A couple of months ago, I decided to switch back to using a mobile phone for navigation rather than a dedicated GPS, and subsequently started using Kurviger.
The simple version of that story is that mobile phone navigation has developed much faster than dedicated GPS units and now offers significant advantages in functionality.
Part of maximising these advantages is choosing which navigation software to use, and as a long-term MyRouteApp user — mostly for desktop route planning — I started there.
MRA is a good system with a long history, inspired by earlier GPS-based systems and platforms like Tyre (Trace Your Route Everywhere), which Michel van Hagen also developed.
Just as MRA replaced TYRE, other navigation platforms have emerged and arguably represent the next generation of desktop planning and mobile phone navigation apps.
It is always easier to develop using the latest techniques and functionality when you aren’t pulling ten plus years of development behind you, and having looked at several alternatives, we settled on Kurviger.
Kurviger Navigation
We covered the desktop planning software in detail, [See Kurviger Route Planning – Part 1], but the business end of any navigation app is when you use it.
The joy of an integrated planning and navigation app is that you avoid the frustration of transferring routes between devices. Mostly, my experiences with my Garmin XT were relatively painless, but there have been times when I wanted to drop it in the nearest bin.
Postcodes
If I’m using a dedicated GPS or a mobile phone app natively—put in a postcode and press navigate—there is little to choose between the devices.
Kurviger’s navigation app has a few more options than some traditional GPS units, but the functionality at this level is pretty equal.
Both have Postcode look-up functionality and let you choose whether you want twisty or fast roads to ride.
Follow A Route
However, if I want to use a route designed on Kurviger’s platform and stored online, the ease of use becomes more apparent when using their mobile phone app.
Using a traditional GPS, I first have to export the route, hope the routing algorithm is the same on both devices (or use Kurviger’s add extra waypoints option), and then get the devices to communicate, typically using a mobile phone as a bridge between the PC and the GPS.
With an all-in-one solution, all that is needed is to pick the route from the list and press “Go”.
Screen Quality
The recording below is from my second-hand Google Pixel 6 phone, which I use for navigation. The screen recording in its native format is 2400 by 1080 pixels.
Comparing the screen size and quality to that of the Garmin XT, XT2 and TomTom 550, which are 1280×720 and 480×272 pixels, respectively, my second-hand Pixel wins hands down.
Strangely, the XT2 has the same screen quality as the XT; it is just bigger.
With the possible exception of reflected glare – fixed by a matt screen protector – the quality of mobile phone displays outstrips that of dedicated GPS units, allowing Kurviger to add important details to the map display, without overloading it.
Spoken Instructions
They are very clear, but a couple of tweaks are required.
Bluetooth is designed to “snooze” when there is nothing being transmitted. I’m told it is a power-saving feature that also helps if you have two devices connected to one Bluetooth headset.
When a Kurviger turn instruction is played, if the Bluetooth connection is in “snooze mode”, the first second or so of the announcement is lost. Bluetooth takes a second to wake up, by which time the turn instruction is already playing.
Kurviger needs a slight pause between waking Bluetooth up and starting to play the message.
Alternatively, if you like to play music while riding, this keeps the Bluetooth connection open and the music fades into the background while the turn-by-turn instructions play.
Follow Me Tracking
Have you ever followed someone along one of their favourite routes or taken a random turn and found a great road, only to fail to find it again? Kurviger has an answer for that, as do some GPS units – Follow Me Tracking.
The Kurviger advantage is that, when it comes to saving the Follow Me Track and making it a route you can save, share, and ride again, it is all in one app—a seamless end-to-end process from saved track to reusable route.
Describing how to do this with a traditional GPS unit would make this article even longer than it already is.
Moving Map
The only way I’ve found to have Kurviger display a moving map, other than loading a route for every ride, is to use Follow Me Tracking.
It is mildly annoying to have to do this, just to get a moving map, so the second tweak I’d ask Kurviger to make (after the sound pause) is to display a moving map without having to select Follow Me Tracking, and please – please – put the same information on the moving map as is shown when following a route – without the turn instructions … obviously 😊
I’ve never been sure why the trend of removing valuable information, such as the current speed limit, is popular when not navigating, but several phone-based navigation systems do this.
So, please, Kurviger, may I have a moving map display that doesn’t require me to start Follow Me and that shows speed limits, speed cameras, and other useful but generic information for the road I’m on?
But Is It Any Good
Simply put: Yes. Very good. The screen display is crisp, and it auto-scales according to speed. There is a good range of information shown without the screen becoming cluttered, and a graphic in the top left-hand corner complements the voice instructions.
I especially like how the map details automatically update as they come into range, and how the zoom level subtly changes with my speed.
Offline Maps
A typical comment about mobile phone navigation is that it requires an internet connection and burns through your data allowance.
This may have been true with early versions of phone navigation, but these days, offline maps are standard.
Again, Kurviger has taken a different, streamlined approach. Rather than filling your phone with maps you will never need, there are two ways to load and save an offline map.
The first is automatic. When you select a route, Kurviger will automatically download the required offline maps. This way, your phone isn’t clogged up with maps you will never need.
The second method is to highlight the areas you wish to download from the map by selecting the relevant squares. I selected and downloaded all of the UK, for no other reason than I could.
There are parts of Scotland that I’m unlikely to visit any time soon, but they worked well as a test.
Bottom Line
As an all-in-one navigation and planning app, Kurviger is up there with the best of them.
There are a few areas that can be improved, but I’m picking at the edges, and since this is an app, upgrades are easier to roll out.
And if you need further persuasion, Kurviger includes a fully functional Android Auto/Apple CarPlay version in the yearly fee, which is lower than competitors’.
Testing that functionality is next on the agenda, along with the thumbnail-size wireless adapter we received from 3DMP in Portugal.
Yet more reasons to go for a ride …. [Like you need an excuse ~ Ed.]
