CoPilot 11 Critique

20 Jun 2008

            After using first CoPilot 7 and then CoPilot 9, I upgraded to CoPilot 11 in early April 2008.  In a nutshell, I am not impressed with it.  It seems that ALK has taken a big step backwards by deleting much of the functionality that was in CP9 and making it incompatible with CP9 files.  Fortunately I did not have to pay for my upgrade to CP11; if I had, I would certainly return it.  After a month of use, I’m not happy with it and I would not recommend it to anyone.

Positive:

  1. There is now a view in the Driving mode that keeps your current position centered in the middle of the map, while the map steadily scrolls.  In CP9, I found the position indicator would move towards the edge of the map, often getting right to the edge before the map would adjust, making it difficult to see an upcoming turn on the map.
  1. It is now possible to start a trip in Planning mode using your current GPS position.
  1. CP11 now allows entry of a destination in Planning mode using its coordinates.

Negative:

  1. POI’s:
    1. There is no built-in Import utility for adding custom POI lists.  It can be done manually by building a list, converting it to an .ov2 file and then placing that file in the Save directory.  The next time you open CP11, it will import the list.  CP9 had an import utility.
    2. Once you’ve added custom POI’s, there is no way to edit them.  CP9 allowed for editing of custom POI’s.
    3. When you see a POI symbol on the screen, you have to click on it to see what it is.  In CP9, you merely had to place the cursor on the symbol and it’s name would pop-up.  The same is true for roads.
    4. CP11 has eliminated the sub-categories of POI’s.  For example, I’m interested in campgrounds; in CP9 there was a Tent symbol that denoted campgrounds.  Now there is only a generic “RV-Related” list of POI’s.  The symbol might be for a campground, or it could also be an RV repair shop, an RV store, etc.  Not very helpful.
    5. In CP9 I used to do some of my trip planning by scrolling along a highway and watching for specific symbols, such as Campgrounds.  Can’t do that in CP11 – no campground symbol.
    6. In Planning mode, when the map shows a POI symbol, often nothing happens when you click on it, so you can’t find out what it is.
    7. In Planning Mode, when using the “Pick from map” option, cities and POI’s don’t always show on the map.
    8. Often in Driving Mode, when I am in “Where am I, 2D View” (the one that keeps your current position in the center of the map) if I click on a POI to see what it is, I can’t successfully get rid of the pop-up.  There are two options in the pop-up: “choose as next stop” or “cancel”.  If I select “cancel”, another pop-up appears that offers three options: “This is my next destination”, “This is my last destination”, or “This is my only destination.”  There is no getting out of this screen!  I have to use the good ole “Cntl-alt-del” to close the program and then restart it.  The other option is to select  “This is my next destination” and then go into Planning mode and delete it.  Neither is a very convenient option.
    9. The POI database seems have fewer POI’s than CP9.  A number of state parks that are in the CP9 POI database are not in CP11’s database.
  1. Planning
    1. When entering a destination using either coordinates or street address, there is no provision for entering the destination’s name.  This makes following the directions or map difficult.
    2. Entering the destination is much more tedious than previous versions.  It takes numerous screen to enter one destination.  And the places you have to click are widely spread on the screen.  The Planning function in CP9 was much easier to use with its toolbar buttons.
    3. When saving a trip, you have to re-enter its name every time, even though you want to use the same name.  In CP9 you could merely click on the “save” button to save a trip; in CP11, you have to type in its name, click on OK, then you get a pop-up saying the name already exists and asking if you want to over-write it.  Then you have to click on “yes”.  And you can't simply hit the "Y" for "yes", for example, you have to move the cursor and click the button with it.
    4. Cannot “import” saved trips from CP9 – confirmed by tech support.
    5. When using lat-long to enter a destination, CP11 does not remember my preferences.  Every time I have to click on the “Decimal Minutes” option before I can enter the coordinates.  I should be able to tell it to remember which type of coordinate I intend to use.  It also doesn’t remember the “N” or “S”, and “E” or “W” settings.
    6. There is no mileage scale on the map.
    7. “zoom in” and “zoom out” buttons are in opposite corners of the screen – too far apart.  CP9 had them close together.
    8. Can’t use keyboard to hit “Y” or “N” to confirm an action – you have to click on a screen button.
    9. There is no cumulative mileage total in the Turn Instructions after hitting “Calculate”; it only shows the mileage between each turn instruction.  CP9 provides a cumulative total of mileage with the turn instructions, which was more useful for planning purposes.  Now I have to add up all the individual turn distances to get the totals between waypoints.  The ideal situation would be to have two columns and show both leg mileage and cumulative mileage.
    10. When entering consecutive destinations using the “pick on map” option, the map does not stay where your last point was.  When you go to do the second destination, the map reverts back to your current position and you have to scroll the map again to the new destination point.  Quite tedious.  CP9 kept the planning map in the same spot after picking each point directly from the map.
    11. When using the “pick on map” option, if I click on it a POI to see what it is, it thinks I want to add it as a destination.  If I then click on “Change location”, it doesn’t give me the option to pick a another spot – I have to start all over again, which means scrolling through the map all over again to get to the same area (see above).
    12. If I select a POI by name as a destination, the turn instructions do not show the name, only the address.  Not very helpful.
    13. When using the “enter address” option, the database does not always find the name of the street.  When I check on the map itself, the name of the street is shown.
    14. Does not indicate dirt roads!
  1. Driving mode
    1. Can’t display the Windows Taskbar at the bottom of the screen.  CP9 allowed you to do that.
    2. There is no mileage scale on the map – a major omission. 
    3. “zoom in” and “zoom out” buttons are in opposite corners of the screen – too far apart.  CP9 has them close together.
    4. CP11 does not remember my preferred Driving View.  I have to re-select it every time I go to the Driving mode.
    5. Information regarding the next turn is separated and scattered on the screen.  The distance to the next turn and its direction arrow are in the right margin, but the name of the next road you’ll be turning onto is down at the bottom of the screen.  For safety, those three items should be together, as they are in CP9.
    6. The Driving screen doesn’t allow the display of as much information as CP9 does.  In CP9, I could have simultaneously on the screen my choice of three items; CP11 allows for only one.  For example,  I liked to display “Current City”, “Elevation” and “Next Crossroad.”  Now I can only display one item.
    7. It occasionally will lock-up when “Recalculating Route”.  The only remedy is to close CoPilot and re-open it – not very handy to do when traveling down the road.