i3 Routing

antwalsh · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jul 25, 2004 Posts: 3

Hi, I've been using the i3 for about 4 weeks now (2nd unit) and after a number of long journey's I'm coming to the conclusion that the routing is abysmal.

On a number of occasions the unit has taken me off a main road and round some back roads despite the destination being the main road I started on. the true test was last night when I travelled over 300 with a TomTom sat next to it. Despite a number of attempted re-routes due to problems with Traffic, the TomTom was taking me routes I expected, where the i3 was taking completely ridiculous routes.

I have also noticed that despite saying give me the quickest route, if I deviate from the route, it re-calculates coming up with a much shorter ETA.

Has anyone else noticed this. I though I was going mad until I put it side by side with TomTom

fosters · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 17, 2005 Posts: 4

my i3 is the same it love s country lanes tried several setting and it still takes me down them .... i am glad i m not the only 1 Crying or Very sad

awalsh · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 04, 2005 Posts: 11

To be completely honest, I am at the end of my tether with the i3, I was stuck on the M60 this morning and decided to use the Detour to try and get me around the problem, it took me off the motorway but then persisted in trying to take me back onto it at the same junction I came off! There is a definite need for an 'Avoid Part of Route' option.

I appreciate that the unit is cheap in terms of initial cost, but I'm beginning to doubt that it has only real value in terms of usefulness. Even the camera warnings are spurious, a journey up the A1 the other day failed to warn me of about 70% of the cameras, despite the TomTom beeping at all of them. they both have the same version of the speed camera database.

avantone · Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:59 pm Post subject:

Hi, just bought an i3, so first post from me................Same frustrating routes for me when there was clearly a quicker and far more straight forward route. Mine too is set to "quickest" rather than "shortest", however I've now changed the vehicle type from "Car/motorcycle" to "Truck" - Upon recalulating, a couple of strange, known routes started looking more logical. Of course, I'm not sure what the downsize will be - probable long detours round roads with width barriers!!

ps73uk · Regular Visitor Joined: Jun 15, 2005 Posts: 116

Yes i would agree with what you have said, the routing on the i3 is definitely no where near as good as either tomtom 5 or medion 4.4 on my pocket pc, luckily for me i know my way around the uk quite well and only tend to take any notice of the i3 when i get within about 10 miles of where i'm going to.

Cant say i've noticed the problems with the speed cameras though, mines been pretty reliable with that, i have got mine set up to alert me whenever i'm 1000 feet away from a camera though instead of only warning me if i'm over the speed limit for a particular camera.
_________________
Garmin Streetpilot i3,
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Paul

Mr_Gonzales · Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 10:11 pm Post subject:

I'm not usually in a rush and I quite like the fact that the i3 will take me down roads I never knew existed (especially near where I live). I use it on a motorbike too and it's got a habit of finding some brilliant, twisty roads.
I can see this being frustrating if you want to get somewhere using more major routes though. By the sound of it, no one can stop it choosing these "scenic routes", even with the "avoid unpaved roads" option checked. Maybe a "stick to major roads" function is needed?

RayGreen · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 13, 2005 Posts: 4

I have the same problem with the C310 and it's getting beyond a joke particularly since I use it for business trips in a van. I'm heading down an A road going to my destination then it takes me off down country lanes. I can only assume it thinks I will be doing 60mph as opposed to 50mph (speed limit) on the A road. However, I've been taken down twisty narrow roads where only 30mph is posible and I am obliged to follow because I am unfamiliar with the area.

Then I did some tests around my own home and the proposed routes are terrible. Setting it to truck has no effect, and I'm sure a setting of oil tanker would make no difference either.

I am going to return the C310 because it's not much good at routing. I suppose it gets me there but a TomTom would appear to make a better job of it, however am I better toughing it out with the C310 (better the devil you know) or going for a TomTom 300? Reliability is key for me.

Ray

cantgetlost · Frequent Visitor Joined: Nov 14, 2005 Posts: 291

:D Hi People, I'm a newbie here. Having been using other peoples sat navs in England and Europe for a long time now, I've never read an instruction book. Always had somebody giving me 30 second guide to their chosen sat nav and I've found I cant get lost!
I was gifted my I3 a few weeks ago. Pulled it out the box stuck it to the window (lick it and it don't fall off!) plugged into lighter and on it came on and off I went on a known to me 226 mile route. It was briliant and took me the way I would have gone with over 40 years experience of driving the route.
Have done around ten thousand miles of guided motoring, on its arrival at my Surrey home I checked out the Garmin Web Site and found upgrade to firm ware and POI loader. I knew about Pocket GPS web site and took about 1O minutes to sus how to get POI data base downloaded!
It was a breeze my new driving mate Itree ping pongs at every speed camera site even the ones around Leeds that have been taken away!
Still haven't read the instruction book, pushing the buttons tells you what you want, I find it idiot proof. Have to be careful on long routes that you set to "fastest route", going to Leeds, Plymouth, Birmingham etc from Surrey I find set fastest route until you leave the motorway or major road near destination and then to "shortest route" for best results. As for detours, when I have had to escape motorway carnage I scroll out exit motorway and drive with me new lady friend "recalculating" until she stops telling me to do a U turn. I find it better than detour option and I just love the way she repeats "recalculating". For under 200 sqiuds, its a little gem. every download and POI addition has worked first time and I am IT brain dead Laughing

So what's with all the beefing? It's a relatively inexpensive piece of kit and It does a better job than the average wife ( just joking ladies) and a map book. I never get a call from local councils when they pitch road diversions or closures or rerouts so my Itree is ok by me!
ps. how do I get european street maps for it?

Steve_S · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 14, 2005 Posts: 9

Hi, Another newbie here!

I've ordered an i3 from Comet, due to arrive this Thursady. Some of these posts are worrying me. I start a new job next month where I'll be driving around quite a bit and I want something that will get me from A to B as smoothly as possible (south of England mostly). Should I cancel my order and go for the Tom Tom 300?
I don't want to spend any more than I have to (obviously!) but I'd rather spend the extra than have something that will drive me mad!

Cheers folks.

Steve

Mr_Gonzales · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 2:43 pm Post subject:

It doesn't always choose bizarre routes, just sometimes. And if you decide to stick to a major route and ignore the seemingly odd choice, it will recalculate the route to fit in with your choice (though this may take a bit of persistence by you ignoring it asking you to u-turn, etc. for a little while).

If you're totally unfamiliar with an area then you're stuck with this quirk. I've never found the "scenic routes" it chooses to take any significant extra time - if they're not quicker then we're talking just a few minutes.

Also, these "scenic routes" only appear to exist near the start and end of the journey. The i3 won't put you onto B roads instead of the motorway over long distances... or at least it shouldn't.

Ultimately you can only decide when you have it and have used it for a bit and can decide whether it's a problem for you or not. Most places give a few weeks grace/goodwill if it doesn't do what you want, and most places will certainly take it back and sell you another GPS if the device doesn't do what you want/need - trade descriptions act, etc.

Steve_S · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 14, 2005 Posts: 9

Thanks - that makes me feel a bit better anyway!

cantgetlost · Frequent Visitor Joined: Nov 14, 2005 Posts: 291

Hi Steve. I,m self employed and time is money, and it gets me door to door from Woking to anywhere I have ever entered in the past few weeks. I've only encountered problems re selection of fastest and shortest route options.
People describe "strange" route selections. But what is strange to what you normally drive or would expect to drive may not be that strange if you look at a map of the route!
I found the I3 taking me on a strange route in Leeds to one I have used many times before. My daughter who lives in the city wondered where it was taking us. When we checked out a Leeds street map the I3 not only had us on a shorter route, but it was a quieter and quicker than the previous route used by her and her friends who have lived in Leeds for years.
Another tip to anyone who uses sat nav without external aerial. Mount Sat Nav in corner of the windscreen on the drivers side! The Unit gets a clearer line to Satelites, not being blocked by building in cities or large trucks. It cuts out strange re calculating and rerouting Sad

MaFt · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:30 pm Post subject:

i don't have a problem with the routing at all. ok, yeah, sometimes it seems odd routes that it chooses - but then if you know the area you're driving in why use sat nav??!

as for detours round traffic jams etc - it's a routing machine - it gets you from a to b - it makes no claims to be able to get you round some traffic jams on the m62, so why do people assume that it should?!

it's under 200 quids, if you want something better then pay more for it. simple as.

MaFt

Steve_S · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 14, 2005 Posts: 9

Yea, I discovered a new, faster route to Heathrow the other week, thanks to the cabbie. The M25 was snarled big time so we went a scenic route and got there in no time...sometimes the small roads are a lot nicer (unless you get stuck behind farmer Giles!).

:D I can't wait to get my hands on the little begger now! I have a feeling I'm gonna get to know it quite well over the following months...

trueno86 · Regular Visitor Joined: Jun 03, 2005 Posts: 65

i drive from glasgow > aberdeen every day for my job, sometimes inverness
I know the route but leave the i3 switched on for speed camera alerts as you sometimes go in to auto-pilot driving three hours straight on a road you're on every day!
now if anyone knows the route, coming from glasgow there is a roundabout you need to get to, right takes you to aberdeen, left to inverness
coming back from either place sometimes it will take me on the motorway (over the forth bridge), sometimes it takes me the dual carriageway back to glasgow, doesnt appear to be any reason for it changing its mind
also on the route to aberdeen sometimes it will try take me the 'coastal route' sometimes it takes me on the dual carriageway straight there, oh and there's one bit where it always tries to take me off the carriageway and straight back on !! Laughing

in fact there are loads of silly things it has done like i just needed to turn right at some lights one time and it took me past the lights , a few lefts, then basically to the bottom of the road i wanted to turn right on to

also the 'truck' option is pretty useless Laughing

, but i can usually see it's trying to take me on some dodgy road so just keep driving and let it recalculate until it asks me to turn on to a decent road

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