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Why dont retailers supply POI's as downloads?

 
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Scoobydooby
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:16 am    Post subject: Why dont retailers supply POI's as downloads? Reply with quote

I'm surprised that retailers dont supply downloadable custom POI's for their stores in the popular formats.

We are off to Florida next year and my wife asked me to setup POI's for the local Michaels arts & craft shops, whilst it seems that stores are happy to include 'store locators' on their website, it would seem logical to also allow downloadable POI's, instead it seems that I am destined to add them manually with the info from the store locator.

Perhaps I'm missing a point somewhere Confused

Scoobs
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Scoobydooby
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry mods, meant to post this in the POI's section, please feel free to move this.

Scoobs
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Andy_P
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 4:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good point, it IS happening, but a lot more slowly than I had expected.
You could always contact the companies direct and ask... might spur them into action.

There IS a very clever POI production utility (that I think only works for the US) where you search for a business type on Google (I think) and then it produces a POI file automatically, but I can't find my link to it anymore.
Hopefully someone else will come up with it.
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zogman
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 7:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

scooby, from experience it seems stores are 'bunched' with others ,for instance you normally find a lowes very near a walmart...so if there is a michaels near a k-mart in one location there's a good chance it will be the same in another location..just a theory mind..
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davideo0
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Andy_P2002 wrote:

There IS a very clever POI production utility (that I think only works for the US) where you search for a business type on Google (I think) and then it produces a POI file automatically, but I can't find my link to it anymore.
Hopefully someone else will come up with it.


I think this is what you are looking for -
http://www.poi2go.com/mypoi/mypoizip.jar

It works for US Canada & UK
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JockTamsonsBairn
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 10:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Andy_P2002 wrote:
Good point, it IS happening, but a lot more slowly than I had expected.
You could always contact the companies direct and ask... might spur them into action.

There IS a very clever POI production utility (that I think only works for the US) where you search for a business type on Google (I think) and then it produces a POI file automatically, but I can't find my link to it anymore.
Hopefully someone else will come up with it.
Andy, is this the site you were thinking of?
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Oldboy
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Why dont retailers supply POI's as downloads? Reply with quote

Scoobydooby wrote:
I'm surprised that retailers dont supply downloadable custom POI's for their stores in the popular formats.
The big problem is that the data that they supply to create a POI very often contains a lot of inaccuracies.

I'm working through a POI File that was supplied in TomToim Format and it was based purely on Postcode Data. They even got some of those wrong!

The phrase - 'chaos rained' - springs to mind.Smile
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Andy_P
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="BGF"]
Andy_P2002 wrote:
Andy, is this the site you were thinking of?


Well, I'm sure the one I saw only worked for the US, but that's certainly the idea! Thumbs Up
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jalan
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a fairly large collection of US POI files at http://www.gps-poi-us.com
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Andy_P
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

...and I think the built-in POIs are rather more useful on US models anyway (shops other than "PartCo" car spares and Harrods for example!) and restaurants divided up by type too?
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MaFt
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Andy_P2002 wrote:
Good point, it IS happening, but a lot more slowly than I had expected.
You could always contact the companies direct and ask... might spur them into action.

There IS a very clever POI production utility (that I think only works for the US) where you search for a business type on Google (I think) and then it produces a POI file automatically, but I can't find my link to it anymore.
Hopefully someone else will come up with it.


it was a firefox add-on called 'google map to poi' or something like that and it DID work for the uk. i uninstaled it and no longer have the file but search the site and it may come up!

MaFt
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Skippy
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Why dont retailers supply POI's as downloads? Reply with quote

Scoobydooby wrote:
I'm surprised that retailers dont supply downloadable custom POI's for their stores in the popular formats.


The problem is that an individual retailer could create a TomTom OV2 file with a poi list for their branches, cool job done. But then someone would want to install it on their Garmin and it wouldn't work.

So then they end up trying to maintain a bunch of different formats (cvs, ov2, gpx etc) for all the different type of GPS units along with the quirks and compatibility problems this causes.

A better solution is for a professional site (like PocketGPSWorld ;)) to collect POIs, organise them into categories, convert them into the required formats, distribute and support them.
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Scoobydooby
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fair point, but think it is relatively easy to convert the formats about by using Poiedit etc, I dont think a major retailer's IT dept would find it too difficult to have a drop-down option for the popular brands of gps equipment.

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Bampah
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:07 pm    Post subject: Re: Why dont retailers supply POI's as downloads? Reply with quote

Scoobydooby wrote:
I'm surprised that retailers dont supply downloadable custom POI's for their stores in the popular formats.

We are off to Florida next year and my wife asked me to setup POI's for the local Michaels arts & craft shops, whilst it seems that stores are happy to include 'store locators' on their website, it would seem logical to also allow downloadable POI's, instead it seems that I am destined to add them manually with the info from the store locator.

Perhaps I'm missing a point somewhere Confused

Scoobs

I used TT6 in California, Utah, Arizona & Nevada and it found EVERY Michaels craft store available. They were installed with the USA maps
Her Ladyship visited the lot!!
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lbendlin
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:01 am    Post subject: Re: Why dont retailers supply POI's as downloads? Reply with quote

Bampah wrote:
Her Ladyship visited the lot!!


I feel very, very sorry for you.
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