Verdict: Not As Good As AT&T Navigator (Or TeleNav)
VZ Navigator is Verizon's GPS navigation software that turns any GPS-equipped Verizon cell phone into a turn-by-turn GPS navigation device, complete with real-time traffic, movie listings, weather, events, and local area searches that let you find ATMs, gas stations and more.
Table of Contents
- Features
- Pricing
- Finding An Address
- Finding A Restaurant
- Traffic
- Movie Listings
- Preferences
- Pros
- Cons
- Conclusion
1. Features
- Turn by turn directions
- Traffic Avoidance (in some areas)
- Local movies, weather, gas
- Connected network means always current maps and POI database
- "Where Am I?" feature shows your current location
- Multiple voices
- Uses GPS and cellular antennas through Assisted GPS
- Text your location, destination, or ETA to other Verizon VZ Navigator subscribers
- Online backup of address and phone book
2. Pricing
VZ Navigator is available via Verizon's Get it now menu, and can be purchased for $2.99 for a single day of use, or $9.99 per month of unlimited use. You'll also need to have a data plan, otherwise you'll be using airtime minutes when using VZ Navigator.
3. Finding An Address
Figure 1: Launching VZ Navigator
Launch VZ Navigator by highlighting VZ Navigator from the Main Menu and pressing OK.
Figure 2: VZ Navigator Loading
VZ Navigator takes around 5 seconds to load. Note that I tested version 4.1.1, the most current release as of this writing.
Figure 2: Navigation
Choose Navigation from VZ Navigator's Main Menu to begin entering an address.
Figure 3: Choose A Navigation Task
This screen lets you enter a destination, plan a trip in advance, navigate to the saved Home address, or navigate to the saved Work address.
Choose Find Destination to enter a street address or search for a Point of Interest. In this example, I'll be entering a street address in New York City, so I'll choose Find Destination to continue.
Figure 4: Find Location
The Find Location screen, shown above, allows you to choose one of the following five destination types:
- Recent Searches - Choose a destination from a list of recently found addresses
- Favorites - Navigate to a saved address in the address book (Favorites)
- Address - Enter a complete street address (State, City, Street, House #)
- Airport - Find an Airport
- Intersection - Navigate to an intersection of two streets. Handy if you know the street your destination is on, but not the exact street address.
I'll be entering a complete street address, so I'll choose Address to continue.
Figure 5: Entering An Address
VZ Navigator's address entry screen works quite well. When entering a street name, city name, or State, VZ Navigator auto-completes the name, suggesting valid names that match based on the letters entered so far.
You can also use zip codes instead of State and city names.
Figure 6. Address Confirmation
Once the address has been entered, VZ Navigator immediately begins calculating the route to the destination. Route calculation is relatively zippy, provided you're getting decent cellular reception. In my tests, VZ Navigator calculated the routes at about the same speed as most standalone GPS devices.
Figure 7: Trip Summary
The Trip Summary page displays the distance and time to the destination, traffic delays (if any), and the destination address.
Figure 8: Downloading Follow Me Map
Once you begin navigating to a destination, VZ Navigator connects to its server and downloads the mapping data it needs to display your position. All the mapping data isn't downloaded at once, so you'll only see one screen worth of map at a time before VZ Navigator needs to download the next portion of map.
Alternatively, you can set the system only display upcoming turns, and forego a "Follow Me" scrolling map.
