Review: Navicore 2007 Personal satellite navigation

Sat nav for Symbian smartphones, but few reasons for existing Navicore owners to upgrade
Navicore has been producing routing software for Symbian smartphones for some time now, and the 2007 edition is evolutionary, rather than a large leap forward.

The full package now comes on a 512MB memory card - over 300Mb is left free for your own apps, or additional maps you may add later. The new GPS receiver is very compact, the size of two flash drives on top of each other. Unfortunately, it only charges via USB, where the older one worked with a Nokia charger.

An additional new web service – which is also compatible with the previous version– now allows easy map and software updates, plus extra voices and PoI (point of interest) files. The software routes quickly, with full UK postcode support. Directions are clear and good at complex turns, for example “Turn left then take the right hand lane”, and work through your car’s hands-free, if you have one.

Additional maps available include the Middle East, South Africa and Australia. Free traffic info and safety camera updates are available via GPRS for many countries.

UK maps include plenty of points of interest; each category can be turned off and on, and have a proximity alert, but setting these options really can’t be done on the move.

The basics can, however, and Speed Dial favourites mean you can navigate to your home, or other popular locations, with just one button push. You can also add location data to the phone’s address book, send an MMS message showing where you are on a map, or a text with your co-ordinates.

Owners of Navicore 2006 probably won’t find upgrading worthwhile; the software looks virtually identical. But if you’re in the market for a sat nav and have a Symbian phone (and don’t mind the screen size limitations that imposes) this is still a winning package, with the full European package in particular available at a very good price.

Also consider:
ALK Copilot Live 6
ALK's Copilot makes the transition to Symbian, but initially only for T-Mobile customers

Route66 Mobile 7
Not as easy to use as standalone sat nav systems, but a good alternative if you want GPS on your mobile.

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