Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Are GPS updates worth the money?

This is topic Are GPS updates worth the money? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 04-01-2011, 03:06 PM:

I've had one of these things for several years and long ago decided that as long as I stay with the lower priced models it is the same price to toss the most recent one in the drawer and buy a new one every 3 or 4 years, that way you get the new maps and the latest technology for about the same price as an update.

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 04-01-2011, 03:23 PM:

Unless there is a lot of new road construction in areas you are likely to use it, not much changes from year to year.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 04-01-2011, 07:33 PM:

My Garmin came with one free update. It took hours to install. HOURS.

Yeah...no.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 04-03-2011, 03:52 PM:

quote: Bill Enos
...it is the same price to toss the most recent one in the drawer and buy a new one every 3 or 4 years, that way you get the new maps and the latest technology for about the same price as an update.

It's crazy, isn't it? I too investigated buying map updates for my 2008 vintage satnav late last year (there have been a lot of roadworks, changes to speed limits, new speed humps put down all over the place around here), and discovered that (i) map updates weren't available - you had to buy a whole software upgrade from iGo 6 to 8; and (ii) the cost of doing this was more than that of buying a new satnav. The cheapest I could find the software with the latest maps in was £89, and Ebuyer.com do new machines with a year's worth of updates starting from £50. My existing hardware is perfectly adequate for what it has to do, but it looks like I'll have to throw it away long before it actually fails.

Posted by Jeff Taylor (Member # 443) on 04-03-2011, 04:42 PM:

In general I agree, but I do have to travel to Boston on business, and during the "Big Dig" where numerous roads were relocated and/or put in tunnels I frequently had major problems finding where I was going (it's a confusing city to drive in to begin with)not to mention pictures of driving across railroad tracks and bodies of water on the video screen! I finally gave in and ordered a new $200 dvd for the car I was using for business at the time, and for peace of mind it was worth it. Generally, however, I wouldn't.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 04-03-2011, 05:45 PM:

The arguement for the updates is that your favorites are still there. You don't have to reload them manually.

Trying to refind that little Swiss restaurant in Vegas after 4 years can be impossible. louis

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-03-2011, 06:57 PM:

After 4 years? It's probably been bulldozed.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-03-2011, 08:16 PM:

I wonder if smart phones are having any negative effect on the in car GPS device business. Technically people aren't supposed to use smart phone applications like Google Maps and Google Earth as substitutes for in-car GPS devices. Google Maps even gives a warning about using the application while driving. Yet I'm sure at least some people use the application anyway. I've used my Android phone for that purpose while someone else drove.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-03-2011, 08:50 PM:

Then why would google make an Android Navigation app that uses maps data?

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-03-2011, 09:06 PM:

Obviously they're doing it out of user convenience hoping the end user will use the application responsibly.

I have fired up Google Maps to find certain locations here in Lawton. Certain streets are oddly disconnected and the gaps can be tricky to manage. Not a month after buying my Android phone I had to pull into a hotel parking lot and use my phone to find a nearby address.

Smart phones can exceed the capability of dedicated in-car GPS devices. Google Maps and Google Earth are updated regularly for free. Other applications like Yelp! extend the capability of Google Maps. Does the average Garmin like device show nearby restaurants, theaters and other businesses as well as provide reviews of those businesses? The "monocle" feature in Yelp is really cool, but I think the application's designers intended the user to be on foot or sitting somewhere when using it.

Posted by Robert Minichino (Member # 3495) on 04-03-2011, 09:31 PM:

To be fair, the GPS devices tell you not to use them while you're driving, too. As long as you're not fiddling with your phone while you're moving you're just as safe as with a dedicated GPS.

I still have the 2008 maps in my Kenwood in-dash, and I'll probably wait one more year before upgrading; in my case it'd be worth it because it doubles as a DVD player, backup camera display, etc., and a lot of businesses can close/open in 4 years. I'm not too concerned about the maps data itself changing.

Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 04-04-2011, 01:54 AM:

I know that Verizon makes a car holder for the Droid X that lets you mount the phone on the windshield and use it as a GPS. They work very well and have much more accurate date compared to my old GPs as well as also being a hand free phone when docked. Iv even set my Droid X on the dash and used the display reelection as a hud at night.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 04-05-2011, 09:46 AM:

GPS makers have been hit really hard by smartphones, and their industry peaked several years ago.

I've used both Garmin and Magellan standalone units, and prefer Garmin by a wide margin. I have the Navigon iPhone app and it's pretty good, but once Garmin does some more tweaking on their app, I'll probably purchase that one instead. I'll use the iPhone long before the Magellan, though.

The expensive map updates are hard to swallow. My Garmin 260W is quite a few years old, and I just bought a map update for it because it finally came down to a more-or-less reasonable price of $40. That's more than I paid for the entire Navigon app!

This will be the only and the last map update I'll do on the Garmin.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-05-2011, 01:34 PM:

I still don't understand why Navigon has a version of US + Canada only for the iphone. On Android, they only give you the option of US.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 04-06-2011, 12:08 PM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
Technically people aren't supposed to use smart phone applications like Google Maps and Google Earth as substitutes for in-car GPS devices. Google Maps even gives a warning about using the application while driving.

It wouldn't be rocket science to design cellphone GPS software that functioned perfectly safely for in-car use while the phone is mounted on a dashboard cradle. You would simply need to add the capability for spoken and/or clear visual directions (i.e. as you approach a decision point, it tells you what to do), and to disable the cellphone from ringing in response to an incoming call and go straight to voicemail. In that scenario I can't see how it would be any more dangerous than using a dedicated satnav unit.

The real issue, I guess, would be bandwidth cost if you're on a capped contract; given that cellphone GPS systems download each map segment in real time as you leave one area and enter another, rather than saving map data offline on flash memory. But there again, there's no reason why software couldn't be tweaked to do this, or at least to save every segment it loads so that it doesn't need to download it on multiple occasions for frequently driven routes.

The GPS software in my phone won't do any of these things (apart from turning the ringer off), hence the reason I still use a dedicated satnav; but I wouldn't be surprised if phones exist that have some or all of these features.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-06-2011, 12:45 PM:

I use "Telenav" on my Sanyo M1 cell phone...have done so for years now. It is NOT perfect, by any means and Telenav is not the most responsive company...BUT I did audition several GPS systems and Telenav was, by far, the best at doing the job I wanted.

From what I can tell, I get as much out of it as any dedicated GPS and the maps are always current. Yes, the maps do download into the phone in real time BUT it isn't like you get to the edge of the map and THEN it downloads...it seems to have a better than 9x9 grid of maps downloaded at any one time so no matter where you go, it is a map ahead of you.

It give real-time traffic notices (within 15 mintues) and has successfully navigated me around traffic jams several times.

One does need to know how to specify one's route to get the most out of it.

Telenav also will seek out food, gas, hotels and other businesses along the route, if you so desire.

As for an ap while driving...I often don't even have the phone open and just listen to the voice commands (depends if it is city or highway traveling). One can search for a business or address with the phone and/or one can go on line, find the destination and send it to the phone. One has VERY few clicks before they are going.

It is about a 6-7 out of `10 type device but I have yet to find any that I like better.

-Stev