Consumer Reports on GPS Systems

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ArdraF

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Just thought some of you might be interested in the October 2007 issue of Consumer Reports.  On page 6 they review portable GPS devices.

ArdraF
 
Ron from Big D said:
How about some ratings?

Ron

It would probably be a copyright violation to reproduce the ratings, but, with all due respects to Ron R, Garmin had the two highest rated units.
 
BernieD said:
Ron

It would probably be a copyright violation to reproduce the ratings, but, with all due respects to Ron R, Garmin had the two highest rated units.

Too bad there isn't a way to let them know the several areas where City Nav has no clue whats there.  However, maybe they finally did correct somethings in the latest revision but I wouldn't hold my breath.
 
Ron said:
Too bad there isn't a way to let them know the several areas where City Nav has no clue whats there.  However, maybe they finally did correct somethings in the latest revision but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Ron,

The last week or so I checked out the Yukon, CRV, Grand Cherokee and Nitro.  All were equipped with navigation systems.  All used the same Navteq map set as City Nav and the update DVD was priced at $180.  You need to bad mouth Navteq and not Garmin.  ;D

Phil
 
Phil said:
Ron,

The last week or so I checked out the Yukon, CRV, Grand Cherokee and Nitro.  All were equipped with navigation systems.  All used the same Navteq map set as City Nav and the update DVD was priced at $180.  You need to bad mouth Navteq and not Garmin.  ;D

Phil

How come then the Lowerance which uses Navtec is more correct like they know where that Lowes store is located I have mentioned before.  Garmin had a great mapping software when I first bought mine then IMHO they handicapped a good system with City Nav.

 
Navteq supplies the mapping data, not the points of interest.  They are separate databases.
 
Ned said:
Navteq supplies the mapping data, not the points of interest.  They are separate databases.
I am well aware of that Ned but There are so many routing errors too.  The most recent I had the chance to compare was from South of Houston on I-45 to West of Houston on I-10.  Have not been favorbly impressed with the Garmin since they took on City Nav.
 
I believe Navteq is the map data but the routing software is Garmin's. All the tech data I have read indicates that Navteq is the most accurate and up-to-date data. But remember, no matter which data set you have, the data is probably 1-2 yrs old by the time you see it in your GPS. I have  Navteq data in my S&T and it is very accurate compared to SA. But some data on new roads is not there. There is a new road near me that has been completed for over a year but it's not in S&T nor Copilot. It's not in Google maps either but when I overlay the aerial on the Google map the road is there in the photo.

Seems to me that if you are unhappy with Garmin's City Nav, then the place to complain is Garmin's customer service...they're the only ones who can change it.

BTW, Copilot has a deal where you can send in your trip data. They overlay the actual trip data on their maps and make corrections. So if you have Copilot, send in those trips.
 
Ron said:
How come then the Lowerance which uses Navtec is more correct like they know where that Lowes store is located I have mentioned before.  Garmin had a great mapping software when I first bought mine then IMHO they handicapped a good system with City Nav.

Ron:

Next time we will go to Home Depot! ;D ;D

 
Ron said:
I am well aware of that Ned but There are so many routing errors too.  The most recent I had the chance to compare was from South of Houston on I-45 to West of Houston on I-10.  Have not been favorbly impressed with the Garmin since they took on City Nav.

Ron

We did a lot of touring this past summer relying on our Garmin/City Navigator v7 (1 year old). 2, 3, 4 times a day we would program a destination into the GPS and it got us there. Not always the shortest, fastest or best, but we always got to where we wanted. Of course, we never tried to find a Lowes in Houston  :D
 
BernieD said:
Ron

We did a lot of touring this past summer relying on our Garmin/City Navigator v7 (1 year old). 2, 3, 4 times a day we would program a destination into the GPS and it got us there. Not always the shortest, fastest or best, but we always got to where we wanted. Of course, we never tried to find a Lowes in Houston  :D

Most of the time it will get you there but not always the shortest, fastest, best way, or even the most logical way.  Why sometimes it will take you clear out of your way but it may still get you there.
 
Just a note to pass on our recent experience with Delorme mapping our trip to Libby MT from Belgrade.  It tried to route us on about 40 miles of rough gravel road rather than paved road from Polson via Kalispell to Libby.

BTW, US 2 from Kalispell to the ID border is mostly good road with about 8 miles of construction.  I guess that about 1/3 is old narrow 2 lane but the rest is more modern with reasonable shoulders rather than none on the older sections.
 
Hmmm...  MapSource Ver. 6 routed me on 93 to 82 to 35 around the East side of Flathead Lake, then back to 93 at the South end of it. Had it set for "trucks" and to avoid unpaved  and toll roads. Completely different routing than if it was set for "car", which had me go on 56 to 200 to MT 135s, then I-90 to Belgrade.
 
How come then the Lowerance which uses Navtec is more correct

Ron,

Consumer Reports rated Lowrance iWay 600c as third lowest and they are the only portable GPS to have received a full black circle in the Route Options category.  In fact, they got the only black circle in any of the test results.  Just because Garmin couldn't find Lowes in Houston and Lowrance could does not mean either one is better most of the time.  But apparently the testers at CR weren't very impressed with the iWay and they were impressed with the Garmin Nuvi 660 and Garmin Nuvi 350,which got the two highest rankings.

ArdraF

 
One common problem with all the routing programs is asking for the Shortest route.  This will route you over some less that desirable roads in some cases, even using off and the immediate on ramps for freeways, if that's shorter than staying on the freeway.  Always use Quickest or Fastest to get better routing.  Also, check the road preferences for speed settings.  Usually the default settings will do a pretty good job, but I find that the defaults aren't too accurate for our driving and adjust them accordingly.  Doing the above I find the Street Atlas does a good job of routing and I only need to use vias when I want to go other than the calculated route, even though it may be slower or longer.
 
Ity is too bad that CR doesn't have p process in which I could submit to them several routes that Garmin can't seem to get right.  There is one in Houston that even today the Metroguid still gets it right and City Nav has you back tracking.  I was favorably impressed with MetroGuide but have IMHO found City Nav pretty poor in comparison.    Just not a Garmin fan anymore.  Maybe some day if they ever come out with a City NAv revision that gets it right then I would probably change my view.
 
Try Shortest some time to see the interesting routing that results, especially in areas with lots of unpaved county roads :)
 
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