Announcing Live Traffic, Petrol Prices and Text-to-Speech* – CoPilot Live v8 Premium Services for Windows Mobile and Android.

We’re always keen for you to get the most out of  your CoPilot Live so we’re delighted to announce the availability of Premium Live services for CoPilot Live v8.

 Available on a 12 month subscription for £19.99, our Premium Service package includes:  

 Real-Time Traffic Service        

  • Helping you to avoid stressful delays and keep you constantly informed about conditions throughout your journey.

 Live Fuel Service        

  • New Fuel Prices,  helping you find the nearest or the cheapest petrol while on-route.

 For more Information click here.

You can download premium services using the latest version of CoPilot Central 2.0 desktop companion software. You can download and install CoPilot Central 2.0 here. Alternatively, you can buy Premium Services at the CoPilot Store by clicking here.

 iPhone users

You can also purchase CoPilot Premium Live services for CoPilot v8 on iPhone through your iTunes account.

 Text-to-Speech Voices – Windows Mobile

 CoPilot Live uses the latest Text-To-Speech (TTS) technology to provide clear, spoken directions at each turn, pronouncing full street names. For example ‘Turn left into Pall Mall’.

* Please note that TTS is a premium service for Windows Mobile customers running CoPilot Live v8 only. Prior to installing TTS, please install the latest updates for CoPilot Live on Windows Mobile via CoPilot Live Central 2.0.  This is available here.

 TTS is available to purchase through CoPilot Central for £3.59. Please click here.

TTS and Android devices

The TTS  facility can work in some Android devices by using the phone’s internal text-to-speech feature. Please check specifications in the device manual.

 TTS for iPhone

iPhone users can purchase TTS through their iTunes account.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

Free Local Live Search with the latest CoPilot Live v8 updates for Windows Mobile and Android

As part of our programme of enhancing CoPilot Live, we are pleased to announce that the latest updates for Windows Mobile and Android are now available for download.

 One significant enhancement you’ll find in the update is the inclusion of free Live Local Search.

 Using the mobile internet*, this powerful search facility can help you find local businesses, major brands and services in your immediate area by simply keying in your request.

 A list of services matching your criteria will be generated with full address and phone details – so you can call ahead and book that restaurant from within CoPilot Live.

 Then it’s a simple matter of selection and CoPilot Live taking you straight to the door.

 Local Live Search is just one of a number of enhancements that can be found in the latest free updates for Windows Mobile and Android devices, details of which can be found here.

 iPhone users.

We’ve not forgotten you! Free Live Local Search will be introduced automatically in our next iPhone app  subject to Apple approval.

 *Mobile data charges may apply.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

It appears we’re not done with winter yet

Well not according to my colleague in the US who has been posting about Punxsutawney Phil and his amazing abilities at long range weather forecasting.
CoPilot-Live-Weather
Any of you familiar with the film ‘Ground Hog Day’ will have seen Phil in action. Every February 2, Phil makes an appearance and if he sees his shadow, well, it’s another six weeks of winter. Unfortunately, today the prognosis was not good.

As we’re not equipped with a weather attuned Groundhog in this country we have to rely on other sources such as the free 5 day service in CoPilot Live*. Review it at Menu > Live Services > Live Weather.

As you can see from the screen shot, if Phil had checked his CoPilot Live, he needn’t have made an appearance today at all.

Of course, it’s not all bad news in February as my colleague points out. Read her full posting here.

*Mobile data connection required

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

CoPilot Live in the news – January 2010

calendarIt already seems a life time since Auld Lang Syne was sung and the Christmas decorations were finally packed away. We certainly feel like we hit the ground running in January, with our appearance at CES, launch of compatibility with the Google Nexus One and our first Windows Mobile app update.

But we’re not the only ones who’ve been busy this month – many blogs and magazines have been working off their Christmas excess by putting CoPilot Live v8 through its paces. Here’s a quick round-up of some of the highlights.

January started with a 5* review for CoPilot Live v8 from iPod and iPhone User. We particularly liked their comments around ‘Likes’ and ‘Dislikes’; In ‘Dislikes’ their only comment was ‘Nothing significant.’

Of course, CoPilot Live at CES drew a crowd of bloggers and journalists from all over the world, many wanting to see the product in action on particular devices. Unsurprisingly the Nexus One drew the greatest attention although phoneomenon found it running on the Motorola Droid equally newsworthy. See their video here.

Insanelygreatmac were more interested in CoPilot Live on the iPhone 3GS, and posted an in-depth guide to our North American App online. The full video can be viewed here.

Closer to home, Trusted Reviews also conducted a test of the UK/Ireland iPhone app. With a convincing overall score of 9/10, and the coveted ‘Trusted Review Recommended’ award they were particularly impressed with its comprehensive features and it being “all the sat-nav you’ll ever need”. They finished their verdict with a favourable comparison with dedicated navigation devices in the region of £200. Read the full review and view their video here.

Last week, Nokia hit the headlines with their announcement of free Nokia Maps Navigation for their GPS-enabled smartphone customers. A number of publications wondered about the impact on CoPilot Live, for example The Times and The Guardian who suspected it would be “threatening”. For us, free off-board navigation and maps is not exactly a new concept, and we wonder whether Nokia’s move – an obvious reaction to Google’s launch of free Google Maps navigation – will be enough to revive the Symbian operating system’s flagging fortunes. Perhaps they might have been wiser to offer a fully on-board navigation experience like CoPilot Live and differentiate themselves through a superior customer experience?

Finally, Tony Smith at The Register posted an interesting article here about the growth of the apps store market to approximately $6.2 Billion this year. Nice of him to mention the party we hosted at CES – it was for the benefit of journalists, after all – but to assume we’re ‘rolling in it’ after a mere 6 months of selling CoPilot Live v8 via app store is pure conjecture on his part! Compared with the price that CES charge exhibitors for a WiFi connection (which we point blank refused) a few rounds of drinks on a Friday night felt like pretty good value to us!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

Apple launches iPad – the new ‘must have’?

So after an astonishing amount of hype, Apple have finally launched the iPad, a so-called ‘3rd device’ sitting between the laptop and smartphone.

It will be quite interesting to see just how many people will actually need an iPad. There’s no doubting that it’s a beautifully-engineered technical marvel, but it’s already being written off by some as just a powerful iPod Touch with a large screen.

iPad

However, with prices in North America starting at a quite reasonable $499, it offers a serious alternative to netbooks and a stern challenge to eBook readers.

 From our perspective, it’s great news that existing iPhone apps will run on the iPad, and coupled with the right in-car mount there’s a fantastic in-car navigation experience potentially packed into it’s svelte form (the models that pack a GPS receiver at least).

 So the question on a lot of minds, will you buy an iPad when it’s available?  Cast your vote in our poll or comment and share your thoughts.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

CoPilot Live Android Update Released

CoPilot Live on Nexus One

We’ve just released a maintenance update for CoPilot Live v8 Android.  The new release provides improved performance for the Google Nexus One and HTC Tattoo smartphones, including fixing crashes reported by some customers when switching from portrait to landscape. We’ve also added support for the Samsung Galaxy Spica. 

The new update is available for free for existing CoPilot Live Android customers via Android Market updates.

If you purchased CoPilot Live from outside of the market, you should use your phone’s Internet browser and install the update from www.copilotlive.com/androidinstall.

We’d like to thank everyone who provided feedback – it really helped us improve this and get the update out quickly.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (5 votes, average: 4.60 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-24

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

CoPilot Twitter Winners – the result.

Back in December we launched a competition on Twitter to celebrate reaching the 1200 CoPilot Live followers milestone.

 We’ve just used TweetRand.com to pick two winners and the results are in!  Congratulations are in order to the following CoPilot Followers @jjttllee and @couplands. Both are the lucky winners of a copy of CoPilot Live v8 with either full Europe or North American mapping. We’ll also throw-in one of our highly coveted CoPilot Live bottle opener key rings for good measure.

 Well done to the winners. Keep an eye out for more CoPilot Live Twitter competitions coming soon.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

Tuesday’s Tips & Tricks: How to use your own voice (or someone elses) in CoPilot Live

Time Required: Approx 90 minutes

Had enough of the inbuilt voices? Like the idea of recording your own (or your other half’s) voice and using it within CoPilot? It’s not difficult, and before long you’ll be driving around guided by your very own voice from within CoPilot!

You’ll need a computer, a microphone (or you can record using headphones plugged into a microphone port), and some sound editing software. Audacity works great, is free and available for Windows and OS X.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

If you browse your CoPilot memory card from your computer you’ll see in the CoPilot > Speech > en-gb folder a number of folders, one for each English-speaking UK voice. Inside each folder are 58 separate sound files, one for each voice instruction, for example “1kmwarning.ogg” is the instruction for “in one kilometre”.

We’re going to make a new voice today, so select a folder, e.g. Jane or Henry, then copy and paste it to create a new folder, rename this folder to your own name.

Continue reading ‘Tuesday’s Tips & Tricks: How to use your own voice (or someone elses) in CoPilot Live’

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-17

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks