New Study

 

This is a snip from a net story. Maybe the Brits aren't as focused as we.

New Study Reveals GPS Navigation Systems Often Give Poor Directions

Do you have an in-car GPS navigation system? If so, do you find yourself relying on the thing a little too much? Maybe watching its LCD when you should instead be looking out the windshield? You're not alone, with a recent study from the British Automobile Association finding that 55-percent of GPS users find the devices distracting, and a similar number have been given poor directions.
The survey was among 7,380 U.K. motorists, among whom 40-percent have a satellite navigation system in their cars. Because of the poll's less than stellar findings, the association is recommending caution when people use the devices, lest you wind up adrift in a river, or playing chicken with a freight train.

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nuvi 785 nuvi 350, nuvi 270, GTM 20, jag in dash, mercedes in dash.

In Car Units

Are notoriously poor. I’ve seen some of them and there is no comparison to the Garmin units. Add to that the ability to take it from vehicle to vehicle and I honestly can’t see why anyone would opt for the $1500+ cost of the unit. I ain’t gonna give up me Nuvi!

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John Every Day Above Ground is a Good Day! Nuvi 360,660 and 780

a big plus

blue2022 wrote:

A I honestly can’t see why anyone would opt for the $1500+ cost of the unit. I ain’t gonna give up me Nuvi!

Your + is pretty conservative. The Jag unit was $2200 with $500+ updates and I don/t remember the other car costs, but considerable. However, they really work very well. I agree though, The Garmin is a much better deal. The big and only advantage I have is the convenience and it does discourage theft.

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nuvi 785 nuvi 350, nuvi 270, GTM 20, jag in dash, mercedes in dash.

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alexanderrg wrote:
blue2022 wrote:

A I honestly can’t see why anyone would opt for the $1500+ cost of the unit. I ain’t gonna give up me Nuvi!

Your + is pretty conservative. The Jag unit was $2200 with $500+ updates and I don/t remember the other car costs, but considerable. However, they really work very well. I agree though, The Garmin is a much better deal. The big and only advantage I have is the convenience and it does discourage theft.

Instead of spending $2200 on a Jag unit, buy a 750 for $200. With the $2000 you saved you can hire some kid for $10/hr to stand next to your car to protect it.

how old

One thing I have always thought about the in dash systems is how old are they. When a car is designed it takes several years to finalize plans and parts. So by the time the 2009 models are rolling off the line, I would imagine the technology is probably at least 2-3 years behind. So a pnd gpsr is maybe only 6-12 months behind in technology. A real big difference.

Daniel

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Garmin StreetPilot c580 & Nuvi 760 - Member 32160 - Traveling in Kansas

$2000 in our BMW E90

alexanderrg wrote:
blue2022 wrote:

A I honestly can’t see why anyone would opt for the $1500+ cost of the unit. I ain’t gonna give up me Nuvi!

Your + is pretty conservative. The Jag unit was $2200 with $500+ updates and I don/t remember the other car costs, but considerable. However, they really work very well. I agree though, The Garmin is a much better deal. The big and only advantage I have is the convenience and it does discourage theft.

Yeah it was $2,000 in our BMW E90

Same thing probably said about automatic transmissions...

I can imagine similar comments about early automatic transmissions -- complex, inefficient, expensive, take away the need to develop basic motoring skills -- did I leave out anything?

We're at that first generation now, with some companies doing true nav systems, where GPS is just a portion. Look at the evolution of similar systems in aircraft -- inertial platforms first, with GPS being added only recently. All that knowledge transfers to automotive systems, in a different order, here taking GPS and adding vehicle data (speed derived from engine/trans or wheel speeds) and inertial platform data (accelerometers and gyros).

Just as modern automatic transmissions are far more complex than early ones, I'm sure those nav systems will be more complex (Kalman filtering is a tremendous tool), but that complexity can and will be hidden behind more refined user interfaces (they can't get worse!).

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Nuvi 2460, 680, DATUM Tymserve 2100, Trimble Thunderbolt, Ham radio, Macintosh, Linux, Windows

But..but..but

k6rtm wrote:

Same thing probably said about automatic transmissions...

But..but...
You can't just toss out and easily replace a transmission like you can with a PND.. wink

I made this point in another thread...
Nuvi vs Built in Nav = No contest

-Can move nuvi to any car..walk with it..sit in your living room with it.
-Easily upgraded. Both firmware and Maps.
-More POIs.
-Missing a POI? Easily add it with google maps or mapquest. (Some in-cars can have POI's 'sent'..but you have to pay for the service)
-Add POIs from POI FACTORY grin
-If it breaks? Its a few hundred to replace, plus your new one will probably be GOODER.

If your in-car breaks? Good luck with that and the cost to fix/replace.

I would never..ever..get an optional OEM built in gps.

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Nuvi 350 Born Oct 07 - Nuvi 660 Unit #2 (re)Born Sept 08 - Nuvi 360(Gift to 'the chick' yet maintained by myself) Born July 08

Distracting?

I've never used a built-in Nav system, but to me it would seem more distracting looking down at the display, than on a portable system that is mounted closer to your view out the windshield?

It seems like your eyes would have to move further at any rate.

In Dash

I have a Garmin 750 for my new Subaru Forester and an in dash system in my Lexus. There are many advantages to both but I must say the Lexus system is much more accurate,easier to read...(bigger screen of course), much faster, and many more features. I like the Garmin unit because it is portable and can take it in other peoples cars when traveling with them. Like I said both have advantages and one of each is just great for me....Obviously what ever works is the right way to go...

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Bobby....Garmin 2450LM

In - dash systems

grush wrote:

I've never used a built-in Nav system, but to me it would seem more distracting looking down at the display, than on a portable system that is mounted closer to your view out the windshield?

It seems like your eyes would have to move further at any rate.

A lot depends on where the display is located. On some in-dash systems, the display is quite a bit below the normal line of site, so you do have to take your eyes off the road and focus six or more inches below the dash.

My Bean Bag mount allows for a quick glance while still maintaining some awareness of what's happening out the windshield.

Granted, in dash systems have HUMONGOUS screens, but they often control the cabin temperature, radio, and a host of other functions that would be in the area occupied now by the screen. That's part of the expense of an in-dash - replacing the knobs and switches for those functions.

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ɐ‾nsǝɹ Just one click away from the end of the Internet

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dkeane wrote:

One thing I have always thought about the in dash systems is how old are they. When a car is designed it takes several years to finalize plans and parts. So by the time the 2009 models are rolling off the line, I would imagine the technology is probably at least 2-3 years behind. So a pnd gpsr is maybe only 6-12 months behind in technology. A real big difference.

Daniel

From thought to finish, a new car is 4 to 5 years old when it finally hits the dealer's lot. Learned this when I delivered at Chrysler in Fenton, MO.

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America Moves By Truck --- Streetpilot 7200 & OOIDA --- www.accutracking.com userid= poifactory password= guest; "Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it."