droidin

**ebsprintin** · 08-11-2010, 10:39 PM

I knew there was another question I wanted to ask. I'm very close to making a Droid X purchase. Anyone know how well the excel apps work on it? I made a simple little rate planner spread sheet that lets me calculate information related to a load when dispatch calls with an offer. It's one of the main reasons for me moving to a smart phone if I can make the app work. I've seen a couple excel apps advertised, but not sure whether they are up to speed in the real world. Just wondering if anyone has any experience or advise in this department.

eb

**Turtle** · 08-12-2010, 02:38 AM

Yeah, they work. I've tried a couple of them. I also have Google Spreadsheet that I can access with the Droid. I mostly use Documents2Go from Dataviz. The free version lets you view Word and Excel files, but the paid version lets you create and edit them, as well as Powerpoint and PDF files.

Most of the time I have the laptop and running when I get a load offer, so that's what I use. Otherwise, the Droid works great.

**charlee** · 08-12-2010, 01:57 PM

LOVE the Droid. Curious tho if people that have the droid will switch to iphone when Verizon gets? Also HTC or DROIDX or DRIOD2? HTC 8mp camera nice and light droid x big screen both virtual keyboards droid2?

ps Are there any smartphones that you can thether with and use phone and internet at same time?

**xiggi** · 08-12-2010, 02:57 PM

I have a droid eris by htc, Love the phone I do tether it for internet use but when a call comes in I am bumped off the net for the most part. I had a droid g1 prior to this and am a big fan of the droid phones overall.

**ebsprintin** · 08-12-2010, 03:17 PM

Yeah, the Droid X as my laptop's internet connection is another thing I'm wondering about. Is the connection like my aircard connection, or does the pc get restricted to mobile content?

As for switching to iphone, not interested.

eb

**xiggi** · 08-12-2010, 03:23 PM

Just download pdanet and connect through the phone. The free version works great but it is 18.95 if you want to connect to secure sites. It works great and no restrictions. No different than any other internet connection.

**Turtle** · 08-12-2010, 04:41 PM

I use PDANet. Paid for it because I access a lot of secure sites, like banking.

With any CDMA network, like Verizon and Sprint, you will not be able to talk on the phone and surf the Web at the same time, tethered or not. That's just a limitation of CDMA. When they fully implement 4G you'll be able to do that. Otherwise, you need a GSM network, like AT&T. However, if you're connected via WiFi with the phone and a call comes in, you can talk and still surf the Web with the CDMA phones.

As for which Droid, I'd go with the Droid X. The same camera as the HTC, but it has HDMI recording and output, and the screen is bigger. I have the original Motorola Droid, and it's now running Froyo 2.2, so I'm happy with it. But if I were to get another one today, it would be the Droid X. But the HTC is nice, too.

EB: Is the connection like my aircard connection, or does the pc get restricted to mobile content?

Yes, when tethered it's like the Aircard. Even on the phone you're not really restricted to mobile content. But when tethered it works exactly the same as the Aircard.

**Swanny** · 09-01-2010, 04:14 AM

Hi folks...My first post on the forum...been researching this site for a few months. I'm jumping in on this thread because I'm about to get rolling and have just picked up the htc evo. My question is with copilot live 8 for navigation would you use your phone instead of a stand alone gps unit?

**Turtle** · 09-01-2010, 04:42 AM

Good question. The answer is no.

In order to use phone navigation you must have a data connection, because the maps are downloaded on the fly as you need them. The maps on a standalone GPS unit are always there when you need them.

If you live and work in a city and only navigate around that city, then phone navigation is fine. But if you deliver to an area that has no 3G/4G service, like a gold mine in Nevada or some place in middle of nowhere Wyoming, you're screwed. There are more places than you might think where you cannot get a data connection. Places in Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, lots of them. You'll get a GPS signal on the phone, but it won't do you any good because you can't get the map data downloaded to the phone. Whereas the standalone unit will get you there and back again without any problems.

**ebsprintin** · 09-01-2010, 01:14 PM

I haven't gotten my smart phone yet, but it will only be a back up to the stand alone gps. My gps is almost always on doing its gps thing. My phone and computer are busy enough doing other things. I wouldn't mind a smart gps that can handle things like spread sheets.

eb

P.S. And welcome to the forum Swanny.

**Swanny** · 09-01-2010, 01:33 PM

Thanks for your responses. Turtle, my understanding was that copilot maps were stored on the sd card and would not need to have a 3, or 4g connection to work. Regardless, as ebsprintin says multitasking the phone that way may be too much. Preciate the welcome ebsprintin.

**Turtle** · 09-01-2010, 04:02 PM

I didn't mention it because I hate to beat a dead horse, but of all the navigation programs available, Co-Pilot is probably the worst. When you compare it, its accuracy, routing and address database, to Streets & Trips, Rand McNally, Tom Tom, Garmin, any of them, Co-Pilot comes up way short. You should compare Co-Pilot and PC Miler side-by-side, you'll be shocked, especially since both products are from the same company.

Since most GPS units and mapping programs use essentially the same mapping data, there will be locations that none of them can find. Can't find it on the Garmin, so Streets & Trips or MapPoint or MapQuest won't find it, either. But, Google can often find it. And with the Droid come Google Navigator, where you can tell it to "Navigate to: business name, city, state" and more often than not it'll find it. You can scroll through the navigation and even see the Google Street View picture of the destination.

But even if you don't want to use the phone as the navigation device, it will tell you where the location is, so that if nothing else you can find that same location on the map on the Garmin and tell it to go there, then let the Garmin take over. I've done that several times, it's really come in handy.

Add to that the Google Earth app you can download (free) and you have a powerful tool to supplement your standalone GPS unit.

**Swanny** · 09-01-2010, 05:19 PM

Thks for the input...I was a couple of clicks away from buying the app...glad I asked. Regardless, I really like this android phone, now where's that beer app.

**lugnut1** · 09-02-2010, 12:27 AM

Originally Posted by Turtle

Co-Pilot is probably the worst. When you compare it, its accuracy, routing and address database, to Streets & Trips, Rand McNally, Tom Tom, Garmin, any of them, Co-Pilot comes up way short.

CoPilot is not for cargo vans or cars and especially not for turtles.
Your comment “Co-Pilot is probably the worst” highlights how ignorantly poor your navigation skills are and understanding of the CoPilot software.
Now repeat after me, "CoPilot is for professional drivers. TomTom, Intelrouter, Garmin and other like GPS units are for, four wheeler soccer moms; motor cycles, vans and Turtles."

**Turtle** · 09-02-2010, 10:51 AM

Not that it matters, but I was a paid alpha and beta tester for TravRoute, which is what Co-Pilot used to be called, going back to version 1 back in the early 90's, and continued in that capacity up through Co-Pilot version 9. So I think I have a pretty good understanding of the software, how it works and how to use it. I have Co-Pilot 11 installed on my laptop currently.