[selfdrive]

Can someone also confirm if the reverse camera is included in the Garmin pack?
If not,which device has this feature?

Would it be more reasonable to use a smartphone? perhaps the maps can be bought and installed on the smartphone. no separate gps device will be needed and a reversing camera can be installed separately. not sure if this is possible, so would like confirmation from someone who has already installed the maps on their phone (iphone examples would be even better!)

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

MMI Navigator device costs 7990 and comes pre-loaded with all india maps of the latest version - updated in June 2010. (version 5 I think)
check with them you may just get the absolutely latest version (version 6 maybe) because they update once in 6 months.

Thanks shankar. So map my india seems to be the safest bet. I will enquire the prices.

[sathyaprakash]

[quote=vnabhi;2217862]Correction---the Garmin 265WT with pouch costs 115 USD at Costco. The friction mount costs 20 USD on Amazon, but I bought the newer version for 25 USD.
I am very happy your using the latest friction mount but i read in reviews there are lot of unhappy customers commenting about the newer one which does not provide enough grip while cornering or when you brake further it makes a stain on the dashboard is this true? can you briefly tell about your experience about this new friction mount for nuvi bye.

[Darryl.Burke]

perhaps the maps can be bought and installed on the smartphone. no separate gps device will be needed

You could try Waze, which is free:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...martphone.html

There are two issues involved: one, I don't think any smartphone GPS is as sensitive and accurate as a navigator, and two, Waze requires net connectivity.

Neither Waze nor MMI are 100% accurate -- I use both. When approaching home, MMI tries to route me 50m into a dead end road, U-turn and out again It also recently tried to take me across a rail crossing that ceased to exist about 7-8 years ago. A difference is that Waze learns with usage, MMI doesn't.

db

[CRDIsamir]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Does that mean I will have to buy the MMI device & buy the maps separately? Doesn't it come with the package?

Go for MMI device it comes with the software package with about 720 Indian city maps in detail. I am using it for the last 3 years since it was launched. Its a great device. Very useful.

[raj_5004]

Thanks a lot buddy. I have heard that the base MMI device comes for around 8k.

[vnabhi]

[quote=sathyaprakash;2218204]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Correction---the Garmin 265WT with pouch costs 115 USD at Costco. The friction mount costs 20 USD on Amazon, but I bought the newer version for 25 USD.
I am very happy your using the latest friction mount but i read in reviews there are lot of unhappy customers commenting about the newer one which does not provide enough grip while cornering or when you brake further it makes a stain on the dashboard is this true? can you briefly tell about your experience about this new friction mount for nuvi bye.

Thanks, but I've not used it yet. I plan to do so after I return to India. I'd posted a link on my earlier post where there is a video comparo with the older friction mount. This new unit got a better review, and is more flexible.
I shall give you a feedback only by end of Feb. So hold your horses till then.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Thanks a lot buddy. I have heard that the base MMI device comes for around 8k.

What is the size of the unit? If it is 4.3 inches, then you are good to go. Smaller screens may be difficult to read or poke for navigation.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

What is the size of the unit? If it is 4.3 inches, then you are good to go. Smaller screens may be difficult to read or poke for navigation.

I think its 3.5", the 4.3" costs around 12k.

[shankar.balan]

basis this thread I recently cross-checked for comparison purposes.
Ive got an N8 with all the relevant maps loaded in it.

I find the speed of response and "live stream" per se, far far better in my Garmin than my Nokia, while driving in city or on highway.

also the size of the screen and the way the garmin is mounted on the windshield makes for a far clearer picture with minimum fiddly fuss. trying to use the Nokia the same way as I can use the Garmin is not so user friendly nor so efficient as per my experience.

I would vastly prefer to use the garmin for actual "live" driving requirements. The Nokia I will use happily to pin point my position while perhaps walking about or if I want to figure out how to get general directions in a strange city.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Can someone also confirm if the reverse camera is included in the Garmin pack?
If not,which device has this feature?

Would it be more reasonable to use a smartphone? perhaps the maps can be bought and installed on the smartphone. no separate gps device will be needed and a reversing camera can be installed separately. not sure if this is possible, so would like confirmation from someone who has already installed the maps on their phone (iphone examples would be even better!)

[ampere]

Has anyone tried to restore tracks logs (prior created) by transferring them from PC to Garmin? I would hope this should enable view of the "trail".

I could not get this up and running in Nuvi series (205W).

Does Nuvi support such a feature?

[RX135]

While Garmin or any other dedicated GPS device may offer better GPS experience (voice navigation, bigger display, live course correction etc), a smartphone can still do the job without all associated frills.

Recently, I used my HTC Touch 3G for 3500 km Rajasthan trip and it did its job without much fuss (except when troubled by pathetic Airtel GPRS service).

IMHO, a smartphone GPS gives you "bang for the buck".

[bj96]

Originally Posted by Neilguy

Any such option to load India maps for TomTom GPS devices?

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

...I dont think at the moment there are maps available for India which can interface with the tomtom device.

Good news for TomTom users:

TomTom - Tele Atlas Delivers New Map of India with Expanded Coverage and Rich Visual Content

Probably now maps will be available in retail soon.

-BJ

[Neilguy]

Originally Posted by bj96

Good news for TomTom users:

TomTom - Tele Atlas Delivers New Map of India with Expanded Coverage and Rich Visual Content

Probably now maps will be available in retail soon.

-BJ

The optimist in me is still waiting for basic India maps even without the Rich Visual Content after a year of the news being published.

[Thad E Ginathom]

It's good to see that Tom Tom is getting a toe in the door, but, I have a very big but (or two)...

... includes coverage of nearly 640,000 kilometers of navigable roads covering more than 75 percent of the country’s urban population.

Tele Atlas’ new map of India includes:
- 2D City Maps covering more than 350 square kilometers across eight key Indian cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune;
- 82 3D Landmarks of notable structures in major Indian cities such as Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Dakshineshwar Kali Temple and India Gate;
- Lane and signpost information for major roads in Delhi and Mumbai;

Doesn't sound very good. I'm sure that MapMyIndia leaves that well behind, and other offerings are probably better but (my second 'but') I can't find a way of looking at the maps online. I think this is essential for companies trying to sell us their mapping: that we get to see something like what we will get on our devices.

EDIT: cross-posted with Neilguy...

The optimist in me is still waiting for basic India maps even without the Rich Visual Content after a year of the news being published.

Oh, I missed that. Right, Tom Tom enthusiasm cancelled!

[bigwheelz]

I used the Ovi maps (Nokia phone) on my recent Pune-Goa-Ganpati Pule-Dapoli-Pune trip. I can say the experience is not that good. While calculating the route it took the shortest option always even after I changed the setting to "Fastest Route".
On my way from Dapoli to Pune, it took me through SH 69 (hell), 70 which could have been avoided.
I agree on my part that I didnot check the routes before.

Does anyone here have the same epxerience or can help how to use these Ovi maps better.