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Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 1:13 pm Post subject: MISSING FEATURES ON TOM TOM SOFTWARE
Satnavs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have only used a Garmin Streetpilot satnav. That allows me to choose the type of vehicle I am travelling in to influence the route plotted. Choice is one of - bicycle, bus, car/motorcycle, delivery, emergency, pedestrian, taxi, truck. I have mine set to "delivery" when I am in the van (this seems to be more or less the same a car/motorcycle from what I have seen so far) BUT if I set it to "truck" it defintely avoids narrow roads, town centres (unless that is the destination, of course!), etc.
Do other satnavs have this choice? If not, does this explain why some people are getting caught out in fords (no, not the car make, you dumbo - the river type ;0), narrow lanes, small bridges etc? - in other words, are other satnavs assuming "car" to be the default and plotting an usuitable route for a bigger vehicle?
It aslo has setting for road preferance and ones to avoid - unpaved, toll, u turns.
I wish my Tom Tom had a facility like that. Don't get me wrong it is brilliant at getting me to places where I used to have to keep stopping to study a map. Can't do that easily in London or any City Centre.
However it has tried to get me in to places I can't go!!
Yesterday it insisted on telling me to turn left and the road was about 5 feet wide, 20 yards long and ended in a brick wall. But I was in the right place according to the post code.
In some respect Ron your satnav has the jump on Tom Toms, as Jim says that facility isn't on them and can lead to you ending up in all sorts of trouble, further delaying you when you are running late and going for an alternative route, happened to me again just this week. As it's happened before I'm cautious about it but sometimes you just have to go with it and see what happens, it's definitely a downside for Tom Tom.
The other (one other) thing that lets Tom Tom down I think is the inability to put in waypoints (only allows one) or multiple destinations/drops to plot your route when you have several drops or just don't like the route its planned (or you know there is a problem going that way). It has an itinary planner but that doesn't allow you to see the route as a whole before setting off, only the first section which isn't of much use (of course could be I'm just not smart enough to use it properly and if that's the case can someone please put me right on that)!
Also when advance planning a route from a destination other than your current location, when you try to plot it to go another route other than the one it picks, it has a tendency to 'go live' and the new route comes in as from your current location rather than the start point you had entered, which of course makes advanced planning via a specific waypoint very difficult (and certainly very time consuming, especially if you are in motion at the time and then need to stop and plan in stages, who has the time to spare for that)!!!!!
Tom Tom do, do updates occasionally, and hopefully they will enhance their product in the future by correcting these things (definitely needs the ability to change vehicle types, I can imagine large truck drivers using Tom Tom getting into all kinds of trouble), unfortunately it seems they are more interested in continually bringing out new shaped models rather than enhancing the software for a better all round product, for their original, new and future customers!
The other thing with Tom Tom is its service, they are damn hard to contact or get a response from and then on the one hand they are quick to provide you and on the other, bloody atrocious! One of my units burnt out, it took a while to contact them for authorisation to return it for repairs, once they collected it I had it back fixed within a few days, that's a great service and a major credit to them!
However, PRIOR to contacting them about the fault I ordered the European Maps CD. I've had the unit back almost a week but I'm still waiting for the bloody maps! That is ridiculously unsatisfactory service!!!!!!
Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 11:19 pm Post subject: Re: MISSING FEATURES ON TOM TOM SOFTWARE
Fast-Trac wrote:
Satnavs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have only used a Garmin Streetpilot satnav. That allows me to choose the type of vehicle I am travelling in to influence the route plotted. Choice is one of - bicycle, bus, car/motorcycle, delivery, emergency, pedestrian, taxi, truck. I have mine set to "delivery" when I am in the van (this seems to be more or less the same a car/motorcycle from what I have seen so far) BUT if I set it to "truck" it defintely avoids narrow roads, town centres (unless that is the destination, of course!), etc.
Do other satnavs have this choice? If not, does this explain why some people are getting caught out in fords (no, not the car make, you dumbo - the river type ;0), narrow lanes, small bridges etc? - in other words, are other satnavs assuming "car" to be the default and plotting an usuitable route for a bigger vehicle?
It aslo has setting for road preferance and ones to avoid - unpaved, toll, u turns.
Just curious.
Ron
Its partially that, but mostly that these people are idiots. I'm sure if the sat nav said 'drive off a cliff' or 'shoot yourself' they'd do it. A few weeks ago TT told me to go down a farm track, which had a gate across it and appeared to lead into a muddy field. I didn't follow it, obvious you may think (and was quickly rerted ona more sensible route) however I recently read an account of some (twit) who did something similar, getting out at each gate, opening it, driving through, closing it, carrying on. For 10 gates FFS :-(
I suspect many also have it set to 'shortest route' which is completely pointless and will have even more ofa tendency to take you via the nearest rabbit run.
Your unit sounds like it hasa very good choice of routing options, much better than TT......could the great unwashed and intelligence-challenged cope though? I suspect they'd still end up getting towed out of an estuary somewhere :-(
Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 11:20 am Post subject: Re: MISSING FEATURES ON TOM TOM SOFTWARE
Tumbleweed wrote:
...I suspect many also have it set to 'shortest route' which is completely pointless and will have even more ofa tendency to take you via the nearest rabbit run...
I would have thought so too.
TomTom has a bit of a reputation (bad one too) about their shortest routing. I have it on very good authority (from a regular TomTom user) that it will even take you off a motorway and immediately rejoin it, simply because the slip road cuts the corner.
Unfortunately, untill consumers (and the reviewers, who influence them) get real about routing, and stop using the 'my shortest route is shorter than yours' method of determining which product is better, stupid routing is bound to continue.
I know it may sound a bit pompous, but it is very much a case of providing the customer what they are asking for, rather than what they really need. In this day and age, yes, we still need the quickest route, but perhaps if we can only have one alternative to it, the alternative should not be the shortest, but perhaps, a more economical one, for when you have the time to spare. These two options would probably cover a much higher percentage of 'real' journey requirements.
Not that I am saying that there isn't a place for shortest routing, just that there are alternatives which will find more use.
On the other hand TomToms reputation for quickest routing is probably as good as their reputation for shortest is bad.
Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 384 Location: Bedford, England
Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 12:26 pm Post subject:
We just spent a week in Germany, in the Mosel valley, which is incredibly winding, and my 700 would regularly invite me to go straight up the side of the valley and down the other side, because it was "quicker" than following the main road alongside the river. Unfortunately, it was assuming that I could travel at some impossible speed up the hairpins and down the other side. I only did it once, and took more than twice the time the 700 said I would.
What we need is the ability to ask for routes that are only on classified roads, or to bias the routing onto motorways and A roads. At present you can tell it you don't want to use motorways, but you can't ask it to avoid the back roads. In this respect, the mapping that only has the major roads of Europe is in some ways better, because it doesn't then have the ability to take the "short cut".
Joined: Aug 21, 2005 Posts: 1761 Location: Kent, England
Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 12:30 pm Post subject:
Remember Tom Tom is a computer - the definition of which is normally an incredibly fast working and accurate idiot.
If you are stupid enough to ask it for the shortest route that is what you will get, the shortest route. Even if it is only shorter by an inch. And by cutting the motorway corner it is doing exactly what you have asked it to do. _________________ Peter
HTC Sensation
Sygic GPS for Europe (No more TT "support"!)
Copilot for USA
Bury CC9060 bluetooth car kit & Brodit mount
...If you are stupid enough to ask it for the shortest route that is what you will get, the shortest route. Even if it is only shorter by an inch. And by cutting the motorway corner it is doing exactly what you have asked it to do.
I couldn't agree more, however, it is relitively easy to program it to avoid that obvious absurditiy, it is the less obvious ones which are the problem. For example, who in their right mind would want to deviate from a main road to go down a single track road, just to shave a few feet from the total journey distance? But this brings me back to the fact, that an absolute shortest route is so often of limited practical use. For the majority of drivers, the saving in distance must be worth the additional time, and must be a cheaper journey for it to be of any benefit.
Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 384 Location: Bedford, England
Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 10:07 am Post subject:
peterc10 wrote:
Remember Tom Tom is a computer - the definition of which is normally an incredibly fast working and accurate idiot.
If you are stupid enough to ask it for the shortest route that is what you will get, the shortest route. Even if it is only shorter by an inch. And by cutting the motorway corner it is doing exactly what you have asked it to do.
My experience in Germany was not on the "Shortest", but the "Quickest" route. The 700 assumed it would be quicker to go over the hills, rather than round them, because it assumes unreasonable and unchangeable speeds on these minor roads. My "quick" route up and then down a series of steep hairpins took twice the time that the 700 assumed. If there was a way to avoid unclassified roads, or to change the assumed speed, it wouldn't have the problem.
Back home, I tried it on Autoroute, and it gave me the same routing initially. When I changed the speeds on the roads to the realistic ones, it reverted to the main road along the winding valley floor.
Joined: Feb 07, 2006 Posts: 616 Location: Midlothian
Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 12:42 pm Post subject:
Is it just me or does Fast-Trac's initial post seem like a plug for Garmin products ? It asks questions and answers them all in the one post with three different people. Maybe I'm just naturally suspicious. _________________ Tommo...
Joined: Aug 21, 2005 Posts: 1761 Location: Kent, England
Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 2:46 pm Post subject:
Can you both agree on the stupidity? _________________ Peter
HTC Sensation
Sygic GPS for Europe (No more TT "support"!)
Copilot for USA
Bury CC9060 bluetooth car kit & Brodit mount
Joined: Jun 04, 2005 Posts: 19991 Location: West and Southwest London
Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 2:55 pm Post subject:
I'd LIKE to....
Unfortunately the other week, I let TomTom guide me off the Thanet Way into a layby and straight back on again.
My, how we laughed (well, the rest of the family did anyway!)
Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 2543 Location: Rainham, Kent. England.
Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 5:19 pm Post subject:
The four most common elements are...
Kettle, washing machine, dish washer and emersion heater. :P
But getting back to routing. If you drive towards Dartford Tunnel, Kent to Essex, and are in the inside lane, you get directed off up a slip road then back down, but if you are in an outer lane, you don't.
You're then told to keep left and as you get nearer the booths you're told, keep right.
If there is a tail back it would probably be quicker via the sliproad. :D _________________ Formerly known as Lost_Property
And NO that's NOT me in the Avatar.
Joined: 03/05/2003 14:45:49 Posts: 3999 Location: leyland lancs ENGLAND
Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 5:23 pm Post subject:
Quote:
If you drive towards Dartford Tunnel, Kent to Essex, and are in the inside lane, you get directed off up a slip road then back down, but if you are in an outer lane, you don't.
You're then told to keep left and as you get nearer the booths you're told, keep right.
If there is a tail back it would probably be quicker via the sliproad
never happened to me yet using tomtom _________________ 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
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