Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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You wrote "Then the dealer wants $400 for an update DVD". The DVD in my 2004 Honda Accord's OEM Navigation system would have cost $185 plus shipping... if I had chosen to make the purchase. I've felt no need to do so in the three years that I've been thoroughly enjoying using it.
The same goes for the $75 cost of a download to update the maps in my wife's Garmin nüvi 350 portable unit that fits in my shirt pocket. We've had it almost a year and I probably won't feel the need to update for another couple of years. It's a wonderful full featured system exactly as it is.
There's no way that I would consider the OnStar setup for a monthly subscription fee, especially since it's fatally handicapped by not having any mapping capability.
I traded up my BlackBerry so I didn't really test it for long enough to see its durability.
-juice
We flew in to Phoenix and drove immediately to Tucson. Spent a long weekend there, drove all over the place (I must have saved about 8 new "Favorites") and then back to Phoenix for the flight home.
It's hard to imagine not having it now that I'm used to it. In a familiar town it is a useful tool, but in an UNfamiliar town (I had never driven in AZ) it was absolutely wonderful. :shades:
-juice
If my next vehicle doesn't have NAV built-in I'm buying a 2nd GPS unit.
-juice
The Garmin nüvi series http://www.garmin.com/products/nuvi/ navigation systems allow only a single waypoint. Some of Garmin's older products can be programmed with multiple waypoints.
However, it's easy to save multiple destinations as favorites, called My Locations on a nüvi. You just choose one of your other favorites when leaving your previous location and press Go on the touchscreen.
The nüvi 350 and 360 units will fit in your shirt pocket. The nüvi 660 has a slightly wider screen and is therefore somewhat less pocketable. That's the one you saw on the TV commercial.
-mike
-mike
If you turn off Safety Mode, it lets you program while the car is moving. To me that is ideal - if you have a passenger there's no reason to block access to that feature.
Also, I can enter a 2nd way point.
Let's say I'm going to a restaurant. If I need to get gas, and I find a gas station, it asks me and will either take me to the gas station first, then continue to the final destination; or it will just go to the gas station. You choose.
Useful upgrade. Not sure if the Nuvi gets that upgrade but it's a newer model so my guess is it does offer that now.
-juice
The situation that you've just described is that of a single waypoint, not two. The restaurant was the Destination. The gasoline station was on the way to the destination, therefore it was a Waypoint. That's how Garmin, and I believe the rest of the industry, defines waypoints.
-juice
For anyone that reads this thread take juice's comments with a grain of salt and make up your own mind about which solution is right for you. Both fixed and portable navigation products offer something unique for everyone.
-mike
-mike
If you wanted to make the point that the marketplace is big enough for both portable & factory-installed systems, the last sentence from your post would have done the job. The rest of it was simply uncalled for. In the future, please read & reread your post before clicking on "Post My Message".
FWIW, we've had a Garmin c330 since October 2005 & a 2007 Lexus ES 350 with factory nav since September of this year. Although the Lexus system is more feature-rich, the Garmin is every bit as accurate (more so, actually - the Lexus system seems to think that our house is a block away from its actual location) & easier to program. IMO, the Garmin is clearly the better value.
I don't pretend to be an expert on GPS systems, not hardly, in fact I only have experience with a couple of Garmin models (c320 and c330) and the OE Subaru Tribeca's system, which is made by Pioneer.
I am enthusiastic about the technology in general, and you may be misunderstanding my position here. I've just learned more about the Garmin product because that's what I use.
As for how they rate, if I'm biased then so is Consumer Reports, because a Garmin was rated at the top, and the only Best Buys they selected were also Garmin. They also mentioned Garmin had the easiest to use interface.
I happen to agree with them. If you don't, please state why and leave the personal attacks at the door, K? :mad:
If you really have followed this thread closely you may recall how I stated the v6 maps mine came with were out of date and inaccurate, and until I did several updates on the web site a lot of features were missing. Conveniently skipped that part, perhaps?
My system didn't really start working the way I wanted it to until I put in a significant effort to update the software, the maps, and the firmware.
Now it does work the way I want it to, and I'm sharing my experience with others here so they know what features are available from my model. This is how a constructive forum is supposed to work, you share ideas and tips.
I'd love to read about similar things from Tom Tom or Magellan, but guess what? Noone has been documenting the updates, and that's a shame, really.
My suggestion to you, challenge really, is to stop whining about seeing too many helpful Garmin-related tips and start posting tips for other formats so that you actually contribute something USEFUL to this thread. :P
-juice
"Both fixed and portable navigation products offer something unique for everyone."
Everyone should make up their own mind. That also means that everyone can voice/post their own opinion with out need to bash someone else. I post here periodically, but I check in almost daily and have found the people on Edmunds to be knowledgeable in areas I am not. That does not make them an owner of Garmin stock, nor one dimensional.
When I do post it is usually in support of portable GPS systems, in particular Garmin, since that is what I have owned for the past 3+years (Streetpilot 2610). For my needs a portable system was, and still is, more practical. I can use it in my own car as well as when I go on vacation (such as this past weekend).
Secondly, I learned this weekend why it pays to do the updates. I was supposed to meet family at a restaurant in Michigan for dinner so I input the name into my Garmin and off I went. Only problem was the location on my Garmin was about 0.9 miles off. Good thing I had my cell to call and find out where it was.
I also plan to use my portable next year when I travel to Hungary for a couple of weeks of vacation. How else would I get around? Especially when you see that the car rental companies charge $77 usd per week for a portable GPS (Garmin as it happens
Mark
I especially love the MP3 player (SD input) and picture viewer in the Nuvi and Pioneer... I wish OEM systems offered those features too.
For future post I would love to hear the experiences you encounter, as would other readers I am sure. I also look forward to others experiences with their navigation system.
Until then grab some strong coffee with a shot of redbull and bury the dog.
I usually use my 2gb memory stick to transfer the routes and MP3s however, I do have a wireless network card that allows me to connect to my home PC or e-mail and download the routes. There are all kinds of routes you can set as your preferences in StreetAtlas 2006, the nice thing about the "Plus" version is that it has the white and yellow pages of the entire country on it. For instance we were trying to figure out which dealer we stopped at during our trip to pittsburg the previous year, all we did was type in "Subaru and PA" and it gave us a list of all the Subaru dealers in PA. This info can be invaluable on a trip. Carputers let you load any software, so if you were more familiar with one or another you could load them up.
I'll admit you need to be a bit more computer savy to use a carputer, but it expands your information and possibilities at the same time.
-mike
So the memory stick you use is USB or SD? Do you burn your own CD-Rs with MP3 or WMA files, or do you just transfer them on the USB device?
I looked at an AVIC at Best Buy. The interface seemed messy. I didn't spend a lot of time with it, or maybe it just has a really bad demo mode, but I got nowhere with it.
The big screen and built-in (hard to steal) setup is appealing, but I really wanted something easier to use.
Tell us more about this promotion. This is the type of stuff that you share that benefits everyone here.
-juice
On the DVDs I either play them directly from the DVD/RW drive or I rip them via DVD Shrink to the hard drive on the carputer so that I have a virtual library of movies on the HD.
Finally at some point when the direct TV antennas come down in price I will mount one on the roof of the Armada so that I will have direct TV available via a TV card to the carputer.
Oh and I'm putting in a rear-view camera as well for backing up, especially for connecting up the boat and car tailers!
-mike
You'll find a wealth of information here:
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=172
-mike
That's good stuff, but it doesn't stop me from wishing that Lexus / Toyota would allow the front seat passenger to program the nav while the car is in motion. And I still believe, as I posted here earlier this year, that factory systems are overpriced.
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/promotion/details/0,,2076_310069609_- 328817031,00.html
Again, the Scion got the D2 and I got the S1 for travel. Why so many types.... I love this stuff and I work in the mobile electronics industry. Thus I am exposed to different systems all of the time. Now I am dying to see the navigation systems included with the cellular service providers. How good are they? Anyone use one extensively? If so how is the coverage? Voice prompts? Ease of use?
The one piece of useful information is that upcoming POIs at different offramps can be viewed, called or added as a way point. Simply select the FREEWAY guidance screen from the SCREEN PREFERENCES (during route guidance on freeways or tollways only) and you can view and select the POI from the upcoming off-ramps after touching the icon at the top right of the display. We found it by accident and couldn't find any notation of this in the owners manual. So many little unique things hidden away.
Or is it navguy without the 1? You seem to be using both.
Regarding the "navigation systems included with the cellular service providers", they work alright, BUT...
1. Tiny screen.
2. Must be kept plugged into 12 volt source for your entire trip, or power will drain and you may not be able to use it either as a navigation aid or as a cellular phone.
3. They don't use satellites. They determine position by triangulation with cellular towers. Therefore they only work within range of their own company's cellular towers. That is, they probably will not "roam" on compatible carriers' systems. They clearly cannot work on incompatible carriers' systems (CDMA vs. GSM technologies).
4. If it is a flip phone, and is open while navigating to permit viewing of the screen, how can it receive incoming phone calls?
-mike
Do you happen to use an iPod or are you non-iPod guy? Or perhaps you download music on Verizon's Vcast? We bought the adapter for my wife's Scion so that she could hook up her iPod Nano to the AVIC-D2. I wish my Sienna offered some type of input for the iPod, or a USB or SD input for music.
Have you figured a way to get the video from the smartphone to the carputer? The DircTV systems for mobile are expensive... but are falling in price point. I am sure you will be the first on the block with the satellite TV system... you sound like you are inches away from getting one of the new low profile systems available. With the launch of XM 'Soul', the 4th satellite operated by XM, we may find that they will offer some video services in the future. Now we must wait to see what is next!
Luckily on the Armada there is an Aux-input right on the dash for the stereo which you can use for Ipod or in my case I use the line-out of the carputer to the aux jack. The voice nav on the street atlas will come in via that line along with the MP3s or the Movie which works out very nice when travelling.
-mike
I have read that they do consumer lots of current which is a huge detriment for a cellular user. Nothing worse than a dead battery. Now if they could only come out with a solar charger on the back of the cell phone that could actually charge the battery.
I thought some of the NEXTEL phones actually incorporated a GPS antenna?
I would hope that the incoming call overrides navigation. But what happens when you take the call and can't hear the turn-by-turn directions? Or see the visual indicators! Bad scenario if you miss the turn in New Jersey. Plus, you would need a cell phone cradle to see the visual prompts on the small screen as you pointed out.
I am intrigued with this emerging technology since more and more smartphones are incorporating more memory and larger displays. How is the sound quality of the turn-by-turn? You heard one? I guess it wouldn't mute the speakers if the radio was on either. I must see one in action!
If you want to "see one in action" and subscribe to Verizon Wireless, they have a $2.99 daily access feature. You don't have to sign up for their VZ Navigator monthly plan at all to test it.
I'll stick with my Honda Accord's OEM Navigation System and my wife's nüvi 350 (both permit inputting while under way).
Unfortunately it got stolen out of my nice neighborhood in Staten Island (Everyone is either NYPD or MOB), they were the kinder gentler theives and didn't rip the dash out they disconnected the cable and un-screwed it. I replaced it with the Lillput 8" touchscreen which has a bit sturdier mount and quick release which is nice.
For input I like the touch screen although in the Armada it's a bit far away to touch it! I have a few input devices installed. I just picked up a tiny USB keyboard with keys similar to the Blackberry keys, which is great for the few times you need a keyboard. I also have a USB mouse that I keep on the center console. I also had before it was stolen, an ATI remote control which controls the mouse, likely I will get another one sometime soon.
I will likely be putting in a 9" drop down in the 2nd row as well, since I cheaped out on the OEM DVD unit for the 2nd row.
-mike