As the navigator can now be used even cell phone, not to mention smart phones, communicators, or specialized devices. Availability of GPS-receiver becomes the norm, even for mid-range devices.

Typically phones with GPS-receivers are completed navigation systems. Some get free applications (eg, Google Maps or Yandex-map “), other pre-installing the solution is more serious. For example, Nokia provides with their smartphones and communicators package Ovi Maps, but Samsung has chosen for its flagship model S8000 Jet navigation system Navifon.

Ovi Maps and Navifon use the same card, the creator of which – a U.S. company Navteq – since 2008, is owned by Nokia.

We tested two navigation systems. Although they use the same card, but display them differently, and ease of use “built-in navigators” were quite different.

Maps
Navteq – one of the “cartographic leaders in the U.S., in addition, his position is very strong in Europe. But here the achievement Navteq in Russia are modest: it maps solutions yield of Russian companies in terms of detail, scope and speed of updating.Suffice it to say that the size of Navteq maps for the whole of Russia is little more than 80 MB and the size of maps for the whole of Europe – 1,6 Gb. Compare the area of Russia and Europe and make conclusions.

In addition, global companies have traditionally not very attentive to the local region, including Russia, especially in small towns of our country. We give some very very egregious examples:

In practice, there are no significant differences in the geography of the coating and the cards Navifon on Ovi Maps. But there are differences that determine the quality of programs, working with maps.

Unbelievable but true: despite the fact that both products are used maps of the same provider, for display in Navifon they were poorer!Maps Navifon not include some of the data, including the very important (for example, there is no building footprints, reservoirs, forests and so on). This “optimization” with a decrease in saturation cards, apparently, was done because the developer failed to optimize your Java-program that, without reference to maps of buildings, rivers, lakes and forests is slow, and if you add in the displayed map these elements, the work with the navigation system will become problematic – the map is likely to almost cease to move.

Navifon needs access to the Internet for any action, including a simple address search and routing, and it is inconvenient.

Ovi Maps maps are stored in memory devices, and access to the web it is necessary to download the new territories, expanded address search and online search for POI (although the main base is also located locally). Needless to say, from Navifon receives information about POI? ..

The conclusion is clear: both navigation systems are poorly comply with the requirements of Russian users, primarily because of poor quality cards (cards for testing in Moscow came across a few places to which the order of movement is at least a year differs from the data on maps Navteq) . Ovi Maps suitable for travel around the country a little better than Navifon, but accessible and far more powerful solutions.

Interface
The interface is implemented in qualitative Ovi Maps. This also applies to the menu, and look the displayed map. In Navifon management less intuitive, and scrolling lists can not be called comfortable.

In order not to be unfounded, we give an example: to find the address in the Ovi Maps need to do one click (plus have the opportunity to quickly return to search results) and in Navifon – three.

Write a track can not both navigation systems. It’s strange, because this feature is implemented in almost all other navigation systems.

In Ovi Maps can not get directions from point A to point B, while being at the point “C”. In Navifon such option is there, but now realized it is inconvenient – an algorithm for adding the finishing or intermediate points is extremely complicated. We could understand it minutes for 15 minutes … And after the process has become clear to us, but did not immediately – to lay such a route will still spend a few minutes of “communication” with the interface.

The speed of the
Before we talk about the “system requirements”, we recall that a phone Samsung S8000 Jet. This device is based on a 800-megahertz processor, which provides superior performance when working with 3D-graphics and video playback. But the system Navifon on this mobile phone markedly inhibits! Clicking on the menu handles so late, that creates problems, even when working with menus. By the way, developers Navifon of “brake” know and offer in case of their occurrence forcibly disable the “Big Map”. Here is a quote from the description of the program: “A large map in the background … can slow down most applications …”. No comment.

But that’s not all! During testing, we noted a very long time searching satellites (as in “cold” and a “warm” mode). In this application Google Maps, which is also found in Samsung S8000 Jet, satellites on the same device is literally “on the one-two! Expect to fix this “features» Navifon in the shortest possible time can not be: to upgrade the program is theoretically possible only by means of flashing the phone, and Samsung officially allowed to update by phone only in its own service center.

As for the Nokia Communicator and applications Ovi Maps, then comment on here is nothing special: working navigation system at the level of other programs for OS Symbian, that is, compared to Navifon quite quickly, although the traditional navigators falls short on speed work.

Ovi Maps work quicker and smarter Navifon, moreover, shows the building footprints.

Routing
In Navifon there are four routing modes: “on the main road,” “Short”, “Off the road” and “From traffic jams.” Ovi Maps offers a choice of two: “Walk” and “Driving”. Since the routing algorithm in all modes there are problems with both systems. Here’s a typical situation: both products in the “road” mode, can easily lead you “against the grain” on a one-sided street, and all because it was not marked on the map as one-sided. True, the blame is not system designers, and cartographers from Navteq. But we will not be repeated – the “quality” used in the Ovi Maps and Navifon cards we have already described above.

Cost
By purchasing the device with pre-navigation systems, the latest subscriber gets free. If you are using, of course, have to pay for traffic. But there are also features.

From January 22 to. Mr. Ovi Maps is free for buyers all Symbian-Nokia devices with the latest firmware (but can still be found selling the device with the old firmware, use Ovi Maps which is possible only for a monthly subscription fee). Navifon requires “abonentki” always (the cost of using an application – 300 rubles per month).

Results and conclusions
Both navigation systems are far from ideal. Perhaps, Ovi Maps is a good solution for Europe, but for Russia it is not best suited.However, if too choose between two evils, it’s worth stopping for less – although of the same map provider, Ovi Maps overplays his rival through better software component.

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