My i3 review + help requests

danoli · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:13 pm Post subject: My i3 review + help requests

Hi

Just got my i3 yesterday.
I was initially worried about the small screen as I have a PDA GPS plus the Garmin GPS-V and the GPSMAP196 which all have larger screens.

I was suprised at how effective the screen really is for its size. Obviously with a larger screen you can pull up lots of other information, speed, time, ETA, DTA etc but I mostly look at the moving map so no real loss.

The two button interface is so simple to use (yep, I know it has 3 buttons, but one is on/off only)

I have been able to input nearly 100 custom waypoints within a very short space of time, the GPSMAP196 and GPS-V with all their buttons takes much longer.

I ran the i3 against the GPSMAP196 and a 200 mile route took a simillar time to calculate, they differed by 4 miles so I will check the difference on friday when I drive the route.

On short trips, both the i3 and GPSMAP196 were identical on calculation, route and values (speeds, warnings and distance).

Niggles:
I have found no way of displaying the current speed when navigating, it does show in the map view when not navigating.

Voice prompt only says "1st" or "2nd" whether it is the first or second turning on the left or right or junction off a roundabout.

Viewing favourite finds (waypoints) lists them by proximity, I cannot find a way to sort them alphabetically (this is a big let down with potentially 500 waypoints)

Waypoint names can only be input in correct case, i.e. first letter capital, I cannot find a way of forcing all uppercase or lowercase names.

The scroll wheel can be a little 'touchy' at times and you can sometimes hit the wrong selection and have to go back to correct it. I am sure this is just a case of getting used to it. It seems to have a small delay when you first use it, eg. Entering a waypoint name, the first movement of the wheel invokes a slight delay, almost like a dead spot on the wheel, after that it works instantly. (unless mine is faulty)

More to follow.....

upthegardenpath · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 13, 2005 Posts: 12

upthegardenpath · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 13, 2005 Posts: 12

just to say...

if you do the master reset , you will lose all your user defined data but IMHO its better to do it now and get it working properly, then reload all your data

danoli · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:19 pm Post subject:

Ahh, I think the problem was when I first switched it on. Chose the English language then waited for about 2 minutes. After about 2 minutes I thought it had locked up so I powered it off then on. So I probably interupted the voice file download...

danoli · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:26 pm Post subject:

Sorted it. Switched the languages to another and back again. Patience...... Smile

MaFt · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:43 pm Post subject:

i was going to say that mine has said previously "take the 6th exit from roundabout" but upthegardenpath beat me to say about resetting the voice files...

regarding speed when you're driving - the speedo on the car is much more accurate... i wouldn'y rely on the one from the i3 alone!

my only niggle is as follows:

no way to get lat/long details from favourites and therefore no way to back them up Sad

without going to a mapping website, finding the area and doing it that way round.

danoli · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:06 pm Post subject:

MaFt · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 5:42 pm Post subject:

but the speedo in the car is constantly updated, the satnav will check satellite locations periodically giving possible misleading speeds every so often...

just my opnion though

MaFt

danoli · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:38 pm Post subject:

andspenka · Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 7:12 pm Post subject:

Ramases · Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:31 pm Post subject:

Hi
Popped my i3 into my wife's Seicento last night to check speedo accuracy. At all speeds above an indicated 30mph it was reading 5mph over the GPS indicated speed. My understanding is that speedos in the UK may read up to 10% fast, so hers is clearly outside this tolerance. My feeling in that the i3 is MUCH more accurate than the car. At 30, it just feels like 25 and would explain why she seems to have a long queue behind her on speed-limited roads!

MELennium · Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 2:01 pm Post subject:

As i said earlier i have also the micro road pilot which detects safety cameras as well as the i3 and working side by side the i3 is spot on with the pilot. On there web site they say it is much more accurate than any car speedo, so yes the i3 speed is spot on.

Ramases · Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:07 pm Post subject:

blackrat62 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 08, 2005 Posts: 47

The Garmin will be more accurate than your speedo.

The 10% rule went out many many years ago (many officers don't even know that!!) - believe it or not there is an EU formula for speedo error.

The formula is as complicated as you would expect from the EU - what was wrong with the 10% I ask.

No speedo is allowed to under-read BUT at 70mph the formula allows for about 17% over-reading. Yes that is 17%.

God bless Europe. Evil or Very Mad

i3 - great piece of kit.

ninjagaiden · Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 9:52 pm Post subject:

Sorry to be stupid but ...

There obviously is a way to get i3 to display vehicle speed, but I can't work out how to do this. Have fiddled with unit and also checked manual.

I'd be grateful if you could explain how this is done.

Thanx

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