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Comments
Thanks
<drum roll>
5. You can earn extra money as a taxi service and know that you'll always be able to find your destination.
4. Listening to the computer voice giving the directions is SOOOOOOO much more soothing than your significant other screaming that you just missed your exit.
3. It's a really neat way to hide your CD-changer!
2. No one can ever actually fold up a map once it is opened. Why invite the headache?
And the number 1 reason is.....
1. IT LOOKS REALLY COOL!!!!!!
I think it is hard to make a solid case for NAV unless you tend to travel a lot to places you haven't been. We have found it useful when heading to a museum somewhere and we are not sure exactly where it is, but then, we could have looked it up on the Internet. A couple times we used it to select a nearby restaurant in which to eat (has those Zagat reviews). I suppose there are better uses, but we have not yet taken it on vacation or a trip. The back-up camera rocks, though, and it appears on the NAVI screen.
Last weekend my wife and a friend of hers went to a party at another woman's house, about 10 miles from our home. Turns out that when they left, they became turned around in that woman's neighborhood and could not find their way out. So my wife hits the "talk" button on the NAVI and says, "Go home." And the NAVI, which I programmed, shows them the way out and home. I never would have guessed THAT particular use.
NAV has voice activation for radio, climate control, and rear entertainment system.
Very easy to manipulate radio--especially XM--from easy-to-read touchscreen.
Does save lots of time from map reading.
Can program in all favorite destinations--home, work, airports, etc.--and access everything by voice.
Has Zagat's 2004 numerical ratings and tons of restaurant listings, supermarkets, ATMs, attractions, etc. (Listings aren't perfect--call to double check). Can say, for example, "nearest Italian restaurants" and a list will appear.
has voice prompts if you want them-- mininum, maximum, somewhere in between or none at all--automatically lowers volume on radio when voice is speaking -- can choose male or female.
rear camera is helpful
good luck.
Thanks
Are there any other enhancements that I might expect to see? Do they actually upgrade the software/firmware in any way?
Setup-More-Personal Information-Address Book-Choose User,Yourself or Wife-Select an Address-Choose Delete Option in Lower Left of Screen.
I hope this helps you out.
We live in upstate NY and are wondering if it is a practical option for this area.
Thanks.
Steve, Host
For 1 1/2 years I've been using a StreetPilot 2610 in my current two cars. For those who are not familiar, it's made by Garmin and has most of the features that a Honda system has. Price was about $700 at the time. It comes with 2 Map CD's for all of NA.
To me, the main advantage, beside a $1300 saving is the flexibility you have with this solution: When I travel, I just take the Nav with me. Turns out, the places you are least familiar with are often those places where you sit in a rental car. Another advantage is that I can transfer the NAV between my wife's and my car and when I sell the car, I get to keep my NAV system.
Of course there are some disadvantages: You don't have voice activation (although you get voice commands!), the system is not DVD based but the newer systems have a hardrive that stores the entire NA map. Obviously, the portable nav is not integrated as nicely and clean as the OEM one is. And sorry, no back-up camera.
So, all things considered, I still find it really hard to justify spending $2000 on the Honda system. I also have similar thought on the RES system but that probably should go into another forum.
Included in that package were four features: XM radio; navigation system, back-up camera; and DVD system.
The price of the Honda part(s) alone to enable an XM-ready system was about $500. The value of the back-up camera was $200-300 for me (and its already paid for itself!).
Subtracting those numbers meant the cost of the nav and DVD was down to less than $2700. An aftermarket DVD system would probably run $1000 and (I believe) would not provide separate front and rear audio controls (which, given my teenagers, is a BIG plus). In my mind the value of this integrated system is probably at least $1350, meaning the true "cost" of the nav to me was about $1350.
At such a figure I consider it a bargain, especially in comparison with the inferior system in my wife's Pilot that ran an extra $2000.
All that said, if I had already owned a Garmin and neither wanted nor needed the DVD system, I would have bought the base Touring.
Any ideas out there? We don't really care about the other features (DVD player, XMradio, etc.) so we're torn between getting the factory installed or the Megellan Roadmate 700. Fist time user of a nav system. All ideas & opinions are welcomed
Although the Odyssey navigation system is marvelous, I don't see how you could justify its cost if you have no need for the other features that come with the R&N package.
Sounds as though a portable unit would better fit your particular needs.
From what I can tell, only some provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan) are covered (and, based on the comments in the FAQ, possibly only for major cities and/or up to 100 miles from the US border).
The FAQ mentions "If coverage for northern Canada is required, a white-labeled "Canada and Northern USA" DVD is available. To purchase this edition, contact the DVD Fulfillment Center at 1-888-549-3798 for Acura or 1-888-291-4675 for Honda."
This doesn't specifically mention any of the Atlantic provinces though so its still not clear to me that this is included.
I would think (perhaps incorrectly) that fairly full coverage would be available for Canadian customers. I'd guess that many of the aftermarket systems would have the same coverage / issues?
ETA
New Question.. we haven't picked up the car yet so I have til tomorrow to answer this.. Has anyone bought the extended warranty & if so are you satisfied with it.
I usually stay away from them but this one seems to cover almost everything.
And, no, you can not watch a movie on the screen.
Is it THAT much cheaper? What dealer did you buy from? How much did you pay?
One thing I like about S&T's is that it's very easy for me to drop a pushpin either by entering an address, GPS coordinates, or even just a click on the map. I've used this feature on the maps of my most common routes (Houston - San Antonio and Houston - Dallas) to mark interesting stops (like the big statue of Sam Houston, hear Huntsville) and to make a note of a McDonalds with the best restrooms and playgrounds.
How hard/easy/possible is it to add custom POI's to the Honda NAV database? And, it is possible to build a route and save it for future use or do you have to reenter all your stops every time you want to take a trip?
I bought the new Honda NAV system DVD version 2.2 and loaded it into the DVD of my 2000 Odyssey. I noticed right away that the system default was set to surface roads, instead of freeways/interstates. Several of the routes it calculated ignored the direct interstate route and instead used the long route. Even when selecting the "direct route" option the system tried to minimize the use of freeways. Apparently the default algothrim was changed in version 2.2 from interstate to surface road. There was no way to force the system to calculate a route that was completely on the interstate.
I sent the DVD version 2.2 back to Alpine and they refunded the $185 (but not the tax or shipping). I then loaded DVD version 2.1 and received this error message:
"DVD disk reading error. Incorrect DVD disk. Please consult your dealer." The dealer suggested disconnecting the battery and I did that (be sure you have your passcodes for the NAV system and the radio). But then received the same error message when the battery was reconnected. Seems like disconnecting the battery would have cleared the memory in the NAV system.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mick
Chesapeake, Virginia
You can switch back and forth between modes by touching the upper right corner of the screen. Touch the little arrow icon in the upper right part of the screen. The map will revert to North up when you zoom out to a certain scale.
Does anyone know how to remove the PIN after setting it? I set it, but find it a pain everytime I have to put it in.
Regards,
Emil
There's a thread (on an owner's club site the name of which I am not allowed to mention here) about the "hidden developers' screen" that might throw some light on this issue.