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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:25 pm Post subject: Nissan Connect. how good?
My new company car is going to be a Nissan with the connect system fitted,
I can find very little information how well, or not, this system works. I'd be interested to hear what current owners think about it, how good is it? accuracy of maps? TMC service, etc.
My TT 540's live services expire about a month after the new cars delivery so I'll be able to run them side by side for a while.
Looking forward to reading your replies.
Like yours, my new company car is a Nissan, and I'm running Connect side-by-side with my TomTom 730T to see how they compare. I get camera updates from TomTom, so haven't tested with PGPSW's database on the 730T.
So far, I've noticed (or think I've noticed*) the following:
* The Connect's display doesn't show camera icons, but only shows proximity warnings. The TomTom 730T shows camera icons and speed limit icons.
* The voice on the Connect is fixed. The voice on the 730T can be changed.
* The Connect displays traffic messages clearly, and displaying them is a matter of pressing a couple of buttons. The 730T tries to speak the traffic messages, and it's very easy to miss the right-hand edge of the screen when trying to activate that function.
* The Connect doesn't know about all postcodes. For example, I tried to go to a postcode beginning with N20 and ending with two letters (North London), and the Connect's "clever" auto-suggestion function wouldn't let me do it by postcode. I had to search for the address before the Connect would acknowledge that I wanted to go to N2. In contrast, the 730T lets me enter the entire postcode without complaint.
* The Connect fades the volume of any audio source and speaks its instructions over it. The 730T pauses any MP3s which might be playing from the SD card.
* The Connect's SD card is specifically for maps only, and can only be updated by getting a new one from a Nissan dealer once per year (confirmed by Nissan UK in an e-mail to me prior to delivery of the vehicle and subsequent reading of the instruction manual). The 730T's SD card can be used for MP3s, as well as maps. I haven't yet asked Nissan how much the map updates will cost, if anything. The 730T gets quarterly updates for a few quid per year.
* The Connect's sound quality when using a mobile phone with Bluetooth is significantly better than the sound quality of the 730T. But then, it uses the car's speakers so I'd expect it to be.
* The Connect does not display your current speed, or the speed limit of the road you are on. The 730T does, if that information is available.
* The Connect displays a compass in the bottom right corner. The 730T displays your heading in numerals.
* The navigation algorithms are different, although not significantly so for the journeys I usually make. I won't always get the same suggested route from both devices. I haven't yet experimented for long enough to determine if the Connect's algorithms are actually any good.
* Installing POIs in the Connect involves preparing a USB stick in the house and taking it out to the car. Installing POIs on the 730T involves bringing the unit into the house. Six of one, half-a-dozen of the other.
* The Connect does not support lower-case letters. The 730T does.
* Most of the above is from casual observation without too much poking around into the device's configuration. The manual suggests - wisely - that, when driving, one should concentrate on driving rather than poking around into the device's configuration, and I've only had the car a week, so I've yet to discover all the nuances of it. Consequently, some of the above might be incorrect.
Like yours, my new company car is a Nissan, and I'm running Connect side-by-side with my TomTom 730T to see how they compare. I get camera updates from TomTom, so haven't tested with PGPSW's database on the 730T.
So far, I've noticed (or think I've noticed*) the following:
* The Connect's display doesn't show camera icons, but only shows proximity warnings. The TomTom 730T shows camera icons and speed limit icons.
* The voice on the Connect is fixed. The voice on the 730T can be changed.
* The Connect displays traffic messages clearly, and displaying them is a matter of pressing a couple of buttons. The 730T tries to speak the traffic messages, and it's very easy to miss the right-hand edge of the screen when trying to activate that function.
* The Connect doesn't know about all postcodes. For example, I tried to go to a postcode beginning with N20 and ending with two letters (North London), and the Connect's "clever" auto-suggestion function wouldn't let me do it by postcode. I had to search for the address before the Connect would acknowledge that I wanted to go to N2. In contrast, the 730T lets me enter the entire postcode without complaint.
* The Connect fades the volume of any audio source and speaks its instructions over it. The 730T pauses any MP3s which might be playing from the SD card.
* The Connect's SD card is specifically for maps only, and can only be updated by getting a new one from a Nissan dealer once per year (confirmed by Nissan UK in an e-mail to me prior to delivery of the vehicle and subsequent reading of the instruction manual). The 730T's SD card can be used for MP3s, as well as maps. I haven't yet asked Nissan how much the map updates will cost, if anything. The 730T gets quarterly updates for a few quid per year.
* The Connect's sound quality when using a mobile phone with Bluetooth is significantly better than the sound quality of the 730T. But then, it uses the car's speakers so I'd expect it to be.
* The Connect does not display your current speed, or the speed limit of the road you are on. The 730T does, if that information is available.
* The Connect displays a compass in the bottom right corner. The 730T displays your heading in numerals.
* The navigation algorithms are different, although not significantly so for the journeys I usually make. I won't always get the same suggested route from both devices. I haven't yet experimented for long enough to determine if the Connect's algorithms are actually any good.
* Installing POIs in the Connect involves preparing a USB stick in the house and taking it out to the car. Installing POIs on the 730T involves bringing the unit into the house. Six of one, half-a-dozen of the other.
* The Connect does not support lower-case letters. The 730T does.
* Most of the above is from casual observation without too much poking around into the device's configuration. The manual suggests - wisely - that, when driving, one should concentrate on driving rather than poking around into the device's configuration, and I've only had the car a week, so I've yet to discover all the nuances of it. Consequently, some of the above might be incorrect.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the reply Flake, it's been hard to find any information about the connect system. I've been told today that my new car will be delivered on 7th April so not long now.
I was glad to read your post about the installation guide I'll be sure to follow it carefully.
You will find the PGPSW camera database to be far superior to TomTom's
well worth the subscription.
Thanks again. _________________ Keith
It's amazing what paying a little bit of attention can do. I managed to enter that aforementioned N2 postcode, in its entirety, by paying attention to the screen. It's necessary to put a space between each part of the postcode, and then the full postcode can be used.
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