Should I buy a GPS or just use an iPhone 6s+?

[weckart]

The head-up display looks really cool. How do you keep it from falling?

I had Maps on while on the bus. As the bus moved, it indicated that I was in the middle of an open field. How could that happen? Is it problem with the app or the phone? Do garmin car gps have this problem?

As for power, if I put the iphone to the usb port of 12v port of the car, will the phone run out of power? In other words, will power usage faster or slower than charging when the iphone 6s+ is used as a car gps?

Depending where you are, all GPS devices can experience congestion of signals, particularly in city centres. GPS requires a decent line of sight to the satellite. A cluster of tall buildings, thick walls inside a car park tower, underpasses, tunnels or lorries all around your car can confuse your device, which doesn't adapt to your location in time. Nasty when you are negotiating a tricky roundabout or junction towards main roads with no quick way back if you pick the wrong one but them's the breaks.

My personal experience running a 6s+ with Tomtom GO is that if you have the screen on full brightness, then you will do well to keep your battery level stable even with a 2.4A adapter in your cigarette lighter socket. Reducing the brightness to 50% or less will let the phone charge up even while navigating.

I used to have a TomTom. It was brilliant about 10 years ago. I was so impressed, I eventually upgraded to a TomTom Go 520. This had 'IQ routes'. Which essentially meant that it gave different time estimates for routes depending on the time of day. This was pretty good, but didn't distinguish between weekdays and weekends. Driving in central London at 8am on a week day morning is quite a different experience from driving there at 8am on a Sunday morning. After a while, I switched to the TomTom app. This was also great for a while, but v expensive for the initial outlay. I think I paid £54.99 for it. It provided updates for years, but I think they are now going to charge for them.

Tomtom is moving to a subscription model with a redesigned (dumbed down) app called GO. The good news, is that if you bought the standalone app, Tomtom will give you a free 3 year subscription to the new app, which includes HD Traffic and speed camera warnings. Those are a paid extra with the standalone app. I am using it until the subscription runs out then looking at my options. Nothing yet beats Tomtom's traffic alerts and rerouting and I have tried them all.

I tried Waze. It was junk. I would rather pay than have to rely on that. I am in the UK. It might be a better prospect in the US.

 

[Phil in ocala]

There are no data costs as most of the navigation software (TomTom, Sygic etc.) work off-line (i.e. the maps are downloaded to your phone). The phone will only communicate with the satellites, but it does not imply any costs.

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I would suggest Garmin rename their car GPS..."Wild Goose Chase"....they are inaccurate at best...I have the latest map as of May and its still inaccurate at best.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I tried Waze. It was junk. I would rather pay than have to rely on that. I am in the UK. It might be a better prospect in the US.

I'm in the UK, too. In London, in particular, I have found it to be fantastic.

Outside London it's been brilliant as well. Let me give you an example: I recently spent a week travelling to and from Lewes each day. I didn't know the roads in Lewes, so trusted the app, but for the return route, once it got to the M25, I know most of the route variations. Although I travelled at the same approximate time each day, Waze took me a different route for this last part of the journey each day. On the Tuesday, I didn't like the route Waze proposed, and decided to use one I had always found to be quicker in the past. This proved to be a mistake. There were roadworks at a bottleneck on that route, and it took me 30 minutes longer to get home than if I'd trusted Waze. On the Wednesday, it took me through a route that is more direct, but usually very congested. After my experience on the Tuesday, I decided to follow Waze's route. For once it was clear.

To complete the picture, on Thursday, it took me through a different variation (which I knew), and on the Friday, it took me the route I tried on the Tuesday. The roadworks had finished by then, and I was home on time.

You just cannot beat real time traffic information, which is what Waze provides.

By all means try other apps. But I am a convert to Waze. It works brilliantly for me.

 

[nebo1ss]

So, I only need to take the cost of data into consideration. Can I get some kind of free satellite usage without using the 4G data plan on my phone? Perhaps through some kind of satellite cable?

You can get a free GPS app for your phone called "HERE WEGO" it does not need access to any data as the maps are downloaded.

This app was originally owned by NOKIA but it was sold to a group of Car manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes Benz and others.


http://360.here.com/2016/07/27/goodbye-here-maps-say-hello-to-here-wego/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-city-navigation-offline-maps/id955837609?mt=8

 

[hajime]

I'm in the UK, too. In London, in particular, I have found it to be fantastic.

Outside London it's been brilliant as well. Let me give you an example: I recently spent a week travelling to and from Lewes each day. I didn't know the roads in Lewes, so trusted the app, but for the return route, once it got to the M25, I know most of the route variations. Although I travelled at the same approximate time each day, Waze took me a different route for this last part of the journey each day. On the Tuesday, I didn't like the route Waze proposed, and decided to use one I had always found to be quicker in the past. This proved to be a mistake. There were roadworks at a bottleneck on that route, and it took me 30 minutes longer to get home than if I'd trusted Waze. On the Wednesday, it took me through a route that is more direct, but usually very congested. After my experience on the Tuesday, I decided to follow Waze's route. For once it was clear.

To complete the picture, on Thursday, it took me through a different variation (which I knew), and on the Friday, it took me the route I tried on the Tuesday. The roadworks had finished by then, and I was home on time.

You just cannot beat real time traffic information, which is what Waze provides.

By all means try other apps. But I am a convert to Waze. It works brilliantly for me.

I can't get Wake to work. It keeps telling me that there is no gps reception.

 

[McScooby]

Although at the mo only restricted to Maps, why not an aftermarket CarPlay head unit?

 

[hajime]

You can get a free GPS app for your phone called "HERE WEGO" it does not need access to any data as the maps are downloaded.

This app was originally owned by NOKIA but it was sold to a group of Car manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes Benz and others.


http://360.here.com/2016/07/27/goodbye-here-maps-say-hello-to-here-wego/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-city-navigation-offline-maps/id955837609?mt=8

Thanks. I tried it today. It is better than Sygic in terms of searching for location. Moreover, voice directions is free. When the bus driver was speeding, it sounded!

It would be even nicer if if could recommend the lane.

 

[hajime]

"HERE WEGO" talks too much. Can I reduce the frequency of its suggestions?