[dinesha]

Hello all!!!

This morning when I switched on my MMI navigator, i saw this


On closer inspections


There was bulge on the back


LCD screen was sticking out


and cracked

Model : vx14s
Purchased on: May 2011

The navigator was fine last night and I have been using it since last year.
I called up the MMI support they are saying that it is the Battery burst due to heat out side.

The lady tells me that it (Battery Burst) is common phenomenon during summers. She says that it is advised that the MMI navigator should we removed from car when parked and on nights during summers.

I have called up them again, the guy tells me that the screen itself will cost me around 1700/-. There there are other parts and repair involved.

MMI guys if you are reading this, please stop using the cheap Chinese hardware and instead use quality product.
I have send someone to there service center lets see how painful it is going to be. :(
I will post the feedback and cost once i am informed.

Guys please be careful about your MMI device atleast during Summers. If not any physical harm it may cause lots of financial distress.

It indeed is hot out side..


I

[Schoudhury]

Originally Posted by dinesha

MMI guys if you are reading this, please stop using the cheap Chinese hardware and instead use quality product. [/b]
I

Oh man , that's bad.
Last week i was planning to buy a MMI apps for my nokia N8, but looks like they are not supporting the same from symbian phones right now, so thought of checking the road pilot @ reliance autozone .
I was not at all impressed with quaility of the material used and thought it might not be a good idea to get it for almost 10k .

And now i read this .
Anyways hope you can get the same repaired ASAP .

Cheers

[rajeshchand]

Originally Posted by dinesha

Guys please be careful about your MMI device atleast during Summers. If not any physical harm it may cause lots of financial distress.

It indeed is hot out side..

Oh that was bad, i used to leave the same in car, will keep it indoors during summers.

One question, is there way to calculate route to a destination by adding via points through the screen interface, i read that it is possible to add by selecting the long and latitude from web app or google app, is that the only way it is possible. I could not find any instruction file or manual to add the via point list through the screen interface, do you have any with you ?

[DerAlte]

Commiserations, @dinesha, that was indeed a bad experience and loss.

Removing it and keeping it in the glove compartment should be enough, unless there is a possibility of break-in.

[nec2152]

Originally Posted by rajeshchand

is there way to calculate route to a destination by adding via points through the screen interface

It shows a list of via points but I could never get it to work on my device.

[nec2152]

Some updates here:
I found out on MMI website that they had released maps version 6.1 in June 2011. I had purchased my device in July'11 but it had old 6.0 version maps. I noticed this recently and called up MMI call center, explaining my case that the dealer sold me the device with older maps, and I wanted them to give me a free update to 6.1 since that is what my device should have originally come with. The customer care fellow took some time and said that he consulted with his seniors and doing this will not be possible. I guess they wanted me to forego version 6.1 and upgrade to version 7.0 by paying more $$$ but I was not interested in spending more money on MMI maps at this time. I've been busy with office stuff lately so hardly get any time to plan for long drives.
A friend of mine is using Sygic android app with MMI maps 7.0, he reported minor accuracy issues with the map information. I think I'll borrow his phone sometime and check out the latest maps from MMI before upgrading myself.

[rajeshchand]

Originally Posted by nec2152

Some updates here:
I found out on MMI website that they had released maps version 6.1 in June 2011. I had purchased my device in July'11 but it had old 6.0 version maps. I noticed this recently and called up MMI call center, explaining my case that the dealer sold me the device with older maps, and I wanted them to give me a free update to 6.1 since that is what my device should have originally come with. The customer care fellow took some time and said that he consulted with his seniors and doing this will not be possible. I guess they wanted me to forego version 6.1 and upgrade to version 7.0 by paying more $$$ but I was not interested in spending more money on MMI maps at this time. I've been busy with office stuff lately so hardly get any time to plan for long drives.
A friend of mine is using Sygic android app with MMI maps 7.0, he reported minor accuracy issues with the map information. I think I'll borrow his phone sometime and check out the latest maps from MMI before upgrading myself.

Just got my map updated to version 7 and it looks much better with the new interface, seems to have done quite a lot changes though yet find out what percentage of map data has been updated.

[condor]

Has any one used the VX140s on BLR-HYD route ? I just returned to BLR yesterday, and I found that in 3 sections between Kurnool & Bangalore, the roads marked on the map in the device was not the path actually travelled. It was like I took the device off the marked path, and re-joined it later.

My device has v6.0 of the maps.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by condor

... I found that in 3 sections between Kurnool & Bangalore, the roads marked on the map in the device was not the path actually travelled. ...

This can happen if the map contains data of an older road, whereas the current road in a certain section is a newer, perhaps straighter one. Sometimes it is difficult to figure out unless one has been absolutely attentive to the transitions.

This happens on Magadi Road too after Sunkadakatte. If one has set the unit to always show on the road, it shows one's location on a road that is roughly parallel to the current Magadi Road, but actually a couple of 100 meters away.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by rajeshchand

Just got my map updated to version 7 and it looks much better with the new interface, seems to have done quite a lot changes though yet find out what percentage of map data has been updated.

I have upgraded to the latest version of map on my VX140. POI has literally become useless...In earlier version, you have option to choose

Hotel ~ Budget Hotels or Premium Hotels
ATM's
Community Halls
Car service centers
Hospitals
etc

In the latest version, when you view POI for any particular region, just they list down 100 hospitals...I cannot find anything that I used to do with the earlier version (guess thats 6.1). Anyone?

Please share your inputs

[lifebuoy]

Originally Posted by nec2152

Hello folks,
I had purchased a MMI GPS navigator VX140s back in July 2011. Since then, I’ve done about 9000 kms with it, mostly on highway trips. ...

Thanks for the good review. With these kind of problems, is it really worth ?
If one has to confirm the best route from a cabbie / bus driver, what's the use of the GPS device ?

I have been getting mailers from MMI regarding the RoadPilot II for Rs 6500/- and the RN1 for 5490/- .

What is your opinion ? Are they worth ? Planning a trip to Udaipur from Delhi in my ARIA. Do you think I would need one ? I know the route, have been on it in my Indigo to Mt ABU earlier.

Thanks,
Sandy

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by lifebuoy

... Do you think I would need one ? I know the route, have been on it in my Indigo to Mt ABU earlier. ....

Well, you have already answered your own question, in a way.

The worth of a Navigation unit is when one reaches a situation of unfamiliarity, with no one to ask anything from. This, in India, is not something that one cannot encounter. For example, whom do you ask at night, if you had to take a detour for any reason, in an unfamiliar place? Familiarity is a confidence issue, and one can confidently make a mistake.

Originally Posted by lifebuoy

... If one has to confirm the best route from a cabbie / bus driver, what's the use of the GPS device ? ...

That is a typical thought - a machine wouldn't know better than a person. Very similar to using a calculator to add up a lot of numbers, and then manually adding once again to cross-check.

In reality, other than if the map coverage is severely lacking for an area, the Nav unit will calculate a better route. What a person can tell you is something that the Nav units don't know in India yet - Traffic Conditions. In other countries, even that is accounted for.

[zoombiee]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

What a person can tell you is something that the Nav units don't know in India yet - Traffic Conditions. In other countries, even that is accounted for.

Road conditions too and that is a big factor while calculating time.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by zoombiee

Road conditions too and that is a big factor while calculating time.

Road conditions is synonymous with traffic conditions, in a way - traffic slows down wherever the road is bad. However, even in US road conditions (yes, there are bad roads there too) do not get into a Nav unit's calculations in real time, like Traffic Info does.

The unit only indicates the approximate arrival time based on how the vehicle is keeping up with it's immediate past calculation - this is recalculated every minute or so. If you have driven slower (for whatever reason) than the speed used in the calculations, the recalculation indicates later arrival time. If faster, it shows earlier time.

What the unit relies on is usually the average speed or the speed limit for the classes of roads that are found in the route search. This data is part of the map data.

[lifebuoy]

@DerAlte,

Is a MMI Road Pilot II at Rs. 6500 worth ?