Destinator Ranked No1

[Darren]

[nulusios]

ok; let's hope they WILL make a VGA-supporting PN version SOON...
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NLS

[marksfish]

Destinator doesn't even figure in my plans any more. Bought a PDA with it on and it was cr*p. Lots of wrong instructions for which you had to look at the screen to confirm it was wrong, map showed a position of up to 200 yards from actual position, difficult to find places in "town" mode search, part postcodes.

Switched to Tom Tom and found the experience 1000 times better.

Regards

Mark
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Mio 168
Tom Tom 5
1GB SDIO

Tom Tom One v6 (Version 3) (boo, hiss)
Map version 715

[nulusios]

TT5 must be the more advanced currently but doesn't even figure in MY plans. Reason? VERY VERY VERY poor Greek coverage (even worse than the time of old TT Routeplanner)...

Unfortunately NGi (nice local company that among other projects, makes local computerized detailed maps) has (probably exclusive) cooperation with Destinator company. My luck...
:x
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NLS

[JonnyW]

I hope I don't upset too many people when I say - in my opinion - Destinator is trash.

I had an oportunity to test this against TTN5.1 and found TTN5.1 far easier to use, especially with the PGPSW POI's. TomTom's OWN keypad makes it easier to enter information aned destinations whereas Destinator relies on the PDA's keypad.

This is only a few features that TTN - again, in my opinion - triumphs over Destinator.

[nulusios]

you must have compared with D3 because D PN does have its own pad
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NLS

[ccsnet]

Yet their PC support and CS is poor and you get no response from their SDK team when asking questions before buying with currently is acknollaged as broken ( http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=57953 ) - their Press team are fractionally slower and dont seem to know whats going on either.....

Its a shame.... and the justification for this is that the PDA / Smart phone market has more profit in it.

I found a lot of this out when writing a recent still to be published article.

Sorry to be negative and if any one form Destinator wishes to talk directly to my self they are more than welcome to do so....

Terran
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http://www.letscommunicate.co.uk/carpc/

[ccsnet]

Can I just add that if you wish to use Mapmonkey or Freedrive ( or Garonav which is a new PC Front end ) you have to buy the latest PPC version for the maps, then buy the SDK ( and extra $50 ) then keep asking then for the PC DLL... which last time was timed to expire after a certain date any way and has since not been replaced.

If they where to concetrate on providing at least a good way or getting the DLL etc without having to pay a premium or feel like a 2nd rate citerzen I would welcome it... and in fact if you look at Mp3car.com you will see I am not alone in this....

Its just a shame there is not a fully viable option at the mo, and before you say it Alturion, Co-Pilot and Infomap all have thier failings in the mobile PC world.

Terran

Terran
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http://www.letscommunicate.co.uk/carpc/

[Darren]

[ccsnet]

[Gmonkey]

I'd like to see what all the hype is about with the destinator software. Maybe someone I know will let me try it.

But for the time being, I just dont see anything wrong with the tele atlas software I use on the TomTom 300. I cant believe its knows where I am going in the middle of nowhere hicksville North Carolina tonight.

[joeninety]

i'm not the biggest fan of destinator either, it doesnt seem very user friendly for those new to GPS and has limited support inmy opinion.

[Gmonkey]

Interesting. Have you used TomTom at all? Its all that I have had experience with so far, but I think the maps from TeleAtlas are pretty good

[nulusios]

well yes I guess when someone lives in DC, map coverage is just fine from any map source

ask us that live in those "second grade" (for the companies) countries

(interesting to see - if someone can stand the insult - that when those big map source companies talk about "Europe" they don't necessarily mean Greece (although even the name "Europe" comes from there and although Greece is one of the original ten members of the E.U.)...

even Destinator's Greece coverage DOESN'T come from any of the two major map source companies, but from a local company

at least D3 has made effort to find the appropriate source - TomTom didn't (and what makes it even worse, is that TT *DID HAVE* Greek support where later versions do not)

sorry, seems it got me started again...
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NLS

[jimbo_hippo]

I find this whole thread fascinating because it follows the exact pattern I took with PPC GPS apps and the perceptions are so familiar.

In the Destinator forum you'll find plenty of threads from me in various states of annoyance or relief at finally getting something sorted (or not). First of all, Destinator 3 seems to be (rightly) the app most slated and PowerLoc could do themselves a favour by stopping their supply to people like ACER as a bundled item. Its out of date and doesn't encourage people to upgrade it just puts them off!!!! I bought the Girfriend an N35 and I ended up buying Tom Tom for her because it drove her mad.

But having in the last 12 months run Destinator 3, Destinator PN, Navman Smart ST V3 and Tom Tom Navigator 5, I would like to say that Tom Tom will continue to thrive but isn't the panacea its cracked up to be. Out of the box Tom Tom excels and a 5 year old could be navigating in seconds because their UI is first class. Its an absolute breath of fresh air after any of the others. But under the skin it isn't necessarily the best at navigating IMHO. Destinator PN (NOT Destinator3!!!) is a good navigation program that, when run side by side over long journeys with TOM TOM, gives you all you need...... BUT..... that user interface.... AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!. If ever there was a ship spoilt for a hapeth of tar then that is Destinator PN. Under the skin it has the ability to navigate you seamlessly, without incident and across most of europe, the UK and the US. And I've tried it, and it works.

But Destinator is doomed to fail because:

a) their customer support is grim even compared with the woeful attempts from their competitors.
b) they develop updates as a weekend job for one man in a german garden shed
c) their user interface should come with a free course to prevent the roadsides being littered with tyre marked PDAs
d) Their POI management is truly the worst implementation of the genre ever encountered and really only works if you are competent at reworking their software (check out the forum!) or you can be bothered to run something like POI Observer behind it.

I can see why PowerLoc's products form the basis of other programs because I truly believe it is good at its job. So by bolting a new GUI on the front and writing custom apps for fleets or OEMs etc they are on a winner. But as a consumer product it fails miserably. I'm thinking of buying my retired father a GPS package for christmas and it won't be Destinator PN much as I have a fondness for it because I don't think its user friendly enough. It shames me to say I'd buy him Tom Tom even though I know at heart PN is better at its given task.

And if thats the way the rest of the world act then PowerLoc better start responding or it'll be fleet solutions for ever for them.

All I want for christmas is a service pack for PN with easy speed camera integration etc. Think I'll be disappointed on Crimble Day. :-(
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Tom Tom GO 720
Orange M3100, Orange SPV M5000
TomTom Navigator 6, Destinator 6
Holux GPSslim