New maps worth it ????

nudda · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2006 Posts: 198

Wow so things have just got ... worse.

Forgive me if Im wrong but arent newer products supposed to be better (!) Laughing Out Loud

I really dont understand what is happening. Ive got a GO 910 with version 6.100 but am not sure what map version I am using (could someone please advise on how to check ?). Also, when I try updating it doesnt give me anything via TT home.

Not very happy with this unit and feel Ive just wasted a LOT of money Sad

Anita · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:44 pm Post subject:

Andy_P · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:45 pm Post subject:

Ahh...
Sorry, missed the last couple of replies as I was composing mine while doing other things.

Question

Nudda... you ARE typing it in without any spaces aren't you? Question

All postcodes need to be entered like "EC4N6HT"

nudda · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2006 Posts: 198

nudda · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2006 Posts: 198

I find typing it in with spaces or without yields the same result.

Interesting how Cannon street is further down the list and corresponds to different post codes hmmm Is there something Im missing out about postcodes in my 22 years in the UK Rolling Eyes

Anita · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:55 pm Post subject:

TonyHoyle · Regular Visitor Joined: Mar 26, 2006 Posts: 135

Postcodes really need continuous updates to be accurate - I used to work for a company that used them for geolocation and to even have a hope you needed to subscribe to the monthly postoffice updates.. you would get whole towns having their postcodes changed suddenly just because a new estate got built. It's relatively cheap to do this (in corporate money anyway).. IIRC a few thousand a year.

Some of TTs postcodes haven't been updated in a year or more, so it's not surprising they're hopelessly wrong in places.

Andy_P · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 6:52 pm Post subject:

Thanks Anita, I was going to reply with a Embarassed

, but then realised I'd just copied and pasted from one of nudda's posts Wink

.

Good to see they've improved the software so it doesn't matter if you put spaces in though. (That's something that drives me mad on on-line forms when they ask for a credit card number).

TonyHoyle · Regular Visitor Joined: Mar 26, 2006 Posts: 135

Also from looking at that screen shot TT are assuming 1 postcode == 1 street. that might work for europe but has just no chance in the UK - there are many streets with multiple postcodes, and many postcodes that cover multiple streets.

I don't know how it's coded but if they are doing something like that then the postcode search will only ever get you into the right general region, never down to the actual zone.

Tumbleweed · Frequent Visitor Joined: Aug 30, 2004 Posts: 315

nudda · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2006 Posts: 198

Tumbleweed: I knew the whole address but I used to always rely on post codes when I had my garmin and it did a superb job so I dont understand why this expensive tomtom cant.

Plus, if I search for a street, multiple streets come up and if I choose the wrong one (say theres two Victoria streets both in central london) then Ill be heading to the wrong location .... only finding out when I get there.

RDS · Regular Visitor Joined: Jul 09, 2006 Posts: 242

According to the Post Office website even a complete 7 digit postcode only identifies a group of up to 80 addresses.
Obviously in a heavily and tightly populated area such as London it's quite likely that postcodes will change mid street.

I always believed, maybe incorrectly, that a postcode search took you to the approx centre of that particular postcode area. Hence the example of a particular postcode locating a street nearby.

nudda · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2006 Posts: 198

I think the way it should be is that tomtom should ask for a postcode AND building number. There can not be more than one building with the same number on the same street so this should be accurate enough.

At the moment tomtom will ask you the city, street then number (and its quite accurate at this) but postcode search isnt all that powerful IMHO.

RDS · Regular Visitor Joined: Jul 09, 2006 Posts: 242

Should have also added that equally in less densely populated areas a 7 digit postcode may apply to 2, 3 or even more streets.

I know of one regularly used example where both a Garmin Nuvi and TT910 indicate the location to be in a neighbouring road to the one I'm searching for. However as I've already noted I believe a postcode search goes to the approx centre of that particular postcode.

Also, a friend used the postcode in the built in satnav system in his Mercedes when travelling to my house for the first time. It actually brought him to right outside the front door. As I don't have a property big enough to have it's own postcode it must be that I live in the centre of my postcode area.

nudda · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2006 Posts: 198

Yes I also live in the centre of my post code area , in the middle of the street that coressponds to the post code.

Funnily, it does ask for house number when not doing a post code search (but a city, street building number search) so either thats for accuracy or to find out which street name you intend to go on.

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