I don't think there's any (sensible) question that the integrated NAV system is better than a lap top. It's a dedicated system, it should be.
Personally it's killin' me not to get one. I'm just too cheap. I can buy an awful lot of paper maps for $2K. It also bugs me that BMW is selling theirs for $1K. I expect the price will be down around $500 for both in a few years. Bad timing.
After reading about the add-on navigation systems that are available after-market (Consumer Reports) I am glad we got the NAV system in our Ody. The maps to cover the whole country are really expensive. They come on CD (not DVD). Imagine trying to juggle a bunch of CD's while on the road!
After using the NAV system in Chicago last weekend I am really impressed. I did not have to take my eyes off the road on the Dan Ryan expressway. The verbal instructions given by the NAV unit are very good. I even heard some that I had not heard before ("slight right turn, slight left turn"). The enlarged view of your turn or exit in split screen mode is a great idea. This system is the thing to have if you frequently travel by yourself.
I am not saying that the NAV system will replace paper maps, but it comes very close if you are traveling on interstate highways and state routes. You still need paper maps if you are going to small towns and rural areas.
We are looking forward to NAVing around on our next trip to Texas.
Hope you enjoy the trip to texas... what part? We live in the Dallas area and the maps are excellent... however Waco and Coperas Cove are skimpy... I really believe this thing can only get better.. and cheaper as time goes by. I had read previously that the BMW cost was down to $1K, I believe they have achieved that by cutting corners on the interface.. as in user interface, which is clearly the best part of the system on the honda. I think future s/w updates will improve it... I do hope they go with complete street maps though, I could use less directions to a CPA and more streets... but that is just me. However I am continually amazed at the accuracy...I also have Street Atlas and where SA just shows an intersection to turn on... this system highlights the cloverleaf to show where your car will travel. Has anyone tried the equivalent of setting a "waypoint"? Touch the icon for the car and it will show you the lat/long and height above sealevel... then you can save it for future reference...
I've owned my EX NAV for about 1 month and have found the NAV real easy to use. If you are waiting for a NAV, or debating whether it is for you, ask your dealer to see the Tech Video on the NAV that Honda gives to the dealership for the service & sales departments.
It is not technical at all, in fact, it should be used as a sales promotion and given to NAV purchasers. I viewed it today while my alarm system was being installed. The video takes a total of 20 minutes. Check it out if you are excited about getting your new NAV. If you already have a NAV, it helps "kill" the time while waiting in the service department.
David from West Point
P.S. dcrisler -- I was stationed at Ft. Hood for 3 years (93-96). How much of Ft. Hood is on the display (when you are traveling from Copperas Cove towards Temple/I-35 ?
don't remember... I was trying to set a route to my sisters house in Coperas Cove, and unfortunately eschewed pro_offered directions... I really wanted to show off the NAV... but had to settle for setting a route to main street and then "D" ave... she lives off "B" ave, which is called something else on the nav system... but as I remember you get most of the major roads... Also while we were waiting to get our NAV in... I declined the use of the video overnight... may have to go back and borrow it.
We are headed to Pleasanton, TX to visit relatives. I agree that the NAV database could use more detailed maps outside of large cities. Does anyone know how space is taken up on the system's DVD? One of the Honda salesmen told us that Honda charges a fee if you want your place of business included in the database. Perhaps this will keep the cost of DVD updates down, but at the expense of more detail in the maps.
I would be interested in hearing from users how good or bad coverage is in small towns and rural areas. Also, do you know if one can get a DVD for Canada? Thanks.
The database covers Interstate highways interchanges and rest areas very well. Large citys have good street maps too. We live near a city with about 200,000 population and the only streets shown are state highways, some county roads, and a few city streets. The Rand-McNally road atlas shows a bit more detail in the inset for our city. Nav instructions say that the system will direct you to the center of small towns and cities. Armed with the Nav system to get you to your destination and an atlas or city map to get you around when you arrive you should be in great shape for travel. Our house is outside of town and most of the rural roads are not shown in the Nav database (closest is about 2 miles away), so we are shown in the midst of a sea of tan. This may seem to be of little use, but if you were in a strange area you could tell which way your van was headed and you could tell how far away the state or county road is and the general direction to go to get to it. Sorry, but I don't know anything about the Canada DVD.
Supposedly, just over 4GB of space is used on the DVD. I believe that sounds like one complete side of the DVD disk. So for more detail, we might have to stop and turn over the DVD disk, unless our system can read both sides (I doubt this).
I think the DVD is dual layered (but not dual sided). A dual layered disc does not require flipping and should hold up to about 9 GB of data. So I think there is room for expansion.
(Not sure, but I think I got the dual layered information from the Alpine press release that I posted as hidden text about 10 messages back...)
Nav would be great for those using their van as a delivery vehicle. Other than that I would say total waste($2,000 is a joke, good for Honda and its share holders). I still need glasses to see that screen from either driver or passenger seat. PS don't drive while trying to look for that little screen.
Then you probably should not be driving... and you don't need to look at the screen while driving.. the voice prompt tell when to turn or to stay on the same road...
I gotta go along with lietjauw, in spirit. While I don't think there's anything funny about Honda charging $2K for the NAV [ :-( ] I do think it's too high. I just put a kick butt DVD drive in my computer for $100 (retail). I can't believe the screen is worth more than say $200 tops (retail). The rest, including the CPU & sensors have got to be dirt cheap. Sure, Alpine has to pay for the road research but since the updates are $50, as I understand it, I doubt the first one is much more than that. I think Honda is simply milking this one while the technology is new and they can get away with it.
I don't pretend to be a marketing wiz but my gut tells me that if they sold them for $1K they'd sell tons more and end up making more money. I know I'd buy one.
This sounds really poor. The streets program that comes as a throw away with Small Business Edition of Microsoft Office has every nook and crany of the U. S. including small towns and rural areas, and it is all on a CD, not a DVD disk.
If you think it is too expensive, don't buy it. Please, however, resist the need to discredit it just cause you are not going to have one. Sounds like sour grapes to me.
I agree with jefe5 about the cost. You don't see garbage men complaining about the way trash smells..
I wanted an Ody with nav, but didn't want to wait, so I am waiting for maybe 3 years to trade my '00 EX Ody for one with the nav system. Hopefully by then the nav system will be in it's 3rd generation, along with the Ody.
If you like the Ody NAV system you have to check out the new Alpine system mentioned in earlier postings. The price is steep ($2000 base, plus a monitor option, plus installation - makes total between $2800-$3800), but you have to see this thing slide out like a CD player and flip up to show the screen. I did not get to play with the system because the store manager did not have the demo setup yet. He did not know too much about the Ody or Acura systems. He was going to call Alpine and run by a dealer in the morning. He was very interested in what the Ody has. If any of you see this system that have the Ody NAV please post your thoughts.
I find my NAV very useful. We use it daily (not that we have to -- but it IS useful). It suggests alternate routes when there is traffic, helps locate restaurants, etc. to which we have never been. It is especially helpful here in Long Island, NY -- the entire island is mapped (as is the rest of the NYC metro area) and the island is difficult to find places that you haven't been to before. We used to keep two 50-page maps in each car (one for Nassau county, one for Suffolk), and believe me the NAV is much better.
As for cost, $2000 is a lot of money. Although I wanted the option, I might not have bought it if I hadn't lucked into a situation where I could get the 2000 EX NAV in a week -- or a non-NAV in two to four months. But I am happy I got it, and my wife likes it and uses it (surprised both of us!)
As to cost, it is an Alpine system with a NAVTECH database, and they charge $2000 NOT INCLUDING A SCREEN for their aftermarket DVD version (which is just going on the market). (And the database, when sold on multiple CDs goes for hundreds of dollars).
The relevant comparison, I think, is to the cost of a fast laptop computer with touch screen, DVD drive, GPS receiver and Gyroscope. That would easily top out at over $2000 although admittedly it could be used for other purposes.
I don't think the price is too high, but you always pay more as an "early adopter" and durable, mobile electronics cost considerably more than desktop versions.
A laptop/GPS config is way too cumbersome (charge laptop and GPS batteries, wires here and there, can't view screen from angle without paying extra $1,000 for active matrix screen, awkward tip-mouse interface, difficult to position GPS unit for good signal, etc.)
In order of cost (highest first), according to my best techy guess (I'm a computer engineer), here's the major components of the Nav system:
1) Screen. From what I've read, this is a high quality, expensive screen (active matrix?), with touch screen capability. Active matrix displays cost lots of money, which is why you don't see them on most laptop displays. 2) Navtech software 3) Navtech database. This sounds like it has much more than the standard set of attributes in a map database, which requires lots more space and development time (thus the DVD instead of CD route). 4) Integration of all of these hardware and software components. 5) DVD drive.
I suspect that the DVD was used to enable them to expand both detail and coverage in future database updates (yearly?).
Anyway, this is not cheap stuff. Well-integrated components cost extra money. I have used a GPS/laptop config and although I'm generally pretty tolerant of user interface and connectivity inconveniences, I can tell you that it's a pain in the rear end.
In short, although Honda is no doubt making a profit on this system (can't blame them for that), I don't believe they are gouging customers on it. The integration of the components costs money and although I wish it were cheaper, it has significant value.
I'm not a Honda loyalist, but I do plan to get a Odyssey with Nav next year. I'm a lifelong directional idiot who will benefit greatly from such a system. I could go cheaper with a portable system (Palm Pilot/GPS config), but I just don't want to put up with the integration hassles.
There, I just completely rationalized paying $2K for something I could really do without. Sue me!
jimblock: Lucky you! I was kinda hoping the dealer I ordered from would tell me I could get a NAV much quicker so I could rationalize getting one. No such luck. It really looks like a cool toy, I'm just too cheap.
jmhess: I'm a geek too (we're a dime a dozen nowadays) and I have to disagree with your cost analysis somewhat.
While active matrix displays are not cheap, this one is much smaller than a laptop's. I suspect that the cost is almost directly proportional to the size as the supporting electronics are dirt cheap.
Touch screen technology has been around a long time and seems unlikely to cost much more than diddly.
Software and database development are a fixed cost. You can't lump them together with variable cost items in terms of which costs more. Their per unit cost will depend on how many units are sold. I would suspect that much of the database is actually licensed and is probably pretty cheap given the proliferation of maps everywhere including all over the web.
I'm assuming your integration item has two pieces. 1) The glue; i.e. processor, buttons, box, power supply, etc. These are cheap. 2) The development cost including system test. This again is a fixed cost, like the software.
Looks like we agree the DVD drive is cheap.
I doubt the "mobile hardening" costs much as probably the most vibration sensitive part is the DVD drive and this problem is not much different than the problem for CDROM drives which are ubiquitous in cars.
Anyway, I'd be very surprised if the total variable cost of this system is more than $200-$300. This gives Alpine, Navtech & Honda a lot of room to amortize their developemnt costs. Naturally they'd like to do this as quickly as possible and I think that's why they're charging so much. I still feel they'd be better off charging $1K, as I understand BMW is, and would make more money by selling a lot more units.
dhaxton: Excuse this egotistical statement, but if you saw the paychecks of my computer geek equals you'd hardly claim we're a dime a dozen. I know you were just joking, though. I'm not assuming you're really a dime a dozen.
Anyway, I wasn't suggesting that the display was equal cost to a much larger active matrix laptop display. I agree that the cost has got to be proportional to the size. My point is just that those displays are expensive per square inch. Just because touch-screen capability has been around for a good while doesn't make it cheap. As an analogy, look at how the price of quality computer monitors has hardly budged in the last 5 to 8 years. The best quality has improved somewhat, but there is something inherently costly about high quality displays, LCD or otherwise. You may be right that the touch-screen is cheap, but not based on the stance that it's just been around for a long time.
It's very difficult to imagine that the active matrix touch screen display would cost any less than $450 - $550 retail.
Although the software and database costs are fixed in terms of the labor required to author them, I'm confident that Navtech takes great consideration in just how much it's worth to Honda (i.e. how many units they're going to sell in a given year), and charges them accordingly. Navtech would not still be in business if they didn't do that. So I don't exactly agree with treating this as "fixed cost" from Honda's perspective. It would be different if Honda did the R&D on this stuff themselves. If they did, however, these Nav systems would cost us a heck of a lot more than $2K, at least for the first couple of years.
As for Honda making more money by selling more at $1K. You may be right about that, but let's face it, they are getting us early adopters to pay the premium so that they can minimize their liability if the system starts to choke less than a few years after the purchase. By the way, my sister in-law wanted a Nav system for the Mercedes SUV she ordered, but changed her mind when she found out it was an extra $4,000! Ouch! I'm not THAT hard up for one of these things!
Of course, I could be wrong too. I suppose honest disagreement among geeks is a norm. :-)
I didn't mean my dime a dozen comment to imply we're inexpensive, we're not :-) I just meant there's a lot of us around. Seems everytime I get on a plane there's enough of us for a good sized startup. Hey, maybe I got something there :-)
I hate to be a pest and disagree again but in fact the price of monitors has come way down. The 17" monitor sitting on my kids' desk was around $700 when I got it a few (4-5) years ago. The same size and quality monitor is about $300 now. The 21" I'm looking at now was $1500 around the same time. I'm not sure what it is now but I'm guessing $700-800.
Hardware cost decreases have been incredible the last few years. Monitors were one of the last hold outs but they're finally catching up. I know I'm way off topic here but I just picked up 2 PCs for inlaws at a local show. 450Mhz Pentium III, 128M RAM, 10G HD, DVD, 3D video, 17" monitor, sound, etc. for $1K even. This was a couple months ago so you can probably get another 50-100 Mhz out of the processor now for the same price (thank you Intel).
Anyway, I'm really not sure about active matrix displays since I don't do much with laptops. I'll bet that if they haven't dropped yet they will real soon now that flat panels displays are coming on strong and fast, both on the desktop and in the living room. Volume is everything. I'm hoping my next TV is a big flat panel, wide screen mother I can hang on my wall. BTW, if there's any cable guys listening: I want my HDTV!
Put the Nav to good use this evening... we had just closed on our house we sold, and we were hot to trot to get to the Title companys bank... well my wife followed me to where I thought it was... Opps, not there... so we stopped and decided to turn around... after 2 failed attempts to get information on my cell phone it dawned on me to see if the Nav knew... so I stopped and searched for banks "closest to our current position" and it had the bank, phone number and all, so I followed my wife to the bank! Worked like a charm!
We are really quite happy with the NAV. We've had it for over a month and used it dozens of times. Just thought I'd relate an error we found.
This weekend we found a (minor) glitch in the database. We put in the address of some friends ... 27 ANY lane. It correctly took us to their street (very cleaverly, too), but it said the destination was on the LEFT, and that was house #20. Their house was actually about a block further (around some curves) and on the RIGHT. (And when we did get there, it said we were at 80 Any lane.)
Minor error, but this is the first time it has ever gotten the wrong side of the street for numbering. As far as our friends know, the street has not been renumbered...
This is an area which is fully covered in the database. Has anyone else found similar errors?
touch the icon for the vehicle while stopped or moving... and it displays the lat/log and alt.! It also gives you an option to save the location(waypoint) for future reference. You could say it is way cool!
Question: For those of you with the NAV, how useful is the voice guidance? Do you use it often? How often does it notify you that an upcoming turn is approaching when you've set a destination? I'm assuming that it doesn't speak the street names, so does it say something like "Turn right in 0.1 miles" or what?
The purpose of the NAV Speaker voice is to allow the driver to maintain their eyes on the road and not look at the NAV screen while the vehicle is in motion. Let your front seat passenger (if available) look at the screen while you are traveling. Otherwise, you should safely stop the vehicle, before looking at the NAV screen. Hopefully, the same way an auto map is used.
it is very useful... it starts at 2miles out then 1 mile then 1/2 mile etc... and uses terminalog like sharp right turn, slight right turn... also it will chime in when approaching a y or divergence to say "stay on 35north" etc... btw, on the roads that have a 2miles out sign... I usually hear the voice and the sign goes by in my periheral vision... and yes I do glance down @ the map (much like glancing at the clock or radio) to see what the next street will be ... Acura use to have a good demo for last years nav ... I don't know if they have updated it for the new version...
Well I have to admit it... the display is an lcd(from the discussion way back at the start of this topic...) but still the best I have seen. The helms manual finally spelled it out.
It seems like a bargain compared with the choices you have if you buy aftermarket service manuals... I have regretted not buying them for my previous 3 vehicles.... that due to the length of time I keep cars, I have always ended up needing them! And yes it covers all three.
I have had my Nav for one week now and I'm still experimenting with the Nav system. One thing I'm having some difficulty with is the 'avoid a street' feature. Unfortunately, the map is incorrect on the street that I live on. Consequently, it always wants to take me to a nearby road that I can't really get to. So I let it calculate a route and then tell it to avoid the roads which I can't get to. However, the new route still includes some of those roads! Uggh! Using the 'detour' function before I leave the driveway does a better job, but I'm frustrated with 'avoid a street'. Has anyone else experienced this? Am I doing something wrong?
BTW, I think the Nav manual is poorly written. What irritates me is it repeats basic steps for every feature instead of referring the reader to a place where it is written once. This really clutters up the manual making it a chore to find what you're really looking for. Have to wade through a lot of 'junk'.
Overall, I think the system is pretty neat, and can be useful. How about this one: You're almost out of gas in an unfamiliar place. Choose the category option for gas stations and sort by closest to current location. May save you a long walk to find gas! Same can be said for the closest hospital.
Bank as in my previous post... usually I just drive the way I want to avoid whatever and let the nav recalulate to show me the new route... I then zoom the map if I think I might want to turn off somewheres else...
Hey Alpine folks! How about the ability to select different voices in the NAV unit? Male, female, sexy, business like, etc.. I can just imagine tooling down the road and hearing a sultry voice saying "Hey big boy take a right turn in 500 feet" or "You jerk! You missed that last turn".
OK, this forum needs some action, so here's some more observation and opinion.
I'm a bit shocked at the lack of detailed coverage of some of the larger cities in the U.S. Fortunately, the database has the city I live in, but if it didn't, I probably wouldn't want the Nav system, neat as it may be. We're traveling to Louisville, KY over Thanksgiving and guess what. It's not a "detailed" city in the database. I'm wondering what their rationale is for including a detailed city map versus not having a detailed city map. They have a detailed map for Fargo ND, and "Taos Ski Resorts", but not Louisville????? I don't get it.
For anybody considering a Nav, I think a lot of the utility you get out of it will be determined by whether you happen to live in one of the cities with a detailed map or not. IMO, I think it's worth it if you are lucky enough to live in one of these areas, otherwise, I wouldn't shell out the extra 2 grand. But like I said before, my metropolitan area is in the database and I'm a happy camper. Again, my opinion.
Does anybody know anything about the yearly upgrades, as in, will they cover more cities and not just update the POIs and new roads (if that)?
Surely the Atlanta metro area is one of the detailed areas, right? Could someone let me know since I'm considering getting an Ody with the Nav? Regardless, perhaps someone should contact Honda and/or (is it Navtech?) and ask these important questions. Even if I'm in a "detailed" area, I'd still like to know the answer to gmcafee's question anyway.
I am expecting my ex nav in two weeks. Tell me San Antonio is detailed or I don't want it. Please tell me it is as I really want the toy!!!Oh and thanks for the action..
My white Ody w/Nav should finally get here within the week. I know it'll have Chi Town on it. I have Nav in my Lexus and while it's not perfect as folks have stated about the Honda, when it works right (and it does <90% of the time) it is really helpful. I find it more successful if you start by entering the city you are going to and then entering the address. 1. It lets you know right away if the city you're heading to isn't detailed. 2. It cuts down on the number of streets to choose from.
Lexus provides 2 free upgrades within 2 years of delivery. After that, it's supposedly $300 a pop! Hope Honda is more generous.
Here is the list of areas covered by the NAV system. Obviously, the Navtech people must enjoy sports (skiing, golf, baseball). Hopefully, this list will grow significantly greater in the future. So far, I have only found one slight error in my area (Tampa), where it listed my church on the wrong side of the road.
AL - None AZ - PHX Metro area AR - None CA - LA/SAN Metro, Sacramento Metro, SA Fran Bay area(Approximately Monterey to Sonoma) CO - Denver/Boulder/Colo Springs metro CT - Bridegport, Danbury, Hartford Metro, New Haven Metro, Norwalk, Stamford DE - Wilmington Metro FL - Fort Myers Metro, Jax Metro, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/WestPalm Metro, Orlando Metro, Tampa Metro GA - Atlanta Metro ID - Sun Valley Ski Resorts IL - Chicago Metro (to WI border), East St. Louis metro area IN - Gary/Hammond metro, Indy metro, Kokomo metro IA - none KS - KC/Leavenworth metro KY - None LA - New Orleans metro ME - None MD - Baltimore/DC metro, Ocean city MA - Boston metro, Springfield metro MI - Boyne City, Charlevoix, Detroit metro(including Ann Arbor, Pontiac, and Flint), Elk Rapids, Grand Rapids metro, Harbor Springs, Lansing metro, Petosky, Traverse City metro MN - Minneapolis/St. Paul metro, Moorehead MS - None MO - KC Metro, St. Luis metro MT - None NE - none NV - Vegas metro, Reno/Tahoe NH - Manchester, Nashua NJ - Atlantic City/Cape May metro, Camden metro, Trenton metro, Norther New Jersey NM - Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos Ski Resorts NY - Cooperstown, NYC metro NC - Charlotte metro, Raleigh-Durham metro, Winston-Salem/Greensboro metro ND - Fargo metro OH - Columbus/Marysville metro, Cincy metro, Cleveland metro OK - OK City OR - Porland/Salem metro PA - Gettysburg, Philly metro, Pittsburgh metro RI - Providence metro SC - Myrtle Beach metro, Rock Hill metro SD - None TN - Knoxville/Farragut metro, Memphis metro, Nashville TX - Austin metro, Dallas/Ft. Worth metro, Houston metro, San Antonio metro, South Padre Island UT - Park City, Salt Lake City metro VT - None VA - Alexandria, Arlington, Charlottesville, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredricksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Richmond metro, Williamsburg/Norfolk/Virgina Beach metro WA - Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia metro WV - Harper's Ferry metro WI - None WY - Jackson Ski Resorts
You all should realize by now that this is the very early stages of NAV systems for vehicles. At this point it is largely a luxury that few can afford and the utility is limited. I predict that in two to five years the systems will be very common. You will find them on vehicles from the top to the bottom and they will cost about 1/4 of what they do now.
Comments
Personally it's killin' me not to get one. I'm just too cheap. I can buy an awful lot of paper maps for $2K. It also bugs me that BMW is selling theirs for $1K. I expect the price will be down around $500 for both in a few years. Bad timing.
After using the NAV system in Chicago last weekend I am really impressed. I did not have to take my eyes off the road on the Dan Ryan expressway. The verbal instructions given by the NAV unit are very good. I even heard some that I had not heard before ("slight right turn, slight left turn"). The enlarged view of your turn or exit in split screen mode is a great idea. This system is the thing to have if you frequently travel by yourself.
I am not saying that the NAV system will replace paper maps, but it comes very close if you are traveling on interstate highways and state routes. You still need paper maps if you are going to small towns and rural areas.
We are looking forward to NAVing around on our next trip to Texas.
However I am continually amazed at the accuracy...I also have Street Atlas and where SA just shows an intersection to turn on... this system highlights the cloverleaf to show where your car will travel. Has anyone tried the equivalent of setting a "waypoint"? Touch the icon for the car and it will show you the lat/long and height above sealevel... then you can save it for future reference...
I've owned my EX NAV for about 1 month and have found the NAV real easy to use. If you are waiting for a NAV, or debating whether it is for you, ask your dealer to see the Tech Video on the NAV that Honda gives to the dealership for the service & sales departments.
It is not technical at all, in fact, it should be used as a sales promotion and given to NAV purchasers. I viewed it today while my alarm system was being installed. The video takes a total of 20 minutes. Check it out if you are excited about getting your new NAV. If you already have a NAV, it helps "kill" the time while waiting in the service department.
David from West Point
P.S. dcrisler -- I was stationed at Ft. Hood for 3 years (93-96). How much of Ft. Hood is on the display (when you are traveling from Copperas Cove towards Temple/I-35 ?
Also while we were waiting to get our NAV in... I declined the use of the video overnight... may have to go back and borrow it.
Thanks.
Our house is outside of town and most of the rural roads are not shown in the Nav database (closest is about 2 miles away), so we are shown in the midst of a sea of tan. This may seem to be of little use, but if you were in a strange area you could tell which way your van was headed and you could tell how far away the state or county road is and the general direction to go to get to it.
Sorry, but I don't know anything about the Canada DVD.
David
I think the DVD is dual layered (but not dual sided). A dual layered disc does not require flipping and should hold up to about 9 GB of data. So I think there is room for expansion.
(Not sure, but I think I got the dual layered information from the Alpine press release that I posted as hidden text about 10 messages back...)
PS don't drive while trying to look for that little screen.
I don't pretend to be a marketing wiz but my gut tells me that if they sold them for $1K they'd sell tons more and end up making more money. I know I'd buy one.
I wanted an Ody with nav, but didn't want to wait, so I am waiting for maybe 3 years to trade my '00 EX Ody for one with the nav system. Hopefully by then the nav system will be in it's 3rd generation, along with the Ody.
I find my NAV very useful. We use it daily (not that we have to -- but it IS useful). It suggests alternate routes when there is traffic, helps locate restaurants, etc. to which we have never been. It is especially helpful here in Long Island, NY -- the entire island is mapped (as is the rest of the NYC metro area) and the island is difficult to find places that you haven't been to before. We used to keep two 50-page maps in each car (one for Nassau county, one for Suffolk), and believe me the NAV is much better.
As for cost, $2000 is a lot of money. Although I wanted the option, I might not have bought it if I hadn't lucked into a situation where I could get the 2000 EX NAV in a week -- or a non-NAV in two to four months. But I am happy I got it, and my wife likes it and uses it (surprised both of us!)
As to cost, it is an Alpine system with a NAVTECH database, and they charge $2000 NOT INCLUDING A SCREEN for their aftermarket DVD version (which is just going on the market). (And the database, when sold on multiple CDs goes for hundreds of dollars).
The relevant comparison, I think, is to the cost of a fast laptop computer with touch screen, DVD drive, GPS receiver and Gyroscope. That would easily top out at over $2000 although admittedly it could be used for other purposes.
I don't think the price is too high, but you always pay more as an "early adopter" and durable, mobile electronics cost considerably more than desktop versions.
My opinion, of course. Yours may vary.
A laptop/GPS config is way too cumbersome (charge laptop and GPS batteries, wires here and there, can't view screen from angle without paying extra $1,000 for active matrix screen, awkward tip-mouse interface, difficult to position GPS unit for good signal, etc.)
In order of cost (highest first), according to my best techy guess (I'm a computer engineer), here's the major components of the Nav system:
1) Screen. From what I've read, this is a high quality, expensive screen (active matrix?), with touch screen capability. Active matrix displays cost lots of money, which is why you don't see them on most laptop displays.
2) Navtech software
3) Navtech database. This sounds like it has much more than the standard set of attributes in a map database, which requires lots more space and development time (thus the DVD instead of CD route).
4) Integration of all of these hardware and software components.
5) DVD drive.
I suspect that the DVD was used to enable them to expand both detail and coverage in future database updates (yearly?).
Anyway, this is not cheap stuff. Well-integrated components cost extra money. I have used a GPS/laptop config and although I'm generally pretty tolerant of user interface and connectivity inconveniences, I can tell you that it's a pain in the rear end.
In short, although Honda is no doubt making a profit on this system (can't blame them for that), I don't believe they are gouging customers on it.
The integration of the components costs money and although I wish it were cheaper, it has significant value.
I'm not a Honda loyalist, but I do plan to get a Odyssey with Nav next year. I'm a lifelong directional idiot who will benefit greatly from such a system. I could go cheaper with a portable system (Palm Pilot/GPS config), but I just don't want to put up with the integration hassles.
There, I just completely rationalized paying $2K for something I could really do without. Sue me!
jmhess: I'm a geek too (we're a dime a dozen nowadays) and I have to disagree with your cost analysis somewhat.
While active matrix displays are not cheap, this one is much smaller than a laptop's. I suspect that the cost is almost directly proportional to the size as the supporting electronics are dirt cheap.
Touch screen technology has been around a long time and seems unlikely to cost much more than diddly.
Software and database development are a fixed cost. You can't lump them together with variable cost items in terms of which costs more. Their per unit cost will depend on how many units are sold. I would suspect that much of the database is actually licensed and is probably pretty cheap given the proliferation of maps everywhere including all over the web.
I'm assuming your integration item has two pieces. 1) The glue; i.e. processor, buttons, box, power supply, etc. These are cheap. 2) The development cost including system test. This again is a fixed cost, like the software.
Looks like we agree the DVD drive is cheap.
I doubt the "mobile hardening" costs much as probably the most vibration sensitive part is the DVD drive and this problem is not much different than the problem for CDROM drives which are ubiquitous in cars.
Anyway, I'd be very surprised if the total variable cost of this system is more than $200-$300. This gives Alpine, Navtech & Honda a lot of room to amortize their developemnt costs. Naturally they'd like to do this as quickly as possible and I think that's why they're charging so much. I still feel they'd be better off charging $1K, as I understand BMW is, and would make more money by selling a lot more units.
Of course, I could be wrong :-)
Anyway, I wasn't suggesting that the display was equal cost to a much larger active matrix laptop display. I agree that the cost has got to be proportional to the size. My point is just that those displays are expensive per square inch. Just because touch-screen capability has been around for a good while doesn't make it cheap. As an analogy, look at how the price of quality computer monitors has hardly budged in the last 5 to 8 years. The best quality has improved somewhat, but there is something inherently costly about high quality displays, LCD or otherwise. You may be right that the touch-screen is cheap, but not based on the stance that it's just been around for a long time.
It's very difficult to imagine that the active matrix touch screen display would cost any less than $450 - $550 retail.
Although the software and database costs are fixed in terms of the labor required to author them, I'm confident that Navtech takes great consideration in just how much it's worth to Honda (i.e. how many units they're going to sell in a given year), and charges them accordingly. Navtech would not still be in business if they didn't do that. So I don't exactly agree with treating this as "fixed cost" from Honda's perspective. It would be different if Honda did the R&D on this stuff themselves. If they did, however, these Nav systems would cost us a heck of a lot more than $2K, at least for the first couple of years.
As for Honda making more money by selling more at $1K. You may be right about that, but let's face it, they are getting us early adopters to pay the premium so that they can minimize their liability if the system starts to choke less than a few years after the purchase. By the way, my sister in-law wanted a Nav system for the Mercedes SUV she ordered, but changed her mind when she found out it was an extra $4,000! Ouch! I'm not THAT hard up for one of these things!
Of course, I could be wrong too. I suppose honest disagreement among geeks is a norm. :-)
Bye.
I hate to be a pest and disagree again but in fact the price of monitors has come way down. The 17" monitor sitting on my kids' desk was around $700 when I got it a few (4-5) years ago.
The same size and quality monitor is about $300 now. The 21" I'm looking at now was $1500 around the same time. I'm not sure what it is now but I'm guessing $700-800.
Hardware cost decreases have been incredible the last few years. Monitors were one of the last hold outs but they're finally catching up. I know I'm way off topic here but I just picked up 2 PCs for inlaws at a local show. 450Mhz Pentium III, 128M RAM, 10G HD, DVD, 3D video, 17" monitor, sound, etc. for $1K even. This was a couple months ago so you can probably get another 50-100 Mhz out of the processor now for the same price (thank you Intel).
Anyway, I'm really not sure about active matrix displays since I don't do much with laptops. I'll bet that if they haven't dropped yet they will real soon now that flat panels displays are coming on strong and fast, both on the desktop and in the living room. Volume is everything. I'm hoping my next TV is a big flat panel, wide screen mother I can hang on my wall. BTW, if there's any cable guys listening: I want my HDTV!
Uh-Oh! I can no longer get by saying that I don't know where the sales are.
This weekend we found a (minor) glitch in the database. We put in the address of some friends ... 27 ANY lane. It correctly took us to their street (very cleaverly, too), but it said the destination was on the LEFT, and that was house #20. Their house was actually about a block further (around some curves) and on the RIGHT. (And when we did get there, it said we were at 80 Any lane.)
Minor error, but this is the first time it has ever gotten the wrong side of the street for numbering. As far as our friends know, the street has not been renumbered...
This is an area which is fully covered in the database. Has anyone else found similar errors?
Can it give you longitude and latitude info? How about altitude?
Nothing significant, but it would be fun to know.
Still working on my quest to find someone who has done the LX cassette deck in their NAV. The dealer says they can do it, but is short on details.
Thanks,
Dan Glenn
Please describe and give your opinion of it.
Thanks,
John
David
Does the Helms manual cover all three versions of the Ody (LX, EX, EX-NAV) and is it worth the $60 price tag (in your opinion)?
David
BTW, I think the Nav manual is poorly written. What irritates me is it repeats basic steps for every feature instead of referring the reader to a place where it is written once. This really clutters up the manual making it a chore to find what you're really looking for. Have to wade through a lot of 'junk'.
Overall, I think the system is pretty neat, and can be useful. How about this one: You're almost out of gas in an unfamiliar place. Choose the category option for gas stations and sort by closest to current location. May save you a long walk to find gas! Same can be said for the closest hospital.
Gmcafee, the manual for every electronic doo-dad I've ever read is terrible. Most are probably written by engineers, not "real" people.
guitarzan
Community Leader/Vans Conference
tranzlaight.
guitarzan
Community Leader/Vans Conference
I'm a bit shocked at the lack of detailed coverage of some of the larger cities in the U.S. Fortunately, the database has the city I live in, but if it didn't, I probably wouldn't want the Nav system, neat as it may be. We're traveling to Louisville, KY over Thanksgiving and guess what. It's not a "detailed" city in the database. I'm wondering what their rationale is for including a detailed city map versus not having a detailed city map. They have a detailed map for Fargo ND, and "Taos Ski Resorts", but not Louisville????? I don't get it.
For anybody considering a Nav, I think a lot of the utility you get out of it will be determined by whether you happen to live in one of the cities with a detailed map or not. IMO, I think it's worth it if you are lucky enough to live in one of these areas, otherwise, I wouldn't shell out the extra 2 grand. But like I said before, my metropolitan area is in the database and I'm a happy camper. Again, my opinion.
Does anybody know anything about the yearly upgrades, as in, will they cover more cities and not just update the POIs and new roads (if that)?
San Antonio is detailed or I don't want it. Please tell me it is as I really want the toy!!!Oh and thanks for the action..
Lexus provides 2 free upgrades within 2 years of delivery. After that, it's supposedly $300 a pop!
Hope Honda is more generous.
AL - None
AZ - PHX Metro area
AR - None
CA - LA/SAN Metro, Sacramento Metro, SA Fran Bay area(Approximately Monterey to Sonoma)
CO - Denver/Boulder/Colo Springs metro
CT - Bridegport, Danbury, Hartford Metro, New Haven Metro, Norwalk, Stamford
DE - Wilmington Metro
FL - Fort Myers Metro, Jax Metro, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/WestPalm Metro, Orlando Metro, Tampa Metro
GA - Atlanta Metro
ID - Sun Valley Ski Resorts
IL - Chicago Metro (to WI border), East St. Louis metro area
IN - Gary/Hammond metro, Indy metro, Kokomo metro
IA - none
KS - KC/Leavenworth metro
KY - None
LA - New Orleans metro
ME - None
MD - Baltimore/DC metro, Ocean city
MA - Boston metro, Springfield metro
MI - Boyne City, Charlevoix, Detroit metro(including Ann Arbor, Pontiac, and Flint), Elk Rapids, Grand Rapids metro, Harbor Springs, Lansing metro, Petosky, Traverse City metro
MN - Minneapolis/St. Paul metro, Moorehead
MS - None
MO - KC Metro, St. Luis metro
MT - None
NE - none
NV - Vegas metro, Reno/Tahoe
NH - Manchester, Nashua
NJ - Atlantic City/Cape May metro, Camden metro, Trenton metro, Norther New Jersey
NM - Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos Ski Resorts
NY - Cooperstown, NYC metro
NC - Charlotte metro, Raleigh-Durham metro, Winston-Salem/Greensboro metro
ND - Fargo metro
OH - Columbus/Marysville metro, Cincy metro, Cleveland metro
OK - OK City
OR - Porland/Salem metro
PA - Gettysburg, Philly metro, Pittsburgh metro
RI - Providence metro
SC - Myrtle Beach metro, Rock Hill metro
SD - None
TN - Knoxville/Farragut metro, Memphis metro, Nashville
TX - Austin metro, Dallas/Ft. Worth metro, Houston metro, San Antonio metro, South Padre Island
UT - Park City, Salt Lake City metro
VT - None
VA - Alexandria, Arlington, Charlottesville, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredricksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Richmond metro, Williamsburg/Norfolk/Virgina Beach metro
WA - Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia metro
WV - Harper's Ferry metro
WI - None
WY - Jackson Ski Resorts