If you’re still using your cell phone just to make calls, it’s time to say goodbye to the ’90s. And if you’re directionally-challenged like me—and your phone has a GPS—CoPilot Live mobile navigation from ALK Technologies can make your travels easier.

It works on the iPhone, Windows Mobile and Android phones as well as notebooks and netbooks. CoPilot Live will give turn-by-turn directions to just about any destination and also includes an extensive points-of-interest database to help find restaurants, landmarks, gas stations and more.

Using the new Version 8 on my HTC Tilt2 smartphone, I was impressed with the graphics and 3D driving view. The menus are fairly intuitive so there’s little need to break out the manual once the program is set up and running. It does almost everything a typical standalone GPS would do and even more than some. Text-to-speech, which allows CoPilot Live to speak street names instead of just saying “turn now,” is offered as a free upgrade.

Advanced features include adjustable speed-limit alerts, a lane-indicator display and a walking mode that includes foot paths.

The “Live” part of CoPilot goes beyond the points of interest that are stored in the phone memory or on an expansion card. Using the GPS, Live provides location-based services such as weather, traffic, fuel prices and will also show the location of friends who are using the program. It will search for nearby restaurants, hotels and more.

Driving around Texas, I did find an odd glitch with CoPilot Live. When I tried to select one particular street, it was not in the database so I could not set it as a destination. The odd part is when I drove there, the street name showed up on the map. But it still could not be selected as a destination.

CoPilot Live is one of several turn-by-turn solutions available for smartphones and other mobile devices.

Garmin Mobile offers competing solutions for smartphones. Garmin has some nice features, but I just don’t think the company is aggressively pushing the envelope with updates and development for smartphones. Garmin’s own phone, released on the Sprint network, hasn’t been a major hit.

ALK seems more aggressive in pushing the limit and releasing updates for its smartphone programs, which is a good sign for the future.

The downloadable version of CoPilot Live v8 for Windows Mobile is reasonably priced at $29.99, with an extra subscription charge for traffic and fuel-price info. The iPhone version is $19.99. The Android version is available through the Android Market.

A version of CoPilot Live is also in development for the Apple iPad tablet computer. But see my previous thoughts and the comments of our readers on whether the iPad is a useful device for travelers. In my opinion, it’s not.

CoPilot Live can turn many kinds of smartphones into full-featured GPS navigators. And just think of all the time that can save—no longer having to stop and ask for directions.