For those using smartphones to navigate, I'm curious

mine is on all the time when I'm driving, even if I don't navigate with it

I agree. I've used satellite view on a couple trips and never liked it.

I have to agree, here, also. The image is too "busy" and it's hard to pick out where you're supposed to be going.

Waze took 15.4MB data.
Ended up not using one garmin because its wonky touchscreen wouldn't let me change the volume through the headphone jack and not using the other because I hadn't loaded my podcasts on it.

I use Waze and dont have a problem with data. However, it really eat up your battery fast. That is why I don't use it as often as I would like.

I use the satellite view on my PC all the time (phones are too small).

I research using the satelite look for work the night before going to an area I've haven't been before. I drive a tri-axle dump truck, can't make sudden moves like a car could. I like using it to see what an intersection I'll need to turn at looks like before I get to it, are there turn lanes, a jug handle, traffic light, etc.

I hook up my 2689 every day in my work truck, use it as a rolling map, can check the time and my speed with it, look ahead at traffic problems, weather conditions, use it as a hands free phone. I feel naked without it.

You can see traffic lights in satellite view? Did you mean street view? If you really can see details like traffic lights in sat. view, you have eagle eyes. Congrats.

He did mention using a PC, and if he's using Google Maps (or even the Bing equivalent thereof) you can zoom in close enough to see traffic lights. You do have to zoom in pretty close, though.

For smartphone nav, I do tend to use Waze in towns and Copilot Live in more rural areas (there are still areas of my state that are "No-G" much less 2G or 3G and having offline maps and POIs is helpful in these cases). I've also been using Locus Pro a lot--not just for geocaching and Munzee hunts, but using it on occasion for OpenStreetMaps goodness. It's actually quite possible to use Google Earth to save a predefined route as a KML file and import it into Locus Pro, for instance.

I know. Congrats to both of you for having eagle eyes. Mine aren't so good.

This has always been the question which concerns me about using a smart phone. I have an in dash, my Garmin unit and smart phone. I think the smart phone would be best to use but lately I have been using the in dash more often. Have a long trip coming up and think I will finally use the garmin once more.

is pretty nominal so long as I don't upload/download photos with the app.

How do you use a PC. where do you put it. If it is on the passenger seat, it would require taking your eyes off the road. I use Waze on my phone and keep the phone on my lap and occasionally raise it to eye level and that is distracting enough.

The person who mentioned using a PC, I suspect, uses it before he goes on a trip (as a way to actually look at a planned route via satellite view). I've done the same thing in Google Earth in past.

Without a data plan it is rather harder to do satellite view with a PC (I've used non satellite PC mapping tools on a Windows tablet in past--Microsoft Streets and Trips and Here Maps, specifically. No sat view, and maps were stored offline of course. I'll also note these were SMALLER Windows tablets, around the 8" range.) Now that S&T is officially end-of-life from Microsoft, probably the best bet is Here Maps or CoPilot for Windows (I use the Android version, but I've not used the Windows version as I use S&T for that).

Many moons ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth I also experimented (strictly as the passenger!) with using a netbook (again, these were tiny 9-10" screen "mini-laptops") and a GPS dongle. This was early 2000s-ish, before tablets were a thing; I rather prefer the tablets (smaller and you can get a tablet with GPS built in).

There are mounting kits for at least the smaller tablets (around 8" at least) and I have heard of lifestyle RVers actually getting a car mount for larger laptops, but unless you live in your RV fulltime I don't see the point of a car mount like what your local friendly policeman would have

I drive with hands free bluetooth headphone and get the Waze directions on the headphone. Waze data usage is surprising minimal.

However, I normally use my TomTom Go app for navigation, especially when I'm traveling overseas.

Phone apps are great when used around town but you better check what the roaming charges are with your carrier if you start heading across country. They've eliminated roaming charges in Europe but that's not necessarily the case in North America.

I use my PND for what it is designed for, I use my DSLR Camera for what it is designed for and I use my Phone for what it is Primarily designed for. I don't need a electronic gee wiz bang wonder box chained to me.......................