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Old 03-16-2019, 08:41 PM   #1
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ALK Technologies(CoPilot) sold to Trimble?

When I went to use my CoPilot RV it immediately downloaded and installed a whole new version of CoPilot and told me that ALK Technologies is now Trimple Maps. Anybody know the scoop on this? I can't see much difference in the app though.
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Old 03-17-2019, 04:51 AM   #2
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Trimble, a publicly traded company, bought ALK Technologies, a privately held firm, for an undisclosed amount in January of 2013. Both companies are in the business of transportation and logistics and ALK's software was heavily used in the field of motor carrier transportation which complemented Trimble's products. There you have it.

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Old 03-17-2019, 07:54 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 4ina4x4 View Post
Trimble, a publicly traded company, bought ALK Technologies, a privately held firm, for an undisclosed amount in January of 2013. Both companies are in the business of transportation and logistics and ALK's software was heavily used in the field of motor carrier transportation which complemented Trimble's products. There you have it.

Mary
Thanks for that Mary. Well, apparently sometime in February they applied a major update that took away many of the features of CoPilot such as the ability to set road and speed preferences. Also, they are apparently moving to a subscription based purchase model. I found this out by reading some of the many recent 1 star reviews in the Play Store Now, to be fair, I have not used CoPilot since they applied these changes, but if the reviews are to be believed, Trimble has ruined CoPilot. A very sad day indeed.
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Old 03-17-2019, 10:05 AM   #4
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I have had CoPilot for 5+ years and I have been very happy. But if they convert to a monthly fee I may look elsewhere. Do Garmin or any other GPS system charge by the month?
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Old 03-17-2019, 10:58 AM   #5
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We used CoPilot extensively from 2007 through 2010 but have since migrated to a regular Garmin GPS combined with the Motor Carriers' Road Atlas when needed. Our Garmin came with a lifetime allowance of map updates and does not require a subscription service. But, it's a regular GPS unit, not one specifically designed for RV use. Maybe others with an RV specific GPS unit or system can provide additional information.

Larry, I understand your disappointment and empathize with you. We really liked CoPilot. (Well, except for the time "John" told us we had arrived at our campground and all we could see around us were cornfields.) It's always a shame when "improvements" don't necessarily improve a product.

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Old 03-18-2019, 04:35 AM   #6
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copilot subscription

I just bought a subscription to RV copilot and it was $29.95 per year. I ordered it through Google Play Store for the android version. I didn't realize there was a change of company ownership so I hope it still works well. They give you a 2 week trial period before you commit. I tried it on a camping trip and it seemed to work OK, but route choice seemed better on Google maps. I wanted to try copilot because maps are downloaded to device so you don't need a cell signal to get the maps.

I'm still in the learning stage, but could not figure out how to modify a route. Copilot gives me a couple alternate choices, but I would like to customize a route using portions of two routes. For example I was planning a route from south of Tampa to the Fl panhandle. One route goes up I-75 to I-10 and would be the fastest route. The other route goes through Tampa and ends up on US 19 north of the city. My route choice would be to take I-75 to route 54 and intercept US 19 near New Port Richey. This route avoids congestion around Tampa and gives us an option to camp in Perry for a night. Will copilot allow me to modify a route in this way?

I would like to hear from other users whether copilot is still a good option for RV navigation. I'm most interested in warning system for RV size/weight restricted routes. Thanks Greg
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Old 03-18-2019, 07:17 AM   #7
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I just bought a subscription to RV copilot and it was $29.95 per year. I ordered it through Google Play Store for the android version. I didn't realize there was a change of company ownership so I hope it still works well. They give you a 2 week trial period before you commit. I tried it on a camping trip and it seemed to work OK, but route choice seemed better on Google maps. I wanted to try copilot because maps are downloaded to device so you don't need a cell signal to get the maps.

I'm still in the learning stage, but could not figure out how to modify a route. Copilot gives me a couple alternate choices, but I would like to customize a route using portions of two routes. For example I was planning a route from south of Tampa to the Fl panhandle. One route goes up I-75 to I-10 and would be the fastest route. The other route goes through Tampa and ends up on US 19 north of the city. My route choice would be to take I-75 to route 54 and intercept US 19 near New Port Richey. This route avoids congestion around Tampa and gives us an option to camp in Perry for a night. Will copilot allow me to modify a route in this way?

I would like to hear from other users whether copilot is still a good option for RV navigation. I'm most interested in warning system for RV size/weight restricted routes. Thanks Greg
Well, using the old CoPilot, you add a waypoint along the route you want to take to get it to change the route to what you want to use.
Also, I guess time will tell in how well the new version will work.
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Old 03-18-2019, 07:26 AM   #8
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I could not find any information about how Trimble Maps plan to deal with current CoPilot RV license owners. Will we need to immediately pay the subscription fee to continue to use it? Or will be grand fathered in for a year?
I posted a question to CoPilot asking how they were going to deal with existing license CoPilot RV owners. I will let you know what they say.

Also, does anyone know if the $30 RV subscription includes the active traffic subscription or will that have to be purchased separately?
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Old 03-19-2019, 05:35 AM   #9
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I could not find any information about how Trimble Maps plan to deal with current CoPilot RV license owners. Will we need to immediately pay the subscription fee to continue to use it? Or will be grand fathered in for a year?
I posted a question to CoPilot asking how they were going to deal with existing license CoPilot RV owners. I will let you know what they say.

Also, does anyone know if the $30 RV subscription includes the active traffic subscription or will that have to be purchased separately?
Larry, the active traffic is included in the $30 subscription. Thanks for the tip on adding a waypoint. Greg
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Old 03-19-2019, 07:52 AM   #10
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I could not find any information about how Trimble Maps plan to deal with current CoPilot RV license owners. Will we need to immediately pay the subscription fee to continue to use it? Or will be grand fathered in for a year?
I posted a question to CoPilot asking how they were going to deal with existing license CoPilot RV owners. I will let you know what they say.
I received this from CoPilot this morning:
Hi Larry,

Thank you for contacting CoPilot Consumer Support.

Please note, your existing CoPilot Premium RV purchase will restore indefinately so you will not need to purchase or renew an annual subscription. Your ActiveTraffic subscription will expire in 25 weeks.

I'm not sure if the new version has the Google Family Library feature but its worth you trying out


If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Regards,
Amit, CoPilot Consumer Support
Visit https://support.copilotgps.com for FAQs and solutions from fellow CoPilot users!

So, good news! It looks like if you are a current CoPilot RV license owner you will NOT be subject to the annual subscription. The active traffic has always been a subscription, so I guess that will continue at $9.95 per year. As far as the Google Family Library feature goes, I was able to sign in and update all my existing devices, so it does appear that that will be honored as well.
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Old 03-19-2019, 08:11 AM   #11
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With the knowledge that my current license will be honored, I am going to give them a chance. I am still very disappointed about losing the ability to set road type preferences, but, at least I can still select to avoid toll roads and a few other things. Maybe they will add other road types in the future. Anyway I am trying to keep an open mind about these turn of events. Plus, I am not really aware of an alternative app, that is RV specific.
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Old 03-19-2019, 07:21 PM   #12
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With the knowledge that my current license will be honored, I am going to give them a chance. I am still very disappointed about losing the ability to set road type preferences, but, at least I can still select to avoid toll roads and a few other things. Maybe they will add other road types in the future. Anyway I am trying to keep an open mind about these turn of events. Plus, I am not really aware of an alternative app, that is RV specific.
Larry, I just read a blogspot about Copilot that was written in 2016: https://jkcarp.blogspot.com/2016/07/...s-best-of.html

It was really an excellent analysis and came to the conclusion that Copilot was the Best of the Worst RV navigation system. The strong points were in route planning, live traffic updates and graphic displays. The biggest weak point was out of date maps and some bogus turn directions that should never be made in any RV. Like you, I'm going to give Copilot a good tryout, because there doesn't seem to be any navigation system that does everything well.

In a previous post you mentioned the "Google family library feature." What does that do for you? If it updates Copilot maps with Google maps, that could be a great improvement. Greg
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Old 03-19-2019, 08:18 PM   #13
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Larry, I just read a blogspot about Copilot that was written in 2016: https://jkcarp.blogspot.com/2016/07/...s-best-of.html

In a previous post you mentioned the "Google family library feature." What does that do for you? If it updates Copilot maps with Google maps, that could be a great improvement. Greg
No, This is a feature that allows you to install purchased apps onto multiple devices. You setup a "family" of devices that you can share these apps with. Google it to get all the details. I had CoPilot RV installed on 3 of my devices. I had read where CoPilot was removing that feature, but I was able to do the upgrade to all my devices.
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Old 03-21-2019, 01:46 PM   #14
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It seems odd to me that so few people have responded to this thread. I thought there were lots of CoPilot users on this forum. This is a huge change in the app and only a few have chimed in.
I believe this could go either way good or bad. On one hand the subscription model could generate more income and give them motivation to make lots of improvements in order to keep people renewing their subscriptions. But on the other hand, the subscription model could be the death of CoPilot, if it fails to get subscribers.
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