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Navigation GPS Systems

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  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    Great link bat1161.

    "A nüvi 370, ugyanúgy mint a nüvi 360 és a nüvi 310 Bluetooth® vezeték nélküli kihangosítót tartalmaz beépített mikrofonnal és hangszóróval, mely segítségével kezét telefonálás közben is szabadon használhatja (az arra alkalmas telefonokkal). Egyszerűen tárcsázza a kívánt telefonszámot a nüvi érintőkijelzőjén megjelenő billentyűzeten, vagy fogadja a hívásokat a képernyő megérintésével, majd a telefonáláshoz csak beszéljen a beépített mikrofonba.

    Könnyedén kezdeményezhet hívásokat a telefon telefonkönyvéből vagy a hívásnaplóból. Nem tudja a kívánt cég telefonszámát? Keresse ki a készülék POI adatbázisából azt, majd hívja fel a képernyő megérintésével (az adatbázis tartalmaz számos éttermet, szállodát, üzletet, túristalátványosságot, stb...)
    ."

    Now I understand exactly what you meant.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Thank you, that was most helpful. I only found the extra routes as an advantage along with the bigger screen. I like the pocket size. I only buy cameras that fit in my pocket. Do not carry a cell phone, so the iPhone would be of little interest to me. I don't like being followed by uncle...
  • cillakatcillakat Member Posts: 53
    Can it be used with anything but Cingular/ATT - yes, if you know someone who can hack it for you

    Is it reasonably priced? it is now.....$399.....another 1% off buying thru ebates.com to get to apples website....it'll get lower when 2nd gen comes out.


    Is it an “unlocked” phone, so I can use it with a carrier other than Cingular/at&t? –not unlocked....but people have figured out workarounds. not easy, but has been done.

    Will there be a non-Cingular/ATT. there already is if you count the ones that have been forcibly made non ATT by savvy hackers:)


    Can I add new programs to it? Of course you can. Tons are available at ibrickr and other sites. many many third parties have come up with free applications.

    Does it run programs from Palm, Symbian, Windows? the applications to make this work are on the way. someone's been able to make it work without look. well, not just someone...it's working with outlook if you kmow where to look.


    Does it have games? yup...that's an easy add.

    Is it ambidextrous? how ridiculous. of course it is. as much as any other phone is.

    Does it have GPS? does now....someone figured it out. google iphone gps and you'll find it. it's available.

    Voice recognition? Voice dialing? Voice memos? yes to the latter. the others will be coming no doubt as simple downloads.

    Does it get onto the HSDPA (3G) high-speed Internet network that Cingular/at&t has rolled out in a few cities? itttt's coming.

    Does the Web browser support Flash or Java? –No.

    Can you change the battery yourself? –No. You’ll have to send the phone in to Apple for battery replacement. considering what some here are wiling to do to their cars, changing the batter on the iphone is no different. for the average user, no. for someone wiling to tackle? sure.

    Can it open Word and Excel documents? –No.

    Are there any speed-dial keys? not yet....soon though.

    Can I make a call while driving a car? –Not as easily as on a regular cellphone. i agree.
    Does the camera record video? –No. i expect a workaround soon though.

    Will it sync with Outlook? uh, yes. not easily yet, but definitely doable.

    Won’t the screen get smudgy? –It does. like any peice of glass or plastic, um anything.
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    Wonderful for the less than ½% of users who have the hacking abilities that you've described. The other 99½% are stuck with the thing as-built and 100% are stuck with a sub-par carrier with a sub-par data transmission technology.

    Navigation on a sub-par phone network cannot compare with the capabilities already widely available on dedicated pocketable GPS navigation systems.
  • jaxs1jaxs1 Member Posts: 2,697
    So what that it is only on AT&T? Lots of people are on AT&T and the people on Verizon and Sprint who don't want to switch just don't get this phone as an option.

    In a few years, some other phone may come out with similar functionality for their cell providers and then they will be able to use those or other devices for GPS navigation.
    There is no one device that 100% of people will use including the iPhone.
  • im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    The iPhone being on AT&T only is only logical as AT&T uses GSM, which is by far the world standard.. it's exclusive to them now, but won't be for much longer.. it's coming out in Europe and Asia shortly.

    Besides, Verizon generally requires their own user interface, and that's something that I HIGHLY doubt Apple would be OK with.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    T-Mobile in Germany will carry it for that market. Interesting as T-Mo USA doesn't have it.
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Blane -

    What, you can't understand that :D ? I know I can't, which is why if you click on English at the top of the page it gives you a description of what it does. Now you know why I had to get this software - if I can't even read the road signs (which are hidden) I definitely needed the GPS :) .

    Mark
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    AH, OK, the home page that you linked to didn't have an English link to click. I went to it and clicked around blindly , found an English link on the 670 page and found this:
    http://www.garmin.hu/products/index.php?pid=468
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Their website is indeed confusing at first. I have to admit I had to do the same thing as you, i.e. click around until something popped up.

    Their customer support was great though. I received a replacement Nuvi from Garmin about a week before my trip so I needed a new unlock code to get the Hungarian maps. When I emailed them they replied the next morning and even sent me a hard disk in the mail! That's why I would recommend their product for anyone who has to travel there.

    As a side note, before going to Hungary I occasionally saw something about the country. Since I've been back my local paper did a big article about the country, and a TV show I watch did 3 or 4 episodes based in the country.

    BTW, we have friends living in England so on a lark while in Hungary I put their address into the Nuvi. It told me how I could drive there in about 15 hours (+Channel crossing time). It even took me to the Chunnel! If i had an extra week I would have been tempted to try it :) .

    Mark
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    The Hungary maps were clearly a good move. for you. However, I'm surprised that the 370 , advertised as having Preloaded City Navigator® NT for North America and Europe (full coverage), had such a "light" version for so many areas of Europe.

    I just found this page that explains the coverage in more depth:

    http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/citynavntEurope.jsp

    For Hungary, it states Detailed coverage of the Greater Budapest area, the Balaton area, Debrecen, Miskolc, Eger and Tokaj.

    There are plenty of similar holes listed. That's somewhat disappointing for someone expecting full coverage as here at home.
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    Re using the iPhone, you wrote:

    Can it be used with anything but Cingular/ATT - yes, if you know someone who can hack it for you

    Is it an “unlocked” phone, so I can use it with a carrier other than Cingular/at&t? –not unlocked....but people have figured out workarounds. not easy, but has been done.

    Will there be a non-Cingular/ATT. there already is if you count the ones that have been forcibly made non ATT by savvy hackers:)


    Read on here:
    http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/09/25/apple-promises-to-kill-un- locked-iphones
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Kind of like trying to steal a bootleg copy of WinXP or Vista. They are so integrated with the Gates bunch that it is not worth the hassle. I say when they bring their disabled iPhone into the at&t office to get it fixed, cuff em and send them off to the gulag :shades:

    We all pay for hackers with higher cell bills.
  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    Don't forget Apple approached Verizon with the iPhone first. Verizon rejected the proposal. Then Apple approached AT&T. So GSM versus CDMA had nothing to do with it. Seeing how Apple is "controlling" the relationship with AT&T, I can understand why Verizon ran away from the iPhone. Apple is making all the money through the sales of the phone.
  • jaxs1jaxs1 Member Posts: 2,697
    Most likely Verizon wanted to install their own Verizon-designed interface and turn off features they don't like.
    That is their habit.
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    The reason that Verizon probably didn't go for Apple's deal was based on Apple's greed. Apple has a monthly revenue-sharing deal with AT&T. There are estimates that Apple is receiving $3 a month from AT&T for each iPhone user, and an additional $8 a month for new subscribers to AT&T's network lured by the iPhone.

    Why would Verizon take a deal like that, when they don't have to split revenues with any other phone manufacturer?

    Navigation is available on many cellphone models, if that's what you want. I'll stick with the much more full featured dedicated navigation systems. My cell phone is for making and receiving phone calls.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Question:
    I just bought a new Sequoia with built-in NAV. It seems to work OK, with a few exceptions.

    I thought all GPS NAV units gave you real time MPH and elevation?

    I can tell you if I had to pay full price for a vehicle with NAV I would never do it again. Maybe I will like it on vacation. The novelty wore off in 3 days. Thankfully I paid way under invoice for this vehicle. I wanted it to map the location of property we look at. Having the elevation is important.
  • tmarttmart Member Posts: 2,399
    Can't help on your factory Nav, but my portable Garmin does have real time MPH, but does not have elevation. Why would you care about the MPH, when you've got the Sequoia's speedometer?? :confuse:
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Maybe to make sure the speedometer is correct?

    Mark
  • tmarttmart Member Posts: 2,399
    Possibly, but I've noticed there is a small time delay for the Garmin to register movement. Can be stopped at a stoplight and the Garmin still shows the car moving for a second or two. Same for a stop sign, I can stop and go, and the Garmin doesn't show zero. On a level road with cruise on both are very close.
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    I've noticed the delay on my Nuvi as well. However I know on my old Subaru Outback there was a differnece of approx 4-5 mph between the GPS and the speedometer. Not so on the new Outback.

    Mark
  • mdchachimdchachi Member Posts: 275
    Elevation would be useful, I agree. There's no need for real-time MPH when there's a speedometer in the dash.

    Having nav is kind of like having a detailed road atlas in the car. You're glad it's there when you need it.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    That is exactly right. Many new cars have erroneous speedometers. Our LS400 is off by 3 MPH at 70. Really only going 67 MPH.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    I agree that the MPH is less important than having elevation. I know the MS GPS program I used in my laptop on a trip had the MPH and Elevation. It was only $105 with the GPS antenna. Kind of a pain to use in the vehicle. The built-in NAV is good for finding properties on established roads. Not totally up to date. Does not have some roads that are 3-4 years old. I doubt I would spend much for a DVD to update it.
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    The GPS Information screen (to view, touch signal strength bars at upper left corner of Menu screen) of my Garmin nüvi 350 shows the following:

    accuracy - in feet (top)
    elevation (upper right)
    sky view of available satellites (center)
    signal strengths of available satellites (right side)
    latitude & longitude (lower left)
    speed (upper left)
    direction of travel (varies)
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    From the 350 & 370 can you download locations etc into a computer mapping program? I may get one of the small ones for logging property we look at. The one in the Sequoia is alright for some things. I think they are way overpriced and hyped. Toyota does not even offer XM or Sirrius receivers for our unit.
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    No Gary, you can't do such downloads from a nüvi. However, you can create locations called Points Of Interest (POI) on a computer and upload them to a nüvi.

    http://www8.garmin.com/products/poiloader/

    Realize that you can (by touching the screen at your current location) save and name the location as a Favorite for future recall.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    I did do that. It may be all I need for now. I was curious how long the NAV would save the places you mark. Does it all go away if you change the car battery. Or is there a hard drive in the NAV unit? Is there a good way to integrate XM into the NAV unit?
  • jaxs1jaxs1 Member Posts: 2,697
    You can look at the portable units you can buy for $600 or less and see that you are not getting 3-4 times the functionality from a factory nav system.

    Gyros and voice commands are nice, but I bet if they offered a $2000 DVD based system with voice contol and a $500 system that ran off an SD card and had no voice control, but was also integrated into the factory stereo, the $500 system would sell in much higher numbers and would sell to people buying lower priced cars.
    image

    There are now 4 and 8GB SD cards that can hold as much data as or much more data than a DVD.
    image
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    Gary,

    You wrote "I was curious how long the NAV would save the places you mark. Does it all go away if you change the car battery. Or is there a hard drive in the NAV unit? Is there a good way to integrate XM into the NAV unit?"

    When you wrote NAV, I presume that you were referring to one of the Garmin nüvi models. In that case, when you save a Favorite with a name, it remains in a file in the unit. You should back up the entire unit to your PC's hard drive, as you would any other data. In doing so, you've also backed up your Favorites. The nüvi just shows up on your PC as another drive with its own folders.

    Changing your car battery has no affect on the nüvi units since they use their own internal rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

    There is no hard drive in nüvi units. They are all solid state. Dropping one wouldn't be as much of a problem as it would with other brands that use spinning disks.

    I'm pretty sure that none of the nüvi models have built-in XM satellite radios. However, the Garmin StreetPilot 2820, 7200 and 7500 do. However, they are pricy and larger than I'd prefer.

    If you already have one of the portable XM radios such as the Delphi SyFi2, you can use its built-in FM modulator to play it through some of the nüvi models. But why bother when you can play it through your car radio over an FM channel with much better fidelity.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    I am talking about the NAV that is in the Sequoia I just bought. I am far from happy with it. Is very poor at picking the shortest routes to most destinations that I am familiar with. It does have 3 routes to choose from. This unit is just not something I would trust to get me to where I am going. I will continue to use my Thomas Bros Map book. I tried to get an XM reciever from Toyota to integrate with the NAV unit. None available. So I am about to pull it out and dump it on the desk at the Toyota dealership. It is NOT worth much as a navigation device. It does track where you are going fine. I have marked a couple locations. My question is whether it has a non-volatile memory that will get wiped clean when the main battery is removed? I should have listened to those that complain about the Toyota NAV units. It looks cool.... :sick:
  • mdchachimdchachi Member Posts: 275
    No, your address book won't go away.

    If you're going to plot your own route why do you need the book? You can still use the screen as a map & reference only.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    I wanted to keep track of properties we looked at by multiple listing numbers. For that it seems fine. My only real complaint with the Toyota NAV, is with the poor routing and no elevation.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    OK, I goofed and forgot to take my c340 with me to Florida. I was bummed!

    Any how, I rented a c330 for about $11 a day, and got to try it out.

    We have a c320 (wife's) and a c340 (mine). I've been spoiled by the c340, and feel the software is a bit better and it's a bit more accurate. Supposedly, all it adds is the text-to-speech and a hard drive vs. the SD card for the c320, but in practice it's a little faster, more accurate, and smarter as far as re-routing.

    Well, after sampling the c330, I still say the c340 is better. Not just the text-to-speech, but again it's just more accurate than the c330.

    I'm not sure why, in fact I thought the antennae and everything else was the same, but the c330 just did not perform as well as my c340.

    I'm not complaining, just making a note of some minor differences between these siblings.
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    Juice,

    As of today, the GpsPasSion forums have 1,263 topics and 8,126 posts covering three Garmin series (iX, C3x0 and C5x0) navigation systems here:

    http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=160

    As of today, the GpsPasSion forums have 3,026 topics and 31,663 posts covering only the Garmin nüvi navigation systems here:

    http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=172

    Is there a message there?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    New models are talked about more. That should be no surprise to anyone.

    Plus, when they came out with the low-cost Nuvi that pretty much sealed the fate for the c series.

    You still get a lot of bang for your buck with the c, given current pricing.
  • jaxs1jaxs1 Member Posts: 2,697
    The smaller, 200 and 300 square series Nuvi's have very weak internal speakers compared to a C series. You will have trouble hearing a small Nuvi over road noise.
    The larger 600 series rectangular Nuvis are loud enough, but cost a lot more than a C series with similar features.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Well, you have to compromise something for its small size, so that's fair.

    My c340 has text-to-speech, and I think that sets the price point fairly high on the Nuvi series.

    I'd still love a nuvi 6xx with the big 4.3" screen, those are SWEET!
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    jaxs1,

    You wrote "The smaller, 200 and 300 square series Nuvi's have very weak internal speakers compared to a C series. You will have trouble hearing a small Nuvi over road noise."

    My nüvi 350 has very capable speakers. I've NEVER experienced any concerns hearing them, and that's at the 80% level where it's always set. Try it, you'll like it.
  • mstemmstem Member Posts: 113
    I'm with blane on this one! I have had a nuvi 360 for almost a year now, no problems with audio level at all. And I am an old guy, with lousy hearing overall. :)
  • jaxs1jaxs1 Member Posts: 2,697
    Volume level is a common complaint in user reviews at Amazon.com. If you turn it to max, it's distorted and if you turn it down, you you can't hear it over highway noise and radio.
    If you have a super-quiet car and play your radio at very low volume, it is probably OK.
    If you have an AUX input, you can plug it into the car stereo to eliminate this problem, but then you can't listen to live radio and get traffic or news reports etc..

    I looked at the displays at Best Buy and the C series and larger Nuvis were noticeably louder than the small Nuvis.
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    jaxs1,

    As with any other audio system, maximum volume settings lead to distortion.

    You wrote: "Volume level is a common complaint in user reviews at Amazon.com."

    See if you can find such complaints where nüvi users (so far) have posted 31,787 times:

    http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=172
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    He named his source - Amazon.com. You're using a different source.
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Not sure about other users at Amanzon or GPSpassions, but for the 3 months I've had the Nuvi370 I have had no complaints reagrding volume. And that is while using it in rentals as well as my own car.

    Mark
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    gpspassion will have owner/members, most likely advanced users at that. You go there for hack codes, POI databases, etc. If they don't like something they find a way to modify it.

    Amazon is a more generic cross-section of the buying public. If they don't like something they probably just return it.
  • blaneblane Member Posts: 2,017
    Juice,

    You wrote "gpspassion will have owner/members, most likely advanced users at that. You go there for hack codes, POI databases, etc. If they don't like something they find a way to modify it."

    I don't concur. If you follow the nüvi threads there, you'll find significantly fewer than one percent of the posts discussing those subjects. People are discussing everyday issues.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I guess I've observed a different demographic - then again I was there to download POI databases, and perhaps that's where the advanced users hang out.
  • mn49mn49 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2004 sienna xle limited and I want to know how to play my DVD movies on the Navigation screen.
    I know its possible because I've turned the car on and it started to play on the nav screen.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Anyone have experience with the Pioneer AVIC-S2? or the AVIC-Z2?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Very little, and only playing with an in-store display.

    Big screen, but an interface that didn't seem very easy to use.

    Hopefully a Pioneer veteran can chime in with more details.

    I was close to getting the newer model (D3? I think) but then I realized it was not compatible with my steering wheel audio controls, and I didn't want to give those up.

    Also, the D3 only takes 1 DVD or CD, so when you navigate you can't play other CDs. Still, it lists for $999.

    I ended up with a 2nd Garmin GPS.
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