In the past few years portable GPS devices have grown from the early 3.5-inch screen size to the now-popular 4.3-inch widescreen format. Recently, we reviewed two even larger 5-inch GPS devices, the Magellan Maestro 5310 and the Garmin 5000. With these navigators, you get a very large screen, but you also pay a premium price and get fewer features than in their smaller-screened, top-of-the-line counterparts. If you have room in your car and need a large display, you might want to try a laptop-based GPS solution like CoPilot Live 11 for Laptops.

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The latest iteration of CoPilot Live includes a number of new features that make the program easier to use than previous versions. The text-to-speech functionality has been greatly improved since ALK has abandoned Microsoft's TTS engine and its robotic-sounding spoken directions. CoPilot Live 11 features the familiar "Samantha" voice, which is found on GPS products using Tele Atlas map data.

Routing options have also been enhanced In addition to the standard Shortest and Quickest options, CoPilot 11 includes a Scenic profile that lets you actually enjoy getting to your destination. Vehicle profiles now include Automobile, Motorcycle, Walking, Bicycle, and RV. The RV profile lets you select RV height restrictions of either 12 feet 6 inches or 13 feet and chose a route that avoids propane-restricted tunnels and other non-RV-friendly areas. I also like the new Driver Safety screen. In this mode, not found on any other laptop GPS, CoPilot Live 11 offers upcoming instructions in large, clear letters, without a map or any other distractions.

ALK has overhauled the CoPilot Live interface with this edition; it's an overdue and welcome improvement. There's now a Menu icon in the lower left-hand corner of the screen that makes navigation much more intuitive. Previous versions had a clunky planning mode, which looked completely different from the driving mode. This was handy for planning trips without a GPS receiver connected but it felt like you were using two different programs. CoPilot 11 still has a planning mode, but it's now integrated into the driving mode menu. The revamped planning mode includes a cost/mileage summary that breaks down your mileage into free miles and toll miles for each state. In addition, you can now easily switch between five available views. These screen options let you truly customize your interface, as opposed to Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009, which offers only three (very similar) views.

Installation is simple: Just insert the disc and run the setup utility. When you first launch the program, you're notified that you have three days to activate the product. (Hint: Do not ignore this warning. If you don't activate the product, you lose access to street-level map detail.) I used the CoPilot's USB receiver, and setup took only a few seconds. However, I was disappointed to find that when I started the program a second time, I had to set up the receiver all over again. ALK's support site offers a fix for this, but you need to edit a CFG file with Notepad.

The "Live" component of CoPilot Live 11, in addition to the tracking features first introduced in Version 9, provides access to live traffic data. There is no charge for this data, but you must have a GPRS connection. Unfortunately, CoPilot Live 11 doesn't support third-party TMC traffic receivers and the traffic information they receive on the FM band.—Next: Hands–On Testing

Hands–On Testing

My Toyota Camry isn't the ideal test vehicle for a laptop-based GPS; my notebook has to sit on the passenger seat. Still, the improvements in the user interface make the software much simpler to use than its predecessors. With the large screen, you can see turns easily in 2D, 3D, and Driver Safety modes. Whereas I had to take my eyes off the road to look at the screen on the seat beside me, the laptop's position would be less of an issue for an RV driver, who could more easily keep the screen in view on a console. I was a bit disappointed by the POI (point-of-interest) implementation. While you can search for POIs along the route, near the current location, or in a city, you can't search near an address. I'm also surprised that a unit targeted at RV owners doesn't have a separate POI category for campgrounds.

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CoPilot Live 11 for Laptops is a worthwhile upgrade that features a much-improved user interface. It's too bad that it's more than twice as expensive as its main competitor, Microsoft Streets & Trips, which can be purchased online with a USB receiver for less than $100. The "Live" features are excellent, but without a GPRS wireless connection you can't use them. While I think CoPilot Live 11 is a definite improvement over its predecessors and will certainly appeal to RV owners, Microsoft Streets & Trips offers much better value if you want to add GPS functionality to an existing laptop.

More GPS & Mapping Software Reviews:
•   Waze (for Android)
•   Routie (for iPhone)
•   Microsoft Streets & Trips 2013 with GPS Locator
•   Gowalla (for iPhone)
•   Microsoft Streets & Trips 2011 with GPS Locator
•  more