[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

I recently had a few spooky experiences with Here maps route guidance in Singapore and Malaysia.

Originally Posted by deepv

Haha .. that's some experience, perhaps there used to be a bridge there to take you to other side to the connecting road .

On more serious note, this keeps happening a lot with GPS devices (I use a Garmin, which again uses HERE maps)
when they tell you to turn in a particular direction no matter what and you can face various scenarios - no road, narrow road, nalaa, and so on.
Learnt hard way that you should not follow all their instructions, always keep to wide roads.

I have faced similar issues. Sometime back in HP, Here maps wanted me to take a path between houses which was possibly not much wider than 1ft!

On another instance in Uttarakhand, it was asking me to bypass a few switchbacks and take a route straight down to the valley

Noticed later, there was maybe a walkable path. Here maps decided that was the best route.

[sgiitk]

@Dry_Ice; as has been said GPS (and maps) are for the guidance of wise me, and the obedience of fools. If you look at joybhowmik's posts you will find that the way I told him to go from NH2/AH1 (from Delhi) to NH25 (Kanpur-Lucknow) is totally different from what GPS tells you. In fact Garmin 2015.20 also does not have the Ganga Barrage on it, even though we have been using it for well over two years. At the end of the day local knowledge is supreme. Also, NH92 (Etawah to Gwalior) through Etawah takes you through the market (algorithm says NH > SH > Local) even though the SH is smack through the market, and the best way is local roads through the Civil Lines!

[Landkruzer]

Originally Posted by deepv

That's a great news .. thanks for pointing it out.
If GM will allow downloading maps (statewise or citywise) similar to Here, then it should definitely improve navigation and POI searches.

Originally Posted by kavensri

From what I have tried so far, downloading maps is currently restricted to 400mb per file. This should be good enough to cover a big city like Bangalore and also surrounding areas. I have also read somewhere that people are able to download maps of bigger size, but when i tried, it restricted to 400mb. But this should be good enough to start with.

Live traffic information plays a major role in computing the route and estimating the travel time in Google maps especially in big cities. If you choose to use the offline mode, the routing wont be accurate as it will use only the static information available with the maps data in your phone. Since google maps is a crowd sourced program, the map data gets updated on daily basis. So it may not be beneficial to use the google maps in offline mode. (at-least in big cities)

Also using the google maps in online mode, contributes to the live traffic data, which helps others. So I keep the navigation on whenever I use the car irrespective of whether I know the route or not. (within the city or the highway)

[invidious]

Originally Posted by k_nitin_r

I have the 2008 maps from MapMyIndia on a Navman F25 and was wondering if I can get newer maps for it. Sure, the device is old but I don't want to toss it away just yet because it has much quicker GPS lock times than my Nokia (on an average the Nokia takes 15 mins to lock on). The advantage you get with a Nokia is that they provide updated Ovi Maps and they don't charge for the updates.

I just found an old F350 Navman at home. How did you go about installing MapMYIndia on a Navman? I might as well put it to use.

[deepv]

Originally Posted by Landkruzer

Live traffic information plays a major role in computing the route

Yeah .. I was trying out the updated GM app today with 'offline' city map albeit with 3g connection (so in online mode).
GM did update the estimated time considering traffic information when I enabled the data connection.
I thought this combination worked very well, you may update maps as and when you find relevant over WiFi and use them offline.

Another thing I noticed with GMs is that it gives more accurate instructions (from the point of view of turns and diversion relative individual shops, etc.) w.r.t. HERE maps.
That is probably because of abundance of POIs on GMs.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by deepv

... GM did update the estimated time considering traffic information when I enabled the data connection. ...

Google navigation software has a lot of quirks. While driving, one gets this box that pops out of the bottom left corner of the screen saying "New route found which is faster by 5 min." or something like that. By the time one can react to it, the box vanishes with an evil cackle leaving one feeling foolish. OK, the 'evil cackle' part was imagined, but that his how one imagines impish gnomes or elves which appear and disappear in children's stories.

Last week, driving home from Ulsoor lake (MEG Centre side) in the evening, I put on Google navigation with the fervent hope it will get me home faster. Instead of taking a right to Nandidurg Road, it took me straight, through the underpass below the railway lines and past Cantonment Station. After that it was a series of left and rights which I had no clue of - no street lights (no power) and drizzling, somewhere between Cantt. Station and the underpass near MCC, through roads with traffic 5 abreast at one point. In all this, Google navigation started that pee-a-boo play saying "Found another route 5 minutes faster ..." when all one could do was avoid impatient road users trying to cut-in from left and right to occupy the 3 feet space in front of the car.

Heaved a sigh of relief after crossing the underpass, and with that euphoria I took a deviation inside Seshadripuram to Jai Mataji Sweets in search the excellent farsan they make.

[thewhiteknight]

Guys, I am thinking of picking up a Garmin Etrex 20x or Etrex 30. My use is going to be spread across Hiking, Cycling and Driving. The driving is going to be both in interior areas as well as towns and highways. For the towns and highways, I reckon it can be further supplemented by Google. The hiking and cycling is mostly going to be in places off the charts so maps may not come into the picture but waypoints and POIs will help. A cadence sensor can also be picked up so the cycling bit is also covered. Basically, I want to have one main device for all my navigation, which can be supplemented by secondary devices, where required.

Any reviews/thoughts on these devices? Also, how is the map support for the towns and highways?

[Jeroen]

I have an Etrex 30. I use it here in India for all my drives on my Bullet and back home in the Netherlands, I use it for cycling and hiking.

Its a very neat and versatile little gadget. I use free maps from Openstreetmap. I have been in and around a radius of about 400km from Delhi and I have found these maps adequate for its purpose.

A few weeks ago I spent some time in Beijing and again a free map from Openstreetmap was available and gave me surprising levels of detail in Beijing as well.

I even have the orginal Etrex as well, but that did not have a map function. The current 20-30 range is a big improvement on the original. Last for a really long time on two batteries. Of course, there are some limitations given its size and so, but looking what is on the market today I have not come across anything I see that could replace the Etrex.

Jeroen

[deepv]

Updated HERE app on my phone a couple of days back, and noticed it said in 'notes' that real time traffic support gotten added.
Not sure how recent is that, but has any one tried it out in city traffic?

[thewhiteknight]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I have an Etrex 30. I use it here in India for all my drives on my Bullet and back home in the Netherlands, I use it for cycling and hiking.

Thanks Jeroen. I am not really thinking of using it in the 'better mapped areas' since there are plenty of better options that exist but more for independent wanderings so your note helps. Having said that, how good do you find them for street directions in New Delhi?

Just wondering, how possible is it to make a personalized map with POIs and waypoints? So for example, I'm based in MH right now and I explore routes-goat paths, offroad trails, etc, which are not marked in Google (all inclusive, for brevity) in the various parts of the state. Can these be stitched together to get a bigger map?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by thewhiteknight

Thanks Jeroen. I am not really thinking of using it in the 'better mapped areas' since there are plenty of better options that exist but more for independent wanderings so your note helps. Having said that, how good do you find them for street directions in New Delhi?

Just wondering, how possible is it to make a personalized map with POIs and waypoints? So for example, I'm based in MH right now and I explore routes-goat paths, offroad trails, etc, which are not marked in Google (all inclusive, for brevity) in the various parts of the state. Can these be stitched together to get a bigger map?

I find the Delhi map from Openstreeetmap quite accurate. It always gets me where I want to go.

You can put in your own Waypoints and make up your own routes, either on the Etrex or on the computer via Basecamp and upload it into the Etrex. I plan all my routes on Basecamp which you can download for free.

Jeroen

[deepv]

Coming up an ISRO alternate for GPS - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System or IRNSS.

It will be a while though when its get usable.

[alexrabbi]

Hi All,

I just bought a navigation system MapmyIndia(Lx140WS) on saturday.

I used it within bangalore on saturday and sunday...i am not very impressed with the way it guides me. it also heats up very badly.

I have not yet used it outside bangalore..i am planning a trip to Chikmagalur and kerala during Xmas and newyear holidays.

i am in a dilemma whether to keep this device or return it......experts please advice me your suggestion.

Thanks,
Alex

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by deepv

Coming up an ISRO alternate for GPS - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System or IRNSS.
It will be a while though when its gets usable.

I think the satnav will include it as providing a few more birds for navigation, so thiese will supplement the US and Russian satellites they currently use.

Originally Posted by alexrabbi

Hi All,

I just bought a navigation system MapmyIndia(Lx140WS) on saturday.

I used it within bangalore on saturday and sunday...i am not very impressed with the way it guides me. it also heats up very badly.

i am in a dilemma whether to keep this device or return it......experts please advice me your suggestion.

At this time while MMI Maps are the best, they use pretty sidey units. The best (though expensive) option is to use MMI maps in a high end device like Garmin. MMI updates cost a lot of money, which Garmin with LM suffix lets you upgrade them for free. You pay your money and take your choice. I have a Garmin 2465LM and am quite happy with it. But then if I was going into the interior I may look for a MMI map.

[alexrabbi]

Thanks for your response

So do u suggest me to keep this device ?

Will it be useful during my long trips ? my only worry is due to extensive heat generated will it damage the device?