18 July 2006 0:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

GPS is the buzz word at the moment as is the Nokia N70, so put them together and surely you've got a match made in heaven? We find out.

CoPilot Live 6 is the latest version of the GPS software designed for anything but a dedicated machine, this time the kit consists of a Bluetooth GPS receiver, pre-loaded software on a RS-MMC card and everything else you need to get it to work with the Nokia N70.

The GPS receiver looks like an overly large matchbox and has about as much charisma as a baboon wiping its arse. Okay so it does a job, but you would have thought that CoPilot might have attempted to make it a little bit more interesting that it perhaps is. Plan and simple the device has three lights; one of which we have yet to work out what it does (and no it doesn't tell you in the manual) and an on/off switch and a DC inlet for the power, which brings us to the first problem.

To charge it, you need a car. That's right, the only way of charging the device out of the box is if you have a car, leaving any one else, well kinda stuffed.

It's a strange omission considering the software even implies that there is a walking mode, and considering the phone is perhaps one of the most portable devices around.

Get past the glaringly stupid mistake and connection via Bluetooth to the phone is easy. As too is the setup as all it takes is to insert the pre-loaded software card into the phone. Once paired, you're ready to navigate. Although the software isn't the easiest to use - you have to enter the address via the keypad of course - once you get going it all works okay.

The N70's screen is just about big enough to see what you are doing (although we wouldn't recommend it if you wear glasses), and the phone's speaker is good enough to hear instructions.

Perhaps realising that the screen is quite small compared to more traditional GPS units there are six views in total to choose from; Driver Safety, Where Am I, Itinerary, Next Turn, Next Stop and 3D. Driver Safety is the default view and displays a simple turn instruction arrow with next turn instructions rather than a full detailed map. It does make things easier, but as we've found with other systems that use a similar system it can be very frustrating when junctions and turnings are close together.

Included in the box is a 24 month subscription to the CoPilot traffic service however you will still have to pay for data charges and the phonecall every time you access the service. Likewise you will need to set the system up via the Internet with a separate computer rather than being able to do it on your phone. It's a shame as we would have thought that given the N70 is 3G-enabled and comes with a browser, that CoPilot would have created a site formatted for the phone, but alas that's not the case.

Verdict

As a mobile phone GPS offering you've got to really love your N70 to want to go down this route.

The fact that you can't charge the GPS receiver without a car is annoying for those keen to use the system when walking around cities or on holiday in Europe and while the software it good it's not without its faults.

Compared to the Mio A700 or other GPS/PDA offerings on the market, this comes in a distinct second.

Score

Review Recap

Made by

Nokia

Price as reviewed

£From free up to £299.99

The good

GPS for your phone, easy to install and pair, no cables

The bad

Only car charger for the receiver, software clunky at times, traffic option needs PC to setup, traffic option only free for first 2 years

Quick verdict

As a mobile phone GPS offering you've got to really love your N70 to want to go down this route

Score

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