What's the point of using a GPS program if you already know the best way there?
Yes, you should never completely trust any software - it's a tool, not a brain replacement as I like to say.
But if the software gets you to your destination in a foreign city, it has done it's job hasn't it? Even if it takes you on a less-than optimal route, at least it got you there. And that, in my book, has paid for the price of the program when I don't have to get lost, frustrated and distracted (and possibly into an accident or worse).
If you don't trust iG3, then by all means switch to another program that you can trust. But good luck finding the perfect program.
BTW I don't see any of the drifting in iG3 that I did in 2.1.3NA, so I guess they must've fixed that.
the point of using the program is to check outs its reliability to places i know. once i am comfortable with it, i will rely on it more. In my line of work i am going account to account city to city. Even though I know where most of those accounts are, sometimes I need an ATM gas station etc etc....I havennt memorized all the poi. I am definetly reverting back to old one prior to my east coast swing.
BTW how does ig3 work around high rises. when I was in boston last timewith 2.1.3 it kept jumping around street to street. Impossible to navigate
Highrises are not a problem for iG, it's a problem for the GPS receiver. Signals bounce, get distorted and deflected. The software only shows the fix it gets from the receiver, whatever that is.
the i-blue receiver is better with that or sirf III receivers and make sure there on your dash board. I use iguidance with a bt-309 receiver and get signal when there are highrises.
It's been a long time since I posted but I just got iguidance3. I havent had a chance to test things out but what's everyone's thoughts? Work well besides the crappy UI (step down in functionality) and the issue w/ having reduced turns on? (I should turn that off, correct?)
I haven't posted in quite a while either, but this last weekend I gave my new IG3 a good test run on a route that I'm pretty familiar with. The routing had actually improved some since version 2.1.3. On this trip, there is a section where I will completely ignore IG's directions to turn off of a highway because I know it is faster to stay on it. IG 2.1.3 will try for 30-40 minutes to get me to take its original route, but IG3 gave up more quickly (after about 15-20 minutes) and re-routed using the route I intended to use--so that's an improvement.
I also like the fact that the menus are larger. I spent quite a while enlarging all of the menus and rearranging screens in 2.1.3 to make it more "finger-friendly," but IG3 seems to have done a better job at this out of the box. I realize that it's just a preference thing, but I do like the look of the menus better as well. One aesthetic thing that I don't care much for is the relocation of the zoom in/out buttons. In 2.1.3, they were tiny and down at the bottom of the navigation screen--now they are larger (more finger-friendly) and located in the middle of the map on the left and right sides of the screen. These new buttons are not terribly noticeable, and I think they are somewhat transparent--these are good things, since they actually appear on the map. My beef is that for me, they are unnecessary. I've always used the scroll button to zoom, so the on-screen buttons are a nuisance, albeit a minor one.
My major beef, however, is the amount of time that this version of IG takes in routing and re-routing. I have used the same setup for both IG 2.1.3 and IG3--an Axim x50v with WM2003SE and a 1 gig SD card and 6GB Microdrive. In both versions I loaded the program and the entire US maps onto the MD. This results in about 2.2 GB of maps being located on that card. Now despite the fact that I was always told that it was impossible to run the program from the MD (I always am plugged in to power when running it, BTW), I ran 2.1.3 with absolutely no problems for months--and I really put it through its paces at times. IG3, however was incredibly slow in most of its routing.
Take, for example, my trip this weekend. IG 2.1.3 normally takes a minute (max) to plot an initial route (the route it plots is around 200 miles). This is acceptable to me at the beginning of the trip. With IG3, it took over 5 minutes to plot the initial route (and it chose essentially the same route). That is unacceptable to me. Additionally, in 2.1.3, the re-routing was quick--usually just a couple of seconds to either get me back on track or give me a new route. In IG3, it took varying amounts of time. Sometimes it would be just a couple seconds, but other times it would take a couple of minutes! Re-routing is one area that I believe needs to be quick.
Now, before I rush to bash IG3 (which I really don't want to do, because the other improvements are nice), am I missing something that could be slowing down the routing? The setup is the same as it was before, and I want to have the entire US on a MD, so that's a non-negotiable to me, but is there some setting that I'm missing (like a setting that says "take forever to recalculate") that I need to change to rectify the problem? I'm not ready to give up on it yet, and maybe my axim was just having a bad day, but if the slow routing persists, I think I'm gonna have to roll back to 2.1.3. I hope my thoughts help people looking for comparisons between the two, and any help you all can give me would be great.
. I have no clue why one would need a "reduced turns" option. I have been going through my whole life making "normal turns". Go figure!!!
Ah! the reduced turn options.
I wish I had it in France when i was using the Destinator Europe. See I wanted the Iguidance for Europe but I was told it is discontinued so I bought the Destinator. The Destinator had only 2 options for route calculation: fastest and shortest.
You should have seen the number of turns it made me do when I chose "shortest".
Sometimes, it made me drive through some very small back roads in villages just because that way was 100m shorter than staying on the main road. Wish I had the reduce turn option...
....... The setup is the same as it was before, and I want to have the entire US on a MD, so that's a non-negotiable to me, but .....
Thanks!
Hi. I don't have IG but use another GPS Nav title. I have a suggestion though to determine if the microdrive is the root cause for the routing delays. It might be that indeed the new version will not work properly on the MD. Why not install (just for a test) the IG software and some of the maps onto your 1GB SD card. (I realize not all the maps will fit on 1gb.) Then do some route calculations to determine the times. To be fair ... you should install the same minimum maps on the MD to compare route times.
At least then you will know if the MD is the source of the slow routing times for you. :approve:
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Even without doing this test myself - MD vs SD - I think you its safe to say you will notice quite a difference. I noticed it with movie playback and other programs on my x50v. I have a 4gig SD card rated at 144x and got the entire east coast on it. Routing and rerouting speed is not an issue.
-Q-
oops, I forgot to say I have 2.1.3. Haven't made the jump to 3.0 but will after the weekend. I already got the DVD.
An unfortunate thing that seems to be happening (though I dont think Axim users will care) is that if you have a Data connection (on a PDAPhone, like I have) active you will get an EXTREMLEY slow version of the voice prompts...its so slow that you can drive past what you need beacause the woman never finish's saying it. Apparently if you disconnect the data session it's fine but if you use push email on a schedule it'll get messed up every time it makes a connection to get/check your email.
I have purchased an iGuidance 3.0 from the BuyGpsNow and want to share my first impressions and get some feedback from other folks and (may be!) from iNav. (I've also posted this on GPSPassion forum). I use iG3.0 with my Dell Axim X50v. Leaving aside all the blessings due, I want to highlight the issues that I have found and that I consider to be very important for any PDA based GPS software.
No route is perfect in ANY routing software. The major problem with the iGuidance is that there is no way to add the waypoints in order to correct the route (although the iNav website advertises the waypoint option in version 3.0); one can only do it via stopovers. Here are the problems with this method that make it nearly useless:
1.After final destination has been entered, I tap on the map and select “set stopover” from the context menu. Nothing happens! The route does not change; the itinerary does not change.
2.When trying to add the stopover from the Menu – Destination, there is no way to pick the stopover point on the map, one can only do it by address, contacts, POI etc. Thus there is no way to correct the route if it is wrong or not optimal.
3.When the stopover point eventually has been added, there is no way to see the whole route, which includes the Final destination. Not only it is frustrating, but it is dangerous. The remaining route from the stopover point to the final destination may be wrong as well and the driver will only be able to see that after he is on the road. The approach taken by iNav is not well thought through. If the driver DOES NOT WANT to continue the route beyond the stopover point he can simply cancel it. Thus he does not need to be prompted to go to his final destination.
One more important issue to note. The DEMO mode is absolutely useless because it works in a “real time”; one hour trip would take one hour to demo it. It would be MUCH more useful to quickly overview your trip by moving at a much higher speed from the current position to the next turn (as Mapopolis nicely does). Another important MISSING feature is the ability to save the route for future use.
To summarize: The iNav website advertises the iGuidance 3.0 to have “New! Multiple stopover/waypoints”
In my opinion, the waypoint option is not there at all and the iGuidance 3.0 product is not as advertised. The stopover method used in the current version not only is very inconvenient but makes the driving more dangerous.
1- You are right, there is a bug with iG3 - you can't pick a stopover point on the map directly through the context menu even though it's on the list.
2- You CAN work around the problem by using the itinerary. You pick the point on the map where you want to stopover, but choose to add it to the itinerary. Then go to Menu > Itinerary and move that location up to the first stop and choose Go. It will then recalcualte your route and take you to that first stop. Once you get to that destination, it will then ask you if you want to proceed to the second destination (your original destination).
3- I think you are confusing a stopover with a detour/avoid road. A stopover is a separate trip unto itself. Say you want to go from point A to B, but decide you want to make a sidetrip to C first. You've already keyed in your trip for A to B - but instead of cancelling that, you decide to set a stopover to point C. iG will then calculate the trip from A to C. Once you reach C, it will then calculate a new route from C to B.
What you're trying to do from your description is to avoid a road to optimize a route. Say you key in a trip from A to B, but notice that it's using a road you want to avoid. You would go to the Destination menu and choose Avoid. It will then give you the route list of your trip from A to B, and then you would choose which road you want to avoid, then press Nav. It will then recalculate your trip from A to B, but avoids using that road. The new route may or may not be what you want either. You can continue to use the Avoid road feature to have it avoid a list of roads if you want.
The detour feature is similar to Avoid, but it specifies a certain distance of the trip that you want to detour around. This works mainly while you're driving and not while you're planning your route.
So no, there's no danger in using iG, if used properly and not while driving.
2- You CAN work around the problem by using the itinerary. You pick the point on the map where you want to stopover, but choose to add it to the itinerary. Then go to Menu > Itinerary and move that location up to the first stop and choose Go. It will then recalcualte your route and take you to that first stop. Once you get to that destination, it will then ask you if you want to proceed to the second destination (your original destination).
And as I said, you can never see your entire route as a whole.
Originally Posted by solara
3- I think you are confusing a stopover with a detour/avoid road. A stopover is a separate trip unto itself. Say you want to go from point A to B, but decide you want to make a sidetrip to C first. You've already keyed in your trip for A to B - but instead of cancelling that, you decide to set a stopover to point C. iG will then calculate the trip from A to C. Once you reach C, it will then calculate a new route from C to B.
I am not. I am using the AVAILABLE tools to modify the route. I am sure that around 99% of all the drivers wants to be able to modify the route and would be able to see the new one. "Sidetrip to C" I believe is a very rare case and way not that important. I would like to know what other iG users think about it.
Originally Posted by solara
What you're trying to do from your description is to avoid a road to optimize a route. ... The detour feature is similar to Avoid....
Beleive me I've tried that! You may want to read some other reviewes on "avoid" and "detour" options in iG too! The route in many cases changes completely becoming much worse. The "avoid" feature can never make the same effect as "Go through this point" one.
I guess I'm that 1% of drivers and I don't really bother to modify the route it gives me. I trust it to get me to my destination, even if it might not be the very best route because I'm just happy to get to my point. Plus, from my experiences with iG 1 through 3 now I've found that it generally does very good routing in areas I've driven - it's done some quirky things occasionally though. If I know a certain route is not the best route, I just drive the way I want and let the program reroute as I go. It's a tool, not a brain replacement (yes, I'm going to keep saying that over and over again for people who expect EVERYTHING from their software).
I think you're a bit melodramamtic calling it dangerous that a program can't do something. It's only dangerous if a person is stupid enough to try to operate the program while driving.
So I guess your point was that iG can't give a route list of the entire trip from A to C to B. And yes, you're right, it can't do that. That's certainly not a deal breaker for me, and in no way is it "dangerous". It definitely has less routing options than TomTom. Yes, maybe iG saying that it can do multiple waypoints is not the way you understood it.
Give TomTom a try - it's got a feature to use certain roads in a route, avoid certain roads, etc.
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