Is Dedicated Satnav Reaching The End Of The Road?

NickG · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:43 pm Post subject:

I think there will always be a large group of non-technology people who do not want a smartphone but still value having sat-nav. My mum for example, is a bit of a technophobe and would never get an Android phone or iPhone but she still has a TomTom One.

Personally, I use TomTom on an iPhone 4 which works extremely well. I love having the speed of the iPhone and amazing screen compared to my TomTom 730 which is pretty much unused now!

What currently holds back phone-based satnav is the lack of decent mounts with a built in loudspeaker. As far as I'm aware there are NO powered iPhone mounts with an amplified loudspeaker apart from a couple of very expensive ones from TomTom and Arkon which also include a GPS (which the iPhone 4 does not require as it's internal GPS is better than the one in the Arkon mount). Using the iPhone 4 with an external mount is annoying as it means you often have to wait several minutes to get a lock each time, but when the phone is NOT docked to the mount, it gets a lock within a few seconds - often almost instantly.

Darren · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:52 pm Post subject:

Agree with much of what you say except the mount issue.

Whilst it's true that the iPhone 4 doesn't need a GPS equipped mount (it was only ever really needed to supplement the 3G's atrocious GPS, and to a lesser extent, the 3GS), I've had none of the issue that you describe whilst using Arkon, TomTom or Magellan/Mio GPS mounts.

All lock quickly and work fine, certainly no worse than when the iPhone4 is used without.

But those issues are not within the scope of this discussion, happy to follow up in another thread if you want to?
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Darren Griffin

NickG · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:59 pm Post subject:

(feel free to move to another thread)
Darren,

I have extensive experince in using the Arkon mount since December. Although you may disagree that the mount is slower to get a lock, most users of the mount agree with me - including Arkon themselves who actually manufacture the mount. I use the Arkon mount every single day of the week and have extensive experience of it. I have raised my concerns about the slow lock times (1-5 minutes) and they responded as follows:

BigPerk · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:02 pm Post subject:

Not just technophobes ... obviously many people

(1) use the mobile phone a lot for texts and calls,

(2) don't mind paying several £100s capital+£30s monthly rental for an 'iPhone'-type,

(3) get one from the company,

(4) need/use the LBS/GPS-type services a lot - which bump costs up a great deal further, sometimes even without you realising it (I had to get Vf to block my much more modest handset to stop the unused apps from accessing the internet 'behind my back', doubling my monthly charges).

But, unless you are such a user, I can't see the real advantages over a satnav, especially one you already own, at least until costs moderate VERY substantially? Confused

_________________
David
(Navigon 70 Live, Nuvi 360)

Darren · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:06 pm Post subject:

Ah ok, that's interesting, I certainly never observed this with the Arkon unit I reviewed or I'd have mentioned it. I don't have it to test now.

But when I read your post I thought you were suggesting this is a problem common to all GPS mounts. I use a TomTom and Magellan mount regularly and they don't exhibit this issue at all.

Doesn't excuse the RWIPC issue though, I wonder what chipset they are using?
_________________
Darren Griffin

NickG · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:12 pm Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:15 pm Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:17 pm Post subject:

NickG · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:21 pm Post subject:

lads2000 · Regular Visitor Joined: May 25, 2005 Posts: 60

I have been looking at this kind of set up for a few months now, I don't think that smart phones can replace PND's at the moment at least due to one big factor - Price. I have been using sat nav since TOM TOM 3 which I had on a PDA. I now have a navigon which I like a lot and before that was a die hard Tom Tom fan. I have the Iphone 4 which I installed navigion on just to see what the software was like/backup before purchasing my navigon.

Unfortunatly the Navigon aquired a fault and had to be returned. during this time I looked at using a smartphone for my main device. I use my sat nave at least 3-4 times a week if not more. I find that a smartphone whilst competent at giving a gps signal, the screen is just to small and the speakers just are not loud enough, or at least without buying an expensive cradle.

So I looked at buying a cheap android tablet which is 7 inches as the 10 inch screens are just to big to be in a car. I found one which was £300 but then you had to factor in the cost of the software . all in all compare this to a PND which are about £250 for the TOM TOM, Garmin and Navigon examples . You then have to factor the data charges which will not be included in the tablet systems and add this to the total costs.

I think the smartphone will take over but untill they offer greater functionality than the PND equiverlant or can be bought significantly cheaper then the PND still has a place in the market place. out of all the navigation software providers I think that Google are the ones to watch over the next couple of years as I'm sure you will be able to plan your route and store it on the phone so that the data roaming charges are taken out the equasion. and just be able to download traffic all for free with the usual good advertisements included and wrapped up in your service provioders monthly handset charge.

JohnTT · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 27, 2006 Posts: 55

Smartphone advantages
Without doubt my Samsung Galaxy S is a brilliant device and the Google maps navigation is pretty neat. As I have my phone with me all the time it comes in handy when I unexpectedly need to go somewhere etc. and I don't have to carry round a more bulky TomTomOne. I also like the ability to get satelite view and street view - great for finding shops and landmarks etc. It even pops up a picture of the pub when you arrive Laughing Out Loud

!

Sat Nav advantages
Also without doubt however, my TomTom One has the edge for navigation. The GPS reception is more sensitive so it doesn't lose signal. The loudspeaker is louder and better quality and the screen is better in sunlight (despite the SGS being the brightest smartphone). I also have a custom mount in the dash centre and with the way the TomTom presents the 3D view, at night, the device is almost as good as a rally navigator calling the bends, as it shows you their shape and direction (Google maps spins around and zooms too much!). I also have custom databases of places stored and various alarms set up on POIs that would be difficult to get on the smart phone.

The two systems compliment eachother quite well Very Happy

fluffytails · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 01, 2007 Posts: 13

I have abandoned my Tom Tom and only use CoPilot8 on my HTC HD2. This is very effective, the only problem that I have is with Pgps mobile cameras. According to CoPilot they are in the memory, but it is not giving any warnings.
My Citroen Relay came with Trafficmaster satnav fitted. I do not bother with it, even though I paid for their safety cameras.

Darren · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 9:56 am Post subject:

electech320ci · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 42

I have just installed a dedicated double din Pioneer unit in my car as I like the Big screen for ease of use.
I also have a Tomtom 740 Live which apart from rebooting problems I still use a lot.
I also have Tomtom on my Iphone.

Out of all of them I still prefer the Tomtom 740, it can be moved from car to car, it has a much better screen size than the Iphone and although it is not as nice and as big as the Pioneer it is better in my opinion to use, via Tyre etc.

SatNavs on phones Yes.
Replacing dedicated devices NO NO NO

Bratters · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 09, 2009 Posts: 6

I have a Garmin Zumo 550 for my motorcycle. It is hard to see how a phone app could provide the versatility of my device. Also an attraction of the Zumo is the Mapsource software that came with it, making planning detailed routes and tours easy and effective. Also the cost of a smartphone would be unjustifiable in my situation. Trouble is the motorcycle PND market is a niche one and could well be vulnerable if PND market were to contract considerably.

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