Hi! We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
But as we’re losing ad-revenue from this then why not make a donation towards website running costs?. Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!
When towing my caravan this summer with my brand new sat nav (TT5) I decided to use the "Avoid motorway" function. Imagine my delight at threading my caravan down narrow single track lanes and watching other motorists having to back up. I had foolishly assumed that "Avoid motorway" would simply route me on good "non motorway" roads, if I wanted shortest route I would expect minor lanes etc.
Joined: Feb 01, 2004 Posts: 57 Location: East Sussex
Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 8:53 pm Post subject:
I have found that it is essential to thoroughly check the route with a good old fashioned map in conjunction with the instructions in the directions to the site as there are often notes on roads to avoid. Thats why TT5 is so poor - its not possible to specifically exclude roads you don't want to use. In TT3 its possible to just exclude certain areas completely so you know it won't try and take you along them.
May be a daft idea , but how about using the French Plus map in the UK . We certainly wouldn't be sent down minor roads ! Had a quick look at this today.
You can input the full UK postcode , and you will be offered the nearest mapped road to set as a destination . If you are not starting on a main mapped road , it's pretty obvious where you go to pick up the start of the route . You can still chose to avoid m/ways if you want ,and go shortest or quickest .There aren't nearly as many roads on the map , of course , but if you are looking for A to B routing across the country , it could be OK , that's what it's meant for presumably .
Now , I hear you ask , what happens if you make a wrong turn and end up on a minor road not on the map ? The voice stops and you are on your own . Not as bad as it sounds , you can still see the nearby main roads and it shouldn't be too difficult to get to one , when you do get close the voice comes back and tells you which way to turn , and the guidance is resumed.
When you get near to the destination you can (stop and) switch maps to GB and enter the correct destination , eg as a recent destination or postcode , or you could well be close enough to have memorised the final leg.
When I had a quick go today I found it did work , but the choice of route is rather limited , it may depend on where in the country you are driving .
and I'm not sure what pois you can set . Another thing you notice is lack of detail , no rivers or rail , not as many place names .
Any thoughts , or plain daft ? Seems a terrible waste of all that lovely eye candy .
Joined: 14/02/2003 12:00:10 Posts: 161 Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:46 am Post subject:
I have mailed my frustrations in the past re TT5 so I wont go back over that except to say I generally agree that TT5 is not a credible product for use with RV's etc, although one has to ask why, if TT maintain that the product is only for Personal Navigation - ie cars - then why do they put their products forward for review in magazines aimed specifically at RV users.
However, I am interested Lutz in your response about there being alternatives out there. It would seem to me that there is the basis for a proper review on this matter. You have commented before about alternatives available and it suggests that you do know of better solutions.
I thought your comment re Navigon was interesting because I wrote to them asking if it addressed this problem and I had a response which, I think, implied it didn't.
Can you list the alternatives and mention whether they allow speed / road modification of whatever feature is required. It would seem that a better handling of road width may be the answer on the basis that the recent visit of PocketGPS to Teleatlas implied that TA maintan 9 road quality levels but it seems to me that TT supports many fewer than that therefore there is bound to be some amalgamation of different road qualities.
Incidentally a friend has a system which appears to offer a 'vehicle type ' selection. The strange thing is that if you input a vehicle type of TRUCK it doesn't change the route but simply recomputes the ETA instead.
I agree absolutely with RoyC , there must be many thousands of MH , RV , and caravanners needing a personal ,( as opposed to a commercial ?) navigation system. Somewere there are figures for total number of such units in Europe , still only a small fraction of the total car ownership , but these are the customers who are more likely to buy sat navigation .
About France Plus map , entered UK speed cams and other pois I need , no problem of course . Beginning to think this could be a useful tool for large units . For lack of detail you could say "uncluttered" , demo routes look ok ,
can someone try it for real ? The postcode destination does get quite close , and if you have a co-driver its easy to switch back to GB map.
Someone must have thought of this before .
As has been discussed, there are many systems available which offer different features, which are essential for some users, but not for others.
As such, it is difficult for potential buyers to really assess which system would be best suited for their particular needs.
A useful resource which this website could offer would be a 'direct comparison chart' which lists which features that are available for all the major GPS systems. Being able to directly compare the features of TT5, CPL5 & Navman would make potential purchasing decisions much easier.
I know that a similar resource is available for handheld GPS systems which I used before purchasing my Garmin GSP Map 60CS.
Is this something that PGPSW would be willing to implement
Baz _________________ Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-D
TomTom Go 50 - Going in the BIN
TomTom Go 730 (RIP)
Garmin Montana 650
Garmin Oregon 45oT
Garmin Edge 1000
Tracklogs Digital Mapping
A useful resource which this website could offer would be a 'direct comparison chart' which lists which features that are available for all the major GPS systems. Baz
Excellent idea that weould help a lot of us I think - if someone has the time and capacity to do it
Joined: 14/02/2003 12:00:10 Posts: 161 Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 1:09 pm Post subject:
I agree it would be invaluable and in addition could I suggest that future reviews on PocketGPS also consider the implications of a large vehicle in reaching the conclusion.
As a user or potential user I have absolutely no means of knowing whether there is any benefit in switching from TT and I don't have the time or the resouces to keep buying until I get the right one. My guess is that in a few years time we won't even need to discuss this as it becomes a feature considered necessary but we have to accept that as 'early adopters' we will always find this with any product.
I guess my concern is not only with TT but the fact that I cannot make an informed judgement on an alternative solution.
I think that you will find that routing is a 'problem' with most software to various degrees. From experience, I know that people often disagree on the best/quickest/easiest route, and I am talking about people who actually know the area (and possibly every pothole!), so how any software can hope to please everyone is beyond me.
I do however strongly believe, that mapping software should recognise that your requirements (or objections) become less rigid (with the exception of avoiding motorways) the nearer you are to either the start or end of your journey, and adjust its bias accordingly.
Since most (all?) of the companies rely on 'bought-in' maps, many of the problems could be due to deficiencies with the data's detail. For example, until the road data also includes clearance (height and width) along with weight restrictions, and access restrictions (and the times of those restrictions) they will be of limited use to HGV drivers - or caravanners who are 'banned' from some stretches of road (even 'A' roads).
Also, I sometimes wonder how much time they put into 'how a route should be planned' - the knowledge is out there - the AA (amongst others) did it sucessfully for years before computerised routing was even thought of.
Joined: May 18, 2005 Posts: 193 Location: North East
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 2:43 pm Post subject:
Does anyone remember the satelite TV issue. Sky got there first with the Astra system, BSB followed too late & couldn't compete with Sky's inferior system. Sky being the market leader due to early start. They then adopted the BSB system because it was the best.
Before that we had VHS video recorders that became the market leader even though Betamax was the better product.
Tomtom got there first and have become the market leader. It's going to be difficult for any other system to compete (but because of Tomtoms' attitude towards it's (ppc) customers the competition is getting their help). If as it seems, car manufactures who provide incar sat.nav. opt for Tomtom units them we will be stuck with them & no real alternative.
I, for one, want sat.nat. in my car but don't want to have one that can only be used in the car & a second (ppc) for use elsewhere. Tomtom seem to be saying to the ppc use, thanks for you help (giving us lots of money) but you can get stuffed now, we only want the easy pickings. We're big enough now to do this'.
The only way Tomtom will do anything is if they see profits falling due to lost of customer base (or slowdown in the increase). EVERYONE who is not happy should e-mail Tomtom & tell them. I have already done this to let them know that I will not purchase the next upgrade unless it is a major improvement, will not be using TTtrafic, will not recommend Tomtom to anyone, will look at alternative software & GO BACK TO USING PAPER MAPS (which is easier that using paper maps to check the TTN5 has got it right).
What is the point on haveing sat.nav. if you still have to use maps to get where you are going by the best route. After using the map you know the route so don't need TTN5 to direct you.
Get those e-mails sent in every (& I do mean everyone, lets bombard them BUT ONLY ONE PER PERSON, no spamming them). _________________ If riding in a plane is flying then riding in a boat is swimming. If you want to experience the feeling
GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE
Also, I sometimes wonder how much time they put into 'how a route should be planned' - the knowledge is out there - the AA (amongst others) did it sucessfully for years before computerised routing was even thought of.
I remember back in about 1970 my family drove off on holiday from London to Devon. My father had a planned route printed out from one of the motoring organisations - AA I think. It gave detailed instructions for every junction and turning right to our destinatation including lanes to get in for every junctions etc, description of junction type, lights, roundabout etc. This was before the days of miles of motorways and dual carriageways everywhere so there were plenty of towns and villages that would now be the A30/A303/A30 route went through. I did some of the navigating and it seemed pretty accurate.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 44 Location: Washington State, USA
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:19 am Post subject:
LiveLifeGoJump wrote:
The only way Tomtom will do anything is if they see profits falling due to lost of customer base (or slowdown in the increase). EVERYONE who is not happy should e-mail Tomtom & tell them. I have already done this to let them know that I will not purchase the next upgrade unless it is a major improvement, will not be using TTtrafic, will not recommend Tomtom to anyone, will look at alternative software & GO BACK TO USING PAPER MAPS (which is easier that using paper maps to check the TTN5 has got it right).
Here's what I sent to TT:
......................
You say this in your answers to this question on your support page: Why do I sometimes find map errors in TomTom products?
"Exceptions are possible, but the digital map data TomTom is using at present is the best data available on the market. Next to having the best map data it is also the latest map data available."
This claim is patently wrong: I often find important roads missing or in the wrong place when I travel with TT, yet these same roads (often years old) are properly placed in online map services like MapQuest and Google Maps. My almost 3 year old Microsoft Streets and Trips 2003 on my PC is more accurate overall than TT5! These all seem to use Navteq maps.
Routing is a particular problem in the countryside, where it often directs us down narrow dirt roads instead of using paved county roads that show up easily on any paper map!
The POI are very uneven in quality. How can Walmart be missing from your POI? How can 3 major hospitals in my area be missing from your POI? How can thousands of municipal airports be missing from your POI?
If TT cannot get better maps, routing, and POI to it's users by Spring of next year, I will have to find another product. I chose TT because it seemed the easiest to use, but an easy-to-use, inadequate product is not useful. I bought this primarily for my wife, but she does not trust it, and I don't blame her.
.................
Not sent to TT in the above email, but at another time: "TT has been an asset in cities and the bigger towns, but the majority of our traveling avoids these areas because we usually travel in a motorhome. We do not appreciate being directed down nonexistent roads, or narrow dirt roads, even when in the car!"
Joined: Sep 10, 2005 Posts: 35 Location: South Yorkshire
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:56 am Post subject:
All very good points - but I would bet my next months salary that TT just ignore it and take no action.
They do not appear to care if individuals wander off and buy other products - there are plenty more fish in the sea.
I would suggest that their focus is on their GO products now anyway (not that they are any better) - us PPC users have fulfilled our usefulness so we can be disregarded.
There are car based systems out there (and have been for a long while) that have the ability to select or exclude the type of roads that you wish to travel along - Why cant that feature just be adapted for PPC users.
The data for low bridge locations on A and B roads in the UK is already in the public domain. Paper maps carry their locations and again - they have for years - Why not add in the feature to avoid those.
I suspect the answer to both points is that - they don't need to add the features - they sell ample units anyway.
Who cares if there a few disgruntled users - the majority will still buy their products :x
Joined: 14/02/2003 12:00:10 Posts: 161 Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:48 pm Post subject:
It is interesting about the I3 and with the price as it is it will be of interest to many people , inlcuding me , if it really does handle trucks differently. Feedback from users of other Garmin products suggests that the ONLY effect of choosing Truck as opposed to car is that it changes the ETA. If it changes the route then that would be interesting to hear and I would like to liaise with you offlist to see how it deals with some test cases which I have.
Joined: 03/05/2003 14:45:49 Posts: 3999 Location: leyland lancs ENGLAND
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:12 pm Post subject:
the I3 gives the same route as tt5 in limited speed mode more or less tt5 still gives the better routing _________________ currently using aponia truck navigation on windows phone. Good bye IOS don't let the door hit you on the way out .
Oh the joys of being a courier.
device Lumia 950 xl
Posted: Today Post subject: Pocket GPS Advertising
We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
Have you considered making a donation towards website running costs?. Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!
Hi! We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
But as we’re losing ad-revenue from this then why not make a donation towards website running costs?. Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Log in for private messages
Log in
