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Speed issues aside - and the PIM integration problem, of course - Navicore is a competent GPS package. There's increasingly less to choose between applications from different vendors - when one rolls out a new feature, the rest are usually quick to follow, and they all have the occasional mapping oddities and POI consistencies. But Navicore wins points for the bundled traffic hazard information and safety camera updates.

Smart phone, PDA or dedicated unit? Well, that decision depends on your usage pattern. For me, since I'd use a GPS system for both driving and street-level navigation, the portability of the phone - especially since it's something I carry anyway - win out over the larger screen size the other devices offer. Driving, you shouldn't be looking at the screen, so screen size doesn't matter so much. A mid-range dedicated navigation system at least has a hard drive so there's no messing about swapping memory cards and installing new maps if you're someone who travels across continents.

Verdict

With increased competition in the Symbian smart-phone GPS application market from TomTom and ALK's CoPilot, Navicore has had to up its game. It's rolled out a number of tweaks, almost all of which improve its software, but it's the bundled traffic information subscription that puts Navicore Personal ahead of the pack. ®

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