Mapsonic v4?

CRAIGO · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 17, 2005 Posts: 22

Was saying arse as in "doh - we should have it for free"

Sorry for any offence - non intended matey :D

martike · Regular Visitor Joined: Aug 02, 2005 Posts: 194

Version 4 is coming very quickly after version 3, not 3 point something, but 4.

Is this effectively an acceptance by Michelin that version 3 really was rubbish and had to be replaced and forgotten as quickly as possible ?

I guess the answer to that will be apparent when we can really see what’s in the new version. Will it bring back the functions dropped from 2.5 ? Will it resolve the outstanding problems of 3 ? Will it have anything really NEW ?

There’s been a lot of comment here on having to pay for an upgrade. Minor releases of software (point something) are usually free to existing users, but it’s quite normal to charge for a major new version but with a discount to existing customers (of course, the size of that discount is debateable). So it was quite unusual to get version 3 for nothing, but then that could be considered a reasonable price because nothing was just about what it was worth.

I’ve been checking the TomTom board a lot recently because I’m thinking of switching, and strangely enough I get the impression from there that the TomTom 5 users also look back nostalgically to previous versions because they were functionally better and far more stable.

On this board when comparisons are made with TomTom, it’s usually TomTom which is regarded as the best there is, but when you go to the TomTom board it’s a different story !

Incidentally, they’re also waiting for a new version. Must be because Christmas is getting close.

Honda · Regular Visitor Joined: Apr 26, 2005 Posts: 61

Navigation V4 now on sale on ViaMichelin. 199 euros for the whole of Europe.

Advantages (according to site)

New and updated mapping: updated maps and new countries such as Czech Republic and Poland
- New additional functions such as:
- History saves your last ten destinations
- Bypass allows you redirect your route to avoid traffic jams and roadworks
- Speed Warner alerts you when you exceed speed limits
- Postcode search for all of Europe
- Map language changes the language displayed on your map

It will be interesting to see how much the dicount brings it down to and then compare with the stand alone X930 as I quite fancy a dedicated GPS as opposed to the Palm version.

metroace · Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:23 am Post subject:

metroace · Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:19 am Post subject:

On the ViaMichelin store, the following is at the very bottom of the info about VM v4:

-------------------
Compatibility:

- ViaMichelin Navigation 4 software is not Mac compatible.
- Please note that ViaMichelin Navigation 4 is also not compatible with the ViaMichelin Maps and Route Planning software for PDAs, MapSonic 1.3 nor ViaMichelin Navigation 2.0, 2.5 or 3.
- ViaMichelin Navigation 4 is compatible with The MICHELIN® Guide for PDAs and with the ViaMichelin POIs files.
------------------------

So two things here. Keep VM v3 (or earlier MapSonic versions for the old-timers) stored seperately on your PC in case you want to revert at any stage. Also, make sure you know where your self-created POI files and icons are stored as you should be alright for re-loading them once VM v4 is loaded.

Now we just have to sit back and see when Michelin contact us regarding reduced rates!

iancjc · Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:07 pm Post subject:

received an email from michelin an hour ago - 50 euro discount.

Not sure I'm willing to pay 99 euro's - I use tomtom all the time but my wife rarely uses the michelin software at the moment.

Glad it still works on a tungsten e though.

Ian
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TyTn II (WM6.1) / tomtom one v2
TTN6.03 tomtom 7.xx (one)

metroace · Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:51 pm Post subject:

Well, I've decided to go for it. Next year I will be in France, Germany and Spain so went for the Europe version. €50 off €199 but costs €155 once they factor in delivery (or somewhere around £106 in real money!).

Estimated time of delivery is 2-3 working days so I may be in a position to review it by the middle of next week.

theonlyone · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 20, 2005 Posts: 25

I'll be very interested in your review metroace - v4 is going to have to be a significant improvement on v3 before I shell out another 155 Euros. I'm just not convinced by the blurb. The 'Additional features' of History, by-pass and speed warner just don't do it for me for that price. The whole VM promotion for this looks pretty unconvincing to this T|E v3 user.

Regards,

iancjc · Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:10 pm Post subject:

I think these prices are too expensive.

You can tomtom5 with european maps on cd for £115 - £120 - this isn't an upgrade price.

I guess I'll wait for other to post their reviews here - can't stand not having the latest version though.
_________________
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TyTn II (WM6.1) / tomtom one v2
TTN6.03 tomtom 7.xx (one)

dmailer · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 24, 2005 Posts: 9

I agree with other members that ViaMichelin is taking advantage!

When I bought V2 in November 2003 the maps were very out of date. After eighteen months I upgraded to V3 at a cost of over £100 (inc discount) mainly to get the map upgrades.

Frankly - V3 was not fit for purpose due to a number of fundamental bugs (eg. MPH calculations, clock management when Palm switched off etc). These have never been fixed. Now, after just 6 months I am expected to pay a further £100 (inc discount) to upgrade. Yes this version appears to include some new features that were noticably missing from V3. However, these features were already present in competitor products when ViaMichelin brought out V3.

If ViaMichelin want to keep me as a customer then they will have to offer more than 50 Euros discount. A minimum of 50% discount would seem fairer! That would be 100 Euros for the European version.

I for one will be seriously investigating the alternatives. I am not prepared to invest any further in a supplier that appears to treat its customers so poorly.

I encourage you all to express your dissatisfaction here. Perhaps ViaMichelin will take more notice of this than it does to emails sent to its customer services department!

CRAIGO · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 17, 2005 Posts: 22

Totally an utterly agree with you there! Im furious that they are completely taking advantage of the existing customers by, at first, offering upgrades to V3 at a cost (which is totally flawed and not even been beta tested) and also lacked features from 2.5. They then offer these features back with version 4 (from 2.5) and expect me to shell out AGAIN for what is basically just an updated map and the features we all had in version 2.5!?!
I'll be guessing the "new" features wont work as version 3 was actually a huge downgrade.

I WONT be paying anymore money into Viamichelins pocket - it'll be going to the likes of TomTom who seem to actually listen to their existing customers (they are cheaper too Wink

)

metroace · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:47 am Post subject:

I don't necessarily see that going for the product that's most visible in shops is necessarily the answer. I just popped over to the TomTom forum and on their first page, there are headings such as:

Where's my tom tom sound gone?
5.420 Update fault
Clearing recent destinations
Where's all the POIs?

Someone on one of our threads said recently that TomTom users bitch about their product as regularly as we bitch about ours. This could be that there are two types of posters to forums. Those desperately seeking a solution to a problem beyond their technical ability to deal with themselves (sometimes that is me) and those who bitch about the equipment but are able to assist the first category (sometimes that is me).

I previously used a Palm with a Navman product and found it absolutely bleeding useless. VM Navigation is not perfect but it is light years ahead of that previous product.

When there is evidence of a product at a reasonable price that its users don't bitch about, we'll all be using it!

iancjc · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 12:08 pm Post subject:

As a long term user of tomtom (going back to route planner and city maps and then navigator 1 2 3 & now 5) and a year long user of viamichelin 2.5 & 3 I can probably give some feedback.

Tomtom is 5 apprx 2 years ahead of VM 3 in use and development, I think tomtom 2.x was the equivalent of VM3.

Tomtom also offer traffic - that mostly works well (it's taken a year), a fantastic interface when used in the car, and (for me at least) rock solid performance with very few issues in terms of reliability.

VM3 offers similar reliability and the ability to use a tungsten e.

Tomtom is better priced - latest upgrade with full euromaps cost 40 quid.

If you have the hardware to run tomtom then you will definately be impressed by tomtom 5 after vm3 if you don't (and the reason for VM was the tungsten e for us) then VM is the only option (and not to bad).

the reason for all the bitching in the tomtom forums is that users think it should be so much better - even though it costs far less than a decent set of town plans and road atlases - and that the user base is so large and that it operates on so many platforms.

Tomtom is no. 1 because it is the best out there (at the moment) in terms of usability etc VM4 needs to be very good to compete (and it looks to me like vm 4 is new maps and bug fixes which isn't enough).

Just my thoughts - (waiting for reviews of VM4 and copilot 6 hoping one of these will set the new standard).

It would be nice to see a full review of VM4 on this site.

Ian
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TyTn II (WM6.1) / tomtom one v2
TTN6.03 tomtom 7.xx (one)

martike · Regular Visitor Joined: Aug 02, 2005 Posts: 194

So we’re all waiting for someone here to pay the price, get ViaMichelin 4, and tell us all about it….

From what I’ve read so far here, it looks like new maps (which I don’t mind paying for, but if I use about 5-10% of the total mapping available, and a very small part of that has changed, then I really don’t feel like paying as much as Michelin expects, especially after paying the full price less than a year ago) and bug fixes (which should be free).

The “new” features aren’t exactly exciting, and the one real new feature I’m still waiting for is way-points.

I’m keeping a watch on the TomTom forum too, where they’re also expecting a new version soon. My impression from reading the posts there is that it’s going the same way as ViaMichelin (or more correctly, ViaMichelin is going the same way as TomTom), i.e. useful features from previous versions are disappearing, new versions have unfixable bugs, and very little that’s really new is coming along. But it still does seem to be a better product overall. And it has way-points !

CRAIGO · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 17, 2005 Posts: 22

Correct! - Going for the product in all the shop windows isnt what i had in mind Rolling Eyes

Its obivously a marketing fact that they must be doing something correct though if they can afford to pay for TV commercials and radio ads - Superb sales allow you to expand your product and the product must be good as there are millions of sales on the damn thing?

Not to get into all the bitchy nitty gritty points of which is best and why, but the fact is that i bought my unit less than a year ago on v2.5 and it was crap then. viamich then upgraded to V.3 which was worse but had postcode search (wow they pulled out all the stops!) and also lost shed loads of other good features from v2.5. Now i have to pay for the bug fixes in v.3 and new maps after 8 months of ownership of a system that hasn't really been fully operational since day one?

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