Smartphone GPS shootout: Google, Ovi, and Verizon go head-to-head
It wasn't long ago that getting somewhere required a map on paper. You know, something you bought or that came groaning out of your tired old printer. GPS navigation units made those maps obsolete, but now they too are under threat. With smartphones invading pockets everywhere it's no surprise that their next assault would be on the dashboard, early volleys shaking up financial markets worldwide. That was just the beginning of a shock and awe campaign that will leave no automotive interior untouched -- and hopefully no driver unsure how many miles until the next Dunkin' Donuts. Google Navigation was the first to really shake things up, while Nokia's Ovi Maps is a more recent addition to the battlefield and the latest VZ Navigator, 5.0, lets Windows Mobile and BlackBerry users join the fray. We've taken this sampling of the best built-in smartphone navigation options (the set of paid add-on options for iPhone is a beast we'll be taming later), learning which you should trust to get you to where you're going and to dodge construction and traffic on the way there. Read on for a turn-by-turn exploration of each option's highs and lows.
Google Navigation
Google wasn't the first to bring turn-by-turn navigation to a smartphone by any means, but it was the first to make it really good, good enough to send TomTom and Garmin stocks reeling and to make us all start thinking things would look awfully different in the smartphone market from then on out. Google Navigation was the hallmark feature of Android 2.0 (later brought back to 1.6) and the then all-conquering Motorola Droid. Though it is the most stately of these three competitors it's hardly old and is the one to beat, getting a little better recently thanks to the addition of multitouch.
Google Nav (as it's known to its friends) brings the clean and intuitive UI of Google Maps to the smartphone, and all of its functionality. From here you can get a quick track on your location, search for nearly anything, and then get directions there. The big thing is of course the turn-by-turn navigation with speech, a feature that's sadly only available when your begin and end points are both in the US (it will give directions, but will neither navigate you into or out of the country). Likewise, you must have a network connection to begin your route and while you can route yourself into a cellular black hole (the route is cached when you begin) you won't be able to route yourself back out again.
Google Nav is by far the easiest to use here, as finding directions is as simple as saying "Directions to" and then the name or address of where you want to go. That you have to say "directions to" every time gets a bit old, but nevertheless we've yet to encounter a domestic destination we couldn't find by voice, and the app's directions are generally accurate. That said, Nav didn't necessarily do a very good job routing us around areas of high congestion, like city streets with lots of stoplights, and while it does indicate traffic problems on your route, it doesn't say the direction of those issues, meaning if you're heading into the city while everyone is in gridlock trying to get out you'll still get a warning. It's also consistently the most pessimistic of the three when it comes to time estimates, indicating that any given route would take longer.
Finally, it's worth noting that this choice is the only one that will give you directions using public transportation, so if you're the sort who rocks the commute with a transit pass but haven't mastered the schedule yet, this is probably your choice.
Ovi Maps
Nokia unleashed Ovi Maps upon the world just a month ago, and we do mean the world. This is the only entrant capable of providing turn-by-turn directions just about anywhere you can get to without reaching escape velocity, and beyond that is the only one that works entirely offline. We in fact did some testing without a SIM Card in this N97 Mini, side-loading maps through a desktop application that can pull down a city, state, or country. Most states are between 50 and 100 megs, while the entirety of North America will set you back 1.5GB (Europe is 1.6GB). Given the size of your average microSD card these days that's not an awful lot of space to sacrifice for guaranteed routing regardless of how far out in the boonies you're going.
Searching for POIs is a bit more clunky here than on Google's option; no voice search means you'll be frequently going to the keyboard, but being able to browse through categories is definitely nice if you're not sure what you're looking for. Likewise, the integrated Lonely Planet guide is a great addition for those Murphing their way through some destination or another. Overall the UI is not as intuitive or as responsive as Google's nor, it must be said, as attractive, but the information you need is generally just a few swipes or taps away.
Ovi Maps seemed to give the best routes, dodging common congestion spots that Google would often send us soldiering right into. It and VZ Navigator often traded for the most accurate time estimates, and Ovi Maps was without a doubt the quickest to re-route, reassuringly telling you how to get back on course less than a second after you've gone off of it.However, it offers the least available traffic information, forcing you to navigate into a submenu and manually update to get the latest.
Along with the on-phone software Nokia has launched maps.ovi.com, upon which you can find locations and send them to your phone. You can also define complete routes via the site and send those over too, a definite bonus for those who don't want to rely on some darned computer to find the best way to get there.
VZ Navigator 5.0
If you haven't used VZ Navigator in awhile (guilty) you might be surprised to see its inclusion here. Previous iterations have generally been simple affairs, but this latest one turns the subscription-based service into a genuine contender when compared to the free offerings. Yes, this is a service that you must pay to use, the only one here not provided as part of the platform. It is offered by Verizon Wireless to certain BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phones (14 currently, more to come) available for a $10 monthly fee -- or $3 daily if you're the noncommittal type. We tested it on a BlackBerry Storm2 and, while there is a global version of Navigator (for an extra $10/month), this 5.0 flavor is currently only available in the US.
While we're only interested in navigation here, VZ Navigator is the most socially minded offering, starting out by presenting you with local movie showtimes, gas prices, weather, and easily letting you share locations by e-mail or Facebook Status, a feature that is sure to charm your friends. Like Google Nav, VZ Navigator is entirely online based, meaning no downloading maps, though it too will cache routes so that losing a signal along the way isn't a concern -- but getting back again will be. It offers voice search too, so you can hit a button and say what you want, but whereas Google'sworks this one does not. We tried it multiple times from multiple locations asking for multiple things and never got a single result. lets you search for anything anywhere by voice, VZ Navigator will only search for POIs that are close to you.
If you're planning ahead you can again search and view destinations online and send them to the phone, and once you're on the go the navigation looks more or less like the others, with a simple presentation available either in an isometric view or an overhead one. The screen updates more slowly than the competition, which is a bit unfortunate aesthetically, but more troubling is the app's slow updates if you should go off-course. We intentionally made numerous wrong turns and, of the three, VZ Navigator was by far the slowest to find a new route. It would often show the car still trucking down the suggested path as if we actually had made that missed turn, only reluctantly popping back to reality a few seconds later.
That said, VZ Navigator delivered consistently the most accurate and detailed traffic warnings. We took the phones straight into rush hour and VZ Nav impressively pinpointed the beginning of gridlock to within a tenth of a mile. The other two just told us there were problems ahead on our route and gave us a rough idea of where. Social networking integration here is nice if you're a Facebook addict, but the ability to quickly e-mail yourself (or someone else) a link to a location is genuinely useful. Beyond that, the directions provided here were good, and with the maps stored remotely you always have the sensation that the app won't try to send you over a closed bridge, Dukes of Hazard style.
Wrap-up
So which is the nav for you? There's zero platform overlap here, so if you already have a smartphone in your pocket and you're happy with it that will be the one and only deciding factor. Android? Google Nav. Nokia devices? Ovi Maps. WinMo or BlackBerry on Verizon? VZ Nav. But, if you're ready to jump on a new contract, get yourself a new toy, and want the one with the best navigation which is it? Well, it depends. It's safe to say that VZ Navigator 5.0 is not the best, if only thanks to that $10 monthly charge. It does have some nice, premium features that the others lack (nearby fuel prices, movie showtimes) and the traffic accuracy is very, very good, but when the competition is free you have to do a little more.
So that leaves Google Navigation and Ovi Maps. Which is for you depends largely on where you're going. While Google's offering will get you from place to place in a pinch if you're outside of the US, it certainly won't make it easy, and if you're worried about international roaming charges it may not be a good choice. There's also the whole "no connection = no route" problem that you may encounter. Nokia's ability to work anywhere in the world and to do so without data makes it the choice for globetrotters or those who need the most reliable navigation in places with unreliable networks. The ability to save a preprogrammed route also makes it a good choice for charting great driving roads.
But, if you're staying domestic and won't need to be navigating out of any coverage gaps, it's hard to find fault in Google Nav. Its traffic and congestion avoidance is not the best, but it is by far the most intuitive to use, has the most comprehensive suite of destinations, and it presents the UI that we found easiest to parse at a glance -- important when you're driving. It isn't perfect, and we hope that side-loading maps and international navigation are features high on some Google engineer's to-do list, but when we had all three phones charged and we needed one to get us where we're going, the one packing Android was what we reached for.
Update: The text above has been updated to fix two inaccuracies. First, Ovi Maps can be set to periodically update traffic information at various intervals, five minutes being the most frequent. It's not realtime like the others, but you at least don't need to dig through a menu. Additionally, the reason we couldn't get VZ Navigator voice recognition to work was because it does not allow you to specify a location. You can only search for POIs that are near you, and only by name or category.
| The contenders | Return to Top | ||
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Google Navigation
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Ovi Maps
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VZ Navigator 5.0
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|---|---|---|---|
| Works on | Android devices in US only | 12 Nokia devices today, more coming | 14 WinMo and BBerry devices currently, more coming |
| Works offline | No | Yes | No |
| Street and exit names | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Search by voice | Yes | No | Yes (only nearby) |
| Traffic | Yes (automatic update) | Yes (automatic update) | Yes (automatic update) |
| Works internationally | Maps, no navigation | Yes | No |
| Send destinations to phone from computer | Yes (destinations only) | Yes (routes and destinations) | Yes (routes and destinations) |
| POI search | Search by name or category, with reviews | Search or browse by name or category | Search or browse by name or category |
| Direction types | Walking, driving, public transportation | Walking, driving | Walking, driving, bicycle |
Google Navigation

Google Nav (as it's known to its friends) brings the clean and intuitive UI of Google Maps to the smartphone, and all of its functionality. From here you can get a quick track on your location, search for nearly anything, and then get directions there. The big thing is of course the turn-by-turn navigation with speech, a feature that's sadly only available when your begin and end points are both in the US (it will give directions, but will neither navigate you into or out of the country). Likewise, you must have a network connection to begin your route and while you can route yourself into a cellular black hole (the route is cached when you begin) you won't be able to route yourself back out again.
Google Nav is by far the easiest to use here, as finding directions is as simple as saying "Directions to" and then the name or address of where you want to go. That you have to say "directions to" every time gets a bit old, but nevertheless we've yet to encounter a domestic destination we couldn't find by voice, and the app's directions are generally accurate. That said, Nav didn't necessarily do a very good job routing us around areas of high congestion, like city streets with lots of stoplights, and while it does indicate traffic problems on your route, it doesn't say the direction of those issues, meaning if you're heading into the city while everyone is in gridlock trying to get out you'll still get a warning. It's also consistently the most pessimistic of the three when it comes to time estimates, indicating that any given route would take longer.
Finally, it's worth noting that this choice is the only one that will give you directions using public transportation, so if you're the sort who rocks the commute with a transit pass but haven't mastered the schedule yet, this is probably your choice.
Ovi Maps

Searching for POIs is a bit more clunky here than on Google's option; no voice search means you'll be frequently going to the keyboard, but being able to browse through categories is definitely nice if you're not sure what you're looking for. Likewise, the integrated Lonely Planet guide is a great addition for those Murphing their way through some destination or another. Overall the UI is not as intuitive or as responsive as Google's nor, it must be said, as attractive, but the information you need is generally just a few swipes or taps away.
Ovi Maps seemed to give the best routes, dodging common congestion spots that Google would often send us soldiering right into. It and VZ Navigator often traded for the most accurate time estimates, and Ovi Maps was without a doubt the quickest to re-route, reassuringly telling you how to get back on course less than a second after you've gone off of it.
Along with the on-phone software Nokia has launched maps.ovi.com, upon which you can find locations and send them to your phone. You can also define complete routes via the site and send those over too, a definite bonus for those who don't want to rely on some darned computer to find the best way to get there.
VZ Navigator 5.0

While we're only interested in navigation here, VZ Navigator is the most socially minded offering, starting out by presenting you with local movie showtimes, gas prices, weather, and easily letting you share locations by e-mail or Facebook Status, a feature that is sure to charm your friends. Like Google Nav, VZ Navigator is entirely online based, meaning no downloading maps, though it too will cache routes so that losing a signal along the way isn't a concern -- but getting back again will be. It offers voice search too, so you can hit a button and say what you want, but whereas Google's
If you're planning ahead you can again search and view destinations online and send them to the phone, and once you're on the go the navigation looks more or less like the others, with a simple presentation available either in an isometric view or an overhead one. The screen updates more slowly than the competition, which is a bit unfortunate aesthetically, but more troubling is the app's slow updates if you should go off-course. We intentionally made numerous wrong turns and, of the three, VZ Navigator was by far the slowest to find a new route. It would often show the car still trucking down the suggested path as if we actually had made that missed turn, only reluctantly popping back to reality a few seconds later.
That said, VZ Navigator delivered consistently the most accurate and detailed traffic warnings. We took the phones straight into rush hour and VZ Nav impressively pinpointed the beginning of gridlock to within a tenth of a mile. The other two just told us there were problems ahead on our route and gave us a rough idea of where. Social networking integration here is nice if you're a Facebook addict, but the ability to quickly e-mail yourself (or someone else) a link to a location is genuinely useful. Beyond that, the directions provided here were good, and with the maps stored remotely you always have the sensation that the app won't try to send you over a closed bridge, Dukes of Hazard style.
Wrap-up
So which is the nav for you? There's zero platform overlap here, so if you already have a smartphone in your pocket and you're happy with it that will be the one and only deciding factor. Android? Google Nav. Nokia devices? Ovi Maps. WinMo or BlackBerry on Verizon? VZ Nav. But, if you're ready to jump on a new contract, get yourself a new toy, and want the one with the best navigation which is it? Well, it depends. It's safe to say that VZ Navigator 5.0 is not the best, if only thanks to that $10 monthly charge. It does have some nice, premium features that the others lack (nearby fuel prices, movie showtimes) and the traffic accuracy is very, very good, but when the competition is free you have to do a little more.
So that leaves Google Navigation and Ovi Maps. Which is for you depends largely on where you're going. While Google's offering will get you from place to place in a pinch if you're outside of the US, it certainly won't make it easy, and if you're worried about international roaming charges it may not be a good choice. There's also the whole "no connection = no route" problem that you may encounter. Nokia's ability to work anywhere in the world and to do so without data makes it the choice for globetrotters or those who need the most reliable navigation in places with unreliable networks. The ability to save a preprogrammed route also makes it a good choice for charting great driving roads.
But, if you're staying domestic and won't need to be navigating out of any coverage gaps, it's hard to find fault in Google Nav. Its traffic and congestion avoidance is not the best, but it is by far the most intuitive to use, has the most comprehensive suite of destinations, and it presents the UI that we found easiest to parse at a glance -- important when you're driving. It isn't perfect, and we hope that side-loading maps and international navigation are features high on some Google engineer's to-do list, but when we had all three phones charged and we needed one to get us where we're going, the one packing Android was what we reached for.
Update: The text above has been updated to fix two inaccuracies. First, Ovi Maps can be set to periodically update traffic information at various intervals, five minutes being the most frequent. It's not realtime like the others, but you at least don't need to dig through a menu. Additionally, the reason we couldn't get VZ Navigator voice recognition to work was because it does not allow you to specify a location. You can only search for POIs that are near you, and only by name or category.






























Good comparison, but I would have liked to see Sprint Nav/Telenav included here as well.
@jonnythan
Yeah I was kind of shocked that TeleNav wasn't included. That's available on just about every platform, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Android, WebOS, iPhone, even the flip-phone Java OSes.
@jonnythan
Well, many other options could be included.
At first I though it was about free options only, but now I see that the Verizon thing actually costs $10/month.. So why not include even Garmin, Sygic etc.? I'd much rather get Garmin for $99 and no subscription, works offline etc. than the VZ thing.
@Endadget
I think the point is the Sprint Telenav solution is far superior to the VZ Navigator solution and its free. It doesn't really make sense to do the roundup while ignoring one of the most competitive solutions out there. Especially one that's been around since 2008 with the Instinct.
@brown like dookie Also comes on all their WinMo and WebOS phones.
I'm still baffled why Google Nav isn't enabled in the UK yet without a sneaky sneaky workaround.
@fpad77
Google use Tele Atlas maps in the UK. Tele Atlas is owned by TomTom. TomTom isn't going to let a competitor give its product away for free.
@xbit
If that's the case, how come it's not an option to just switch to whatever ovi maps appears to be using? (I assume it's free and available in UK?).
@fpad77
Ovi Maps uses Navteq maps. Nokia owns Navteq. There's no way that Nokia will allow Google to use them. :)
@fpad77 OVI maps use Navteq. That Nokia bought for 4.2 billion 2 years ago.... so you can be sure Nokia is not going to give those either.
@xbit
Frustrating! Thanks for the info.
@fpad77
Not to mention that roaming data charges are more of a pain in the UK than in the US
@xbit
Navteq sells mapto everyone, including Google for some countries. They supply most of the world's maps period. TeleAtlas comes in a much lower second. Nokia basically controls the mapping industry.
No mention of Bing which is pretty much just as good at GoogleMaps on WinMo devices.
Voice operation makes it quite nice.
@kjb434
Bing doesn't have voice turn by turn, which is why it was not included, I imagine. Though I have a feeling come WinPho7 it will.
@kjb434 No voice turn by turn, its not 3D navigation, and its not finger/driver friendly. It would lose pretty badly. TomTom or Garmin for WinMo would be much better choices, but unless you have the Garmin WinMo phone, you have to purchase the navigation software for a one time fee.
Sprint Nav left out? Why? It's awesome.
@Scape3d
Yeah, that and a few others. Copilot Live 8 isn't there either, and I think it's available for the iPhone, Android and Winmo. They just pushed out text-to-speech for street names, and also free live search.
I prefer non-subscription bases, non-tower dependent gps systems on my phones when at all possible.
@kumar
I had Tomtom nav on my old winmob phone (HTC HD) but on my new HTC HD2 I switched to Copilot8 which is by far the best I have ever had.
I have also had the latest OVI maps on my old N97, it was OK but Copilot is on a different legue.
@Scape3d
I'm betting the engadget editors aren't aware that Sprint's free solution has been on all their phones since the Instinct days.
And btw- it is totally superior to Google Nav in terms of routing and lady robot voice quality.
By all means, mention VZ Nav (which costs money) but don't say anything about Sprint Nav. Because I'm sure that this (mostly) American audience really gets a lot out of Ovi Maps.
@brown like dookie
Also they don't charge extra for it if you have unlimited data you have unlimited navigation.
Working offline makes Nokia my pick :)
@AnAnt
im still waiting for ovi maps on more devices...my e71 is quite lonely.
anyone heard any rumors as to when more devices will be able to use the update?
@AnAnt
A Nokia 5230 for £99 unlocked with 3G and free maps makes it a winner too. :D
@AnAnt
And it just got better yesterday when they integrated HRS along Lonely Planet and Michelin. Finding and reserving a hotel will be a breeze now!
Why is the iPhone not included? You could have limited it to the highest grossing navigation software in the App store.
@Tes because iphone = suck
@Tes
Woah, downvoted! That's a first for me. I asked due to it being one of the main competitors in the smart-phone market and to make the article balanced. The prospect of it having it's OWN full article where multiple apps available only on the iPhone are pitted against other iPhone apps and not scrutinised along with the competition isn't a grand one.
I'm not sure if it was the Apple haters or fan boys who have a problem with the question.
@Tes It was reading comprehension skills that downranked you, not fanboyism. This was about "built in" options, of which the iPhone has none, and the article ALSO stated that reviewing the myriad paid options for the iPhone would come in a later article.
Where's Sprint Nav? It's free, and on WebOS, making it the best Nav app.
@Mitchell Rusk Best app for the 5 unfortunate people who bought one of the new Palm phones.
@barry99705
It's also on almost every other phone they've sold since 2008- the Hero, the Tour, the TP2, even their dumbphones have it!
I rather have a real GPS unit, and not some crappy phone hack job.
@hn333
The so called 'real GPS unit' will be outdated in the near future. Things can only get better for the smartphone GPS.
@hn333 I used to think the same thing, but i tossed my garmin after getting my Pre. The Sprint Nav is great and free, and i take it with me wherever i go, travel etc, dont have to worry about where it is. The software is there, only downside is screen real estate.
@hn333: I completely understand wanting a dedicated GPS if you drive for a living (that's why I don't think dedicated devices will ever disappear completely).
At the same time, I'd suggest that MOST people need GPS only a few times a year, making free phone nav a worthy substitute.
@weeman: I don't think it'll COMPLETELY disappear. Dedicated devices will return to being niche products though.
@hn333
Ummm...tell me one good reason why anybody would spend any more money for a dedicated GPS unit over a good smartphone-based GPS?
Even on my old (almost 3 years) HTC Touch, Garmin/googlemaps and Tomtom all work flawlessly with traffic updates, turn-by-turn, etc.
@Schmitty338 Better signal and performance. GPSs depend on having a good antenna and most phones do cut-rate on it giving you lag, bad/slow lock, limited satellites lock, heat and battery drain, and general whimsical instability as you move from phone to phone.
I still use my phone for the GPS UI, but I use an external GPS puck for the better hardware that "I" can choose instead of the current GPSone crap.
@hn333
My Droid replaced my Garmin Nuvi 360. With my phone, I just tell it where to take me and off we go. None of this waiting for two minutes for the thing to load maps. None of this hunt'n'peck to enter a destination.
@hn333 All the "dedicated GPS devices will disappear" argument doesn't make any sense in a broader context. I mean, ebooks (dedicated text readers) and netbooks (dedicated basic computing devices) are finding their way into consumer electronics. Also, we've been living with dedicated music player for more than a decade and they are not going anywhere.
If you rely on a GPS for moving around, you will probably see the value in dedicated devices. For example, not only if you make a living with driving, but also if you are new in town, or on a road trip. You can make a call and ask for more details of your destination AND input that info into de GPS.
GPS devices will turn into niche products as much as eReaders, mp3 players and netbooks will or have turned into. No matter how well a smartphone works.
@hn333
I have a real GPS (Nuvi 760), you can buy it if you want. Even the older VZ NAV (from like 2 years ago) was better than the dedicated GPS units.
Get informed.
@NuShrike
Ummmm...On my 3-yaer old vogue (CDMA HTC Touch) I get a lock in 15-30 seconds, and never have below 6 satellite, usually 7-8, sometimes 9-10 if in open air. and I can CHOOSE whichever software I want.
As for battery, dedicated devices are mostly used in cars, if you spend that much time in your car, you will have a car charger fro your phone.
@hn333 Carrying around one more device is so much fun.
The main problem with Google Nav is that it's only available in US (officially anyway).
BTW "If you lose your data connection while using Google Maps Navigation (Beta): Navigation and voice guidance will continue as long as you do not deviate from your prescribed route, but underlying map tiles may not load."
http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=165383
@gpmoo7
Actually gave this a try a few weeks ago by turning off my radio after i set my route. Worked just fine. I think it caches your route and then some so if you lose your connection and have to detour you can.
How is ovi maps with voice nav new to the field? I used it on my old e51 all the time.
Also, why are people saying you can't use ovi maps in the US?
Man, its articles like this that make me wish there were folks in Canada that would do this kind of testing.
Obviously Google Nav and the Verizon offering don't apply to me (I have a Nokia 5800 and love the Ovi Maps) but there are other offerings, for example Telus has a subscription service that I would assume is similar to Verizon's and is one option to use on the Motorola Milestone here.
In reality it would seem that Ovi Maps really is the best option as a navigation device. There will be many instances where you will not have cell coverage and require navigation, mostly because you're probably lost and your GPS would be your only lifeline. This makes Ovi Maps the only software that turns your phone in to an actual GPS device. For some reason I thought Google Nav could store map information locally and not require a data connection but I was wrong.
@xraycat82 I did quite a bit of testing with Google Nav and Ovi Maps in Canada. Ovi Maps was the clear winner there for obvious reasons, but Google Nav did give decent directions -- except in one case it didn't know a road near Mt. Tremblant existed that Ovi did.