CoPilot Live Premium UK + IRE review [Android]

You might assume the arrival of Google’s free turn-by-turn navigation app, which ships with pretty much every Android device out there, would have signalled the death-knell for paid-for sat-nav downloads on the platform. However, that’s far from the case.

CoPilot Live has been available on Android for quite some time now, and this latest version is packed with new features and content that try their hardest to convince you to part with a staggering £20 (or thereabouts) - quite a bit more than the zero pounds Google is demanding for its app.

CoPilot Live Premium is a pretty drastic revision on what has gone before. The interface has been redesigned to make it more visually alluring, and it certainly makes rival applications look a bit drab by comparison.

Of course, you don’t spend £20 on sat-nav software just so it can dazzle you with its good looks. CoPilot Live Premium boasts an extensive list of features, many of which aren’t available in Google’s Navigation app.

The first thing you’ll notice is CoPilot Live Premium stores maps in your phone’s memory, rather than streaming them from the net in real-time, as Google Navigation does. While this means you have to sacrifice some of your handset’s precious internal memory for map data, it prevents you from becoming hopelessly lost when your mobile signal drops out.

Another big difference is the ability to re-route on the fly. If you want to deviate from the suggested plan to take in a local landmark or pass a certain location, you can drag the route using the touch screen. CoPilot Live Premium will then patch your diversion into the rest of the planned route.

You can also pick different destinations just by double-tapping on the screen - something that proves very handy if you don’t wish to get in trouble with the Police for staring at your phone’s screen whilst in transit.

When it comes to plotting a route, we had no issues. Granted, we didn't travel from Land's End to John O'Groats to test it but locally-speaking the most logical route was what we got.