Better traffic coming?

I assume the term "premium" describes the cost of the service

I do not live in a major urban centre so instant traffic updates is not an important option to me. But I'm sure that any improvement in real-time accuracy will be welcomed by commuters on this site!

Is this through Garmin or others

I suspect they have already implemented this, just not at the RDS-TMC level. When I bring up Google Maps on my iPod Touch 3G, I see traffic flow information for many of the local roads around here where there are no traffic sensors. I have assumed it was either cellular or WiFi supplied data. While our GTM traffic receiver based devices may not be able to provide flow information back to INRIX, they can certainly benefit if the information is provided to NAVTEQ and Clear Channel for incorporation into their RDS-TMC broadcasts. One would then know there is heavy traffic on secondary roads that do not currently get flow information. As it is now, I only find out about road closures or major incidents on these secondary roads. If there is a "yellow" or "red" level of congestion, I will not find out about it. That my change.

I see alot of competition when gps units/cell phones argue over there units options and accuracy. But as far as traffic info., we are venturing into a new frontier.

This is my most wanted feature in a GPS. Directions aren't much if I'm heading into gridlock traffic.

One of my biggest disappointments with my 1490T is the "T". It has proven to be almost useless. Too often it is grayed-out. When it isn't grayed out it isn't all that helpful either. I've run into huge traffic jams that showed "green" on the screen, and too late to avoid them.

I'm often driving in a very large metropolitan area and think it's ridiculous that this feature is as primitive as it is. I still have to constantly ride the radio dial for the traffic reports.

On the other hand, it is very up to date on what's happening at the Olive Garden.

From Perpster: "One of my biggest disappointments with my 1490T is the "T". It has proven to be almost useless."

I agree. Traffic information has rarely been accurate for me on my 760, usually getting me into trouble as I panic when there is no traffic despite being warned, or not telling me in time when there is actually traffic present. Not useful.

Wonder how much they will charge for it? It sounds nice, including being able to include stoplights in overall prediction. Knowing which lane you are in is great for traveling on previously unknown urban roads (say, on a road trip), but knowing where stoplights are and accounting for them is definitely more useful for commuting along such roads.

I wonder how they anonymize the data?

I had issues on my 1490T originally as well, but there has been a firmware update for the traffic dongle (on the power cord) recently. Use the Garmin update tool to download it to your GPS, and the next time you plug it in, it will update the firmware on your traffic unit.

The update specifically addresses the "grayed-out" traffic button issue. It's still not 100%, but I've noticed a distinct improvement.

...you also might try repositioning the traffic unit slightly (the box on the power cord) to see if it helps - its an FM receiver. I originally hid my power cord inside the dash & only had the power connector peeking out at the top of the dash (easy to do on an older F-150 - the dash cover just snaps out). It looked nice and clean without the power cord hanging down in front of the radio, but the traffic option only worked when I was facing in certain directions! The signal to the FM traffic unit must have been blocked by the metal components behind the dashboard - once I pulled it back out, it works fine.

If it's provided by a cellular signal than you'll most likely have to pay some sort of monthly fee for the signal.

That's what stopped me from getting the 1690 and other units whihc require you to pay an additional fee for traffic.

I have tried the XM as well as RDS/TMC Traffic Services and found them pretty much useless.

Only better if you get rid of all the bad drivers going 45 on the express lane and slowing down to 10 when changing lanes.

Garmin only provide the traffic receiver. You are at the mercy of the local provider of traffic information. As they used to say in the computer world “Garbage in, Garbage out”. In my city it is not unusual to be travelling late on a Sunday evening down a quiet expressway and have the red traffic icon come up. The traffic information is not updated until early Monday morning so you are still getting Fridays’ reports. Must scare the hell out of tourist passing through.

Got the update weeks ago when it came out. FM receiver hanging in the open. Major metropolitan area with flat terrain. No excuses for the lousy coverage.

One morning rush hour in heavy rain, with delays on many major routes, grayed-out traffic icon!

I have used both MSN and TMC traffic and allowed both subscriptions to expire. You're right, the service & technology is very primitive. The whole FM subchannel thing is like sending messages via morse code. It takes forever. The reception radius in Chicago is less than half of what is advertised. When you call for help with that, you get directions like "Try looping the cord over your rear view mirror" or "Try moving farther away from the other cars." What's next, coat hangers and tin foil?

It's pretty cool when it works, though. But most of the time the poor reception area and S-L-O-W transmission speeds result in getting reports that are very often outdated or with not enough warning to avoid the traffic intelligently. It really annoyed me that I could not receive Chicago traffic information from 30 miles away. I would have to wait until I was just a few miles away from the traffic jams or construction areas before the reports would start coming in. With a more modern technology like WiFi/MiFi or with a wireless data plan I would know that within seconds of clicking Go on a route that went through Chicago.

Same problem with my 1450,I purchased the traffic plug seperately and I get grayed out areas where there is no traffic like on little country roads,go to Houston the other day it showed red and there wasn't a problem go figure,I hope this will be corrected when I update the the Garmin Nulink 1695.

In discussions like this thread, I often wonder what a purchaser expected of the "traffic" feature. In my case, I knew going in that the "traffic" information was not available in my metropolitan area. I purchased the 765T based on its price and the recommendation of Consumer Reports.

Q1: Do you think that people are being mislead by the claim that the unit has "lifetime traffic" but the "fine print" says that "traffic" is not available throughout the country?

Q2: Should someone truly believe that traffic tieups (like that resulting from a wreck) will be instantaneously picked up by NAVTEQ and displayed on their unit?

I ask these questions in the hope that guests reading this thread will be more informed by what is actually possible and available and factor that understanding into the decision when they purchase a device.

re Q2: I didn't see anything in my reply or the or the quoted reply expecting wrecks to be picked up instantaneously. If a traffic tie-up is on the radio, one could reasonably expect a product that is dedicated to reporting traffic to buyers of a GPS with the traffic feature would also have that information as well. Especially in major metropolitan areas.

Agree with the others. Like having it but take info with grain of salt and use my own judgement. Have also been tied up in parked traffic. When the radio copter announced clear roads.

No I knew there were no traffic programs out in the country side I just thought it strange to show them grayed out.It is strange though you drive into Houston and they show red and no traffic jam.There is a firmware update on some models and my model is one of them,maybe this will correct some of the false readings.And I know the Garmin Nulink 1695 has this instant traffic information.

In addition to the systems Box Car mentioned there are others being deployed. Some use radar, the same type used by police and some roadside devices used to track speeds. The installations aren't constantly on like roadside signs, they just send a burst every few seconds then report speeds back to a central system. They tend to make those using radar detectors a little crazy unless the detector is set to ignore those pulses.

Still in the works (but coming) the CPU in each vehicle (that's already keeping track of your speed) will broadcast information directly to roadside sensors.

I've spent 40 years in broadcast media and can tell you there's a 'huge' delay between a traffic incident and getting a report broadcast (whether it's on the air or to a GPS). Traffic reports are more of a 'suggestion' than a warning.

Cheers

Been using the Clear Channel Traffic on FM for the past 3+ years and have had no problems with it in my area.

I do, however, always welcome new technology and improvements. More power - pardon the pun - to them.