Is it just me that doesn't WANT built in sat nav?
Discussion
alock said:
It's often not up-to-date enough though and sends you on pointless detours, especially in rush hour. Queues can form and clear within 10 minutes. I see it regularly where Google maps colours the main road in dark red so I take a detour. When I re-join the main road it is clear and running freely.
The secret there (provided you've got a route running) is to wait. Google will ask you - and it's pretty good, it'll ask you if you want to detour if it's found a better route. You just need to wait for it to say, don't pre-empt it.
techguyone said:
The secret there (provided you've got a route running) is to wait. Google will ask you - and it's pretty good, it'll ask you if you want to detour if it's found a better route. You just need to wait for it to say, don't pre-empt it.
I've had google maps suggest a re-route when I've been stuck behind a slow moving car on a country mode for a few minutes! I can dive off at the next turning with glee and resume driving at the speed I deem appropriate 
Just thought I'd throw my 2p in here. I've become a bit of an Android Auto fanboy!
If I were buying a car with build-in infotainment, I'd only bother if I know the maps are relatively easy to "acquire" (pre 2009 BMWs are the easiest
) or if I could swap it out without having to buy a new dash.
If it were upgrade and tinker-unfriendly I'd actively look for a car minus the satnav option.
When I got my current car I dropped an Android Auto compatible Pioneer unit in. Wasn't the cheap by a longshot - but I had a lot of change left over from the sale of the previous car.
Even though it comes with its own onboard satnav with traffic updates, I always use the Android Auto option and it works incredibly well.
Whenever I travel anywhere, unless the distance is shamefully short I'll always run the satnav because (as mentioned previously) it'll let me know during my trip to and from work whether the traffic is bad and if I should take a diversion. You can either prompt it for alternative routes or it'll just figure it out for you about 10 minutes in advance and give you the option to pick.
It's become a bit of a crutch as I now feel lost without my traffic updates.
It's also become very useful always having your ETA displayed so you know how hard to push the lol pedal.
Testament to Android Auto and Google - In May I drove around the continent. The only thing we planned was where we'd sleep in each country, we literally left the rest up to Google and it was perfect. Even knocked an hour off our trip in the Czech Republic.
If I were buying a car with build-in infotainment, I'd only bother if I know the maps are relatively easy to "acquire" (pre 2009 BMWs are the easiest
) or if I could swap it out without having to buy a new dash.If it were upgrade and tinker-unfriendly I'd actively look for a car minus the satnav option.
When I got my current car I dropped an Android Auto compatible Pioneer unit in. Wasn't the cheap by a longshot - but I had a lot of change left over from the sale of the previous car.
Even though it comes with its own onboard satnav with traffic updates, I always use the Android Auto option and it works incredibly well.
Whenever I travel anywhere, unless the distance is shamefully short I'll always run the satnav because (as mentioned previously) it'll let me know during my trip to and from work whether the traffic is bad and if I should take a diversion. You can either prompt it for alternative routes or it'll just figure it out for you about 10 minutes in advance and give you the option to pick.
It's become a bit of a crutch as I now feel lost without my traffic updates.
It's also become very useful always having your ETA displayed so you know how hard to push the lol pedal.
Testament to Android Auto and Google - In May I drove around the continent. The only thing we planned was where we'd sleep in each country, we literally left the rest up to Google and it was perfect. Even knocked an hour off our trip in the Czech Republic.
VW are getting there with apps from your phone on the car unit.
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/car-net/app...
Think we'll see more and more of this, it's certainly the way forward.
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/car-net/app...
Think we'll see more and more of this, it's certainly the way forward.
Halmyre said:
I assume all these on-line navigation apps will be logged by the ISP and made freely available to whoever HM Government deems entitled to the data?
(dons tinfoil hat...)
Google maps/Waze already is available. Who cares about freely? The large unnamed government agencies will use it irrespective of difficulty.(dons tinfoil hat...)
On the other hand, most cars (and all new cars from 2018) will have to have an SOS feature called eCall built in.
With sim triangulation only, it'll be possible to track just about all new cars from that point forward, unless the system is broken (intentionally or otherwise).
Are people bothered if the GCHQ/NSA mob know where their cars are? They don't care about speeding offences, that's not their job, and they don't pass the data on to the plod (who would not have enough to convict based on that info alone anyway).
CraigyMc said:
Halmyre said:
I assume all these on-line navigation apps will be logged by the ISP and made freely available to whoever HM Government deems entitled to the data?
(dons tinfoil hat...)
Google maps/Waze already is available. Who cares about freely? The large unnamed government agencies will use it irrespective of difficulty.(dons tinfoil hat...)
On the other hand, most cars (and all new cars from 2018) will have to have an SOS feature called eCall built in.
With sim triangulation only, it'll be possible to track just about all new cars from that point forward, unless the system is broken (intentionally or otherwise).
Are people bothered if the GCHQ/NSA mob know where their cars are? They don't care about speeding offences, that's not their job, and they don't pass the data on to the plod (who would not have enough to convict based on that info alone anyway).
OldGermanHeaps said:
The chinese make some good androd head units that look and integrate as well as oem but bring all the benefits of a decent os. My £200 merc comand lookalike operates from the steering controls, displays all the correct info on the cluster mid, source and track info etc lighting, speed etc all down the canbus but it can run waze, amazon snd google music, torque, my rtl wideband sdr scanner and dab.
Which one did you end up with (especially as I have an oldish merc)?irocfan said:
Which one did you end up with (especially as I have an oldish merc)?
I use one of these units in my Audi and for the money, you do get a lot. I would recommend looking at Xtrons units. UK-based supplier and something that resembles a warranty.Check out Merc-specific units to see if there is one that matches your car - http://xtrons.co.uk/head-units/custom-special-car/...
Sunnysider said:
The satnav in my Forester is hilariously bad, with graphics like a 2nd rate ZX Spectrum game from 1982. The satnav in my 911 is slightly better, but I still never use it.
In an era of smartphones with google maps and Waze, inbuilt satnav is an utterly pointless and expensive option.
Well said.In an era of smartphones with google maps and Waze, inbuilt satnav is an utterly pointless and expensive option.
leshkin said:
irocfan said:
Which one did you end up with (especially as I have an oldish merc)?
I use one of these units in my Audi and for the money, you do get a lot. I would recommend looking at Xtrons units. UK-based supplier and something that resembles a warranty.Check out Merc-specific units to see if there is one that matches your car - http://xtrons.co.uk/head-units/custom-special-car/...
If the built in display supports Android Auto then I'm more than happy with it. Being able to use a fixed display rather than faffing with phone mounts that is also much larger than my phone, that will output the radio and sat nav from the speakers at the same time, navigate straight from a calendar invite, being able to listen to and respond to text messages via voice, voice control that actually works, and most importantly frequent updates to maps and functionality, all makes me happy.
My Golf came with Android Auto, Volvo started offering it as an upgrade, and Mazda have said they will shortly offer it as a retro fit upgrade for the MX-5. The sat nav in the MX-5 is appalling, can't wait to get rid.
My Golf came with Android Auto, Volvo started offering it as an upgrade, and Mazda have said they will shortly offer it as a retro fit upgrade for the MX-5. The sat nav in the MX-5 is appalling, can't wait to get rid.
Roger Irrelevant said:
I don't get the '5 year old satnav is hopelessly out of date' thing - mine is from 2004 (so practically the dark ages), and granted I don't need to use it that much but when I do I put the postcode in, it gives me directions, I get there. What am I missing?
Granted, it depends where you're driving but imagine for example, London, where there are constant changes to one way systems, closure of roads to all vehicles except buses & taxis etc etc all changing regularly, sure, if you input the postcode you are going to into a >5 year old system you will still most likely get there but there is also always the chance you will get routed the wrong way up a one way street or end up having to pay a fine for illegally occupying a bus lane that used to be an unrestricted right of way etc etc. I racked up a £120 fine in Lewisham because my nav routed me down a street that had recently been pedestrianised except for buses, "read the road not the screen!" I hear the PHers cry - well, I saw the zone before I entered it by which point I was committed to the manouevre and hemmed in by other traffic making it impossible for me to turn round and go a different direction. In a radical change of viewpoint, I just did a 3500 mile round trip across Europe in a 66 plate Jaguar, went as far as Croatia. For backup I took an old reliable Tomtom and of course had google maps on my phone, but ended up not needing to use them for navigation at any point, the built in nav did an absolutely flawless job and was a piece of cake to use despite navigating through ten countries. Couldn't have asked for more.
PenelopaPitstop said:
My 1 year old Audi navigation wanted to send me over pedestrian area in the same place. Later on asked Audi about upgrade and was told it will be a few hundreds to upgrade so of course didn't to this. Felt rather disappointed considering the price of the car.
I thought most manufactures updated free for 3yrs? I think it's a different system in VW's but on my wife's Tiguan updates can be downloaded over the internet. The VW nav system (Discover) is crap, though. The one in my 2004 Merc, with mapping from 2014, works well.Gassing Station | In-Car Electronics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff