[Crash Test]

I have been using Wayfinder for about 2 weeks now and would like to let everyknow what I think about it.

My configuration is this: BB 8700 with a Holux 240 and Wayfinder v6.3.21 dated 2006-08-30. I paid $99 USD for the software.

Pros:

• choice of 3 navigation screens
• 2 nav screens contain all pertinent info such as the distance to the next turn, the following turn, speed, ETA, road name
• excellent quality voice directions that give sufficient advance warning and issue multiple instructions. For example: In 1km turn left, in 500m turn left, in 200m turn left, in 100m turn left, turn left here.
• very quick to determine that you are “off track”. It takes perhaps only about 100m before telling you you are off track, and then will automatically re-calculate a new route
• one of the navigation screens does not use any wireless bandwidth other than to get the initial directions. This is great if you are traveling in a location where data costs are high.
• good directions and accurate location tracking
• You can run other applications in the foreground and Wayfinder will continue to issue voice commands
• with the “Close 2 You” you can locate POI’s such as a gas station that are close to you, then instruct Wayfinder to plot a route

Cons:

• the display never turns off thus the battery will last only about 5 hours. This is true even if you have another application running in the foreground.
• the maps are very slow to download. Zoom in & out is slow. BBMaps is much faster
• the maps do not have names for every street, no matter how much you zoom in. This is very strange and makes it difficult to select a destination from the mp, which is one of the options it offers. BBMaps has more detail yet is faster.
• On the highway it will say “exit here” but you have to look at the screen to see if that means left or right
• very little integration with Blackberry. See below for some examples.

As I mentioned, Wayfinder has very little integration with Blackberry. For example:

• you can not copy an address from your address book and paste it in
• the escape key works on some screens but not others. Meaning you have to push the trackwheel, select “Ok” or similar, then click again
• when setting up directions it does not maintain a list of recent addresses the way BBMaps does
• when it searches an address it almost always come back to you to confirm the city. For example, when I type an address in Toronto, it will look it up then ask me if I want “Toronto Division” or “Toronto, Toronto Division”. I have no idea what it means by Division is but either choice will work. This is frustrating because it adds more time and more clicks.
• The POI database is pretty weak. But you can select “call” to call the POI.

Let me know if you have any feedback or any questions.

[ron.pepper@sympatico.ca]

Originally Posted by Crash Test

I have been using Wayfinder for about 2 weeks now and would like to let everyknow what I think about it.

My configuration is this: BB 8700 with a Holux 240 and Wayfinder v6.3.21 dated 2006-08-30. I paid $99 USD for the software.

Pros:

• choice of 3 navigation screens
• 2 nav screens contain all pertinent info such as the distance to the next turn, the following turn, speed, ETA, road name
• excellent quality voice directions that give sufficient advance warning and issue multiple instructions. For example: In 1km turn left, in 500m turn left, in 200m turn left, in 100m turn left, turn left here.
• very quick to determine that you are xxx8220;off trackxxx8221;. It takes perhaps only about 100m before telling you you are off track, and then will automatically re-calculate a new route
• one of the navigation screens does not use any wireless bandwidth other than to get the initial directions. This is great if you are traveling in a location where data costs are high.
• good directions and accurate location tracking
• You can run other applications in the foreground and Wayfinder will continue to issue voice commands
• with the xxx8220;Close 2 Youxxx8221; you can locate POIxxx8217;s such as a gas station that are close to you, then instruct Wayfinder to plot a route

Cons:

• the display never turns off thus the battery will last only about 5 hours. This is true even if you have another application running in the foreground.
• the maps are very slow to download. Zoom in & out is slow. BBMaps is much faster
• the maps do not have names for every street, no matter how much you zoom in. This is very strange and makes it difficult to select a destination from the mp, which is one of the options it offers. BBMaps has more detail yet is faster.
• On the highway it will say xxx8220;exit herexxx8221; but you have to look at the screen to see if that means left or right
• very little integration with Blackberry. See below for some examples.

As I mentioned, Wayfinder has very little integration with Blackberry. For example:

• you can not copy an address from your address book and paste it in
• the escape key works on some screens but not others. Meaning you have to push the trackwheel, select xxx8220;Okxxx8221; or similar, then click again
• when setting up directions it does not maintain a list of recent addresses the way BBMaps does
• when it searches an address it almost always come back to you to confirm the city. For example, when I type an address in Toronto, it will look it up then ask me if I want xxx8220;Toronto Divisionxxx8221; or xxx8220;Toronto, Toronto Divisionxxx8221;. I have no idea what it means by Division is but either choice will work. This is frustrating because it adds more time and more clicks.
• The POI database is pretty weak. But you can select xxx8220;callxxx8221; to call the POI.

Let me know if you have any feedback or any questions.

Thanks for this it compliments Stinsondog's review to an extent. I have experienced some of the issues you raised but I dont have the backlight issue. My 8700's display indeed does shut off during navigation and I press any button to turn it back on. Just thought I would share that piece of data.

Also you are correct on the integration with BB, it's not very tight at all however to be fair and balanced Wayfinder does compensate by letting you create favorites in other words you can save the address to your favorites, just like when surfing the net, either on the web desk top (which is synched with your handheld) or directly on your handheld for instant recall, a small compromise but one nonetheless.

[JLJ]

I have just loaded wayfinder to use wuth a Parrott phone/gps module. I can get the navigation to work but no voice commands. On your set up do the commands come from the BB speaker or some other device?

[Stinsonddog]

Originally Posted by JLJ

I have just loaded wayfinder to use wuth a Parrott phone/gps module. I can get the navigation to work but no voice commands. On your set up do the commands come from the BB speaker or some other device?

Is the Parrot green and yellow? Seriously please provide more info.

[Crash Test]

After using Wayfinder for about 2 months I want to add a few more points to my review.

First off, many programs have a quirky interface that is annoying at first and then you get used to it. I would say that it has been the opposite with Wayfinder. My frustration level has in fact increased if anything. The reason, I think, is that the interface is inconsistent. For example, the BB escape key works on some screens but not others.

The lack of BB integration is a real pain. In order to enter an address I have to flip back and forth between the address book and Wayfinder. This drives me crazy and can be dangerous if I'm driving. Just adding a copy/paste function would help.

As I wrote before, the display never turns off, which drains the battery. I asked Wayfinder about this and they confirmed that is how it's supposed to work. In order to conserve battery power on a long trip (> 3 hrs) I have to turn Wayfinder on & off as required. Another pain.

Wayfinder charges for upgrades. I bought v6 in February for $99 and they annouce v7 6 weeks later and there is no free upgrade. I don't even think there is an upgrade path because I can't find anything on their horrible web site.

As you can probably tell, I'm not so happy with Wayfinder and I would have reservations about recommending this product.

[fight4yu]

crashtest... too bad you bought it in Feb. They are offering free upgrade if you buy it anytime after Apr 15 or so. I emailed support and they say W7 is not available until late May/June for BB. As far as I read from this forum, W7 seems to offer some good improvement.. i.e. POI, 3D map... I hope they fixed some of the issues you have mentioned befoe though.