[Ironhide]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I think some of the bells and whistles may be missing. They are fantastic VFM and truly throw down to gauntlet for MMI to respond. They are pricing one year's maps at about 7k, and their LM is just two years as given in a earlier post.

The navigation devices market in India is flourishing and Garmin has taken the competition a notch higher in the GPS devices market by :-

(a) Offering a competitively priced unit, and
(b) Bundling it with an irresistible offer of free lifetime upgrades for their maps.

Garmin nuvi40LM & nuvi50LM sat-nav units launched| Zigwheels.com

Now what remains to be seen is that whether they can lure prospective customers away from MMI? Until now MMI had cashed in on being the first mover in this space but I'm confident that other reputable companies like Garmin and Satnav and even Navteq (which has recently tied up with Nokia to provide maps in their smartphones) will catch up. They'll have to improve the quality of their maps and I'm sanguine they're working very hard at it. We should see Garmin maps as good as, if not better than the MMI ones in the times to come. And the competition should be a good thing for us customers. Maybe even google will step in with their own dedicated in-Car navigation devices - they have all the reason to. They have an excellent map database which they can supplement with satellite imagery to be extrapolated on top of the maps (as an option). Google maps and navigation in Android based phones is already being used by many. The marketing guys at MMI would be sweating I guess!

[Sunney]

Hi,
Need a cheap solution for GPS for the forthcoming tour to Ladakh. One suggestion is Sygic+Mapmyindia @Rs. 2000.
Navigation Maps and Location-based Apps for your Mobile Phone from MapmyIndia

Problem is my small screen mobile: Xperia x10 mini pro is 2.5 inch(diagonal).

Is it enough if tucked/stuck to the dash, for the basic navigational purpose ?
Not an avid traveler of unknown routes, No point in investing in 10000+ GPS systems.

What are the cheap options, please....

[sgiitk]

I must say sometimes GPS lock takes ages in Ladakh. I was using my wife's N5320 and to lock it took over 15 minutes in Leh!

[Sunney]

Sorry, but I didnt receive my answer.
Is this Sygic+MMI @2000 downloaded on my Xperia is worthwhile for my basic need to guide me through cities and bypassing etc?

[sgiitk]

there are two things. a. Maps and b.GPS lock. The latter is independent of the maps. I have used Google Maps on my Dinc2 in Kolkata with no sweat. So MMI should be if anything better.

As for GPS lock in Ladakh that may take time, irrespective of the maps. Dedicated hardware may be faster in locking!

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

there are two things. a. Maps and b.GPS lock. The latter is independent of the maps. I have used Google Maps on my Dinc2 in Kolkata with no sweat. So MMI should be if anything better.

As for GPS lock in Ladakh that may take time, irrespective of the maps. Dedicated hardware may be faster in locking!

Why so?
I never had lock problem in ladakh.
And most ladakh routes are mapped in openstreetmap, so any of the OSM based free softwares on android (OSMAND etc.,) should be good enough for ladakh.
No need to spend money

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Garmin India has released a map update version 2012.20 (previous version 2011.40). Get it ASAP

Got a chance to try 2012.20 maps. I tried routing from my friends place in JP Nagar Bangalore to Mandya, which is 100Km from Bangalore. The results were,
1) Faster Time: 141 Km (via Kanakapura, Malavalli, Maddur)
2) Less Fuel: 127 Km (via Kanakapura, Channapatna, Maddur)
3) Shortest Distance: 101 Km (via Uttarahalli, Kengeri, Maddur)
Surprisingly, it ignored NICE road, which would be faster, less fuel & shorter too.
Some of the routing within Bangalore are also suspicious. This wasn't the case with 2011.40 maps.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Got a chance to try 2012.20 maps. I tried routing from my friends place in JP Nagar Bangalore to Mandya, which is 100Km from Bangalore. The results were,
1) Faster Time: 141 Km (via Kanakapura, Malavalli, Maddur)
2) Less Fuel: 127 Km (via Kanakapura, Channapatna, Maddur)
3) Shortest Distance: 101 Km (via Uttarahalli, Kengeri, Maddur)
Surprisingly, it ignored NICE road, which would be faster, less fuel & shorter too.
Some of the routing within Bangalore are also suspicious. This wasn't the case with 2011.40 maps.

Folks, let us understand one thing when buying or using GPS PNDs - they are not infallible.

It is not the fault of the device - but the maps that are yet to evolve to the same degree of accuracy as in the West.

I don't find them smart at deriving routes based on certain criteria. They make very serious errors. I only use them for general guidance and only when necessary in places where I am unfamiliar with the surroundings.

In my experience MMI does better in long distance inter city and inter state routes while Garmin is good for in city driving. I use a mix of mobile phone (MMI Maps loaded in local storage) + GPS PND (Garmin with Garmin Maps + MMI maps for Garmin devices).

[sgiitk]

@R2D2; I agree. India maps are not yet digitised. Also, remember the basic algorithmic order of preference in any GPS is : NH, SH, local roads. In many areas the highways esp. SH are now the local market. All over the world when it comes to going through towns local knowledge is supreme.

@tsk1979; I was just quoting my experience in Ladakh.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by R2D2

It is not the fault of the device - but the maps that are yet to evolve to the same degree of accuracy as in the West.

Right. I was comparing difference between 2011.40 & 2012.20 versions of the map on the same device.

PS: I had similar experience with 2011.30 maps. Thats was bad. 2011.40 maps were good.

[Swift Express]

Just Last week i Purchased a Navon N495 BT GPS Navigation system. Map support is from Navteq. I have a Vento Diesel and this GPS Navigator is Autorised by VW. Wanted to go for Garmin but the VW Authorized one was out of stock.

I am planning a trip to Srinagar and Leh-Ladakh this June and hence brought this specifically for the trip.

To my utter suprise i just found out that there are no maps loaded for J&K Region. . I also tried updating the Maps from Naviextras.com. However post the update also there is no map for J&K Region.

Can anyone of you advise on where and how i can get the map for j&k downloaded as per format and use it in this device

[cool_dube]

Guys,

Anyone tried Garmin India maps? How good are they when compared to SatNav or MMI in terms of accuracy and coverage? Any pointers would be welcome.

Cheers

[vu2pmc]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Guys,

Anyone tried Garmin India maps? How good are they when compared to SatNav or MMI in terms of accuracy and coverage? Any pointers would be welcome.

Cheers

Garmin India maps are comparable to MMI interms of coverage. However, road networks outside city, MMI is far better. Inside city, in terms of POI garmin India and MMI are neck to neck. If I were to buy only one map, I would even this day, prefer MMI. thier version 7.0 is already released.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Guys,

Anyone tried Garmin India maps? How good are they when compared to SatNav or MMI in terms of accuracy and coverage? Any pointers would be welcome.

Cheers

For most average highway travelers - no difference. If you want city level POI, then it may be different. Garmin in 2009/10 used Navteq (Nokia) map data which is damn good. Satnav and MMI are equally good.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@R2D2; I agree. India maps are not yet digitised.

Why do you say so? Even in 2009, Garmin Q1 2009 maps could navigate me in tight one ways in ajmer, no less.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I must say sometimes GPS lock takes ages in Ladakh. I was using my wife's N5320 and to lock it took over 15 minutes in Leh!

My Defy locked in around a minute on the climb to Hemkunt Sahib. Its about 4200m and not even a semblance of a mobile signal!!

[PlaneMad]

GPS signal strength can vary with distance from the last fix, time of the day, cloud cover and field of view of the sky apart from your device capability. You can spend 10k to get a top of the line unit, but it still is not going to work in a tunnel.

From my experiments, a modern phone gps is in most cases just as good as a dedicated navigator