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REVIEWS
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Offering a handheld alternative to bulky car GPS devices, VZ Navigator promises to get you where you're going with a minimum of fuss. Does it deliver? Philip Berne hits the road to find out.
Interface - Good
Available on Verizon Wireless handsets such as the Motorola KRZR K1m, the Samsung SCH-A990 and the LG VX8500 Chocolate, the downloadable VZ Navigator app ($10) is divided into four main functions: Navigation, Local Search, My Places and Maps. We found My Places to be useful, storing plenty of recent searches, a set of saved favorites, as well as home and work addresses. Entering addresses into the Navigation section was a bit counterintuitive, requiring many menu clicks rather than a simple address form. Something as simple as Google Maps' single entry field would have been welcome. Once you have a trip plotted, you get one of three screens: a "Follow Me Map" that tracks your progress for the trip and allows panning and zooming; a next-turn map; or a more textual screen that tells you your next turn, the distance to the turn, and the street you're on. Skipping between these screens requires some fancy finger work, and it was hard to remember which keys would bring you to which screen. We had no trouble taking calls during navigation, and getting back to a trip was easy, even if we turned the phone off and then on again.
Maps - Very Good
Maps on VZ Navigator looked relatively clean, and you can zoom in for a view of about 24 square blocks here in Manhattan. Mapping breaks down into three functions: find location (which looks for a remote address and brings up a map), a "Where Am I?" screen and the "Follow Me Map." The "Where Am I?" screen is basically a "Follow Me Map" without live tracking, which is essentially useless. "Follow Me Map" simply updates your location on a moving, zoom-able map -- not bad, but we would have preferred if it actually followed your progress and showed your trail. GPS on our Motorola RAZR V3m in New York City was accurate to within a block or so, and we got razor-sharp accuracy in the New Jersey suburbs. Updates to the map when we moved past the visible edge were very fast over the EV-DO network, unnoticeable if we weren't paying close attention. The maps allow you to move a cursor to a location and identify its address, which we found to be accurate within about half a block. Unfortunately, moving from this ID mode back to a zoom mode requires backing out of the map and reloading it.
Navigation - Good
Navigation on VZ Navigator worked best while we were driving in the suburbs. The navigator offers spoken directions in two voices, with a clear and human sound. We tested on foot in the city, and though the app touts a "Pedestrian" function in the navigation preferences, this seemed to have no effect on navigation. The program always directed us with the flow of traffic, and continually suggested U-turns when we walked north on a southbound avenue. Destinations were poorly handled; the phone would often tell us we had arrived although we were a block or so from our destination, even when the map confirmed that we hadn't actually arrived yet. When we entered our current location as a destination, the map always suggested a roundabout trip instead of declaring us "arrived." While navigating by car, however, the program had a good sense of how far we were from a turn, and updated quickly whether we made the turn or missed it. Once, driving through Newark, New Jersey, the navigator suggested we make a left at a "No Turns" intersection, but updated quickly when we drove through. The "Follow Me Map" tracked us even through the Holland Tunnel, and updated quickly once we emerged on the Manhattan side. Our entire elongated trip lasted well over two hours, and our fully charged phone still had half its bars in the battery meter when we finished.
Points of Interest - Very Good
The "Local Search" function will find places close to your location, or along your planned route. We tested the feature by looking for banks and ATMs, suggested tourist destinations, places we knew well, and using random keywords. The navigator did an excellent job finding ATM machines in Alphabet City in Manhattan, not an easy feat. It pointed out one we overlooked across the street, as well as others close by, finding large banks and smaller, local credit unions, though not the standalone machines you'll find in New York bodegas. Finding tourist spots was fun; the program knew quite a few local museums, as well as some historic bars in our area, like McSorley's, and local colleges. When we searched for the restaurant Momofuku Ssam, the phone found its sister restaurant, Momofuku, but not the newer Ssam bar. Though it offers a calling option for destinations, it does not look up the number unless you already have it stored in your phone's contact list. Searching for "Parking" in Manhattan produced various results with some form of the word "Park" in the name, but was not successful pointing out the closest available garages, which would have been very useful.
What's positive
Navigation is accurate and updates quickly, especially in the suburbs. Points of interest offers interesting suggestions.
What's negative
Useless pedestrian mode. GPS was a bit off in the city. May suggest illegal turns. Switching modes in maps should be more intuitive.
Conclusion - Good
VZ Navigator is surprisingly good for a cell phone application, though it's not as reliable or user-friendly as some built-in car navigation systems we've seen. Still, the program makes great use of the 3G network and the small screen, and we had few complaints about its ability to get us to our destination. We can chalk up interface difficulties to the small keypad on our phone, but switching between the various viewer modes should be more intuitive. Overall, we think this is a good alternative for users who find $10 a month more affordable than the one-time cost of installing a unit in their cars, but pedestrian mode needs improvements to be useful for urbanites.
Selected VZ Navigator-capable phones
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Motorola MOTOKRZR K1m
Score: 73% When: September 2006 Worth: $200 - $250
Read the full review » If the RAZR was too wide for you, the KRZR K1m may feel just right. It does a good job as a phone, though it has a tough time handle the advanced video content Verizon offers. Features like GPS and speaker-independent voice dialing signal this as a next-generation phone, but inconsistencies in the user interface had us flummoxed. If you are looking for a capable, stylish phone, this could be it. If you want an advanced multimedia player for Web browsing and messaging, you'll want to keep looking, and RAZR owners are well advised to think carefully before ponying up for the new model.
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Samsung SCH-A990
Score: 86% When: July 2006 Worth: $350 - $400
Read the full review » With its 3.2-megapixel camera and swiveling display, the 3G-enabled Samsung SCH-A990 takes some of the sharpest pictures we've seen from a U.S. camera phone. Unfortunately, this somewhat bulky clamshell stumbles with Verizon Wireless' clunky V Cast Music player and its lack of a USB cable and stereo earbuds.
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Samsung SCH-A930
Score: 79% When: June 2006 Worth: $100 - $150
Read the full review » While this jet-black, nearly four-ounce 3G clamshell is a little bulkier than we'd like, it makes up plenty of ground with its rock-solid music capabilities, ability to sync tunes with a PC, vivid display, Bluetooth and built-in GPS. Meanwhile, road warriors will appreciate the phone's speedy data and dial-up networking abilities.
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LG VX8300
Score: 78% When: June 2006 Worth: $100 - $150
Read the full review » The slimmed-down, stereo Bluetooth-enabled VX8300 represents a marked improvement over LG's popular (but bulky) VX8100 mulltimedia phone. Unfortunately, the eye-catching clamshell comes saddled with the V Cast Music player -- which won't work with stereo Bluetooth (for now, at least) -- and lacks bundled earbuds and a memory expansion card.
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LG VX8500
Score: 71% When: July 2006 Worth: $130
Read the full review » With its groovy Flash interface and revamped music player, LG's new VX8500 Chocolate phone makes for one of the most satisfying V Cast music handsets we've seen to date; unfortunately, it's hobbled by its lack of dedicated music controls, earbuds and USB cables, while its touch-sensitive inputs are way too sensitive for our taste.
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Verizon Wireless G'zOne Type-V
Score: 66% When: October 2006 Worth: $300
Read the full review » The Verizon Wireless G'zOne not only has a unique name, it's also tough as nails; we dropped it, shook it and dunked it with little trouble (although it suffered a few scratches in the process). With its plastic, protective bumper, fish-eye external display and exposed screws, the G'zOne will appeal to anyone with a taste for flashy, aviator wristwatches, and its 2-megapixel camera, V Cast Video support and instant messaging abilities don't hurt. However, we were sorely disappointed by the surprising lack of Bluetooth and a music player.
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