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- Thread starter Dominicanyor
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One other thing that the Google Maps native app that's on android devices and not Apple iOS devices is that it doesn't support real time information for bus/trolley/train arrival times (if your city transit authority supports it) on the map itself.
Extremely helpful for users of public transit.
I know one could use maps.google.com on iOS for this... but it's so damn slow compared to the native Maps app on iOS.
Extremely helpful for users of public transit.
I know one could use maps.google.com on iOS for this... but it's so damn slow compared to the native Maps app on iOS.
Most people I know don't use their smartphones for Navi.
That being said, I do, and I found shortcomings with Google Maps. It is second to none in ease of use and looks. However, it requires cell data to work, so it wouldn't work in say, the mountains of West Virginia, where there is no cell service, or globally unless you have a local SIM. GMaps also doesn't support "travel via", which is a huge feature on TomTom. I think this is why TomTom is coming out with an Android version for those not happy with Google Maps. TomTom is also great showing the lane changes graphically in a way that's easy to understand without taking your eyes off the road.
I think it's carrier dependent. I got great reception in WV Mountains
And Google Navigation downloads everything you need anywho once you set a route. It only needs the cell connection again to redirect.I think it's carrier dependent. I got great reception in WV Mountains
Which can be kind of a big deal if you have to make an unexpected stop or detour off of your route.
My buddy was using Google Maps Navi on a Droid Bonic and had the phone do a random reboot in an area that we did not really know where we are. Also even though he had the phone plugged in while in the car the battery was still discharging. That was annoying. For this reason, I still use a dedicated GPS device if I am traveling to an area that I have no knowledge of. Sure a navi unit could lock up or die, but it is much less likely.
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A random reboot has nothing to do with Google Navigation. A random reboot would be bad for non-data requiring maps, too.
That's a problem with the car charger, not Google Navigation.
It still downloads and caches the maps, I know b/c I've been in the boonies traveling through North Carolina and our friends cabin literally at the top of Boone, where basically AT&T has zilch service whether through the mountains or towns, and Google Nav worked perfect w/ GPS on. Verizon and Sprint seemed to be the players out there.
Sounds like a problem with the charger b/c the charger dock I use keep's the phone at 100% the whole way with Nav running, music streaming, and checking fb and emails etc. Though I think there were issues like that with the older Androids, like I remember a few years ago with a friends Evo that it would slowly drain on his car charger when we were on a trip.
Waze though sucks donkey balls, used it on the iPhone, not even remotely comparable to Google Nav. It gave me wrong directions quite a few times, police/traffic updates were almost always incorrect, or it would take you to the destination however it would make you get off at the wrong exit off a highway and go through all kinds of streets to get there when Google Nav or Navigon would have taken you further down the highway to the right exit and then go from there, and then yes I've seen it multiple times go completely blank of the screen showing no map. Must depend on area but I can tell you in FL it sucks as well as other states I tried it in, maybe it works decently in other places but it didn't in my use of it. Navigon on the iPhones was well worth the price verses it, Motionx-gps is another good one with a great interface, however the yearly fee could annoy some but it's a good system.
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I was not really trying to bag on google nav, sorry if it came across that way. What I was trying to say is I still prefer standalone nav when I need to depend on it. For me cell phone nav is just not there yet.
And yes, Apple does need an integrated GPS solution for iOS. They are way behind Google on this.
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I think it's carrier dependent. I got great reception in WV Mountains
What about detours? And I know for a fact that a large area of WV has no service on any carrier due to the NRQZ. AT&T and USCC are the best carriers overall in WV.
Yeah, sounds like a 500ma charger, not a 1A.
Sprint wasn't. They would have been roaming off Verizon. There would have been no GSM, so nothing for AT&T to connect to.
I've tried all of them. IMO, TomTom is by far the best. If you have a lot of devices it's a super deal. I have it on an old 3G that I keep in a glove box with a charger, my wife's ipad and my iphone. The integration with google search is nice when you have service, but having the POI's and maps local means it works in the boonies. Free updates are a bonus.
You still do get yearly free mapupdates (as they have always been).
They only charge if you want quarterly map updates (new feature)
Let's be honest. How many people drive around Podunk WV? Or Podunk ANYTOWN? We had a garmin Nuvi before we had our smartphones and even that would lose triangulation, reroute in odd ways, etc. and it always seemed to be when we were in the middle of nowheresville. Nothing is going to be perfect for every single person anywhere they are. What people are asking for is a GPS app that does turn by turn well in most situations. If you are going into an unkown area, where reception might be bad, it is not a terrible idea to buy a paper map, as backup. You know, the way your parents and grandparents did it "back in the day"?
Waze is great for everyday driving (on paths you already know), its made to run in the background and alert people of upcoming traffic jams or cop spottings etc...
MapQuest had the best routing out of all the free gps apps. Even has equal to better routing than most of the paid ones. The voice guidance is top notch too. It's just too bad it has a 2D UI. I'm hoping they update it to 3D sooner or later.
Waze is good alos if you travel with areas that maintain a data connection.
Going remote? waze is not the best idea. You want offline maps for that offered from navigon or tom tom, etc
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Let's be honest. How many people drive around Podunk WV? Or Podunk ANYTOWN? We had a garmin Nuvi before we had our smartphones and even that would lose triangulation, reroute in odd ways, etc. and it always seemed to be when we were in the middle of nowheresville. Nothing is going to be perfect for every single person anywhere they are. What people are asking for is a GPS app that does turn by turn well in most situations. If you are going into an unkown area, where reception might be bad, it is not a terrible idea to buy a paper map, as backup. You know, the way your parents and grandparents did it "back in the day"?
I still remember using mapquest printouts just a few years ago haha
I use it frequently. I prefer to use the list view for directions rather than the map view though. I like how it counts down the distance and has great voice integration - even comes over while streaming Pandora or iHeartRadio. Amazing for free!
Let's be honest. How many people drive around Podunk WV? Or Podunk ANYTOWN? We had a garmin Nuvi before we had our smartphones and even that would lose triangulation, reroute in odd ways, etc. and it always seemed to be when we were in the middle of nowheresville. Nothing is going to be perfect for every single person anywhere they are. What people are asking for is a GPS app that does turn by turn well in most situations. If you are going into an unkown area, where reception might be bad, it is not a terrible idea to buy a paper map, as backup. You know, the way your parents and grandparents did it "back in the day"?
I've used GPS on hundreds of miles of roads with no cell service. Granted, some of it was back in '05, and that area today it is covered by AT&T Faux G (although there is no Verizon), but still. That's when they are rather useful.
There are even highways that have gaps or no coverage. Yes, coverage is becoming more and more ubiquitous, but we are a long way from having every square inch of the US covered in UMTS and CDMA 1x.
I realize all of this. My point? The average user is not effected. I have driven cross country nearly a dozen times now. I too, have come across vast stretches of road with no signal. Thing is, you can almost always just keep following said road until you get signal. As I said, be smart, plan your trip out in advance, and don't just blindly follow your GPS from poin t A to point Z without a clue where it's sending you to. If that is too much for any of you, by all means buy a standalone unit, which I can assure you will likely have a hiccup or two along the way as well.
Because you couldn't come onto MR and troll. that's why they don't have one.
I use TT and don't have an issue with apple not having their own native turn by turn.
Again, I have had GPS cut out before, even on a dedicated GPS unit (I have used Garmin as well as TomTom). Nothing is going to be 100% issue free. My recommendation will always be to have some, even if it's vague, idea of where you are going and what roads you are taking before just setting out and essentially trusting your life to the magical GPS genie.. Most decently settled areas are going to have some sort of GPS lock and reception. It's the road that takes you there that can be a problem.