Switching from TomTom

Conor · Regular Visitor Joined: May 01, 2004 Posts: 73

I'm thinking of switching from TomTom3 to Mapopolis. I've just recently bought TT3 and their database is screwed. Major towns like High Wycombe and Scarborough are missing out of the GB map database (they're there but you can't enter them in the city field) but there in the Major Roads of Eurpoe database BUT other smaller towns such as Whitby and Filey (both local to me) are still missing.

I'm looking at getting a refund on the TT3 as I work as a HGV driver and the solutions offered in the TT3 forum such as putting in a postcode or county are not good enough for me as I rarely get a postcode and common names such as High St can have dozens in a particular county. TomTom it would appear have a 3 monkeys approach to customer support as missing towns was a problem in TT2 and they've actually managed to make it WORSE.

I've given Mapopolis a quick demo. THe one thing that annoys me is the timing of the voice announcements. TT3's are just about spot on. Would any of you knowledgeable people care to share some of the timing settings for voice announcements that you've tried?

Fortunately Mapopolis is charged in USD so the exchange rate means it costs us just over £60 for the top version. Also you pay via PayPal and I've a nice amount sat there for E-Bay so money wise, it wins on both counts.

Comments/suggestions gratefully accepted.

lbendlin · Posted: Sun May 02, 2004 3:36 pm Post subject:

you can specify yourself when and at waht intervals the messages should come. I have set it to 25 and 20 seconds, so you basically get alerted 25 and 5 seconds before the maneuver.

Tools...Settings..Navigation options...voice prompts
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Conor · Regular Visitor Joined: May 01, 2004 Posts: 73

THats how you do it....

Cheers.
Rolling Eyes

Robin2 · Posted: Sun May 02, 2004 11:44 pm Post subject:

Has the latest version of Mapopolis sorted out the issues which were highlighted in the PocketGPS review (Roundabouts, gaps in map data etc)? If so, it would appear that purchase of Mapopolis is a better option than upgrading my current version of TomTom2
Robin

lbendlin · Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 12:37 am Post subject:

Well, sort of. Most of the maps are now complete. There were one or two hickups with strange routings, but these were rare. Best if you download the map for your area and verify a few routes.

Don't expect the Usability of TomTom. Mapopolis is more for the geeks (i love it 8) )
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Robin2 · Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 1:22 am Post subject:

Do Mapopolis sell Europe maps on CD? I don't have broadband at this location, so it is not feasible to download large numbers of maps using my dial-up connection. Looking at their web site, I can only find the CD for North America
Robin

lbendlin · Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 1:44 am Post subject:

you don't need broadband for their maps - they are pretty small, because they come by county
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Conor · Regular Visitor Joined: May 01, 2004 Posts: 73

lbendlin · Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 5:32 am Post subject:

And here you may be wrong... Because the term "town" doesn't have a meaning here (especially in the area around big conglomerates like Houston that easily spread about 150 miles in diameter) you do invariably end up asking your self "now, where is that bloody street" and the only meaningful differentiator may be the zip code. Town names can change in the middle of a street, the zip code is the only real identifier.

Usability is not about existing or missing data. It is about intuitiveness, number of taps to complete an action, and the option to chicken out (to revert actions) when you are unsure. Mapopolis needs on average the double amount of taps to complete the same action as TomTom.

On a side note I also found the cultural aspect of usability to be very interesting - americans are used to map displays with bare lines. Europeans would not feel comforatable with that, they need "real" streets with outlines. If you compare the screen rendering you will understand what I mean. So whenever we talk about usability let's make sure we agree on what we are talking about ;-)
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Conor · Regular Visitor Joined: May 01, 2004 Posts: 73

It would appear the cultural aspect also applies to the way we look for a place as well.

At least your comments about towns have explained something to me that TomTom support couldn't.

THanks.

MickH · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 23, 2003 Posts: 22

I've just jumped over from Navman to Mapopolis. I had V1.91 and didn't upgrade to V2 because of the high asking price and TeleAtlas maps.

I've found the Mapopolis app to be very stable, easy and quick to use. e.g. to route to a 'favourite' location requires one button press and one stylus tap.

The GUI is very responsive and I found the map graphics better than the Navman display - not as 'pretty' but much more informative.

Their support team are quick to respond to questions and I also like their business model. i.e. free app and 6 monthly map updates from NavTech.

Try out the demo - you've nothing to lose. Thumbs Up

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