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Last post Author Topic: GPS Unit Recommendations?  (Read 19014 times)

4wd

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #25 on: November 18, 2010, 07:31 PM »
Where did you read that?

Amazon

Be aware, he is in the US of A and as such the licensing arrangements may be more anal than Australia.

2010-11-19_12-30-59.jpg

Also, you could just disable the Traffic Alerts or move to another country ;)

Renegade

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #26 on: November 18, 2010, 09:05 PM »
Where did you read that?

Amazon

Be aware, he is in the US of A and as such the licensing arrangements may be more anal than Australia.
 (see attachment in previous post)
Also, you could just disable the Traffic Alerts or move to another country ;)

Well, given that if you want to travel by air in the US, you may very well end up being sexually assaulted:

http://www.google.co...t+down&tbs=nws:1
http://www.walb.com/...story.asp?S=13533166
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40193344

And very soon if you have a garden in the backyard, you could go to prison:

http://www.naturalne...ation_Act_seeds.html

And... Well... I think that's enough. Fly with vegetables that you grow and you'll be sexually assaulted then thrown in prison. :P

Maybe moving to another country isn't a bad idea~! :P
Slow Down Music - Where I commit thought crimes...

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong. - John Diefenbaker

JavaJones

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #27 on: November 19, 2010, 02:24 AM »
Just an update to one of my previous posts here where I wasn't sure if there were "offline maps" apps for cell phones. There are indeed, and one for Android is free, another is fairly reasonably prices ($40 I think), and you can get maps all over the world. Of course this doesn't help superboyac with the non-smartphone...

- Oshyan

bgd77

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #28 on: November 19, 2010, 02:52 AM »
Indeed this is true. As I already mentioned on a previous post, for Nokia phones (Symbian OS) there are 2 alternatives I know of (that offer offline maps):
- Garmin app and maps (at a cost and I think the product has been discontinued)
- Ovi Maps, which are free and are excellent (the same maps as here: http://maps.ovi.com/)

4wd

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #29 on: November 19, 2010, 06:04 AM »
There's also OpenStreetMap with software for various platforms.

y0himba

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #30 on: November 19, 2010, 07:22 AM »
Here is a recent story that may help in a purchasing decision

I just bought my first dedicated GPS on Monday the 15th, received it on the 17th.  I have always used my Windows Mobile PPC for GPS, but I am tired of dealing with PPC phones and thought that by purchasing a dedicated GPS I can just get a regular cellphone (that I can tether) next time.  The phone worked great as a GPS, but this way I can also use it as a wireless router in the minivan and a music player.

I purchased the Magellan 1424 because it is inexpensive, does what I am looking for, and the reviews on customer service were amazingly good.

When it got here, I took it out for a spin, saved my home and work addresses, and it was PERFECT.  Even in the flea bitten black hole of technology (daughter's term, not mine) that we live in, it knew right where I was, could find anything(Even back roads addresses).  When you purchase this GPS there is one free map update included within 30 days, so I hooked it up to my PC, v4.01 software update went off without a hitch and added a ton of new features to the interface.  I then proceeded to do the map update.

It failed.

The map update appeared to complete normally, but upon restarting the GPS, there was nothing local.  I could zoom WAY out and see highways (base map), but if I tried to tap on 'address' or 'poi' the GPS would crash (navigator.exe exception) and reboot.  If I tried to tap the 'home' button, it told me the destination was incorrect or not reachable by roads. I mean, I knew I lived in the sticks, but, really?

I called customer service.  NO WAIT TIME.  Someone answered the line within 30 seconds after getting out of the automated menu.  I COULD UNDERSTAND HIM.  The young man that answered the phone had a thick Latino accent, but I could clearly understand what he said!  HE ACTUALLY KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.  He did not read from a script.  He knew the GPS unit.  When he had reached his limit, he was also intelligent enough to ask for help.  The call took 45 minutes including the 1.04GB map download.  The map updates are normally $80, but he let me download the update for free again.  It turns out the installer file from the map vendor (not Magellan) was missing some files.

The unit is now unusable, so it is RMA time.  He walks me through the process, free return shipping!  Then the kicker.  HE REPLACED IT WITH THE MAGELLAN 3045.  He also added free overnight shipping.  However, it was after 5pm PST so it would not ship until Friday(today).  No Saturday delivery, so I will receive it on Monday most likely. 

The folks I talked to there were polite, knowledgeable, personal (talked to me instead of at me, laughed with me) and seemed to really care about fixing the issue and about my problem. This is probably the best customer service experience I have had to date.

Hopefully this helps, but YMMV.
 

Renegade

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #31 on: November 19, 2010, 07:51 AM »
@y0himba

WOW. Just WOW. That's reason enough to buy one of their products.

When I find a vendor/dealer/retailer/whatever that treats me well, I go back, and usually rave about them to a few people. :)

It's good to hear stories like that.
Slow Down Music - Where I commit thought crimes...

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong. - John Diefenbaker

Renegade

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #32 on: November 19, 2010, 07:59 AM »
There's also OpenStreetMap with software for various platforms.

Wow. Impressive.

Check these:

http://www.openstree...zoom=15&layers=M
http://maps.google.c...79,0.014548&z=16

Which has more detail? Surprising...

Well, Google outlines buildings, but that's not really important anyways.
Slow Down Music - Where I commit thought crimes...

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong. - John Diefenbaker

bgd77

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #33 on: November 20, 2010, 01:28 AM »
There's also OpenStreetMap with software for various platforms.

I didn't know this one. Their web map is great! It has the latest new roads added to it (from my part of the world, at least), which is not the case with Google Earth/Maps, Bing Maps or viamichelin.com!!!

I will definitely try to add it to my Symbian.

Thanks, 4wd!

superboyac

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #34 on: November 20, 2010, 12:40 PM »
Well, you knew it was coming:

Would it be possible to take netbook, netvertible, tablet, or similar device, load OpenStreetMap (or some other pc-loadable map+software) onto it, put it in your car, and use that?  The benefits would be the ability to use decent processors and the ability to tweak things just like you like.  Good?  Possible?  I did some initial research and didn't see much out there.

mahesh2k

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #35 on: November 20, 2010, 12:49 PM »
i heard that you can install GPS app in nook. have to see if it's possible for kindle

superboyac

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #36 on: November 20, 2010, 01:03 PM »
OK!  Her we go!
There's an app called Mapdroyd:
http://www.mapdroyd.com/
This can be installed on an OFFLINE Android device by downloading some files on your computer and transferring to the android device.  This means, obviously, no data plan necessary.  Yes!
OK, now what map software can it use?  Well, it can use OpenStreetMap, and if you pay for it, you can also use whatever Navteq and Tele Atlas are, which sounds like they are the maps used in Garmins and stuff.
Now, I need to find an android device with like a 7" screen.

JavaJones

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #37 on: November 20, 2010, 03:16 PM »
Er, and GPS hardware included? Or do you just want to use the maps as reference?

- Oshyan

superboyac

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #38 on: November 20, 2010, 05:51 PM »
OK, how about this?
A Samsung Galaxy Tab (samsung's ipad competitor), which runs Android.  I'll get it without a data plan, put mapdroyd on it with some OSM maps, and I think that could make a kick-ass gps unit.  No?

JavaJones

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #39 on: November 20, 2010, 06:11 PM »
Yeah, that ought to work. It's a bit big (but not for a tablet), and more expensive than a moderately priced GPS (no contract price $600), but then you can do a whole lot more with it too. All the sales I'm seeing, besides the "international version" on Amazon (more expensive), are tied to a carrier though, even without contract. So I'm not sure if you'd need to sign up "with" a carrier then just not continue service, or what. I haven't looked into it much though. Just make sure you get the 16GB version instead of the 2GB. You'll need the storage space for maps!

- Oshyan

superboyac

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #40 on: November 20, 2010, 07:01 PM »
Yeah, that ought to work. It's a bit big (but not for a tablet), and more expensive than a moderately priced GPS (no contract price $600), but then you can do a whole lot more with it too. All the sales I'm seeing, besides the "international version" on Amazon (more expensive), are tied to a carrier though, even without contract. So I'm not sure if you'd need to sign up "with" a carrier then just not continue service, or what. I haven't looked into it much though. Just make sure you get the 16GB version instead of the 2GB. You'll need the storage space for maps!

- Oshyan
Good call.  yes, I do want the 16gb space for all those maps.  I'll look into the contract stuff and report back here.  Yes, anyone, please let me know if I am overlooking something about this.  I don't want to spend $600 to find out some little restriction that will make this all impossible.  There's always some little thing about this bullshit contract/hardware/mobile industry that makes things darn near impossible.

The good thing is that I've heard that the Samsung tablet has a pretty great UI and is a well built tablet.

I need to find the best forum for the offline GPS devices.  I'd like to see or hear about the response times, the features, the capabilities of what I'll be able to do.  Could I attach an external antenna to make it lock into the satellite faster?  I know that the lock-in time is going to be one of the "it" factors for me.  I don't want it to take more than a minute to lock in.  I also don't want slow refresh speeds on the screen as I'm driving.  I want it smooth and fast.  And I have reason to believe it can be.  The tablet is more than powerful enough to handle that kind of processing, and having the maps locally stored on the device should make the map movements as snappy as can be expected.  My suspicion is that I'm going to run into issues with the satellite lock-in times.

JavaJones

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #41 on: November 20, 2010, 07:10 PM »
Satellite lock-in time on my Samsung Epic phone isn't too bad in the car (inside buildings it takes a while, if it works at all). But accuracy in motion can get wonky sometimes (e.g. you're driving down a freeway with a frontage road next to you and it suddenly thinks you're on the frontage road and tries to adjust directions to get you back on the freeway). Then again I've seen the same with real GPS units too (admittedly older ones). Overall I've found the GPS experience on my phone to be very good, and that's with Google's built-in Navigation app, not offline maps. I imagine having all the map data locally would just make it faster. Should be pretty decent.

One other thing to consider is that most carriers should offer some period of money back guarantee, at least they do on cell phones. So you may be able to purchase, evaluate, and return if it doesn't fulfill your needs.

- Oshyan

superboyac

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Re: GPS Unit Recommendations?
« Reply #42 on: November 20, 2010, 07:23 PM »
Thanks Oshyan.  It looks like it's going to be tricky trying to buy a Samsung tablet without the carrier contract.  But I'm not sure on that.  I'll go into the store tomorrow and see.  Such bullshit.  Man, I hate that so much.

I'm really glad to hear your Epic has decent GPS ability.  Could you possibly try it by turning off all the wifi and/or data connections, and tell me if you notice any weirdness?  That would be a really big help for me.  The Epic should be behave essentially the same as the tablet, it's just a matter of screen size, right?