GPS - Does color matter in gps?

Author

Does color matter in gps?

needin4mation@gmail.com

2005-10-24, 2:48 am

Does it really matter if it is b&w and not color? They are a lot
cheaper. I would be using it in my car if it matters. Thanks.

Mark Hewitt

2005-10-24, 5:48 am

<needin4mation@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1130125680.967267.309000@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Does it really matter if it is b&w and not color? They are a lot
> cheaper. I would be using it in my car if it matters. Thanks.

Colour helps. A LOT. You can easily see the difference between your own
route, and other routes, the status of the other routes (e.g. primary,
motorway), see where your turn is very clearly etc etc.

Sizzler

2005-10-24, 5:48 pm

I concur! I had originally bought a Magellan Explorist 400 a few weeks
back... two of them in a week in fact and had to return both due to issues
(that's another story :) ).. Initially I wasn't concerned with color but
after feturning the explorists I had "had enough" of Magellan and opted to
go with the Garmin Legend C and I must admit, color does help ALOT!

For what it's worth, here in Halifax, Canada, I bought my legend for the
same amount of $$ as the Explorist 400 (it's not color BTW). You just have
to look for the deals on these units :)

"Mark Hewitt" < mail@markhewittDotCo
DotUk.spammers.will.die> wrote in message
news:dji5ag$li4$1@uc
snew1.ncl.ac.uk...
>
> <needin4mation@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1130125680.967267.309000@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Colour helps. A LOT. You can easily see the difference between your own
> route, and other routes, the status of the other routes (e.g. primary,
> motorway), see where your turn is very clearly etc etc.
>
>

Nospam@nowhere.com

2005-10-24, 5:48 pm

Apparently on date 23 Oct 2005 20:48:01 -0700, needin4mation@gmail.com said:

>Does it really matter if it is b&w and not color? They are a lot
>cheaper. I would be using it in my car if it matters. Thanks.

In a car, I'd strongly push for colour screen and I would also test that it
will actually be readable. Some are much better than others in this respect.

My old iPaq 3630 was far easier to read in sunlight or in a car than my newer
Axim, although the connector on the base was inadequate for regular use and the
32 megs meant limited software availability.

If you are talking about handheld kit like Garmin, that's a different story. A
simple readout like speed or a compass needle is just fine on most black and
white screens.

Broadly speaking, if you are using maps you need colour. But try out if at all
possible, before you buy. Something like TomTom on a black and white PDA would
very quickly get tiring and you'd end up buying twice.

helena

2005-10-24, 5:48 pm

Yeah, I think color is a necessity in the car. I use the TomTom 300
and the vibrancy of the colors really helps you see where you're going
on the screen and note the landmarks. Plus, most of the software for
GPS is made for color, so I don't know what it would look like on a
black and white screen. I agree with Nos on this one...if you're using
maps, color is imperative

2005-10-25, 5:48 am

Would you change your Color TV set for a B/W one?

JR

<needin4mation@gmail.com> escribió en el mensaje
news:1130125680.967267.309000@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Does it really matter if it is b&w and not color? They are a lot
> cheaper. I would be using it in my car if it matters. Thanks.
>

Badger

2005-10-25, 5:48 pm

JR wrote:
> Would you change your Color TV set for a B/W one?
>
> JR
>
>
>
> <needin4mation@gmail.com> escribió en el mensaje
> news:1130125680.967267.309000@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
I have both and would not touch a non color unit!
Clay

störtebeker

2005-10-25, 5:48 pm

On 23 Oct 2005 20:48:01 -0700, needin4mation@gmail.com wrote:

>Does it really matter if it is b&w and not color? They are a lot
>cheaper. I would be using it in my car if it matters. Thanks.

Garmin topo maps have the hardpack (dirt) roads, intermediate contour
lines and streams the same width, using different colors (black, brown & blue)
which show up well in their color display units, but make a very confusing
display in their small grey scale (black & white) units (Legend & Vista), unless
you are very familiar with the area that is being displayed.

dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

>Does it really matter if it is b&w and not color? They are a lot
>cheaper. I would be using it in my car if it matters. Thanks.

If it is straightly for in-car use, color really does not matter.

You look at it briefly for setting up destination and rely on voice
command afterwards particularly while driving.

Given the size of the display max 4", what can you see while driving 50
mph?

I am a ppc and laptop user and definitely no Garmin fan

Yet if I have a choice, I would like my ppc (while being used as a gps
unit) can save energy by displaying b/w and showing big arrow (for
directions) and large icons. The new pda has virant 640x480 resolution
and you can figure it out the sort of power drain it exerts on the
batt. The display is warm after a few minutes of use. Color is great
to look at . If you ask me: is that good? I would say ' sure ' but not
at the expense of batt power (while as an auto gps) . Like 3D view,
it is eye candy while driving.

Of course the pda should have color display for other use (picture
viewing, browsing and movie). But that is something else.

Daniel

dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

>Would you change your Color TV set for a B/W one?

bad analogy.

tv has limitless power supply

display is min 20" compared with 4" in a handheld or pda

and you are in constant motion while drivng at 50-70 mph

daniel

Andrew

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

On 26 Oct 2005 03:03:16 -0700, dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:

>If it is straightly for in-car use, color really does not matter.
>
>You look at it briefly for setting up destination and rely on voice
>command afterwards particularly while driving.
>
>Given the size of the display max 4", what can you see while driving 50
>mph?

I would totally disagree with that, I use TTN5 and colour makes it a
hell of a lot easier to see at a glance the road and the next
direction you should follow.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
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dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

Andrew

[color=darkred]
>I would totally disagree with that, I use TTN5 and colour makes it a
>hell of a lot easier to see at a glance the road and the next
>direction you should follow.

You can see the next road in a glance to your TTN5.

Would it be better that it be displayed with simple big colorless arrow
(say right and your hear the command turn right 100 yd ahead)
consuming about 1/2 of the batt power?

Remember you are in a situation of driving 50-70 mph and looking at a
4" display.

Daniel

Andrew

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

On 26 Oct 2005 03:18:43 -0700, dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:

>Would it be better that it be displayed with simple big colorless arrow

You haven't used Tomtom have you.

>(say right and your hear the command turn right 100 yd ahead)
>consuming about 1/2 of the batt power?

I couldn't give a crap about battery power, I run it off of a car
adapter.

>Remember you are in a situation of driving 50-70 mph and looking at a
>4" display.

At over 72mph TTN5 switches to the dumbed down interface that you seem
to like for safety reasons. What about when you are driving below 50,
don't you want to be able to see exactly what the road ahead is going
to be like so you know exactly where to make a turn?
--
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dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

>At over 72mph TTN5 switches to the dumbed down interface that you seem
>to like for safety reasons. What about when you are driving below 50,
>don't you want to be able to see exactly what the road ahead is going
>to be like so you know exactly where to make a turn?

Andrew ,

You forgot about the first post of this thread. It was not about TTN5
specifically.

I will be able to see B/W as clear as that coming from a typical 4"
screen of a gps unit. Laptop (with bigger screen) is another story. It
should be a quick glance supplemented by voice command.

Obviously TT envisaged that in switching to dumbed down display at
higher speed for giving less distraction.

I do not have the honour/privilege of using TTN5 which is not the
subject matter.

Daniel

Andrew

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

On 26 Oct 2005 07:21:40 -0700, dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:

>I do not have the honour/privilege of using TTN5 which is not the
>subject matter.

That is precisely the subject matter if you are telling someone what
to buy when you haven't seen the benefit of a colour display used
properly.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
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dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

>>I do not have the honour/privilege of using TTN5 which is not the
[color=darkred]
>That is precisely the subject matter if you are telling someone what
>to buy when you haven't seen the benefit of a colour display used
>properly.

would you mind if you can read back what i wrote
i did not tell anybody what to buy and my gps (hardware + software)
does give color display .
we are talking about a gps color display on a typical 4" display around
2-3 ft away from a driver on on the driver side?
sounds like your suggestion (?) is that regular color display is not
comparable to ttn5 and because i have not been using that and i
should not comment on the pros and cons of color display compared with
b/w
a top of the line pda resolution is around 480x640 and i suppose
ttn5 is more than capable of producing that given your enthusism?
please confirm

daniel

dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-26, 5:48 pm

Andrew,
I have to stress it is off topic
http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=89876
which compares TTN3 with 5
Interesting read. But it came from Axim forum. Likely TTN5 fares better
in other pda.
Daniel

Seagull

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> If it is straightly for in-car use, color really does not matter.

I have to disagree with you here. Color matters quite a bit, especially
when you have limited time to look at and interpret the display.
Color allows you to very quickly discern between dissimilar features.

> You look at it briefly for setting up destination and rely on voice
> command afterwards particularly while driving.

I have yet to see a navigation system where spoken instructions alone
are sufficient for navigation, particularly in dense, urban environments.

> Given the size of the display max 4", what can you see while driving 50
> mph?

Quite a lot.

Cheers,
-+JLS

--
\ carpe cavy!
seagull @ aracnet.com \
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/ \ (seize the guinea pig!)

Andrew

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

On 26 Oct 2005 11:21:38 -0700, dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:

>Andrew,
>I have to stress it is off topic
>http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=89876
>which compares TTN3 with 5
>Interesting read. But it came from Axim forum. Likely TTN5 fares better
>in other pda.

I don't need to read it, I have used TTN2, 3 and now 5. They have all
been great at giving me precisely (largely thanks to great colour
schemes) what I need to navigate around the small twisty road of
England with the briefest of glances and great voice prompts.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
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Andrew

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

On 26 Oct 2005 09:49:51 -0700, dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:

>a top of the line pda resolution is around 480x640 and i suppose
>ttn5 is more than capable of producing that given your enthusism?
>please confirm

My Axim X5 is 320x200 which is more than enough resolution for
effective navigation. My next PDA will likely be a smartphone with an
even smaller screen running Tomtom.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
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Badger

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>
> bad analogy.
>
> tv has limitless power supply
>
> display is min 20" compared with 4" in a handheld or pda
>
> and you are in constant motion while drivng at 50-70 mph
>
> daniel
>

Which one is easier to interpret, a b/w or a color tv of any size?

Easy.

I think it's a good analogy.

Color

dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

>> display is min 20" compared with 4" in a handheld or pda

> and you are in constant motion while drivng at 50-70 mph

> daniel
[color=darkred]

for color or b/w tv (over 20") , the choice is simple

how about for tv 4" showing few streets or hightways around and you
can only give a quick glance when your car is in motion

and majority (which depends on individual preference ) of direction
comes from voice command

big directional icons or arrows (on a 4' display) is more important

color or no color in that situation (gps ) matters a lot less than that
of a tv

daniel

Nospam@nowhere.com

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

Apparently on date Wed, 26 Oct 2005 23:21:13 +0100, Andrew
<spamtrap@localhost.> said:

>On 26 Oct 2005 11:21:38 -0700, dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>
>I don't need to read it, I have used TTN2, 3 and now 5. They have all
>been great at giving me precisely (largely thanks to great colour
>schemes) what I need to navigate around the small twisty road of
>England with the briefest of glances and great voice prompts.

Ok...

Say you want to go to an address.

How do you state the street name and find the towns that have one?

I don't seem to have that option.

When you set an itinery, that is a series of destinations, how do you get it to
organise them efficiently?

E.g. paris, berlin, paris, berlin, and then paris. You don't want to shuttle to
and fro, right? Fine when you can see the cities are in different countries,
but take a dozen arbitrary locations.

Seems to lack a setting for that.

And so on.

Andrew

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 23:38:32 GMT, Nospam@nowhere.com wrote:

>How do you state the street name and find the towns that have one?

I have never ever needed such an option, I can't imagine asking for an
address and not asking what town and postcode. GPS doesn't replace the
need for the most basic common sense.

>I don't seem to have that option.
>
>When you set an itinery, that is a series of destinations, how do you get it to
>organise them efficiently?

*shrug*, I have never used the waypoints.

>E.g. paris, berlin, paris, berlin, and then paris. You don't want to shuttle to
>and fro, right? Fine when you can see the cities are in different countries,
>but take a dozen arbitrary locations.
>
>Seems to lack a setting for that.
>
>And so on.

And so on what? Why are you asking these questions in a thread about
colour displays?
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
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Nospam@nowhere.com

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

Apparently on date Thu, 27 Oct 2005 00:50:16 +0100, Andrew
<spamtrap@localhost.> said:

>On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 23:38:32 GMT, Nospam@nowhere.com wrote:
>
>
>I have never ever needed such an option, I can't imagine asking for an
>address and not asking what town and postcode. GPS doesn't replace the
>need for the most basic common sense.

Common sense doesn't usually include an omniscience about which town a street
happens to be in, which means you have to ask someone where they live / work.

The crucial point about this is the data is in the device and other software,
such as Destinator, lets you search from street to city.

Saying "I'll never need to know what village a street may be filed under" is
just defending deficient software. You find this out the minute you can't tell
it where you want it to look the first time - try it.

>
>*shrug*, I have never used the waypoints.

When you do, you'll suddenly realise that tt5 lacks the ability to sort them
properly. It doesn't have the ability in the first place.

Again, you may say "I never need to visit more than two places" but the minute
you find you need to - guess what?

>
>And so on what? Why are you asking these questions in a thread about
>colour displays?

We went off topic a few levels back. It got a connection to TT2, 3, and 5 from
you, on the end of a URL to how TT5 is deficient.

Bizarrely, TT3 is probably better at these things than the current one.

Still, if you are happy with TT5 which takes you to a single location providing
you know pretty much where it is, maybe that's a really good product
recommendation because it contains a "colour display"? Seems to me that they
all have a colour display, but heck...

Badger

2005-10-26, 11:48 pm

dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> for color or b/w tv (over 20") , the choice is simple
>
> how about for tv 4" showing few streets or hightways around and you
> can only give a quick glance when your car is in motion
>
> and majority (which depends on individual preference ) of direction
> comes from voice command
>
> big directional icons or arrows (on a 4' display) is more important
>
> color or no color in that situation (gps ) matters a lot less than that
> of a tv
>
> daniel
>
Well, I have both, and the color is superior because of the contrasting
colors to defines the different objects on the screen,(be they arrows or
otherwise) as opposed to shades of gray. Of course this is just the
opinion of someone who has and has used both.
Clay

dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-27, 5:48 pm

Seagull

>I have yet to see a navigation system where spoken instructions alone
>are sufficient for navigation, particularly in dense, urban environments.

You are right. There is none. I would say voice commands are more
relied upon than visual particularly while the vehicle is in motion.
At time, I found my color ppc quite distracting with color line when
all I need is just very few info in a quick glance.
Remember we still have to use our brain for other factors as detailed
below
http://groups.google.com/group/sci....> 58e2937cda999
If I use my laptop with 1280x768 resolution, that matters to use
color.
for 4" display, it hardly matters which is the subject line.
Or at least it is for me.
If you feel like watching constantly 20 color lines in motion on a 4"
screen every second while driving , so be it.
Daniel

Andrew

2005-10-27, 5:48 pm

On 27 Oct 2005 05:55:28 -0700, dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:

>If you feel like watching constantly 20 color lines in motion on a 4"
>screen every second while driving , so be it.

I wish you would stop harping on a subject that you know nothing
about, you certainly are not helping the OP.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
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Seagull

2005-10-27, 5:48 pm

dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> If you feel like watching constantly 20 color lines in motion on a 4"
> screen every second while driving , so be it.

Why would I do that? The point of a good color display is that it's
much easier to get the information you need at a glance.

You seem to be the only one in this thread who preferes b&w.

Cheers,
-+JLS

--
\ carpe cavy!
seagull @ aracnet.com \
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/ \ (seize the guinea pig!)

dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-27, 5:48 pm

>Why would I do that? The point of a good color display is that it's
>much easier to get the information you need at a glance.

Seagull must have better eyesight than average I believe. I am 56 and
to tell you the truth looking at b/w or color 3 ft away from a 4"
screen does not make that much of difference at all. It is
particularly true that the display info' is in constant motion. Let me
say my hearing (for voice direction command) is a lot better than my
eyesight.

>You seem to be the only one in this thread who preferes b&w.

Minority opinion does not diminish the validity of the argument (if
that is valid). Being the only one does not intimidate me at all.

Daniel

Andrew

2005-10-27, 5:48 pm

On 27 Oct 2005 09:13:55 -0700, dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:

>Minority opinion does not diminish the validity of the argument (if
>that is valid). Being the only one does not intimidate me at all.

But it is an opinion only based on having used B&W GPS units. Until
you have seen how much clearer a good product like Tomtom in colour
makes things, your opinion is worthless.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
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peter

2005-10-27, 5:48 pm

Andrew wrote:
[color=darkred]
> But it is an opinion only based on having used B&W GPS units. Until
> you have seen how much clearer a good product like Tomtom in colour
> makes things, your opinion is worthless.

Where did that idea come from? Daniel has already explicitly stated
that his GPS has a color display.
I've used both color and b&w displays and in general I agree with
Daniel that although the color has advantages it isn't particularly
critical for use while driving. In that situation, I want a minimum of
distractions and therefore just want a clear indication of when and
where my next turn is, what street I should turn onto, and in which
direction. That information can be most clearly presented primarily
with voice directions but supplemented with a simplified display in
either b&w or color.

OTOH, the color display does make it much easier to distinguish map
details like contour lines and small streams from other features like
roads. That's useful in route planning and makes the unit more
convenient to use. But such detailed examination of the map shouldn't
be done while driving regardless of the screen type.

Seagull

2005-10-27, 11:48 pm

dtong22@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> Seagull must have better eyesight than average I believe. I am 56 and
> to tell you the truth looking at b/w or color 3 ft away from a 4"
> screen does not make that much of difference at all.

It's not about eyesight. It's about the fact that objects in different
colors can be immediately recognized as different from one another.
Color differentiation is a very powerful organizational method. If
your brain can digest a monochromatic display and parse it as fast
or faster than you can a multi-color display, then good for you. But
I'm willing to bet that you are in the minority on this planet.

Cheers,
-+JLS

--
\ carpe cavy!
seagull @ aracnet.com \
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/ \ (seize the guinea pig!)

dtong22@yahoo.com

2005-10-30, 5:48 pm

Seagull,

You can see better than average human.
http://www.aboutmarvin.com/GPS.htm
In this case (laptop with gps), as I said, color really matters.
Imagine the same picture and info on a 4" screen?
A sunlight-readable, four-level grayscale transflective FSTN display
(160 x 240 res) as shown in gps 60 (Garmin) would have been perfact
(at least for me & for gps small screen around 4") .
I thought oldtime Palm or Garmin users would have more input on this
subject. Time has really changed then.

Daniel

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