt, switzerland etc either on the phone. via copilot central you have to buy the maps for a second time as it doesnt recognize items bought in android marketplace
4. it often directs cars down footpaths which are obviously unroutable.
5. there is no way to return once you have found it doesnt work...
i have yet to be able to make a successful journey without one of the above issues...

I'm having a lot of issues with CoPilot 8 on my MDA Compact III that I didn't have with CoPilot 6. I have the problem with the screen lock coming on (like someone else has), plus the app crashes. Also it said the wrong exit for a roundabout (I've only used it twice). Plus I keep finding bugs on the website - I couldn't pay for it initially, then I couldn't register it (due to a missing stored procedure) and just now I tried to add safety cameras and the instructions are wrong plus the link to sign up to the feed doesn't work! I have had to email support at every turn and I have to say they are spectacularly inept! I would say to anyone with an old version to hold off buying this one for now - they clearly have a LOT of bugs to iron out (and a good deal of staff training to do). Oh yes and you can't get live traffic updates yet.

Minty has got it right - I'm suffering similar problems to those cited in earlier posts, so I'd leave well alone until ALK sort out the mess. Note you are also likely to lose any remaining subscriptions, favourites or trips you had in earlier versions, you may suffer problems with the way the program handles your GPS receiver, and the desktop companion software (Co-Pilot Central v2) seems to have lost the ability to plan a trip on your PC and then load it onto your mobile. Version 8 may well end up very good value, but it won't be until ALK sort these problems out.

I bought this for my HTC Touch Pro 2. Disregarding the price I would rate this product as poor. First of all, the map is old -- at least the map for the USA. I would estimate it to be about 5 or 6 years old. The reason I say this is that I live in a residence that is about 5 years old -- relatively new. This means that the street names does not exist before that. I typed in my address to look for it in CoPilot 8 and what a disappoinment -- it does not exist. I verified this again by typing the address of a friend whose residence is also new -- about 3 years old. Again the address does not exist. I have contacted support about this and so far all they can tell me is to re-install the product.

There is still bugs I think in the product, I have a few crashes already especially when I hide CoPilot do something else and then come back to it. I also wish that they add "tracks" feature in the product. This feature leaves trails on where you actually drove through.

My only wish is that CoPilot 8 updated the maps -- for free of course.

Besides that, because of the price, I still like this product. It is feature rich. I like the Walk mode. If you could hold off buying it though, I say wait until they update the maps and fix some of the bugs.

I purchased Co-Pilot v8.0 (Europe) for my Sony Ericcson Xperia. The outcome has been a bitter disappointment which leads me to believe that ALK have released this product version before they have sorted numerous bugs. At no time have I been able to view the maps and the product either crashes or hangs indefinitely between screens. How it gets such glowing reports from reviewers is beyond me. My advice - steer clear.

Customer service and Tech Support services are abysmal, often with inadequate interest or informnation and in refusing to allow refunds to dissatisfied customers they appear to be exploiting their remote and anonymous position.

Worth an update I think. Windows Mobile thinks nothing is running when Co-Pilot 8 is running and locks the phone (if you have that security feature set). ALK admitted this bug very quickly but has yet to issue the promised fix. ALK have confirmed that any previous traffic or other subscriptions you may have had in Co-Pilot 7, plus any trips or favourites you may have saved, will be lost when you upgrade to Co-Pilot 8. ALK has also confirmed that Co-Pilot Central version 2 no longer has the ability to plan trips on your PC then transfer them to your phone. What it largely seems to be now is a central point for buying additional things from ALK! (To be fair, it does also have useful back-up features.) Note also that I had made at least three corrections to Co-Pilot 7 mapping through their support site, but none of these have been incorporated into the maps for Co-Pilot 8. The only thing I got wrong on my previous post relates to the use of my GPS receiver - that wasn't an issue related to Co-Pilot 8.

Comment lombardo8 said on 17th August 2009

I have a slight problem though. I have screen lock set up on my phone (HTC Touch Pro 2) at 5 mins. When Copilot is running I expect the screen to stay unlocked as the phone is in use but it still locks out at 5mins. This definitely didnt happen when I used Copilot 6 on my previous phones (Charmer or TyTN 2). Anyone with a solution to this problem?

I found a solution to the problem first you need to download 2 programs called (slide 2 unlock) (phm Registry Editor)

here is the download links (slide 2 unlock) http://67.43.3.117/~acs2co/S2U2-download-2.04-QVGA.html (phm Registry Editor) http://www.phm.lu/downloads/download.aspx?{940B734A-C437-41C7-ADED-2A4418802FD3}

install slide to unlock first then phm editor
the edit the following key with phm editor

Edit the Registry, under \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\A_C\S2U2,
add key ExceptionEXE0 (STRING) with the name of the application (e.g. iexplore.exe).
A total of 10 (0-9) ExceptionEXE can be added.
Set ExceptionEXEisFG to 1 for checking if it's running in foreground only;
while set to 0 for checking if it's running in foreground or background. Remember to restart iLock2 after the changes.

Regards Michael