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There are some resellers offering month to month unlimited data. The fine print is they slow you way down at some point. And I don't know if any are available on the Verizon 4G LTE network. Can you buy an unlocked iPad and get M2M from Verizon from another seller? Verizon wants about $460 for the iPad mini with only 16GB. If you get max memory it jumps to $660. The full blown iPad full size with Retina is right at a grand.
Only thing worse are the 2 year locked in subscriptions.
Well, actually one thing worse is having to pay your dealer $350 for some updated maps and POIs for your in-dash nav, especially when the update is out of date. :sick:
Only thing worse are the 2 year locked in subscriptions.
I agree and am having second thoughts on the one I signed. I have 14 days to get out without being tied up for life. Verizon will not sell month to month with the Jetpack type service. And now they are charging $50 for 4 GB. My Costco plan is $50 for 5GB per month. $1200 for two years of go anywhere Internet. Is it worth it? I don't think so. $2400 for 2 years of smartphone access is twice as silly. Americans have too much money.
Got good use out of it a couple of days ago calling for a tow when the minivan died on us, but it's pretty limited for anything other than calls or texts.
I can usually find wifi except when we camp in those primitive campgrounds we like. But you usually can't get cell service in those spots either so a hotspot wouldn't help.
Now it's quarterly, so v2012.30 would be Q3 of 2012, though they come out a bit earlier than that.
Back in 2005 the maps were awful.
Anyone get one of these?
I have a 7" Magellan but it freezes once a week or so and my Garmins are simply better.
But I'm waiting for a backup cam option on the Garmins. They don't even have a video input for those.
A backup cam would be nice. Wireless cam going to your tablet? And you could do an OBDII thing to track stuff, instead of getting a ScanGauge.
With all the options, no wonder Garmin is partnering with the automakers.
needwant more than a code reader.I've looked at Actron 9575 and Actron 9580A. Both read live data.
Are there others I should look at that are available? How about PC-based setups requiring a laptop for use? The $180 for Actron 9580A is an attractive price range and its suggestions for fixes for codes seems to add to the price more than the value to me, but it can graph and store data. And the 9575 is available around $100.
What's out there?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'm hoping for a step above the basic code readers. I want one that will graph data and store it. It looks to me llike OTC brand is really Actron or parent company using same software, but maybe older and not supported from company.
I stumbled onto Autel brand in my search: Autel AULAL519 looks about right.
Reading info sheets from Actron and Innova is like finding engineering info from a car company--they really don't want you to know and instead they just want to advertise to you with catch words.
Reading reviews of various scanners on Amazon is not helpful because the people know very little about the cars and the technology. Most just picked a scanner by price, color, etc., and either it worked to help by giving a code that led to the failed part or it didn't work.
I'm hoping for a good lead. And the Autel brand seems to have steady reviews across their products.
I posted on the GPS topic because it's technology oriented. I was thinking that being technology-oriented folk someone would also understand the auto code scanner market as well.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You may want to ask over in the A Mechanic's Life discussion too. Or maybe not.
Afraid to. I've already been tersely upbraided there, LOL. :sick:
I'm surprised there isn't a topic here on code readers, scanners, tech tools for car maintenance.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I am too. Sites for VW TDI talk about their code readers and tech gadgets regularly.
BELMONT, Mass. — A woman and her two children, ages 7 and 10, narrowly escaped serious injury when a train smashed into their minivan after a GPS device led the driver onto MBTA train tracks Tuesday night.
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/06/20/GPS-Leads-Woman-Onto-Railroad-Trac- ks-Minivan-Destroyed
Ok, the latest version was him driving his sister back to DC in her car and scaring her to death driving down a railroad track. And going around one of the traffic circles over and over. And he was snockered. Who knows the real version any more....
I got a Ford Falcon stuck on a railroad track when I was 15.
2014 Kia Forte: Slick Navigation System
I'm trying an app called Waze, anyone familiar with it? Jalopnik named is their #1 App for cars. It's the one that does live traffic and police/hazard warnings, and just got bought up by Google.
Results are mixed - I love the plethora of real-time information, but the volume is low and the maps could be better.
Phone is a Galaxy S4, though I may swap for a Note 3 when those come out.
Head-Up Display
I've only used the nav in it once though, in FL, where the nav in a BMW rental car didn't recognize the destination I sought. The stock system worked well enough.
I still like the "Routes" features where at any time I can ask Waze to offer me 3 options.
Deltas:
3200 vs 3100 milliamp hour battery
13 megapixels vs 8
image stabilization added
1080p vs. 720p
3GB vs 2GB
5.7" vs 5.5"
1mm thinner
2.3 GHz vs 1.6
15 grams lighter
Basically a lot of little improvements, but cumulatively they add up, and it was already a great phone.
I am hoping to get a car with integrated nav when I am in LA this November...if not, I'll really be testing the nav on the Note. Easily the best phone I've ever had, no desire for a tablet right now.
PS
I Love Gas Buddy
I get kind of range anxiety when using nav on a phone, as you never know when the battery will start to vanish. Many cars still lack a charging USB connection, and who uses a car charger anymore.
Nice to be the IT guy - I'm the guinea pig for anything new, but that also means I can pretty much get whatever I want.
Gas Buddy is best. Waze has that feature but it doesn't work nearly as well.
The send-to-phone feature you mention is incredibly useful, no argument there.
I just like that I can press a button in Waze and get 3 route options with ETA at any point during the drive.
Toyota nav might be the worst of all. The one in my friend's Prius is archaic looking - maybe ca. 2006 or so in a 2012 car, painfully slow, and likes to recalculate without warning. He said the nav in an Avalon looks identical. Probably what you had in the Sequoia. I have no complaints about the MB nav.
I'm not against the trend of offering Nav at a low price point, though I prefer what Chevy did with the Spark - the screen basically uses your Smart Phone and a $70 App gives you Nav. Cheapest in-car solution yet.
Nav is a cash cow, so kudos to Chevy for making that available so cheaply.
Did a quick Google image search - the Prius C I test drove has a low cost 5" or so screen. The Avalon's is more like 8". Probably similar guts behind it, with fewer features on the C.
One thing I like is that Toyota's Entune uses your already-paid-for smart phone, so no 2nd bill for data service. Most lux brands take a SIM card and that means another monthly bill to pay. I forget the name Lexus uses but I think it's similar.
Not sure about your Benz, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's free for the first year or whatever.