[Harshavarthan]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I got my Nuvi 2465LT for 15.9k last week. Seems to be quite good. However, the indexing of maps is not as good as in the SatGuide. I registered it and then did a software (OS) update. Maps are up to date. Only one minor point - leave it plugged in until it installs the drivers before going to www.mygarmin.com

How good are the Garmin maps when compared to MMI?

And will the front windscreen sunfilm affect the communication with satellites? Mine is 3M CR70.

Originally Posted by Harshavarthan

And will the front windscreen sunfilm affect the communication with satellites?

No. Once the initial connectivity is established within a couple of minutes, my MMI Lx130 works even inside my home [hall/room]. So far, I have not faced any connectivity issues of my navigator.

[Thad E Ginathom]

3M CR70 sunfilm is not metalic and should not interfere with any GPS/radio/phone/etc signal. It certainly does not affect GPS on my phone.

[sgiitk]

@Harshvarthan; I have never used MMI so am not qualified to comment. Also, my SatNav maps are two years old, and they are still to release the Garmin version of their September/Oct 2011 maps.

In city driving local knowledge always beats the GPS Navigation. The algorithm in order of preference is NH > SH > local. I see in many places the SH (or even the NH) is now in the middle of town, and may even be the market.

[Newpunter]

Originally Posted by Harshavarthan

How good are the Garmin maps when compared to MMI?

And will the front windscreen sunfilm affect the communication with satellites? Mine is 3M CR70.

In my experience about a year back, MMI maps were way superior to Garmin maps. Garmin has decent maps in the cities, but outside the cities, their coverage is very poor. MMI has good coverage for most of the areas ( especially Karnataka ), but i found their coverage to be very poor in rural Andhra Pradesh. MMI also makes maps for Garmin devices if I remember correctly, but they are a very costly compared to the Android or Win CE maps.

[Harshavarthan]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

In my experience about a year back, MMI maps were way superior to Garmin maps. Garmin has decent maps in the cities, but outside the cities, their coverage is very poor. MMI has good coverage for most of the areas ( especially Karnataka ), but i found their coverage to be very poor in rural Andhra Pradesh. MMI also makes maps for Garmin devices if I remember correctly, but they are a very costly compared to the Android or Win CE maps.

Even I've heard MMI is better than all other maps in India but seems like both MMI and Garmin have updated their maps recently. So I like to know how far has Garmin improved it's maps. Also Garmin's free lifetime updates is more tempting than MMI's expensive updates. And regarding my usage, my priority is within the city, especially Chennai and Bangalore as I don't trust these maps in rural India and MMI is also bad in rural Tamilnadu.

[sgiitk]

Since Navteq are the world's biggest map makers, in due course they should also match and then overtake MMI in quality. Also, a true lifetime maps device beats MMI cost-wise. I remember a couple of years ago the Nokia maps (same organisation as Navteq) were pathetic to say the least. Now they have reputedly improved no end.

Anybody trying to bring out India maps faces a big challenge. India is still to be digitised fully!

[rjstyles69]

Well folks, I recently picked up a Garmin 1300 for real cheap in the US. Now the quest for maps is on and considering the price of MMI what other options do I have ? MMI quoted some thing around 7k for the maps and then additional charges for updates.

Am in no mood to pay 7k to MMI at-least for now and hence looking for cheaper options.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Well folks, I recently picked up a Garmin 1300 for real cheap in the US. Now the quest for maps is on and considering the price of MMI what other options do I have ? MMI quoted some thing around 7k for the maps and then additional charges for updates.

Not too tough. You can buy SatGuide for about Rs,1200. Not too bad as long as you are dealing with the urban areas.

You can go quasi-legit. Register your unit on Garmin | United States | Home. Then go to www.mygarmin.com and find and download the India map for $99.99. You will need an SD or uSD card for this. I prefer the former as there is one less connection. Get a 2GB card. Then you can activate (I hear that is straight forward). The license is locked to the unit you have and cannot be moved. I hear the maps on uSD card are available in the US for about $60. These are locked to the uSD which can be moved around.

[motomaverick]

Hi folks, any ideas on which is a good app to be used as a GPS logger for a smarphone?

[kalpeshc]

Try My Tracks from Google

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Well folks, I recently picked up a Garmin 1300 for real cheap in the US. Now the quest for maps is on and considering the price of MMI what other options do I have ? MMI quoted some thing around 7k for the maps and then additional charges for updates.

Am in no mood to pay 7k to MMI at-least for now and hence looking for cheaper options.

rjstyles69, can you let me know how much did you get your Garmin 1300 for in the US? Was it online or instore buy? If online, can you give me the link? I saw Amazon is quoting $92.28.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by gopikb

rjstyles69, can you let me know how much did you get your Garmin 1300 for in the US? Was it online or instore buy? If online, can you give me the link? I saw Amazon is quoting $92.28.

It was a combo offer or something pal. Paid 160 USD for 2 pieces and it was from the daily deals section on Amazon.

[manim]

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

Try My Tracks from Google

It is a wonderful tool.

It has an export option, wherein you can export your recorded track to google-mymaps from the phone itself.

Once exported, you can use it for navigation, to follow the same path in future.

I have a big collection of saved routes made from mytracks and use then regularly.

[rockyb]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 1490. I too want to save my routes. I tried MapSource software but was not able to do it. I wrote to garmin US but didn't get satisfactory reply. Has anyone done it successfully? I use india maps by satguide.in

Originally Posted by manim

It is a wonderful tool.

It has an export option, wherein you can export your recorded track to google-mymaps from the phone itself.

Once exported, you can use it for navigation, to follow the same path in future.

I have a big collection of saved routes made from mytracks and use then regularly.