|
My GPS finally came apart.
My question: Do I want to buy another one ? Or do I want to use my Android to do the job ?
I like the GPS because...
- It is a single function device
- It works out of the box
- The learning curve is typically less than three minutes
- The user interface is generally stripped down to the essentials
- Google isn't archiving my position, time, behaviors, etc.
- I pay my money, and I get the directions, without "registering" (see previous point)
- If the car can operate, electrical power is extremely likely (generally five or six nines)
- It's on the windshield and requires less than a one second glance
I like the Android because...
- I already have the hardware
- Not sure about updates, but let's hope it's better than the typical GPS website
- No clue on battery life, but it will be charged nightly as a matter of habit
- It's easy to move to a rental car (I use them more than the average guy)
- If I have to get out of the car to walk, I have some sort of guide.
- I can do a quick estimate of travel time from my desk.
I do miss the Magellan I had years ago.
I welcome ideas about this.
|
|
|
|
|
I have a Garmin that's about 9 years old. And it has never let me down.
I know Verizon charges extra to use the navigation feature of the phone.
So I'm going to stick with my Garmin.
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
|
|
|
|
|
Richard Andrew x64 wrote: I know Verizon charges extra to use the navigation feature of the phone.
Not sure where you're getting your information. I have an iPhone with Verizon and use it exclusively for navigating unknown areas. It has never let me down and I've never been charged extra for using the navigation features.
-NP
Never underestimate the creativity of the end-user.
|
|
|
|
|
Oh, maybe it's included in your plan?
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
|
|
|
|
|
There's nothing specific in my plan that I'm aware of. It's just a basic plan (phone, text, data). Using the navigation features probably uses data, so as long as I stay under my data limit I'm good to go. I've never checked because I've never had an issue with it.
-NP
Never underestimate the creativity of the end-user.
|
|
|
|
|
VZ Navigator is as dead as the WinCE phones it used to ship on. Google/Apple maps are free. Third party apps are free or not depending on their business model.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
|
|
|
|
|
Verizon charges extra for using their navigation app. Pure idiocy, given that the same phone runs Google Maps which does a better job.
Software Zen: delete this;
|
|
|
|
|
Ah, yes. You are correct, sir!
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
|
|
|
|
|
I use Zygic on an android, having purchased "the World" and "Australia", why they charge separately for Oz I don't know, I download updates or maps whenever I expect to drive in a country. The only place they do not map is Japan for some odd reason.
I only use the basic navigation which is very good and getting better all the time, they have a bunch of premium stuff that I just don't need so don't pay for.
Sucks a battery rather quickly so I always plug it into the car charger. Would recommend it.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
|
|
|
|
|
I use my Android phone for navigation quite often.
Overall, it is a very pleasant experience. It has always been quick and accurate. Newer versions of the Maps app allow you to download maps to use offline for areas where you'll be travelling. Otherwise, you'll need to use mobile data. I've found that it uses very little data overall, though.
One of the benefits to using an Android phone as a GPS is that if you use data, your phone will have real-time access to traffic data. When it plots the route, it'll take the usual traffic patterns for your route into account and pick the quickest one accordingly. If traffic changes due to unexpected congestion or a crash, it will figure out the new fastest route and ask if you'd like to switch to the new route or stick with the old one.
It also works well with voice commands. If you use the 'OK Google' search box on the phone's home screen, you can just tell it something like "Navigate to Toronto" or "Navigate to the nearest McDonald's", and it will fire up the Maps app and plot a route to where you told it you want to go.
|
|
|
|
|
I use OSMAND (Open Source Maps, Android) on a couple of Android devices. Free, no tracking, works well. Maps and code updated regularly. If battery usage is an issue, I just plug it in.
Cheers,
Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
|
|
|
|
|
Use Garmin GPS device.
___ ___ ___
|__ |_| |\ | | |_| \ /
__| | | | \| |__| | | /
|
|
|
|
|
I had the similar dilemma a year back and I used my android to see how it works but honestly I had few nitpicking issues and switched to GPS.
1. Whenever I used android, I was really annoyed when I got/made phone calls when I was middle of downtown with tricky streets. the navigation paused allowing me to attend the call and missed some turns.
2. Battery life was getting tanked.
3. Same as 1, with phone as GPS, I lose the functionality of having a mobile while it is being used for GPS. So when my daughters ask "Are we there yet?", I cannot give my android to her so that she can play some games.
4. Also when I go to long trips, I prefer to have some backup and so with GPS, I have phone as back up for navigation.
cheers,
Super
------------------------------------------
Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
|
|
|
|
|
I used to have TomTom's, and I loved 'em.
But updating maps? OUCH!
Now I have Here Maps[^] on my tablet and phone instead.
The interface isn't as good but once you get your head round it, it works well.
And map updates are free and you can use it offline (which is a major plus compared to the Google effort).
It's got some nice touches as well, such as a "speed bong" which sounds to tell you you are exceeding the speed limit. Or rather, tell Herself I'm exceeding the speed limit... 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
|
|
|
|
|
HERE maps for Android, free, offline navigation, turn-by-turn voice guidance...
Originally developed by NOKIA, it's been bought by BMW, Volkswagen...
|
|
|
|
|
You can get a decent Garmin for less than $200 with free lifetime map updates. I hate using the nav on my phone. The screen is smaller, and it doesn't appear to be as accurate as the dedicated nav device.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
|
|
|
|
|
I have one, and only one, complaint against the Garmin device: You enter the destination address in the same order as you would commonly speak it over the telephone to someone.
TomTom and Magellan do that exactly backwards, and I truly feel that that is the better way.
i.e., (in the USA) you enter...
- First the state or zip code
- Next the city
- Next the street
- Last the numeric ID (e.g., street number)
If Garmin has made that a configurable option in recent editions (i.e., you can change it to entering the address in reverse order) please correct me. I like everything else Garmin does with their units.
|
|
|
|
|
After my TomTom died a year ago I've been using my phone.
I did end up paying for the TomTom app after becoming dissatisfied with the free options.
Googlemaps doesn't understand smooth automatic zooming. It would wait until an intersection was about 3/4ths of the way down the screen and then abruptly zoom in again to show it in more detail. The sudden change at the edge of my vision would cause my hunter/gatherer brain to jerk my eyes off the road to see what it was.
Waze failed as a roadtrip app, and I don't need a GPS for my daily commute. A few hours before I paid up for TomTom I tried planning a trip to somewhere about 6 hours drive away. The night before it came up with a stupid all interstate route (an interesting change from local driving where it likes to find the most obscure back streets to use) that was I70-DC Beltway[^]-I95 instead of cutting sideways across secondary roads far enough away to avoid the insanity. Its find an alternate route feature repeatedly timed out. The next morning I gave a final try, and it timed out trying to find even a first route. Also, it's color scheme was outright hideous. 
Edit: I've thought about buying a new TomTom mostly because I can leave it on my dash between stops without worrying about it being stolen unlike my phone; but for 2 or 3 trips a year can't be elephanted to bother.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
|
|
|
|
|
I use Osmand on Android -- the UI can be a pain, but it's good for cycling.
The words "Single Point of Failure" are always ringing in my ears, though.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
|
|
|
|
|
Should you see someone wearing mismatch socks, despair not, for it merely is but a set of identical twins married off at wash 'n dry.
|
|
|
|
|
If I ever happen to put on mismatched socks, and someone asks, the response I have at the ready is that I have another pair at home just like it.
|
|
|
|
|
yaaaaaaawwnn.
Someone post something of value... PUULEEAAZE!
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
|
|
|
|
|
We interrupt this thread for BREAKING NEWS!
The typist of this post just broke a nail (and the bit it off, like all good typists do).
We now returnd you to our regularly scheduled thread... 
|
|
|
|
|
Will Bruce Willis continue making action movies? Because you know what they say about old habits...
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
|
|
|
|
|
They usually contain old monks? 
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
|
|
|
|
General 
News 
Suggestion 
Question 
Bug 
Answer 
Joke 
Praise 
Rant 
Admin 
Submit an article or tip
