We're so glad there are inquisitive minds out there willing to test experiments and solve the tough questions. For instance, while we've always wondered (silently, in our heads) whether the highly-touted Android Google Maps GPS driving directions are good enough to beat a dedicated stand-alone GPS like Garmin, Eric Taub of the New York Times actually went out on the streets of L.A. to test them both out. And yes, one of the devices came out way ahead.
Want to know if Android's native GPS app can trump a stand-alone GPS unit? Us too. On the list of Questions We're Dying to Know the Answer To, this one falls just under "What's the meaning of life?" and right above "The chicken or the egg?"
Thankfully, Taub set out to definitively answer the question once and for all (the GPS one, not the one about the eggs). He tested Garmin's Nuvi against Motorola's Droid X2 on a family trip "onto Los Angeles’s traffic-choked Ventura Freeway and down to Disneyland."
What did he find? Well, neither one was perfect. Both the Droid and the Garmin were sometimes less than accurate at finding the exact location of an address or the shortest route from one place to another.
But in almost every other area, the Android coupled with Google Maps' app beat out the Garmin:
"Google Maps was generally quicker; at times, its voice commands arrived as much as three seconds sooner, which could make all the difference if your reflexes are not that snappy. Google Maps also took first place when it came to searching for a destination. A search for the nearest Peet’s coffee stores on the Garmin took 27 seconds — and it never found the one closest to my home. The Garmin did not find it even when I was parked in front of the store. Perhaps Garmin’s maps supplier is a Starbucks fan."
Anybody wondering where iPhones fall? Most tech'sperts agree that GPS navigation is one feature where Android-powered mobiles trump the iOS. Apple's iPhone doesn't offer voice directions and turn-by-turn navigation without paying a premium for apps, whereas Android sets include those features for free.
If you're rocking an Android phone, be proud and forget about investing in a GPS unit. If you're not—and you also generally suck at navigating and frequently find yourself lost—than a stand-alone GPS is still a great buy for getting around town. Just not as good as a Droid.
(Images: Flickr member pamocampo licensed for use under Creative Commons, Flickr member caribb licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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Never owned a gps but couldn't go around anymore without my android phone, whether I need to get the directions to the other side of the country, or find my way on foot in an unknow city.
I have definitely found my Android GPS works better. In fact, Garmin GPS has sent my mother in law and 2of my friends to the next county when trying to drive to my house, even after entering the zip code. Apparently, there is a similar address in the next county. I have only had one time where it didn't work for me in town.
Yeah, our TomTom or whatever the hell it is sits in the office closet, and when we go anywhere, I get given my husband's Droid and get told "Navigate" By which he basically means "I prefer your voice to the voice that comes with the phone, please tell me where to go."
my droidx google navigation is awesome, never gets me lost, only issue it has sometimes is when you're driving on a side street parallel and very close to a freeway, it may think you're on the freeway sometimes. I think all GPS are like that though.
Yeah @talktoearthworms, my iPhone's GPS does the same thing... thinking I'm on the highway when I'm on an access road or something. Confusing for a second, but it straightens itself out.
Isn't the problem though that Google Maps requires a data connection while the standard GPS units have pre-downloaded maps?
Google Maps on my iPhone is better than a GPS. I don't really get the whole GPS thing.
@Jason Yang: Yes, exactly.
Yeah, the data issue comes into effect. You could end up paying roaming charges, or being somewhere where there is no data! We were in Newfoundland a few weeks ago, and we brought our GPS knowing that we would get limited cell service. Turns out we didn't get a cell signal the entire time we were in the province!
Yes.
The GPS on my Android phone definitely works better than my fiance's Garmin, which frequently does things like say "right" when it means "left". However, my running the GPS app sometimes freezes my phone, which could lead to trouble especially if driving alone. I prefer the integrated GPS in my Honda Fit.
This is why I love having a Garminfone. It's an Android phone, and I can use Google maps when I'm in range, but the Garmin maps and navigation work even if I can't get a data signal. I think it's handy to have both options in one thing.
@Jason Yang - generally yes, but that might have been resolved with the new "pre-caching" of areas that became part of the Google Map App recently. So with data connection off I can navigate around my city with a working map. Probably not a good solution for everyone.