[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

... BTW, how easy or difficult it is to swap maps in the Garmin /MMI devices? Meaning, if I have a Garmin device and want to add MMI maps or vice versa. Is it a simple copy paste / install "next>next>next" job? ...

Not even that! Just load map into SD card, insert SD card into unit ... And you are good to go! BTW, I don't think MMI unit will accept Garmin map, but a Garmin unit will read an MMI map, if in Garmin map format.

[wanderer4x4]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

BTW, I don't think MMI unit will accept Garmin map, but a Garmin unit will read an MMI map, if in Garmin map format.

Then on the face of it, Garmin device seems a better buy, at least one can use both maps is required. But then do all MMI maps also come in Garmin format?

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Ask Garmin to re-flash it with the India firmware. Or probably they can give you only the Voice files meant for India.

Oops, it was always there. Somehow I did not catch it. Yessterday, I was backing up the files in my laptop (I always do before and after an update). I happened to look into the Voices folder and saw English_India_Sangeeta and both .sum and vpm files. Then it was a simple matter of hunting it out. Tomorrow I am going to Raebareli (of Sonia fame) and will carry the GPS just to check out.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

... But then do all MMI maps also come in Garmin format?

There is only 1 MMI map. MMI is a map vendor primarily, so they give versions for different navigation software by giving an output of their core database in whichever format the navigation software demands. Garmin format is just one of those formats. Navteq is a bigger, older map vendor - Garmin buys the map from them for their native version. TomTom has its own maps, most likely bought from someone to make their native version.

A 'Map database' consists of data that define roads and other features (which is what is displayed in the navigation UI as a map), plus PoI (Points of Interest) and Addresses data (which one searches for the desired destination). The navigation UI software gives facilities for storing user-specific destinations, such as Home, Favorites etc. which would have either been recording of specific actual locations (geo-coordinate), or results of searching in the map database.

[wanderer4x4]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

There is only 1 MMI map. MMI is a map vendor primarily, so they give versions for different navigation software by giving an output of their core database in whichever format the navigation software demands. Garmin format is just one of those formats.

Thanks! Got it now. Otherwise, I was under the impression that MMI map is specific to only MMI device.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Oops, it was always there. ... Then it was a simple matter of hunting it out. Tomorrow I am going to Raebareli (of Sonia fame) and will carry the GPS just to check out.

English_India_Sangeeta still kept elucidating NH at New Hampshire. In desperation I switched to English_British_Daniel and at least annoyance goes away, now it is simply NH. In any case the pronunciation is Sangeeta was not great, so I am happy with Daniel, only I will very much prefer a female voice.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

... English_India_Sangeeta still kept elucidating NH at New Hampshire. In desperation I switched to English_British_Daniel and at least annoyance goes away, now it is simply NH. ...

LOL Just you wait! Daniel has other idiosyncrasies. In Bangalore, Daniel pronounces Rao as ray-o, instead of raa-o!

The problem is the ambiguities in English-based TTS (Text To Speech) articulation. Unlike languages with unambiguous sounds corresponding to the syllables, like German and Japanese, English-based syllable ambiguities make it tough to do TTS. Sangeeta must be using the US region phrasebook for TTS - not sure how to change that to UK phrasebook.

[sgiitk]

Yes, I already came across one. My colony is called xxxx Dham. He just reads it a D H A Mn (i.e spells it out). Also, having spent five years in the UK I am quite familiar with and quite used to the British accents!

[rkap01]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I don't think you can do that. You are using Garmin Hardware and Garmin Software, with mapmyindia map. The software is quite good and complete, because it is from Garmin, the #1 GPS software provider.

You are using Garmin hardware and don't have experience about it?

When I mentioned no experience, i meant the hardware supplied by mapmy India! Garmin is a good device!!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

LOL Just you wait! Daniel has other idiosyncrasies. In Bangalore, Daniel pronounces Rao as ray-o, instead of raa-o!

Got an e-mail today from Asia Support confirming the New Hampshire bit. Now it seems they will be working on it. Fingers crossed.

Having spent five years in the UK I do not even notice the different pronunciation of Indian names.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I have Sygic navigation, with Indian maps, on my Defy+ phone.

As I will be going to Singapore soon, I decided to add their SE-Asia package. Fine... but then India maps disappeared. After wasting some time messing around, I emailed Sygic support and they have replied that the SE-Asia set is a new map format, that the India set is yet to be updated, and they are not compatible. The first fix they have suggested has not worked. I am waiting for their next suggestion to get my India maps back.

Stung by two upgrades that did unexpected stuff yesterday: this, and the Linux MATE desktop environment. Not a good day!

[manson]

Quick question: Are the current high end / flagship phones like the Lumia 820 & 920, Xperia ZL & Z or even the BlackBerry Z10 as good hardware for the navigation as the dedicated Garmin units? If not, what is the edge that the dedicated units have over the above phones?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by manson

Quick question: Are the current high end / flagship phones like the Lumia 820 & 920, Xperia ZL & Z or even the BlackBerry Z10 as good hardware for the navigation as the dedicated Garmin units? If not, what is the edge that the dedicated units have over the above phones?

Lot many folks are going with integrated devices nowadays. But some how I still would go with the old fashioned PND (Portable Navigation Device).

- With a phone if you are on Google navigation, you need data connection all the time. You can cache for off line usage, but still many a times you may need.
- You can download Sygic/MMI maps for offline usage.

They do work well, but I see that they get heated up quite bad. For good smart phone you pay in excess of 30K and I wont prefer it being used in such conditions (Just my personal view). Rather I would pay about 100/120 $ and get a dedicated PND. In fact I just did that and have a Garmin for the last 4-5 years.

Thanks to members here, I can now perform route planning on my PC/MAC on a Garmin S/W (Mapsource/Basecamp) and transfer those details of the trip (waypoints) to the device.

So to summarise my GPS setup is totally independent of smart phones. (I do have Sygic/MMI on my Android and Google. The above are my observations after trying these guys. Though I had the GPS much before, but now I continue to persist with it rather than change to a smart phone based navigation for the highway.)

[Darth_Vader]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I just ordered a Garmin 2465LM from cars.more on eBay for my son at 14,990, after confirming it is the India - LM unit. There was one for 14,300 also but I have had very good experiences with Nikhil in the past so have stuck with him.

Hi Sgiitk,

I just received a quote for the 2565lm for Rs.16500.. the cheapest I could find. Worth to pick up? Most other online stores and local dealers are retailing it at Rs.18900. Confused now whether to still get the 2465LM or the 2565 LM , price difference of around 2k. Any guidance is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Vader

[sgiitk]

@Darth_Vader; Try ebay and you will find this chap. There is even one for 14390 from some other vendor, but I trust this guy. It was the latest unit, with India Specific LM and 2013.10 installed. My son got in five days from ordering.