[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

... Any way to bypass the glitches?

Unfortunately none at all. Just ignore based on road conditions, even if the voice starts stridently insisting that you follow instructions!

[nerd1200]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

[/b]Many a times, I got a false alert on the highway saying "Take a Right turn" on a seemingly straight highway.
Was pretty bugged when the device continued to say take right on tne Nasik NH3.
However, later on, wifey pointed out that in all the places where the device made the"Keep right" instruct, there was invariably another small road/service road.

Hi Arnab,

Check device settings for an option which says - 'Avoid Toll Roads' or something similar. That is turned ON by default in all navigation devices (including smartphones). In that case, it will try to keep you on Service lanes to 'avoid' Toll-Roads. If you turn that OFF/Uncheck that, you should not face this problem.

Hope this helps.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by nerd1200

Hi Arnab,

Check device settings for an option which says - 'Avoid Toll Roads' or something similar. That is turned ON by default in all navigation devices (including smartphones). In that case, it will try to keep you on Service lanes to 'avoid' Toll-Roads. If you turn that OFF/Uncheck that, you should not face this problem.

Hope this helps.

That is already done.
Infact, Der alte has given a good understanding of this in his earlier post.

Thanks for your advice as well nerd!!

[iamkapilb]

But why would you buy a device for navigation, that too a one which cannot get real time information about traffic and road blockages? Is there a reason why such a device will be preferred over a cheaper Android device running Google maps?

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by iamkapilb

But why would you buy a device for navigation, that too a one which cannot get real time information about traffic and road blockages? Is there a reason why such a device will be preferred over a cheaper Android device running Google maps?

Hi

Every device has its pros and cons and my humble belief is to keep the phone for what it does best- Calls and surfing.

Few reasons why the GPS is preferred over a smart phone:

1) The phone battery gets extremely hot and it becomes imperative to keep it in front of the AC vents to cool. The heat in the GPS is substantially lower.
2) Due to loss of signals and moreover, you will have to subscribe to a 3G plan(2 G wont really help), the phone can at times be mis leading or frustrating.
3) 3G plans, if not availed is a running expense and in the longer run could be more expensive than the GPS device itself.
4) Traffic can be averted using the GPS as it offers which route you want to select: Fastest, Without Toll etc.
5) Better for prolonged use
6) The maps are updated regularly
7) Small device that can also help you in your foot explorations
8) Fully supports Media and can double up as a time pass device in times of boredom.
9) Why invest in a cheap 512 MB RAM android for say 4K when you get a dedicated device for a little more?

[iamkapilb]

I think its a matter of preference, because some of the points you've mentioned works well in mobile. For example:
1. I have used mobile extensively for navigation and it does get hot, but didn't find it getting in uncomfortable zone. I have a MMI GPS device as well, which i have stopped using completely, that also used to get hot. But i am unable to comment on which gets more hot.
2. GPS works well with 2G. Sure it will not be as fast as when on 3G, but its acceptable. You get directions and searching destinations is faster than MMI device even when on 2G. You are correct about data usage though, but it is very low. If you are not using your primary phone as GPS then you are put it on hotspot to run maps on GPS mobile.
3. Traffic is the biggest plus of Google maps which MMI cannot match unless it gets real time traffic updates. I am not talking about updates to roads or major diversions on highways, but traffic build up due to accidents and even temporary road works. This is a life saver and works extremely well in Mumbai.
4. Generally the battery life of GPS device is poor. Atleast the MMI device i have is pathetic. Does not last even 2 hours while mobile can go on for 4-5 hours without issues. With dim between turns feature, it can last even longer.

One area where MMI device really excels is in areas with no signal. This has to be their strongest point. Mobile can get frustrating as Google maps does not show directions at all. But then we do have free offline maps which are not bad.

I am just posting experiences - personal and a couple of friends who own MMI. We found the usage has dropped once the novelty factor wears off.

[saket77]

Chipping in my view - the GPS devices or the PNDs help where you need them the most: where there might be no cellphone signals. That is the biggest advantage apart from data cost.
However, if you aren't a regular traveller and if you are confident of getting uninterrupted data throughout your route, then a simple android device might make more sense; particularly if you already have it.

Edit: However, using Google Maps is much easier than the MMI.

Thanks!

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by saket77

... using Google Maps is much easier than the MMI. ...

Google Maps will also more than likely put you on roads that you will repent having gone into. MMI, Garmin, TomTom etc. manage not to do that. This happens both in urban and rural areas.

I always have both the Garmin and Google on (call it an idiosyncrasy if you will), as there are places where the PND India maps don't have a road indicated - at all. Google has these roads in most cases, though I have found that some roads (for example in Coorg) don't exist on either map, and these roads were far better than the regular roads. Go figure!

Early this month I had driven to Nawalgarh from Delhi. At one point, Google started indicating a route with shorter distance and obviously lesser travel time. Despite my preference for following Garmin, I took the route Google indicated. I repented my decision after a few kilometers, as the road was narrow and so bad that I was driving a slalom course. In some places it was plain cross country. This took me to a State Highway finally - and this was a route I had rejected at the start as the longer one (about 30Km longer)!

This was not the only instance. Going from Nawalgarh to Lohargal, a relatively short 35Km, I had to ultimately go cross-country (a 'pagdandi' that locals take tractors on, barely wide enough for the car). This was because at a certain point the road that Google was taking me on (Garmin was insisting on a much longer route, as it didn't have the rural roads in the map properly) suddenly vanished altogether.

Imagine facing the wrath of 3 ladies in the car in the middle of nowhere - cursing technology and commenting: 'Men don't ever ask for directions'! Ultimately I stopped at a lonely house and asked for the way, and the man said the best route is the 'pagdandi' - it ultimately reaches the main road to Lohargal after 5Km! My wife and sister were only thinking cynically about possibilities - puncture, breakdown, getting robbed by robbers ... My niece was thrilled to bits, as I was, about the adventure of driving cross-country.

That 'main road' was actually the best road connecting Nawalgarh and Lohargal - smooth unspoilt tarmac where one can cruise at 70-90. Google didn't recommend it at all at the start for some reason. Since there was no road-class data in the Garmin map DB (road was there, no name or class. Like "Driving on road" - duh!), it preferred taking me by SH8 - which was 55Km instead of 35.

[iamkapilb]

Google maps does take you on ride some times. It actually tries to take the shortest route. I have experienced this while approaching Delhi from Jaipur side and going towards Haridwar. No car could have gone through that road, thankfully i was on a bike so it was not a big issue. This was the first time i saw such pathetic roads in any metro.

However, this is not to say that MMI maps are perfect. The very first time i was using MMI it prompted us to get off NH17 and take interior roads to Ganpatiphule. Not that we didnt know the direction, but this was the first time we were using MMI outside Mumbai so chose to follow it just for kicks. After countless hours of traveling through narrow country road, it asked us to on get on a bridge over sea which did not exist! I am not sure if this flaw still exists - try navigating from Mumbai to Ganpatiphule. I will try to search for my MMI device and post a snap.

[arnabchak]

Friends,
Am facing this specific issue.

When I want to search for a particular point I want to go to, I do the following:
Menu>Find Location>Find Street/Find Village/Town/District or Find longitude/latitude.

Now, suppose I click on find location, I am just able to type a couple of characters and the key pad gets disabled and am unable to type the entire name.

For eg. I want to go to Dadoji Konddev Stadium now.
I start writing dad and the auto name of dadane pops up and I am unable to edit it.

Am I doing something wrong or do I have to check the setting.
This is frustrating as I am unable to type the location I want to go to.

Originally Posted by arnabchak

For eg. I want to go to Dadoji Konddev Stadium now. I start writing dad and the auto name of dadane pops up and I am unable to edit it.

Please search in PoI after selecting the state. If it does not work, find latitude and longitude of the location from Googles Maps and fill them in 'find location' with latitude and longitude.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Please search in PoI after selecting the state. If it does not work, find latitude and longitude of the location from Googles Maps and fill them in 'find location' with latitude and longitude.

Dear Ravi

Suppose I am not in front of the PC and am unable to use the mobile, this will be a deterrent.

What about any settings of getting ti type the complete address?
Also, POIs also not showing the details.

Originally Posted by arnabchak

POIs also not showing the details.

Just now, I tried MMI online. It shows that location. When MMI online shows the location, it should be available in the navigator too. Just type 'Dadoji Konddev' or 'Dadoji Konddeo' and search in PoI in Maharashtra.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Just now, I tried MMI online. It shows that location. When MMI online shows the location, it should be available in the navigator too. Just type 'Dadoji Konddev' or 'Dadoji Konddeo' and search in PoI in Maharashtra.

Attachment 1373692

Thanks Ravi
Got the place and just returned after completing the task.
However, the typing is very tedious and why does the key board disable after typing a few alphabets?

Originally Posted by arnabchak

why does the key board disable after typing a few alphabets?

If the keyboard disables after a few alphabets, it means that particular name with that spelling is not listed in that category. Either you have to try with different spelling or try elsewhere like PoI or latitude-longitude search apart from location-search.