What features to look for in an in-car GPS?

[kamikazekyle]

I wound up getting the nuvi 1490LMT on that Cyber Monday week deal since I couldn't find an Android or iOS app that would suit my needs with custom routing and driving profiles. So far the combo of BaseCamp and the nuvi has been pretty phenominal and can do what GoogleMaps/Nav on Android hasn't been able to do, as well as TomTom, MotionX, Waze, and a few others. CoPilot has come close, but I have to manually enter the lat/lon coords on the phone by hand and troubleshoot, which takes forever.

I didn't really want the 5" model and would have prefered a device that would do AD2P or similar for bluetooth, plus I don't really care about the traffic since any traffic service (GoogleNav, TomTom, CoPilot) hasn't every really helped me, but enh. The 5" actually works well for my car since it has a very deep and aggressively sloped dash/windshield, so I have to place the GPS pretty far away. I can see how it'll probably be overly big when I mount it to my motorcycle, or for cars with less aggressive sloping.

 

[olds]

I got my parents a Garmin few years ago, and they love it. Be sure to get one that can say street names.

This can be funny.
My brother has a place on Ossel Falls. My Garmin pronounces it Asshole Falls.

 

[gevorg]

NAVTEQ traffic? That's debatable. Clear Channel was worth it for me and it's worked the 3 years I've had it. If I had an Android phone 3 years ago instead of 2 months ago, would I have bought my Nuvi 760 with lifetime Clear Channel traffic subscription? Not sure/Undecided...because Google Maps was still in it's infancy then.

Lane assist is a useless feature for me even if working correctly.
Like Imp mentioned earlier, your time would be better spent paying attention to the signs in front of your windshield than starring at your GPS unit 2 miles before you reach a junction to see a "10 seconds" warning flash. If you pay attention to the signs in front of you, you can't miss it.

GLONASS support? another useless/irrelevant feature. My current accuracy on the 760 Nuvi is always about 16ft. If I was shooting a Hellfire missile, yeah I'd need all the accuracy. I'd prefer Garmin to return all those 750/760 series features they're stripping out from their current units than better accuracy.

- Either one is still better than driving blind

- I found great use of lane assist, doesn't mean you shouldn't read the signs anyway , good GPS/GLONASS accuracy is important for this to work great.

- Even a simple Anand comparison showed an advantage of having GLONASS in addition to GPS. This especially matters if you're driving in urban terrain and lots of buildings around you that can block GPS satellites from you. Do the research, there is plenty of info of what additional navigation networks can do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf08o_j68XA

 

[lothar]

- Either one is still better than driving blind

- I found great use of lane assist, doesn't mean you shouldn't read the signs anyway , good GPS/GLONASS accuracy is important for this to work great.

- Even a simple Anand comparison showed an advantage of having GLONASS in addition to GPS. This especially matters if you're driving in urban terrain and lots of buildings around you that can block GPS satellites from you. Do the research, there is plenty of info of what additional navigation networks can do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf08o_j68XA

1.) If the people in this thread(JEDI and Imp?) have already testified that NAVTEQ traffic is useless for them, then I think I'd rather drive blind.
Telling me there is traffic somewhere when there isn't is ridiculous. You can't possibly tell me that is better than driving blind.

2.) If you still have to read the signs anyway, then what usefulness does this Lane-Assist feature provide?

3.) I've watched the video twice, and I didn't see much of an advantage.
How much of the advantage is attributable to GLONASS support versus just "general" improvement in the GPS chipset/software?

I'm sure a GPS device today is more accurate than one from 4 years ago.
For example, we've all heard about the GPS on Galaxy S devices from last year are crap. That's not the case with the Galaxy S2. What changed? They certainly didn't add GLONASS support.

If you want to get technical about it, the only way to tell if it's a true advantage is to see NMEA data.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NMEA_0183

I'd like to see NMEA data comparing the iPhone4, 4S, and a few units from Android, WP7, Blackberry, Garmin, and TomTom standalone devices.
If the NMEA data shows the 4S destroys all the others, then yes I'd attribute it to GLONASS support. If it shows it destroys the iPhone 4, but is neck and neck with a few other devices that don't have GLONASS support, then I'd attribute that to "general" improvement in the GPS chipset/software in the 4S and not GLONASS support.

When did Anand do this comparison and what review? It must be something I missed recently.
Since Anand reviews are usually the most detailed reviews on hardware and electronic devices on the web, I'm sure he posted the NMEA data somewhere.
But yes again, the only actual scientific way to tell is NMEA data, not just watching a picture on the screen.

 

[gevorg]

1.) If the people in this thread(JEDI and Imp?) have already testified that NAVTEQ traffic is useless for them, then I think I'd rather drive blind.
Telling me there is traffic somewhere when there isn't is ridiculous. You can't possibly tell me that is better than driving blind.

2.) If you still have to read the signs anyway, then what usefulness does this Lane-Assist feature provide?

3.) I've watched the video twice, and I didn't see much of an advantage.
How much of the advantage is attributable to GLONASS support versus just "general" improvement in the GPS chipset/software?

I'm sure a GPS device today is more accurate than one from 4 years ago.
For example, we've all heard about the GPS on Galaxy S devices from last year are crap. That's not the case with the Galaxy S2. What changed? They certainly didn't add GLONASS support.

If you want to get technical about it, the only way to tell if it's a true advantage is to see NMEA data.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NMEA_0183

I'd like to see NMEA data comparing the iPhone4, 4S, and a few units from Android, WP7, Blackberry, Garmin, and TomTom standalone devices.
If the NMEA data shows the 4S destroys all the others, then yes I'd attribute it to GLONASS support. If it shows it destroys the iPhone 4, but is neck and neck with a few other devices that don't have GLONASS support, then I'd attribute that to "general" improvement in the GPS chipset/software in the 4S and not GLONASS support.

When did Anand do this comparison and what review? It must be something I missed recently.
Since Anand reviews are usually the most detailed reviews on hardware and electronic devices on the web, I'm sure he posted the NMEA data somewhere.
But yes again, the only actual scientific way to tell is NMEA data, not just watching a picture on the screen.

1) Its not black and white, everyone decides for themselves whether the info is useful or not. And I'm not saying the traffic info is always accurate or well represented.

2) You can change lanes before you see signs, or if you missed one, can't see one, etc.

3) That video is from this part of Anand's iPhone 4S review. Like Anand said, you can't get NMEA data from iPhone 4S, but the fact that hybrid GPS/GLONASS will give an improvement in urban navigation has been covered by multiple sources. Here is a simple example where the hybrid design is clearly superior, without need of any NMEA data:

http://www.gsm-modem.de/M2M/m2m-componets/gps-versus-hybrid-glonass-gps/

 

[AGENT_P6]

I think the one of the most basic aspects of a GPS proves to be one of the most handy: sensitivity of the touchscreen! For some reason, Garmin and TomTom have decided to make their touchscreens only usable by Hulk Hogan because you have to push SO hard on the screen to make the numbers and letters register.

Things like lane assist and all the other gimmicky features IMO aren't overly handy. I mean, as long as you're paying attention to the road, and you zoom out a little bit on your GPS to see the upcoming turn, you should know which lane to be in.

The only feature I look for in GPS' is lifetime map updates. that way I won't have to pay ~$60 for a lifetime map update card.

Personally I favour Garmin for its ease of menu navigation, however, installing updates from their website was a horrid experience, and their so called "application" for windows ran as smooth as sandpaper

I don't know how well the support is for tomtom, but my suggestion is disregard the gimmicks, choose a garmin for ease of menu navigation, and grin and bear the horrible experience of updating your product with the latest firmware/update/etc.

smartphones offer GPS apps by tomtom and garmin, as well as other names for a fraction of the price of an actual GPS, just in case you might consider that as an alternative. Garmin, for example, is ~$60 on the apple appstore for my iphone4.

Happy shoppin

 

[sm625]

The most important thing to look for in a GPS device is what options you have when someone steals it.

 

[zerogear]

I think the one of the most basic aspects of a GPS proves to be one of the most handy: sensitivity of the touchscreen! For some reason, Garmin and TomTom have decided to make their touchscreens only usable by Hulk Hogan because you have to push SO hard on the screen to make the numbers and letters register.

Things like lane assist and all the other gimmicky features IMO aren't overly handy. I mean, as long as you're paying attention to the road, and you zoom out a little bit on your GPS to see the upcoming turn, you should know which lane to be in.

...

smartphones offer GPS apps by tomtom and garmin, as well as other names for a fraction of the price of an actual GPS, just in case you might consider that as an alternative. Garmin, for example, is ~$60 on the apple appstore for my iphone4.

Happy shoppin

- Touch screen works fine, and since it's a resistive screen, using your nails is often much easier than pushing on it.

- Lane assist is useful during those congested areas (NYC outer areas) where you don't know which effin lane to be in because it's so chaotic.

- For older people, you probably shouldn't except them to open/launch apps and turn on GPS setting to use GPS. Plug-in and Drive will be better anyway. Either way, I would only use my phone for short routes, and any longer distance driving would be done by GPS (Garmin in my case).

 

[lothar]

The most important thing to look for in a GPS device is what options you have when someone steals it.

Garmin Lock.

 

[manly]

Wow, the more I research about these "new" Garmin units, the more I'm beginning to hate them.
Did you see the images uploaded by a customer for that unit you linked to?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-me...m_pdp_imgs_all
Absolutely ridiculous.
There are a lot of reviews saying the traffic feature(NAVTEQ that is) of these new units are useless as well.

I don't know, you're implying the Garmins get worse year by year and yet they're still in business. That one customer image is quite interesting; I'm not going to comb through hundreds of people's reviews but the nuvi 1490 somehow manages a solid 4 star avg. One curious thing about LaurenW's pictures is that the two GPS units don't seem to be synchronized to the same location. I'm not talking about the lack of local detail on the newer model, but they just aren't even on the same path.

I have no horse in this game, the only GPS I have is a dodgy iPhone app that was on sale 18 months ago. Google Maps (Web and app) have gotten me lost on multiple occasions, so it's a non-starter for me nowadays.

People do seem to be happy with Garmin, including yourself and others here. It's not black and white either; satisfaction (in your case) or "uselessness" don't cover a lot of middle ground.

 

[Imp]

I think the one of the most basic aspects of a GPS proves to be one of the most handy: sensitivity of the touchscreen! For some reason, Garmin and TomTom have decided to make their touchscreens only usable by Hulk Hogan because you have to push SO hard on the screen to make the numbers and letters register.

Ya, my main complaint for my Garmin 40 is that it's touch sensitivity is shit. It flies all over the place when I try to scroll the map, and it's not sensitive enough that I can stop it on a dime. Then again, it's only $120, bottom of the barrel product, so lower expectations.

 

[lothar]

I don't know, you're implying the Garmins get worse year by year and yet they're still in business. That one customer image is quite interesting; I'm not going to comb through hundreds of people's reviews but the nuvi 1490 somehow manages a solid 4 star avg. One curious thing about LaurenW's pictures is that the two GPS units don't seem to be synchronized to the same location. I'm not talking about the lack of local detail on the newer model, but they just aren't even on the same path.

I have no horse in this game, the only GPS I have is a dodgy iPhone app that was on sale 18 months ago. Google Maps (Web and app) have gotten me lost on multiple occasions, so it's a non-starter for me nowadays.

People do seem to be happy with Garmin, including yourself and others here. It's not black and white either; satisfaction (in your case) or "uselessness" don't cover a lot of middle ground.

Them raking profits has nothing to do with their individual GPS model's performance/features.

Regarding the 4 star rating, I'll say this:
"A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought." -Warren E. Buffett
When it comes to electronics, use credible hardware sites. Anandtech, AVS Forums, et al. In the case for GPS units, they are:
http://www.gpsreview.net/
http://www.poi-factory.com/
http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/default.asp?_SetCurrentVersion=EN
http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/index.html

I noticed that too...But then again that wasn't her point of posting the images so I didn't mention it. Those missing roads, exits, and other details are more than just beyond ridiculous. They are an unforgivable crime. I hope their high end units are not the same way.

I'm happy with my unit. Trust me on that, I wouldn't trade it for any of the brand new Garmin units being released today.
What's amazing was that I bought it for ~$150 from eBay after 30% bing cashback and 15% off eBay(or was it PayPal?) coupon 3 years ago.