Altertive to Google Navigation

Don't get me wrong, I love google navigation.  I use it often, love google maps and it's routes and navigation features.  But that's not the end of it.

I tried other navigation apps to see what they had to offer.  And today, I was stuck deep in rush hour traffic.  I decided to ask my alternative advisors their opinions.

Actually, I only asked my favorite one, Waze.  It's a social network meet maps and navigation.  Not that I love the idea of social networks, but the app's got some strong points going for it.

First, you can choose the language of the navigation prompts.  Yes you can.  And that's already a major point whether you live in Europe or Quebec.

Then, what got me to write this, it saved me over 30 min on my way home today.  While google sent me through the congested main roads, waze got me back to my daily favorite back roads, saving me considerable time.

Of course it's also a social network thing.  So you get live updates from other Waze users and you can chat with fellow Waze users close by.  And it uses all users's position and speed to figure out traffic, tells you about accidents, speed traps and other problems.

So for me it's a pretty decent GPS app what does it right, in the language you want it to.

Let there be voice!

You probably know that your phone can speak.  Spoken instructions in google maps are just one example.  This is made possible thanks to TTS.

TTS stands for Text To Speech.  It's the engine that converts written words and phrases to (hopefully) intelligible sounds.  It's used by navigation software to guide you on your way, by reader application to read your news while you're jogging or driving, and now by personal assistants that understand what you say and reply to your questions and commands.

Your phone came with Pico TTS and/or Google TTS.  Those are basic engines meant to provide minimum functionality out of the box.  You should be able to understand what comes out of them, but they won't fool you into thinking that it's a person speaking.

Luckily, there are a few professional TTS engines available for Android.  I don't have one single pick, so I'll list the best ones with their main characteristics.

The first one's SVOX Classic TTS.  The app's a free download that will let you sample their many voices.  One of it's high points is the number of languages supported.  They have, for example, male and female voices for both French (France) and Canadian French.  Each voice is available for 2.99$ from the market.  While their English voices are good, Chantal, their Canadian French female one is the best one around.

Next in line is IVONA HQ beta.  This one's the engine, and voices are available from the market.  They're very good, but come in a hefty 250MB package; that might be a problem if you have an old or "budget" device.  One selling point is that while they're in beta phase, all their voices are available for free.  They're definitely worth the download if you have the space.

Last but not least, CereProc English voices.  They're very good and come in a 160MB package for 1.60$.  You can sample them from their website, www.cereproc.com.  The Adam voice is so good it should make you forget that it's a computer talking.

Listen to a few samples, and you'll soon be looking for more apps to make your Android talk...