Well, after a couple of days running it, I thought I'd offer my opinions so far:

The routing is great. It definitely takes into consideration the size/weight of the truck, as well as if you're using it for Hazmat loads (which I'm currently doing). I started my load in a small town in WV. I initially had it set in car/rv mode. It routed me across some nice country roads which are fine in a car. When I set it to truck mode, the route changed completely, getting me onto the 4-lane highways/interstates to get to my destination.

I then routed my trip, which is going to El Paso, TX. I started with the Hazmat setting turned off. As I figured, it routed me straight through Dallas, TX. After turning on the Hazmat settings, it rerouted me to use the loop around Dallas, which is required.

I haven't had any problems with it, other than it crashing 1 time while I was turning on the Hazmat routing.

CoPilot Truck has a GREAT set of truck POI's (mainly truck stops). In fact, it has truckstops listed that aren't in any of the POI downloads, books, etc that I've ever seen listed, even though the places have been there for 30+ years. However, they don't always show in the correct locations. Many times, especially with the independent t/s's, they appear at the town/city center for their location. One example is the Southfork T/S in Gurdon, AR. It's at exit 63 on I-30. It's at the end of the exit ramp. However, CoPilot has it shown to be in the center of town itself, which is 6 miles away. Another is K & T T/S in Fairmont, WV. It's shown to be on the exit ramp of I-79 at exit 139. In reality, it's 1.5 miles away on WV rte 73. From what I've tried so far, the big-name T/S's seem to be showing at the correct locations.

Another minor issue is the rest area's. Over the past few years, a lot of states have been closing/removing rest area's. But, CoPilot still shows the old locations. Kentucky, in particular, has "combined" rest areas, meaning build one large area in between 2 tiny ones that were removed. CoPilot shows the old (nonexistent) ones, but not the new ones.

All I can really say so far is: So far, so good.

Forgot to mention this strange occurrence that happened to me today:

Back in version 9 (original) there was a couple of extra 2D map modes: Destination and Next Turn. What these 2 did were display your map in a 2D, North Up format where your current location was on one edge of the screen while the destination/next turn was on the other side. The closer you got to it, the more the map zoomed in, very smoothly.

Anyway, they did away with that feature with the POS they called version 11. Or so I thought.

Today, I stopped at a rest area and did a change for my next stop. Added a new stop, deleted the old stop and hit 'Go'. Nothing more. Prior to making any changes I was using the 3D map mode.

Well, when it went back to the driving mode, it was in the original 2D, North Up, Destination mode. I couldn't manually zoom in or out. So, I kept driving just to check. Sure enough, it kept slowly zooming in. It did perfect until I came to a highway interchange. As soon as it dropped into the ClearTurn mode for the interchange, then back to the normal 3D mode I was originally in prior to making the change of stops, it wouldn't go back into that 2D Destination mode.

I played with the settings some more but couldn't find anything to do that again.

Strange one, eh?

Well, now I feel like a horses butt...

I looked at the online manual for CoPilot and sure enough, they DO have the 2D Next Turn and 2D Destination views...

Just go to the menu, Driving Views (1 page to the right), and Voila...

You should be careful insulting the horses, Malaki.

...ken...

LOL

Another day of basically non-issues with CoPilot. I did have to fight it a bit to get it to route me the correct way to my delivery tomorrow, but by adding a couple of waypoints in the proper places, that was resolved.

Also, I'm sure that I've mentioned that I use a front-end software called Centrafuse on my laptop/touchscreen. I control everything through my 7" screen while driving. Centrafuse can play mp3's, cd's, etc right "out of the box". I also have an XM tuner hooked to the computer, which is controlled through Centrafuse. So, all of my audio plays from the laptop to the truck stereo. Anyway, CoPilot will "embed" in it perfectly, meaning that while I'm running CoPilot, I can also see my audio-playing info, as well as a nice, large time & audio controls (pause, prev, next, etc). A screenshot is attached below.

Attached Images

Copilot and Centrafuse.jpg (44.6 KB)

I sure would like to see the inside of your cab. I bet it looks more like a studio than a tractor cab.

lol - pretty much.

In the front, I have my 7" screen mounted on my dash. Underneath that is my EVO phone. Also on the dash is a 4-way power box for connecting my phones, XM & monitor power. At the far right of my dash is a 7-port usb hub, which has my external sound card, touchscreen & xm receiver. I also have a wireless keyboard with touchpad on a shelf above my head for when I need a keyboard up front.

In the sleeper, I have my laptop sitting on a built in cabinet at the foot of the bed. The 400 watt power inverter is directly behind it, as well as my 320gig media drive (for movies, tv shows, documentaries and mp3's).

On the top bunk (no mattress) is my multi-function Lexmark printer/fax/scanner, a small APC battery backup (to make it through starting) and another 7 port usb hub. The rear hub has the front hub, wireless keyboard adapter, gps receiver, 16gig thumbdrive, printer, and 1 more thing I can't for the life of me remember.

The best part is that all of this will actually run on a 150 watt inverter easily. My power inverter will show the wattage in use, and at the computer's highest setting, playing a movie plus having a gps nav program running, it maxes out at 105 watts of power.

Took a quick photo of the dash (sitting in the back). Underneath of the gps screen, you can see the EVO holder (has a coiled wire going to it). I used the phone to take the shot. Immediately below the screen is a small box with buttons on it. That's the interface for my Qualcomm (satelite box) to keep in touch with my company. Beside that is my current XM receiver, an old Roady 2.

I took pics of the back as well, but the camera is set to max resolution, which made jpgs that were 2.5meg each - lol. I'll redo those.

Attached Images

IMAG0014.jpg (35.9 KB)

Man, with all that junk in the top bunk you better build yourself another headache rack in front of the sleeper!!

hahahah - actually, it's all below a "wall" that's about 4" tall.

One item that I am disappointed with is the road selection. In version 10 you could put a "+" on a road that you wanted to take and "-" on the roads that you did not want to take and it would save that route. You can "AVIOD" a road but the only way to take a road you want you have to use the "SET AS WAY POINT". For instance, Driving South from Colville, WA on hwy 395, to Seattle, WA, I-90. Copilot wants to route you through downtown Spokane, WA instead of keeping you on hwy-395 which takes straight to I-90. So every time I head South on 395 to I-90, I have to AVOID the streets in downtown Spokane because the avoided streets are not savable. I notice Malaki found the same type of problem.

Just thought I'd give an update with my results so far:

I just finished a cross-country trip using CoPilot 8 Truck. I've used it solely in Truck mode, with a large portion of the trip in HazMat mode. I started my trip in Mannington, WV. From there I went to Fairmont, WV for fuel. After fueling I then went to Friendly, WV to pick up a trailer, then to Parkersburg, WV for my load. The load delivered in El Paso, TX. Once empty I picked up another load that delivered in Fontana, CA, for a total of 2,660 miles, which I did in 6.25 days total.

Other than the 1 crash of the software (which I mentioned in an above post), the program has worked damn near perfectly. A few states need the rest areas updated in, but that's nothing more than getting the correct data for each state. Also, as mentioned in a previous post, some of the truck stops appear in the wrong location, but these have always been small, mom & pop operations. Not all of them are incorrect, but many are. Big name truckstops, such as Pilot, T/A, etc have always shown the correct location.

Something weird was going on today in California, on I-10, today, though. The rest areas along the interstate didn't come up in the POI Alerts, but if you did a search for them, they showed in the correct locations. The same was for most truck stops along the route. You just had to search for them.

I really like the multi-stop trip planner. It makes my life so much easier now. Even though Garmin MobilePC does multi-stops, it shows the ETA and distance to the final destination, where CoPilot shows the info to your next stop. In the trip planner, you can see the total time/distance for entire trip (all stops) by showing the route.

One thing I'd like to see added would be the ability to search for a POI near your next stop or near your destination, instead of the current options of "Nearby, Along route and Another City". Another option I'd like to see would be the ability to set your own default categories that are used when adding a destination (when you hit 'Destination, Point of Interest') The only one I use from the default list is Truck Services, but would like to have my own selection of Loads, Terminals and Rest Areas. The same goes for the 'Quick Stop'.

One bad thing is when you select a POI that is displayed while in the 3D mode. If you select to go to it, it wipes out your entire planned trip and sets that as your only destination. It should, instead, add it as your next stop in your planned trip.

With Mobile PC, you can have categories on both waypoints (Favorites) and custom POIs. You can have multiple categories on waypoints. I think you can only have a single category on custom POIs.

I think this is common to all of the nav programs, isn't it? Mobile PC doesn't wipe out your route. It just changes the active route to be the one to the new destination. You can reactivate the route for the planned trip at any point you want. The issue is that (at least in Mobile PC) you can have multiple routes saved but you can only have one route active at a time.

Is that not the case with CoPilot? E.g. does it really trash the planned trip totally? Or does it simply deactivate it and make the new route to the new destination active, allowing you to reactivate the overall trip route again later?

...ken...

You can save a trip, but if you don't save it to begin with, it gets wiped out by adding destination by clicking one enroute (from the map view). I never save a trip - I just add/remove stops as my week progresses.

malaki I have tried to repeat the POI change and I can not repeat the problem you are talking about. But,,,,,if I plan a trip and then do an ADD STOP -> RETURN,,I lose my entire planned route..... Also If I do a search of POI's using ON MY ROUTE,,,it all comes up blank.

The problem is when you're in the 3D driving mode and have POI displays turned on. If you see a POI you want to go to, when you select to go to it (from the driving screen), your trip gets replaced with the single stop to the poi you chose.

OK I mis-understood you. You're talking about clicking on a POI on the map while in the 3D mode. I will have to try that.

Have you tried doing a RETURN trip?

Yep I see what you mean. It happens on 3D and 2D.

This is an excellent thread. I am playing with lots of scenarios that you guys are describing and am drafting a document to use to help improve the program for ALK. Also I will be seeing them this weekend at the CES show. Thanks!

DieselBoss, If you meet Dan Titus please shake his hand for me. This guy has done me right. Thank you, -Steve

I know Dan very well. We have been working with him for many years through many versions of ALK programs. I will see him on Thursday and Friday. Basically the feedback across the board on this release has been much better than on the version 11 release, but he always passes our suggestions and "bug-finds" to engineering so I appreciate the locigal approach that you and Malaki and other take here. Thank you.

Sitting in Butte, Montana now. Still no major issues with CoPilot 8 Truck.

But, it did do something weird today:

I had a truckstop set as my next stop, with another truckstop listed after (for the end of the day). I knew the 1st truckstop was immediately off the highway and wanted to keep an eye on my ETA/miles for the final truckstop of the day. So, I went to the trip planner and set the 1st truckstop as a waypoint. No problem there.

But, when I was about 10-15 miles away CoPilot decided that I was close enough to my waypoint to not need it in my trip planner any longer. It completely skipped/deleted it from my trip. It was easy enough to add back in by doing an Add Stop, My Places, Recent, then move it to the top of the list again.

Another small change I'd like to see: the ability to adjust the day/night screen change time. It changes from night to day mode about 30-45 minutes early and from day to night mode about 30-45 minutes late. The screen is blinding for that amount of time when it's still dark outside.

malaki if you change the time on your laptop would that take care of the day/night issue.

DieselBoss, For Christmas I got a Garmin Nuvi 1450. I have been running it side by side with the Copilot. The only part of the Garmin that I like is the street announcement. Example, Copilot will say "Turn Left", Garmin will say "Turn Left on to Market Street". I have to admit that is pretty nice. You don't have to look at the screen for the name then look up for the street.

So when you are with ALK would you ask them if that could be part of the next upgrade. Thank you.

I think it's the voice you have selected. One of them will speak the street names.

I have tried the female on the Laptop version and the male on the Truck Laptop. I suppose I went backwards???

You need to select one of the voices with the asterisk for it to do TTS (text to speech.) Personally I like the female UK voice the best for TTS.

It's because you clicked "set as waypoint" on the first truckstop. If you do that the CoPilot believes that you are setting a position in order to alter your actual intended route to go "past" that position, an NOT actually to that precise position. When you get close to a "waypoint" it will consider that it has done what you wanted by taking that road and remove the waypoint from the trip. If you do not click "set as waypoint" during your trip plan, it will leave that stop in the trip and try to guide you to it as a stop instead.

By golly I have Lisa, John and Frank*. I had no idea they were hiding in there. So I checked Frank* and now I have the Text to Speech.

Thank you.

I'll be crossing into Alberta, Canada today before noon. Once I do that, I'll be offline until I come back into the USA unless I can find a truckstop up there with free Wi-Fi. Once I get back online I'll continue my review.

Sitting in Winnipeg, Manitoba now after leaving Calgary, Alberta yesterday. Heading for Tennessee.

Found an issue with CoPilot in Canada - it doesn't show the POI alerts for rest areas in Canada, at least for the route I've driven so far: Coutts, Alberta to Calgary. Then Calgary to Winnipeg. I went past a lot of rest areas and CoPilot didn't alert me to a single one. I didn't try searching for any. So, not sure if it's the POI database or just an issue with finding them enroute.

Suggestion:
Add a "Where Am I" feature. What I'm thinking is that when you do this, it will show, at the very least, the closest City & State/Province you're located in. It could also show the street address and GPS coordinates (including elevation). An easy way to use this would be something like Garmin does: click the vehicle icon in the driving view.

Mobile PC's "Where Am I" feature shows the location coordinates, the nearest civic address and the nearest emergency services. E.g. Hospitals, Police Stations, Fuel Stations.

...ken...

The bottom "blue info bar" can be chosen to show "nearest town" but there is no actual "where am I" summary style screen yet.

DieselBoss, how did it go at the CES show and what did ALK think of your list. If they would come back with the WHERE AM I and the ability to select your route like in version 10 I would have nothing to complain about.

CES was an absolute ZOO this year. SO many people and booths. Much more than last year. So that is a good sign that the tech side of the economy is looking healthy and optimistic for 2011. As far as navigation-related, we visited with ALK/Noetic on the PC Miler side of the house but they did not have any personnel for the laptop (CoPilot) product line there. We also visited Garmin and Cobra and then had a meeting with Rand McNally. So we covered all of the nav products that we wanted to see. It was a productive week.

As far as the "where am I" - I am assuming that you are referring to the addition of a separate screen that gives summary information on your current location? i.e. Street address, lat/long, town, state, zip? If so, then that is included in our summary review document to ALK which details what we like, what we would change, and what we would like to see added in the future.

You hit it dead-on with the "where am i" feature request.

Also don't forget to add the route choise to your list. The only way now is the detour function but it picks your route and not always the route you want to take. So then you have to make waypoints.

I know I have brought this up before but version 10 made it pretty easy. If you are not sure what I am talking about and you have a few minutes I would be more then happy to give you a call DieselBoss and try to explain on the phone.

Ya, I don't know what you mean by route choice. Are you still talking about inside of the "Where am I screen?"

In version 10, Copilot would route you thru Seattle from Bellingham to Portland on I-5. You want to take I-405 so you can detour around Seattle on I-405. But instead of just going around Seattle on I-405, Copilot would take you from I-405 through Maple Vally, Auburn, and other towns to get back on to I-5 somewhere around Tacoma instead of routing you to Tukwila, I-405 / I-5 junction.

So you could put a - on the Black Diamond exit and put a + at the Tukwila exit and you would be routed through Southcenter onto I-5.

With Version 8 you can only avoid an exit (road) and Copilot will change your direction but it will guide you to the next exit that will take you through Maple Valley and so on and so on. Now you have to put in waypoints to get you past the Black Diamond exit's over to Tukwila to be put back on I-5.

I am hoping you know these routes or this doesn't make a sense.

If this doesn't help let me know and I will give you a call. Thanks

malaki, do you use the Active Traffic? If so do you have to be on-line for it to work? I know that on my Nuvi all I do is plugged it into my Cig-lighter to get traffic information.

Yes, you have to be online with your aircard or wifi or tethered to your cell phone (whatever your method is.) It is an excellent feature though. Same with the fuel prices. There is a 14-day free trial to check it out and then after that I think it's like $9.95 per month to keep it.

DieselBoss, I replied with your location. Did you get it?

Yes. Just replied to it via CP.

I haven't used the Live Traffic with the laptop version yet. I did run the 14 day trial with the Android version and loved it.

malaki I hope that wasn't you I seen on the news being pulled out of a ditch in Atlanta.

Quote:

In version 10, Copilot would route you thru Seattle from Bellingham to Portland on I-5. You want to take I-405 so you can detour around Seattle on I-405. But instead of just going around Seattle on I-405, Copilot would take you from I-405 through Maple Valley, Auburn, and other towns to get back on to I-5 somewhere around Tacoma instead of routing you to Tukwila, I-405 / I-5 junction.

Yes. I know what you are saying. On version 9 you could choose road segments to either "Avoid" or "Favor." The choice that you made would be saved into the configuration file of the program indefinitely until you chose to either "clear all avoids" or "clear all favors" or go back to that single road segment and clear just that particular one. This was one of my favorite features of version 9 that has gone away ever since. And it is on our wish-list, don't worry.

Just to restate the current functionality of Ver 8 though:
*Disclaimer: I only refer to the Truck versions of the ALK programs because that is our primary audience. RV users often fall into the same category with us when they own a very large rig because they have the same routing issues as big trucks.

1. The "Custom Routing Type" settings screen for the "Profile" that you have created GREATLY modifies the default roads to be taken. Playing with the "Favors and Avoids" for those various road types is highly recommended so that the user creates the best possible profile for their driving preferences.
2. I find that multi-stop trips and adding waypoints to alter a trip segment to be very easy in this brand because of the separate "Plan and Edit Trip" screen allows for easy manipulation of the stops and the route by clicking a road on the map. The only thing that would be easier is if they built in the ability to "drag" the route onto different roads (see Google Maps for an example) and I have that on my request list as well.
3. I took your example and did a video screen capture of that route and added the Tukwila junction as my desired junction point back onto I-5 to demonstrate point number 2. See video attached to this post. Sorry, it is 9.3 megs and the forum won't let me upload it as a video so it's zipped.

Attached Files

cpt8_modify_route.zip (9.31 MB)

Job well done Diesel. Some of your screen shots look different then mine.

Are you running the truck version?


Also, here is a demo of the traffic feature. The scenario is again through Seattle. The original route is planned and when you click "Go" it looks ahead on the route, sees a traffic problem, and offers an alternate. It allows you to review the alternate along with the changes in time and mileage and then lets you decide. I chose the alternate in this example and saved an estimated 13 minutes based on the current traffic conditions at that moment. See attachment...

Attached Files

cpt8_traffic_demo.zip (4.86 MB)

Yes DieselBoss, that is what I was trying to say, Favor and Avoid, and yes I am running the Truck Version.

Also DieselBoss since you are putting a list together, Copilot used to show a snapshot of the speed limit of the road you are traveling on the screen. I would see this when they first came out with CoPilot Version 8 Truck Laptop. Here is the reply I received back from them when I pointed it out to them.

If Garmin can do it on their Nuvi why can't Copilot. Nice feature to have. So if you do not mind would you please add it to your list. Thank you,

Today I found my first real gripe with CoPilot 8:

I had to go into Aston, PA to unload, then to Clark, NJ. Both locations require very specific routing to get into legally with a truck. So, I set to add waypoints that would get me where I need to go safely and legally.

The problem is that when you choose to add a stop by picking the location on the map, your route disappears completely. You can't see your stop(s), the route that CoPilot is suggesting or even your current location. It makes it just about impossible to do in an area like Clark, which is in the heart of the NJ metro area.

What I'd love to see would be is to have CoPilot leave your routing & stops displayed on the map while you're adding the waypoints. It doesn't have to calculate the route immediately after adding a point, but display it. Besides, when you add a stop, it puts it at the end of the route list.

Also - and this is a biggie for me because of the touchscreen: Make the scrollbars bigger!!! It has a "throw scrolling" feature in it, but the program is too sensitive. As soon as you touch a list to start to scroll, it selects whatever happened to be there.

If you are in the "plan or edit trip mode" just enter your starting and ending points and then click "Show Route." It will calculate the route showing the green line and will show your flags for the beginning and end. Then to alter the route by clicking a spot on the map, DON'T use the "Add Stop" and "Pick on Map" method. The easiest way to do what you want is just to zoom in on the map with the route already displayed and pick a spot on the road where you want to alter the route. A popup window will come up and you tap "Go." This will add that spot to your current trip. Then use the list of stops on the left to put that spot you just picked into the correct order (or use “Options / Optimize” and it will order them for you) and set that one as a "Waypoint" at that same time if you want also. Don’t worry – that one had me going nuts at first also, but it’s easy once you try what I just said.

Hmmm - gotta try that. Thanks for the tip.

Edit: Just tried it - VERY good tip. Thank you.

Now - fix my scrolling issue - LOL

Ya know, the scrolling issue is too sensative on their winshield-mounted units (which pretty much use the same software) too. I didn't think about it with the laptop version because I don't have a touchscreen laptop. However, I'll mention it along with the same issue on their other (non-laptop) units.

Would it have been easier for you if they would have left the FAVOR and AVOID for your routing?

Clark, NJ

I lived there for 20 years and still work in the area.

I don't think the Favor/Avoid would really have helped with the routing for my last 2 locations because of the number of roads and such. Those are ones that you pretty much have to choose a location at every intersection you will be making a turn at.

It's not the end-all fix for every situation but I'd definatley like to see at least the "option" to use it.

Another suggestion: Include a "side of street" for the destinations. Garmin Mobile PC has this and I loved it - definitely missing it now.

Basically, what it did was to tell you which side of the street the address you're going to is on as you approach it.

Yes. I believe the spoken guidance in Mobile PC (and most Garmin devices with voice guidance) is "Arriving at destination on [left/right]."

Does CoPilot normally try to route you so that you will arrive on the correct side of the street to park?

...ken...

No. I know what you guys are saying. I have tested other nav systems that will say "Approaching desitination on the left side" and "you have arrived at your destination on the left side." CoPilot only says that you have arrived, but does not give side of the street guidance.

Garmin's Mobile PC and most Garmin personal nav devices will also typically route you so that you will arrive on the correct side of the street for parking. The first couple of times I encountered that I wondered why the heck it was taking me around the block. Then I realized it was simply making sure I could park properly on the street if necessary. So, in North America I rarely hear that I will be "Arriving at destination on left" unless it's a one-way street. .... I was actually quite impressed to discover that it would even get it right on one-way streets.

...ken...

Ok - I thought it was about time I posted my final review of ALK's CoPilot 8 Truck - Laptop. Even though I run the truck version, the standard and truck are virtually identical, other than having truck specific POI's, Routing and Mileage logs. Anything I reference in this review that is truck specific, I'll mention it.

I installed CoPilot on my laptop on December 23rd and actually started using it on December 26th. Since that time, I've logged 10,551 miles with it. Also, in that time, there have been 2 map updates available for the software. I've traveled a huge portion of the United Stats and into Canada with it.

Before I start the review, I'll give a few specs on the computer system I'm using: I have an HP DV7-1245DX with an AMD Turion X2 64bit CPU and 4gig of ram. The laptop originally came with Vista 64bit, but just before I installed CoPilot, I upgraded to Windows 7 64bit. I also have a 7" Lilliput VGA touchscreen monitor and a BU-353 usb GPS receiver. I split my GPS signal to multiple COMM ports via Franson GPSGate.

Prior to installing CoPilot 8, I was running Garmin Mobile PC. That was a good product, but Garmin stopped supporting it. I also use Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009 for my overall trip planning. You can beat Streets for the time scheduling available on it.

CoPilot 8 Truck is my 4th ALK product I've owned. The first was CoPilot 9 Truck Laptop. This was an outstanding product, but wouldn't run on a 64bit Windows setup. CoPilot 11 Truck Laptop followed. I don't have much good to say about this software (if you know me, you already knew that). When CoPilot 8 initially was released, I purchased it for my HTC EVO Android phone. This was the standard (not Truck) version. Lastly is CoPilot 8 Truck Laptop. The Android/Laptop versions look and run virtually identically, with one exception being that with the Android version, it has the ability to call the phone number shown for the built-in POI's.

ALK has come a long way (finally) in creating a very solid piece of software. It's not only feature-packed, but is also pretty much rock solid. Even though I've experienced 1 crash, others have had it crash as well. It's already been reported to ALK and (I guess) they're already working on a patch for the problem. I would say the current offering is on par, if it does exceed, CoPilot 9.

There are a number of features in CoPilot that truly make the product shine. One of the biggest, for me, anyway, is the ability to easily create a multi-stop route. Being a truck driver, I have to plan as far in advance as possible. CoPilot makes it easy - simply add stops as you're dispatched. For example, I'm currently enroute to Clarksville, TN from Laredo, TX. After that, I go to Nashville, TN to pick up a load going to Montgomery, AL. My stops in CoPilot not only have my start/stop points, but also the truckstops I need to go to for fuel, as well as truckstops where I'll take my mandated sleeper berth time. As soon as you finish one stop, CoPilot automatically (well, 95% of the time) deletes your current stop, moving the rest up the list. So, you'll always know how far and how much time it is to your next stop. You can also see the estimated travel time and mileage for your entire trip by doing a 'Show Route' from the Plan/Edit Trip menu.

Another great feature is the ability to import your own Points of Interest (POI's) into CoPilot. These can be imported to a built-in category or into a completely new category. I use custom categories for my terminal locations, pickup/delivery locations and Pilot/Flying J truckstops where my company fuels at. One thing about this, though: CoPilot will only import files in the .ov2 file format, which is Tom Tom. It's easy to find places on the web that can convert file formats for you, though. Also, when importing new poi's, it can only import one file at a time, meaning you have to import a file, exit CoPilot, then restart CoPilot for each file.

CoPilot is also designed very nicely to use from a touchscreen. Anything you would need to do with the software can be done with a touchscreen. There's no need to use a keyboard/mouse whatsoever. However, they really need to add scroll buttons to any lists in the software. It has 'throw' scrolling (smartphones use this), but it's too sensitive. Simply adding a button for up/down would take care of this issue. The on-screen keyboard remains hidden until you tell the program otherwise with the touch of a button.

The automatic Day/Night map views are nice as well. It changes the mode based on the sunrise/sunset for your current location, not the computer's clock. I've traveled from Eastern to Pacific time and it changed correctly based on where I was each time. However, it does need some tweaking: it seems to change from Day to Night approx 30 mins after the sun sets and 30 mins before the sun rises. On a dark night/morning, it gets pretty bright in Day mode.

The map data appears to be pretty up to date. So far, I haven't had a single address that the software couldn't locate. I have heard from others that there are some housing developments that aren't shown even though they're 10-15 years old.

The software also appears to pretty much run at any resolution you can throw at it, which is really nice. I normally run my touchscreen at 800x600 and my laptop is at 1440x900. It works great in both. I also 'embed' the software into Centrafuse (a front-end software), so the resolution is dropped to approximately 748x550. Still no problem with the display.

One issue they finally fixed is the Live Tracking. In previous versions, it was pot-luck as to who was tracking who. I logged onto my own tracking account on many occasions and their website would show me on the opposite sides of the country.

Other Live features I like are the Live Weather (free) and the Active Traffic (subscription $9.99 per year).

Truck: The truck routing, so far, hasn't caused me any issues. It takes into consideration the height, width, length and HazMat class you set into the software. I've changed settings on it to car/rv mode just to test and the routing definitely changes from the truck setting. I will never rely 100% on the truck routing (I always double-check), but so far, so good. The state mileage logs are a nice feature, even though I don't need them personally. Owner-operators who need to track state mileages should welcome this feature. The truck-specific POI's are VERY extensive and include Weigh Stations, Truckstops, Truck Repair Shops and Highway Exits. It has truckstops listed (and that exist) that I've never seen in any data collection, including the printed guides, before. BUT, not all of the POI's are shown in the correct location. I've had MANY truckstops listed in the software that show that they're at the city center, or in the center of the interstate, instead of their actual location. The big-name truckstops I've experienced so far all show the correct location - it's just the Mom & Pop ones that are shown incorrectly. So, do like I do and compare it to a printed guide for the correct location when possible.

My overall thoughts on CoPilot 8 Truck give the product a definite thumbs-up. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a solid, feature-rich and user friendly piece of software for GPS navigation on a laptop. I would definitely recommend it to truckers. Even though there are some minor issues with the program, none of them are much more than an annoyance. With some tweaking on ALK's part, it would be as close to perfect as I think would be possible.

I'm going to start a new thread for suggestions for CoPilot. Maybe we can get ALK's attention and get a few (if not all) implemented in future releases. I'll post the link to the suggestions thread once I post it.

I'll give this software 4.5 stars out of 5 (Marvin - we need a star Smiley)

Links for the North America Laptop versions:

CoPilot Live v8 Laptop (Standard)
CoPilot Live v8 Laptop (Truck)
Map upgrades (unsure if they are Standard or Truck - I assume Standard until told otherwise)
Full map details
Live Serivces (Active Traffic)

Note: Just to make sure everyone is clear, I'm a true end-user of this software. I not only purchased the 2 previous versions of CoPilot Truck, but also purchased both version of CoPilot v8 (Android standard and Laptop truck). I'm not affiliated in any way, shape or form with ALK. In fact, I offered on multiple occasions to be a beta tester with them, which they didn't even reply to me about.

Edit: Suggestions thread

Regulars in this forum have read (too) many of your negative comments of the previous version, so it would never even cross our mind to suspect you being in any way affiliated with ALK. But it was a good idea that you mentioned it, because this CoPilot Live 8 review has indeed been very positive. ALK, congrats on a job well done, and Malaki86, thanks for your review.

Earlier today, I exchanged a few private messages with Malaki86, and I asked him about the source of map data. While European versions of CoPilot use map data licensed by TeleAtlas, the North American version historically always used (much) inferior data which was not purchased from a leading map data provider, but rather an in-house creation by ALK.

When ever I test a new product, if the map data is inferior to other products, or if I find it difficult to search addresses, I very quickly stop being interested in spending more time on discovering other features and functionality.

Malaki's reply surprised me:

Wow, if this s really the case, in my humble opinion this is the best improvement to CoPilot Live in years.

Malaki, where is this info from? Does it say "Navteq" in credits, in the Help file, or elsewhere? Could you provide a screenshot?

It's in the Settings-About CoPilot. Screenshot follows. Of course, I can't take a screenshot of the Android version, but it's the same copyright info on it as well.

Attached Images

CoPilot-Navteq.jpg (52.1 KB)

Nice! Still, I wonder what exactly comes from Navteq. It would be very interesting to find out if all map data is by Navteq, or only some of it, for example just the truck-specific data (hight & weight restrictions, etc). If all data is Navteq's, that would be superb!

Anyone reading this own a non-Truck version of CoPilot Live 8? Do you also see Navteq mentioned in Settings > About CoPilot?

Like I mentioned before, the Android version I have is the standard, non-truck version. I'm only assuming that the standard, non-truck laptop version is Navteq as well. I have no idea on the other map data (EU, Africa, Asia & South America).

Sorry, I thought both of your applications were the truck version. Hmm, if even the non-truck version contains Navteq data, it is possible all road data is from Navteq, and ALK no longer uses own data. Unless the non-truck version uses a smaller set of the truck-specific maps by Navteq just for the RV routing.

It would be nice to hear from ALK, or perhaps DieselBoss may have some insight, if CoPilot Live 8 North America still uses some of ALK's own street data or not anymore.

I do not know if this will help for the WHERE AM I feature but if you go to MENU -> SEND LOCATION -> CURRENT LOCATION -> type in any email address -> PREVIEW MESSAGE, this will give you your location and that is about it. But until ALK gives us back the WHERE AM I function this might help.

Disclaimer: ALK is not specific about the "exact where and when" different data is used throughout their product line.

However, they have (and still use) NavTeq, TeleAtlas, InfoUSA (for POI's), and their own internal maps. I have noticed that the newer products (including the "live 8" stuff) do have copyright notices for NavTeq and InfoUSA in them specifically.

Thanks, DieselBoss, so ALK still does use its own data.

The definitely still use their own "attribute" data. And they have been doing quarterly map updates for free so I suspect strongly that they are using a hybrid of a NavTeq base, supplemented with their own (because there is no company that is going to pay NavTeq every 90 days for new maps.)

Well, Garmin, for one, does.

But for the record, if you subscribe to a map supplier company like Navteq or DTI for periodic updates -- monthly, quarterly, annual -- you do not pay for a complete new set of maps each time. You buy the map base once. After that you just pay for the updated data. Then you simply merge the changes with your existing map database. With the right tools it's all automated and pretty straightforward.

So it's reasonable to assume that ALK may be doing the same thing as Garmin for their quarterly updates.

...ken...

Garmin includes their map update fee in the initial unit price on some models, and charges for them seperately as an option on others. And "Lifetime maps" is only for the supported life of that particular model, not for how long it "lives" in your vehicle. In the 3 that I have owned with this feature, that has been 2 - 4 years.

Point taken on the "base" verses "updates" price differences at NavTeq. I have been getting the quarterly updates by them on another product for beta testing, but the manufacturer is still going to charge some kind of annual fee to the "production" customer base to recoup the NavTeq costs.

Of course. In fact they will charge enough to profit by it. For those of us who like to keep our maps and POIs up to date it's generally considered to be worth it. Many will decide otherwise. Having the choice is the best thing.

...ken...

Agreed! Business logic.

Does your program show exit numbers and farm to market roads when your trying to do your route? We have a lot of ramp overs to do and need exit numbers. And doesn't your program deviate a bunch? Our driver said it showed him floating in fields and many many wrong roads. We just ran Kingsport, TN to Burly, UT via back roads because we are oversize and had a lot of problems it trying to change our route.

Getting CoPilot to follow an exact route can be tricky. It sometimes decides that you're "close enough" to either a waypoint or an actual stop, and goes on to the next point. The waypoints are the worst about this. But, if you have an exact exit you have to ramp-over, just put those exits as stops and you should be fine.

The only time I've had the software show me in the fields was when I've been on brand new highways. Other than that, it shows me locked in to where I am on the road.

Your driver may have a gps puck that's not getting a good lock, meaning it's "shadowing" his position in a different location. I have a BU-353 receiver. It's mounted outside of the truck, on top of the windshield visor mount. This gives a perfect view of the sky. And, yes, the BU-353 is completely weatherproof. It's been outside of the truck for 3+ years now.

What Malaki said.

Also, what version is your driver running? If it is not version 8 then there is a higher likelihood of "running off in a field" syndrome due to older maps too.

He stated on another post that he was running v8 Truck. However, he also said that it didn't have the exits listed, which the truck version definitely has.

Also, Jessie, keep in mind that version "8" is the current version (as of today, 2011). If you have version 9, 10, or 11, that's all old versions, as strange as it may sound. ALK realigned the version numbering of their PC product with the rest of its products. The PC version was a few version numbers ahead, already at v11, while the PPC, PND, etc, versions were still at v7. Now they all are v8. :-)

I'd be interested to see what CoPilot 8 truck would do if I put in oversize dimensions for the truck setup, just to know if it would route you around underheight bridges and around weight restrictions and such.