My Impression/Feedback on 5.0 Beta 1

[WolfmanRobby]

My first impression, I would not even have released this as a beta, an ALPHA build, maybe, but not a beta.

-User interface is NOT user friendly. Menu's are missing. Example, if you are on a search screen, the only way back to the home screen is by repeatedly hitting the back/esc key and backing through all the previous screens. When, you should be able to tap the menu key and have the option to go back to the home screen or map

-The Graphics are nicer than 4.5, but the functionality is much worse. Search results have been a 100% fail rate, GPS position fixes are slow, and not accurate (But, I can switch over to Google maps on my Bold and it's just fine, so it's not my device).

-Zoom function, I hate it! OK, the press I and O to zoom in and out is great, but to then add the fine tuning to the trackball causes problems. As I'm zooming in, I need to use the trackball to recenter so that I zoom where I need to zoom. With this, I have to zoom a little, esc out of the zoom, recenter, zoom some more, esc back out, recenter, zoom again... it's frustrating.
Solution, leave the I/O function as is and let it take you in/out at preset intervals. Put the trackball back to positioning, and then set "ATL+Trackball" to let you do the fine, rolling zoom.

-Wheres "MAP ME"? or a "Go to my location" feature? I'm sorry, but yes, we do have to go off of the location fix to look at things, set our destination, look at the route ahead.... being able to QUICKLY return to our current location is vital. Such as with Google Maps, pressing 0 re-centers the map on your GPS location.

-Adding Favorites is a pain and why are wrong search results in there? I want to be able to quickly add favorites to "My Places." Where is the function to look them up from a contact on your device? That was great in 4.5. Now, when I go to "My Places" I see a listing that includes recent (WRONG) search results instead of "My Places" that I have saved for quick access. It's not quick access if I have to sort through a bunch of wrong search results to find a saved address. Add a "Recent Searches" menu to the search for that, and keep the "My Places" to what we have marked as being important.

-Search Type - it would be nice to be able to specify the type of search BEFORE you search instead of after. This would cut down on processing time and the number of wrong results you get back.

-Ads, OK, this is a beta, but if I'm going to PAY for software when the final version comes out, there had better not be ad's in it. Ad's in a free, ad supported version, fine. - However, even the ad's are wrong. Example, I keep getting an Ad for Target. When I bring it up, it has the address and location for the Target in Carrolton, GA. I'm in Gainesville, GA. Carrolton is almost 2 hours south west of me. There is a Target less than 5 miles from me. Why is it not linking me to that one? Or, one of the 20+ between here and Carrolton.

Honestly, I'm ready to remove 5.0 beta 1 and go back to 4.5 myself.

[WolfmanRobby]

let me add two more gripes to the list...

-Searching in a different state. I live in Georgia, my girlfriend in Florida, and I travel all over the south east US. To be able to search in a different state, I have to go in and choose "Change Country" from the menu and then change to that state. Even when I'm searching for an address that has the city, state and zip (postal) code in it.
First, this is not user friendly.
Second, it's not very intuitive to have to "Change Countries" when you are searching another state within the same country. Now, let's say I was searching for an address in Canada, while in the US, sure. But, not from one state to the next. This really needs to be corrected. We didn't have to do this in 4.5.

-Placing a pin on a KNOWN address. It's bad enough that 5.0 does not recognize a known address that 4.5 found with no problems. In fact, 5.0 puts me 5 miles away in the middle of a state park!
But, when I go to the map and try to place a "Pin" (or marker) on the proper location, right where the house is, as soon as I click off the marker, it JUMPS it over to a side street. Sometimes more than a block away from my target.
Markers (Pins) should stay WHERE we put them! Especially if the software can't find the address and we have to locate it manually.

[SyBorg]

You're making me glad that 5 isn't available for the 8900 or I would have been trying to use it

[WolfmanRobby]

Well, I sent all of this info to TelMap (email) on Monday when I posted it here.

No response by email, or from their reps here. What's the point of having a beta program if you are not going to listen to and RESPOND TO your testers in a timely manner??

I've rolled back to beta 4.5 on my Bold. I will not be putting 5 back on there until there is a new Beta Release with release notes showing some MAJOR improvements.

[Dass]

Used for the first time today and have to agree about how slow it is to fix on my own position and some searches fail miserably. Also, as mentioned before, not exactly user-friendly if having to press on the back button continuously to get to where you want.

[TUGAdmin]

Hi Wolfman,
Thank you for this feedback on Telmap5.
We are always happy to hear your impressions even (or rather especially) when you're not happy with how we've done something.
That's why we have the Telmap User Group - to help us continuously improve and evolve.

Wolfman - thank you especially for this detailed feedback.
All of your comments are going directly to our Product department.
Let me addess a couple of the items you mentioned:
MAP ME:
We actually do have this functionality - but note it can only work if your device knows your position - i.e. if you have a GPS position fix.
If you have a position fix and your viewing a map that is somewhere else, there is a menu item "Back to my location" that moves the map back to your location.

Ads:
The ads are dummy ads that we are using to test our advertising features.
They may not appear in a commercial launch if the user is paying a subscription. In the user group you are actually getting the app for free so we can justify ads - even if they are just placeholders.

Search:
We are working to continuously improve our search - and even conducted a Search competition which I know you are aware of - we saw your reports (with thanks). The results of that competition will be released shortly

I hope you reconsider and re-install Telmap5.
We greatly value your feedback - and you are obviously one of our more active and responsive users - we do appreciate it.
Thanks
Rami
Product Marketing Manager at Telmap

[WolfmanRobby]

Well, I did have a soild GPS fix, and no where in the menu could I find the "Back to my location" you mention. If it's there, then it's not very well placed. That goes back to my complaint about the user interface not being user friendly.

The Ads, again, in the commercial release, it is UNACCEPTABLE to have ads in a PAID product. I do understand during testing, and even a "Lite" version of the program for free that has ad's. But, NEVER in a product someone PAYS for.

I would consider trying 5 again, after some of these issues have been addressed and a new build (Beta 2) released with a full change log as to what is different.

[j8ke20]

My first impressions of v5 after using it for just a day on my C905 are this..

1. New Search feature is good, but it needs to be a little easier to navigate once you get some results. I searched for "Mall" and it returned a list of Malls that were nowhere near my area, even though there was a major shopping mall only a mile away, and I did not have any option to sort by distance either at that point.
The new simple search interface is a good idea, but unless you can search for "Nearby" locations, or setup your search preferences before the results are shown, it eventually leads to a lot of unnecessary and confusing menu navigation.

2. Maps need to show a little more detail, or at least give the option of showing more details. I drove by Golf courses, and bodies of water that did not show up on my navigation screen. I want to see these things.
I also would like to see speed limit signs, and lane guidance in my area.

3. No zoom in or out options during route navigation. This is an absolute must, and a standard feature in every GPS software I have ever used.

4. Software does not announce some Highway Entrances by name, only says "Turn Left"

One reason why Garmin is so popular and such a big seller is that anyone can just pick up the device and start navigating without the need to "Learn" or "Figure out" how to use the software.

Just keep it simple guys.
What matters most to me (besides solid navigation directions obviously) is..

1. Simple to use interface
2. Customization (Map screen, POI's, Route preferences)

If you can keep the interface simple while providing these things, then you would have one amazing piece of software on your hands!

Thanks again for creating this Beta group, and stay tuned for more feedback!!

[TUGAdmin]

This is great feedback - keep it coming.
Also - feel free to use our Telmap5 Feedback Form

[j8ke20]

FYI, I am also submitting this in the feedback form...

I have noticed several times that once i miss a turn, Telnav does not always re-route correctly.
I am attaching a diagram I made which shows an issue I encountered last night, where Telnav tries to get me back on the original route even though there is a better alternative route once you miss a turn.

This has happened several times to me already when intentionally missing turns to test out the software.
If I was in an unknown area, I would of wasted time backtracking just to get back to my original route even though there was a much faster alternative.

It did eventually re-route me but it wasn't until I had already turned left onto the alternate road in the screenshot below.



Hope this feedback helps!

[WolfmanRobby]

j8ke20, I noticed that to.

I think you have to go into the menu and choose "REROUTE" or something like that. Regardless, the software should be smart enough to do that on it's own without manual intervention.

IF you are somewhere you are depending on this, and don't know your way around, you have to pay attention to the road, not fiddle with the blackberry to get corrected directions.

[SyBorg]

I would guess that it does this because I'm sure it was mentioned somewhere that Telmap downloads the route and some variants to quickly keep you moving but does not recalculate the route until you have gone off the variants (if you see what I mean). This reduces the data download requirements. Yes, I saw this as well yesterday.

I've seen the same with my tomtom but not as not as extreme.

[j8ke20]

yea, the routing can be a very big problem at times.
Its good that it doesn't have to "recalculate" the route for every missed turn, but it does not appear that the software is downloading all the the best routes.

Again today, just like my example above, Telmap tried to navigate me back almost 1/4 mile away in the opposite direction of my destination just to get back on the original course, when there was a much better and faster route available by just turning left at the next intersection.

This really needs to be addressed, as I see this as a very big routing problem with the software, because by not "recalculating" the route if you miss 1 or 2 turns, it may no longer be providing you with the quickest route to your destination, but rather have you backtrack and drive in the opposite direction just to get back to the original route, and wasting a lot of time.


Another problem is that all of your saved favorites and recent location are grouped together under "My Places".
These should not be grouped together.
There should be a "Favorites" and "Recent Locations" menu options.
My saved favorites were buried down under a bunch of recent locations, and it just takes unnecessary menu navigation to get to them now.

This new search interface can be very confusing, especially if you are on the road driving.
I tried to search for a Home depot, and it was bringing up locations in the UK (I am in USA, FL).

The one simple search interface just isn't working well for me, as I find I am spending a lot of time after the search trying to figure out how to find the results I am looking for, if they are even there at all.

If you could set a few specific options before the search such as "Search Nearby", or pick a specific city or zip, it would yield much more accurate results.

[SyBorg]

One thing to keep in mind in terms of the routing - the priority for me is to get there. If I end up going a little further than needed I don't care too much.
Personally I would rather the variants existed to keep me moving rather than it having to recalculate the moment I go off the first route, leaving me the feeling of driving in an unknown area without support.

Yes it could do with being improved but it's better than nothing (like amAze used to do when I was using that).

[imercado]

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