Sygic

[lopri]

I am looking for an alternative to Google maps/navigation on Android. I have tried a few apps that work off of OSM (Open Street Maps) data, but they don't have nearly enough (detailed) data. Accurate offline navigation is the first priority.

I found this thing called Sygic, and I would like to hear from anyone who has used it?

http://www.sygic.com/en/android:buy-now?r=topmenu

They sell maps and updates. It looks like they are using TomTom's maps which sounds familiar to me (TomTom does). I do not know much about their products - I've always used whatever navigation my car came with. But names like TomTom and Garmin are familiar so I assume they are trust-worthy.

I went to Sygic's site and they sell the U.S. map for $35 and promise lifetime updates. If it's as accurate as dedicated navigation units, the price seems reasonable enough to me. My main questions are:

1. How good is its maps?
2. Are their products tied to a device or an account?
3. Under the Play store description, it says "Google™ Local Search to find anything." Well, one of the reasons why I am looking for an alternative is to avoid Google. If it's about local search of POI then it's no issue since I can turn it off. But other than that, does this product require any other Google service to be turned on?

Does anyone else think it is a good deal, especially for offline navigation purely relying on GPS? Are there something else comparable?

 

[lothar]

I am looking for an alternative to Google maps/navigation on Android. I have tried a few apps that work off of OSM (Open Street Maps) data, but they don't have nearly enough (detailed) data. Accurate offline navigation is the first priority.

I found this thing called Sygic, and I would like to hear from anyone who has used it?

http://www.sygic.com/en/android:buy-now?r=topmenu

They sell maps and updates. It looks like they are using TomTom's maps which sounds familiar to me (TomTom does). I do not know much about their products - I've always used whatever navigation my car came with. But names like TomTom and Garmin are familiar so I assume they are trust-worthy.

I went to Sygic's site and they sell the U.S. map for $35 and promise lifetime updates. If it's as accurate as dedicated navigation units, the price seems reasonable enough to me. My main questions are:

1. How good is its maps?
2. Are their products tied to a device or an account?
3. Under the Play store description, it says "Google™ Local Search to find anything." Well, one of the reasons why I am looking for an alternative is to avoid Google. If it's about local search of POI then it's no issue since I can turn it off. But other than that, does this product require any other Google service to be turned on?

Does anyone else think it is a good deal, especially for offline navigation purely relying on GPS? Are there something else comparable?

Why are you so paranoid about Google, but not others?

 

[lopri]

Umm.. Battery life? As for privacy, I think there might be a benefit to diffuse information. Not paranoid, but annoyed whenever I run into an ad that relates to a site that I've recently visited or when Google tells me "You might be interested in this person!" when s/he is the last one that I'd like to see again.

I give huge credit to Google for at least trying to be transparent. There are other ones I won't even consider. (e.g. MS, Apple, Valve)

Anyways - I would like to know more about Sygic. It looks like a decent product to me. Can anyone share experience?

 

[SKORPI0]

I've been using this on my HP TouchPad with Android JB 4.1.2 for quite a while and is one of my favorite navigation apps.
I use a Bluetooth GPS/data logger to get my signals. Accurate to 3 meters.

1. Updated maps showed the changes found in the street I live in. From a 1 lane (each side) to a 2 lane.
2. Not tied up with my Gmail account. Don't think it uses any Google service while in use.
3. Warns of traffic lights that have those speed cameras.
4. Warms if you're driving over the speed limit.
5. You can choose what type of POI will be shown on the map.

Close second would be Tomtom USA, then Navigon, CoPilot GPS, then Maverick. I rarely use MapQuest or Navfree. Google Maps requires you to download section of the maps of the area you intend to be for offline navigation.

 

[lopri]

Thank you, SKORPI0. You've got whole lot of maps.

If it's not tied to Gmail account, I suppose I make a new one? Or is the map data tied to the device? I would much prefer being able to download on whichever device I have.

Oh, and that speed limit warning can be turned off, right? Or it'll drive me crazy.

 

[SKORPI0]

Or is the map data tied to the device? I would much prefer being able to download on whichever device I have.

Oh, and that speed limit warning can be turned off, right? Or it'll drive me crazy.

Not sure if map data is tied to device since I only have the HP that has bluetooth built-in. I've read somewhere that you can copy the folder that contains the maps to another device. Or download it again or add another state. You can adjust the SPEED Limit warning to beep over a certain mph over/under. Perhaps setting to zero (0) turns it off.

 

[WelshBloke]

I've had luck with copilot live premium on android. It does use Google search but also uses yelp and Wikipedia as well so you can use those instead.

For a fully online mapping/navigation app you're going to struggle to get anything anywhere near as good as Google though.

 

[lopri]

I know. Stuff like POI, satellite views, landmarks, weather, traffic, integration w/ other apps, etc,. are all moving/updating targets and I don't expect 3rd party maps to do those as well as Google's. My only interest in this query is for walking/driving navigation to correct addresses. In my experience, as long as the address are updated every (other) year, they seem to work for me about 98% of the times. (I made up the number but you get the idea)

I think I will pull the trigger on Sygic this weekend. There is a 7-day trial period so I should find out how good it is.

 

[lothar]

Umm.. Battery life? As for privacy, I think there might be a benefit to diffuse information. Not paranoid, but annoyed whenever I run into an ad that relates to a site that I've recently visited or when Google tells me "You might be interested in this person!" when s/he is the last one that I'd like to see again.

I give huge credit to Google for at least trying to be transparent. There are other ones I won't even consider. (e.g. MS, Apple, Valve)

Anyways - I would like to know more about Sygic. It looks like a decent product to me. Can anyone share experience?

Umm...has there been battery life tests showing that Google Navigation drains more battery than Sygic, CoPilot, TomTom, or Garmin/Navigon maps?
If so, then do prove it.

Then either run an AdBlocker or go to the "Google Settings" app and uncheck the "Enable Tailored Ads by Google in apps" option.
Problem solved.

 

[lopri]

I did not start this thread to prove anything. I wanted to get a rather specific advice from those who have experiences. Perhaps I should not have talked about Google maps.

 

[lothar]

I did not start this thread to prove anything. I wanted to get a rather specific advice from those who have experiences. Perhaps I should not have talked about Google maps.

It's perfectly fine to want to use other maps because Google Maps(or any other Google product really) lacks some features or because you simply want to reduce your dependency on Google.
Don't cite battery life reasons or ads(unless those navigation apps are completely ad free) as a reason for doing such though because neither of those reasons are valid.

 

[golem]

I have both copilot premium and sygic. I mostly just use google nav nowadays, but keep both copilot and sygic on my phone as back up in case I lose data. Of the two, I prefer Sygic, it's maps seem more complete and it's navigation seems slightly better.

 

[lopri]

@golem: Thank you for sharing your experience. Do you happened to know how Sygic validates the purchase? Per account or per device? I am thinking per account since they compete with the first party map providers (e.g. Google/Apple).

Also of interest is how they let you download maps. Being able to download one state at a time as needed would suit my needs. How often they updates their maps is of interest as well.

In any case it seems like I have to try it out myself. I will report back with my findings if anyone is interested. (likely next week)

 

[lopri]

Another thing - is this company (Sygic) part of Tomtom navigation company? Their site says they are using Tomtom's maps, but I found a whole swath of Tomtom products at Play store.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=TomTom+International+BV

 

[golem]

If I remember correctly, I think I purchased it directly from sygic and not google play. They sent me a code, I downloaded the program from google and activated my purchase with the code. I was able to activate it on more than one phone at a time and it shows up in my google play as installed.

I think each time I install it when changing phones I have to reactivate it with the code.

You can download the maps in sections and they take up more space than copilot maps, one of the reasons I think sygic maps are more complete than co pilot.

I think they purchase map data from tom tom and arent actually owned by them.

They do run sales every once in a while or buy one get one free type deals. At least from their website.

 

[Yuriman]

Not exactly relevant to OP's original question, but you can disable a ton of Google tracking features.

Under location services, you disable using your location to improve search results / give relevant search results to your area.

Under accounts -> Google, you can disable tailored ads, disable Google apps having access to your location, disable web history, and disable personalized results based on your web history.

In Google Maps, you can disable location reporting and location history for maps. AFAIK this is always on (even when Maps isn't running) unless you specifically disable it.

I generally disable at least a few of these.

 

[lopri]

@Yriman: Yes, indeed you are correct. I have experimented/tested many things on both user level and the OS level and reported my findings. (A Day without Google) I like many Google services but I do not want them all, and in order to use maps without affecting batteries I have to take time-consuming steps every each time, so I wanted to find an alternative that works off of just GPS.

 

[PaulStevens]

if I can add my experiece, then I would also suggest agps navigation for android called...wait-for-it... sygic! I´m sure it´s no surprise, because I really like how it works and it appeals me much better than other availabe options. so if you´re not sure yet, I say, go for it!!