GPS Suggestions

Life Cars & Motorcycles
1

We just got our new Mazda3 with an onboard GPS/Media Player added in. We’re not impressed. The GPS and Radio/DVD/CD player are all contained in one unit. While the GPS works fine, it is impossible to use it and listen to music at the same time either with the radio or CD player. You actually have to power off the GPS to get into the radio/cd music interface; switching back to the GPS means reloading/initializing the system and punching in your destination again. It is impossible to switch back to the GPS after putting a CD or the radio on. That’s our first complaint.

The music interface is also not impressive at all. The cd player has only the most basic functions lacking both shuffle and repeat and it doesn’t display what is playing. The radio tuner is okay. The USB music interface lists what is on your memory stick/card, but again no shuffle/repeat and the list font is very small making the touch screen control very tricky to select your choice. My cell phone has a better interface.

I realize this sounds a bit picky, but we know what we like. I can live with a simple music interface but sacrificing music for a GPS system doesn’t seem worth it to me. I know we could get a hand-held GPS though we’d rather not. Not being familiar with console models, I’m wondering what our options are. Is the technology just not advanced enough, or do we just need to get a higher end model? If one is available what should we expect to pay for it? Brand suggestions? Other generic functions to look for in a GPS system? (i’ve given up hoping for english gps maps of taiwan, though I’m holding out hope for a model that can switch between Chinese and English Menus even if the maps aren’t in English. Ours can speak to us in English, but I can’t stand hearing my car tell me what to do). What do you look for in a good GPS system?

Thanks again for any suggestions or insights!

2

i have GPS on my HTC smartphone, and it’s all in English (and doesn’t talk to me). It uses Google Maps. So I’m certain you will find a unit that can show you English maps of Taiwan.

3

[quote=“tastybrain”]We just got our new Mazda3 with an onboard GPS/Media Player added in. We’re not impressed. The GPS and Radio/DVD/CD player are all contained in one unit. While the GPS works fine, it is impossible to use it and listen to music at the same time either with the radio or CD player. You actually have to power off the GPS to get into the radio/cd music interface; switching back to the GPS means reloading/initializing the system and punching in your destination again. It is impossible to switch back to the GPS after putting a CD or the radio on. That’s our first complaint.

The music interface is also not impressive at all. The cd player has only the most basic functions lacking both shuffle and repeat and it doesn’t display what is playing. The radio tuner is okay. The USB music interface lists what is on your memory stick/card, but again no shuffle/repeat and the list font is very small making the touch screen control very tricky to select your choice. My cell phone has a better interface.

I realize this sounds a bit picky, but we know what we like. I can live with a simple music interface but sacrificing music for a GPS system doesn’t seem worth it to me. I know we could get a hand-held GPS though we’d rather not. Not being familiar with console models, I’m wondering what our options are. Is the technology just not advanced enough, or do we just need to get a higher end model? If one is available what should we expect to pay for it? Brand suggestions? Other generic functions to look for in a GPS system? (i’ve given up hoping for english gps maps of taiwan, though I’m holding out hope for a model that can switch between Chinese and English Menus even if the maps aren’t in English. Ours can speak to us in English, but I can’t stand hearing my car tell me what to do). What do you look for in a good GPS system?

Thanks again for any suggestions or insights![/quote]

I’ve never used a GPS system which I like. I prefer asking directions at the roadside. I never use GPS any more. It was simply the reason for too many arguments and frustrations. Paper maps and language are far more efficient in my opinion. And I normally love a piece of technology to make my life simpler.

Stray Dog’s right BTW. Google maps are the best technical system out there for English users, or multi language users. The only thing is they aren’t accurate to as many meters as most GPS units. Only a factor if you are in a zone with closely knitted intersections.

4

I use TomTom Navigator on a Windows smart phone and love it. In your case you probably want to buy a standalone unit rather than a smart phone application, and TomTom have a lot of choices. The maps are accurate and more up to date than others, including Garmin. The interface is more logical and works better IMO than any of the local units like Mio or Papago. You have to run the system in Chinese when using the Taiwan maps but if your Chinese isn’t up to it you can at least switch languages back and forth in order to learn the system. Turn by turn directions are good and you can run the interface in Chinese and still choose English for the directions.

I understand your pain with the OEM navi head units. Most of them are built down to a price and that’s why they are junk. Take comfort in the fact that the ones fitted to many far more expensive cars than yours are also junk, and they don’t even have the excuse of price point. Aftermarket items are usually far better and there are many choices. The trouble is that car manufacturers now love to spec units of strange shapes and sizes which makes it difficult to replace them, if not impossible. For Taiwan you have the added problem that the aftermarket units either will not support the Chinese language or that there are no maps available. Lose / lose.

5

My friend has a GPS unit in his car. It kind of speaks English. We have a great time listening to it say cool things like, “One half E vertical Bracket!” (which means take the next exit, i think) and other gibberish.

They get cheaper all the time. I wouldn’t mind one on my scooter, actually.

6

On my HTV smartphone, Google Maps usually locates me to within 5 to 50 meters, but I can kick in GPS, which then targets right in on me. It’s really helped my driving time to rescues, etc. Just wish I’d known how expensive it was if you’re not on the right payment plan . . . :cry:

7

[quote=“Stray Dog”]
On my HTV smartphone, Google Maps usually locates me to within 5 to 50 meters, but I can kick in GPS, which then targets right in on me. It’s really helped my driving time to rescues, etc. Just wish I’d known how expensive it was if you’re not on the right payment plan . . . :cry:[/quote]
Yes, Google Maps is cool if you have 3G cover and an all-you-can-eat data plan. Without cover you will lose access to map data, which always happens at the critical moment, and without a plan it will get expensive real quick. I really prefer having the maps in the device.

8

I bought cheap, small MIO C250 (suitable for carrying in a pocket for hiking etc)
You can select English interface (menus and voice messages)
Maps are all in Chinese.

MIO provides map and POI database updates roughly 1-2 times a year.
(download from MIO website and use USB cable or SD card to update the device)

What I like:
Cheap and small
Good maps (only few times did I come across smaller, newly paved roads not on the map)
GPS acquisition speed, satellite tracking beats all the smartphones I have tried by a large margin (SIRF III chipset)
Speed camera, road speed limit warnings
English voice database is good quality and works well
POI database with petrol stations, car parks, restaurants etc with search acc. to name, distance (names, addresses are Chinese)
Device is hackable to run almost any Win CE application (games, movie players, other GPS maps etc)

What I would want to improve:
Map update speed (1 per sec is too slow, esp for city driving)
Detailed (with individual traffic lanes shown), 3D view of the various elevated road exits (think Taipei) - this can be found in newer models
Direction aware speed camera warning (warn only about cameras applying to your travel direction)
Road database with speed limits (to correctly warn about exceeding all various 50,60,70,80 kph limits found in Taiwan)

Probably the best spent 4000NT - no way can one, driving alone, navigate safely and quickly using traditional map.
A lot of the above will apply to any major GPS manufacturer model (TomTom, Garmin)

9

So a stand alone unit is probably the best way to go I take it (short of getting Tony Stark to custom design something for me). But thanks all for the input so far.

Do standalone units have the ability to install your choice of navigation software, or are you stuck with the software that comes with the unit?

10

[quote=“tastybrain”]
Do standalone units have the ability to install your choice of navigation software, or are you stuck with the software that comes with the unit?[/quote]

Not sure if the hardware differences between these units make it worthwhile to hack one system to run on another platform. My advice is to focus on the maps. Bad maps on a good unit are still useless. A clunky interface can be gotten used to and it’s worth it if the maps are good. Personally, I like the TomTom devices having looked into what was on the market last year. Garmin’s hardware is better but their maps are garbage. You can find good reviews and articles on international devices at gpsinformation.net

11

[quote=“redwagon”]

[quote=“tastybrain”]
Do standalone units have the ability to install your choice of navigation software, or are you stuck with the software that comes with the unit?[/quote]

Not sure if the hardware differences between these units make it worthwhile to hack one system to run on another platform. My advice is to focus on the maps. Bad maps on a good unit are still useless. [/quote]

Hacking to get another map software to run although possible is an overkill for normal user and is exception rather than the rule:
expect lots of hassle, not supported, may void your warranty etc. It is nice bonus to be able to run some other apps but it just that.
Unless you do research on particular GPS model you need to assume that it is not an option.

Yes, the maps are important (and availability of the updates for them).
In Europe I would go for TomTom. Interesting to know that TomTom maps for Taiwan are good too.

MIO seemed to me a safer in Taiwan given that they are big brand and are serious about local market.

Garmin was all about US market and it looks like they still are.

12

[quote=“redwagon”]I use TomTom Navigator on a Windows smart phone and love it. In your case you probably want to buy a standalone unit rather than a smart phone application, and TomTom have a lot of choices. The maps are accurate and more up to date than others, including Garmin. The interface is more logical and works better IMO than any of the local units like Mio or Papago. You have to run the system in Chinese when using the Taiwan maps but if your Chinese isn’t up to it you can at least switch languages back and forth in order to learn the system. Turn by turn directions are good and you can run the interface in Chinese and still choose English for the directions.

I understand your pain with the OEM navi head units. Most of them are built down to a price and that’s why they are junk. Take comfort in the fact that the ones fitted to many far more expensive cars than yours are also junk, and they don’t even have the excuse of price point. Aftermarket items are usually far better and there are many choices. The trouble is that car manufacturers now love to spec units of strange shapes and sizes which makes it difficult to replace them, if not impossible. For Taiwan you have the added problem that the aftermarket units either will not support the Chinese language or that there are no maps available. Lose / lose.[/quote]

I want to get a GPS unit for the car, are they any that can use Hanyu pinyin as interface for writing Chinese addresses in, when I went to 3C they said it could only use BoPoMoFo to input Chinese. Also how are those GPS units for using English to find address…?

13

I would expect that the Windows Mobile applications could be run on a standalone with the WM OS with some tweaking since they expect the device to have a touchscreen but other buttons are going to be mapped differently for each device. The standalone version of the mapping software would be much less likely to work on a different device, IMO.

[quote=“pb”]
Yes, the maps are important (and availability of the updates for them).
In Europe I would go for TomTom. Interesting to know that TomTom maps for Taiwan are good too.

MIO seemed to me a safer in Taiwan given that they are big brand and are serious about local market.

Garmin was all about US market and it looks like they still are.[/quote]
Agree. Garmin maps outside the US are shaky at best and with TomTom having acquired Telenav, Garmin are now
struggling to find decent data even on ‘home turf’. Note they are now investing a lot more development time into aviation GPS nav systems and a new smartphone JV.

Mio do indeed have a vested interest in Taiwan maps, as do Papago, but from the comparos I did a year ago they weren’t as good as the TomTom products. That may be different now so it’s worth cross-shopping them again.

14

Papago seems to be the way to go for Taiwan, as far as I can tell. My coworkers swear by it, and from own experience I think it beats both MIO and TomTom (the latter I didn’t test with more recent versions than 7 or so I’m afraid).

Basically it gets you where you want to without much strange routes (no smallish alleys or detours), is useful also outside Taipei, and has very frequent (free) map updates. Also it has an extensive database of tourist attractions, shops, etc. Lastly, it shows pictures that explain on the bigger streets like highways where to go, so that makes it easy to decide which lane you should go. Also nice is that it is aware of bridges etc., so it tells you to stay at ground level, or enter bridges etc.

It runs on Windows Mobile (and even CE with some tweaks), and there are standalone handheld GPS versions as well as Android, IPhone, S60 and whatever. See their website: papago.com.tw/

The downside is: It’s Chinese (except for voice, which can be set to English, Hakka, etc.). I think for some systems there is an english version, but at least for the TWese windows mobile version I use this seems to be true.

Anyway: Even if you can’t read/write Chinese, like me, you still can use it very well in my opinion:

For the interface & settings, there is very little chinese necessary… for most of the stuff I just remembered where to click.

For the destinations, either you are willing and able to have someone input your destinations for you

Or you simply search where you want to go on Google maps first, and then scroll/zoom to the destination on the Papago system itself.

I simply gave up the “English” stuff pretty fast, after it was not easily possible to find places with “english” maps (romanizations mixed on maps, or using non-pinyin ones, anyway), and the maps I tried so far were not up to date - or simply wrong, or taking strange detours. Think of going from Taipei to Baishawan via Keelung :stuck_out_tongue: Or maybe trying to go paragliding near green bay, and ending up to have to “turn left” right into the side of a hill, which, somehow, was not looking like the street that should be there according to the GPS.

15

But what about simultaneous music functionality in a console unit? Is it just too much to package together well or are there dashboard GPS units that can play music while displaying the map and giving directions at the same time?

16

Some Garmin units have mp3 players built-in and A2D2 Bluetooth connectivity which is nice for bikers. Some of the TomTom units like the GO910 have mp3 playback, though I don’t know about stereo bluetooth. Check their website. Other TomTom standalone devices don’t come with mp3 players but they can be installed.

gpsreview.net/tomtom-mp3-player/

I thought you wanted to move nav functions to a standalone GPS in order to free up your OEM audio head unit to play music? :eh:

17

It was a while ago since I went trough this process of finding the best GPS for Taiwan. At the end of the day, it is a trade-off and you have to make some sacrificial choices.

As for me, my money went to a Garmin GPS. Their maps are not the best [Many agree on Tom Tom as having better maps and better navigation], but the unit was much sleeker than the Tom Tom. I always thought it would not be a good idea to left the unit in the holder, but rather to put it out of sight of would be thieves, and then out of practicality, a thinner design stores easier, whether it be in your pocket or in the car. The second reason came down to battery life. Although it is used mostly in the car, I can use on the motorcycle, or bicycle or when hiking. Garmin promises 4hrs of battery life to the 1 hour of Tom Tom. And a separate unit can go with you when you travel abroad…

The unit I got has bluetooth, so you can use it as a handsfree for your phone, mp3 player, photo viewer, and other useless stuff like a currency converter and what not. One neat feature is an ‘eco-mode’ that can calculate your route to save gas.

Looking up places in the unit, or Garmin’s Mapsource software is a drag, for it is only in English. Many places of interest, like restaurants, are not loaded into the database. When planning a trip, I use google maps alongside Mapsource to get where i want, send the coordinates to the device and Bob’s your uncle.

As for onboard all-in-one units, I use a made in China no name brand. So far, it works okay, but the processor is slow and it takes forever to read the USB or SD card, and sometimes it just will not. But it uses papago, but so far, I havent really tried it out, since I like my garmin too much. And, as you said, as soon as you use the GPS, no music. And that sucks. But for NT5000 you get what you pay for…

18

Well, after complaining to the salesman who sold us the car we made our way over to the Taoyuan Mazda dealership and the technician there had a look at our Papago system. Ours was not working properly. He replaced it and now we have simultaneous music functionality, so that’s good. We’re going to stick with this one. Apparently the unit they gave us cost 20,000NT on the market, so we got a pretty nice deal getting it for free as an add-on (among other things). I do wish the music interface was less clunky and had more options, but we’ll just live with what we got. After all, it was free!

19

So, nobody inputs Chinese here into the system? The usual modus is to check google maps and then input co-ordinates?

20

Well, my GF does - but then, she’s TWnese…

Papago on Windows Mobile allows Bo Po Mo Fo input, some other Chinese input system that I don’t know, and it recognizes characters that you write on the touchscreen by hand.

Why do you ask?