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Cellular forums Home > Archive > GPS > June 2007 > Questions on what to call two desired features?
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Questions on what to call two desired features?
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| joelbeacham@gmail.com 2007-06-10, 4:33 am |
| First, please don't reply in email... I seldom check this account.
I'll check back to the usegroup to get any answers, for which, by the
way, I thank you in advance!
I'm going to buy a hand held GPS for use in the car soon and my wife
would like two features, but I don't even know what one would call
them much less what makes/models have them (if any). I'm hoping you
can help...
1) The ability to enter several destinations and then ask the unit to
calculate the most direct route between them all. With gas costing
what it does, this would be pretty useful
2) the ability to change an environmental variable and have the unit
suggest a new route or detour. For example, you can see the highway is
blocked ahead. How do you tell the GPS unit that the old route won't
work and that you need a detour?
We are total noobs so please take pity and type slowly and loudly. If
you would point me to good forums other than this one, good FAQ
collections and so on, I'd appreciate it. I've found a number but it
would be nice to know your favorites.
By the way, I've spent some time searching the archives and the web in
general before posting, but since I don't even have the terminology
I've gotten nowhere fast.
Thanks!
JB
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| joelbeacham@gmail.com wrote:
> First, please don't reply in email... I seldom check this account.
> I'll check back to the usegroup to get any answers, for which, by the
> way, I thank you in advance!
>
> I'm going to buy a hand held GPS for use in the car soon and my wife
> would like two features, but I don't even know what one would call
> them much less what makes/models have them (if any). I'm hoping you
> can help...
>
> 1) The ability to enter several destinations and then ask the unit to
> calculate the most direct route between them all. With gas costing
> what it does, this would be pretty useful
>
> 2) the ability to change an environmental variable and have the unit
> suggest a new route or detour. For example, you can see the highway is
> blocked ahead. How do you tell the GPS unit that the old route won't
> work and that you need a detour?
>
> We are total noobs so please take pity and type slowly and loudly. If
> you would point me to good forums other than this one, good FAQ
> collections and so on, I'd appreciate it. I've found a number but it
> would be nice to know your favorites.
>
> By the way, I've spent some time searching the archives and the web in
> general before posting, but since I don't even have the terminology
> I've gotten nowhere fast.
>
> Thanks!
>
> JB
>
Your first need is to be able to work with Itineraries, and TomTom will
do this. Your second need is for instant recalculation of the route.
Most will do this. You just ignore the directions and it will
recalculate from where you are to destination Depending on the brand you
are using you may have to go a few yards (ie miss a turn) or a couple of
miles off route before the new route is plotted.
| |
| pugwash 2007-06-10, 7:33 am |
| TomTom does both of these.
<joelbeacham@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1181451955.715023.22530@m36g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> First, please don't reply in email... I seldom check this account.
> I'll check back to the usegroup to get any answers, for which, by the
> way, I thank you in advance!
>
> I'm going to buy a hand held GPS for use in the car soon and my wife
> would like two features, but I don't even know what one would call
> them much less what makes/models have them (if any). I'm hoping you
> can help...
>
> 1) The ability to enter several destinations and then ask the unit to
> calculate the most direct route between them all. With gas costing
> what it does, this would be pretty useful
>
> 2) the ability to change an environmental variable and have the unit
> suggest a new route or detour. For example, you can see the highway is
> blocked ahead. How do you tell the GPS unit that the old route won't
> work and that you need a detour?
>
> We are total noobs so please take pity and type slowly and loudly. If
> you would point me to good forums other than this one, good FAQ
> collections and so on, I'd appreciate it. I've found a number but it
> would be nice to know your favorites.
>
> By the way, I've spent some time searching the archives and the web in
> general before posting, but since I don't even have the terminology
> I've gotten nowhere fast.
>
> Thanks!
>
> JB
>
| |
|
| joelbeacham@gmail.com wrote:
> First, please don't reply in email... I seldom check this account.
> I'll check back to the usegroup to get any answers, for which, by the
> way, I thank you in advance!
>
> I'm going to buy a hand held GPS for use in the car soon and my wife
> would like two features, but I don't even know what one would call
> them much less what makes/models have them (if any). I'm hoping you
> can help...
>
> 1) The ability to enter several destinations and then ask the unit to
> calculate the most direct route between them all. With gas costing
> what it does, this would be pretty useful
>
> 2) the ability to change an environmental variable and have the unit
> suggest a new route or detour. For example, you can see the highway is
> blocked ahead. How do you tell the GPS unit that the old route won't
> work and that you need a detour?
>
> We are total noobs so please take pity and type slowly and loudly. If
> you would point me to good forums other than this one, good FAQ
> collections and so on, I'd appreciate it. I've found a number but it
> would be nice to know your favorites.
>
> By the way, I've spent some time searching the archives and the web in
> general before posting, but since I don't even have the terminology
> I've gotten nowhere fast.
>
> Thanks!
>
> JB
>
My Garmin 2610 will do both of the above, but unfortunately Garmin in
their infinite wisdom decided to quit making that model. I guess they
decided to cater to the yuppies by taking good navigation features out
of their car units and replacing them with mp3 players and satellite
radios. He may be wrong but a friend that was looking for the two
features that you are looking for said that none of the new Garmins will
do the most efficient route thing anymore. You might be able to find a
dealer with some left over stock or some refurbished units and save a
few bucks on a 2610.
| |
|
| In message <DkQai.102$7b4.42@newsfe03.lga>, Don B <buroker@charter.net>
wrote
>My Garmin 2610 will do both of the above, but unfortunately Garmin in
>their infinite wisdom decided to quit making that model. I guess they
>decided to cater to the yuppies by taking good navigation features out
>of their car units and replacing them with mp3 players and satellite
>radios. He may be wrong but a friend that was looking for the two
>features that you are looking for said that none of the new Garmins
>will do the most efficient route thing anymore. You might be able to
>find a dealer with some left over stock or some refurbished units and
>save a few bucks on a 2610.
Probably no Road Sat Nav does the most fuel efficient route. You may
have the quickest route or the shortest route but the shortest route may
involve you stopping at 100 sets of traffic lights which will do favours
for your fuel consumption.
--
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com
| |
| Wayne R. 2007-06-10, 10:33 am |
| On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 04:25:38 -0600, Don B <buroker@charter.net> wrote
(with clarity & insight):
>My Garmin 2610 will do both of the above, but unfortunately Garmin in
>their infinite wisdom decided to quit making that model. I guess they
>decided to cater to the yuppies by taking good navigation features out
>of their car units and replacing them with mp3 players and satellite
>radios. He may be wrong but a friend that was looking for the two
>features that you are looking for said that none of the new Garmins will
>do the most efficient route thing anymore. You might be able to find a
>dealer with some left over stock or some refurbished units and save a
>few bucks on a 2610.
The Garmin 2610 will do a recalc, of course, but also allows for
"Detour" of, say, 2, 5, or 10 miles (I forget the exact values). This
is pretty handy - if you're aware of it. It's easy to forget.
Putting in "Route Avoidances" is good too - it's a little tedious but
is great; for example, near my office a road/railroad crossing is
closed to build an overpass/underpass - for 27 months! In a nearby
state, the interstate crossing the river is gettting a huge upgrade -
and is also closed long-term. Mark these as something to avoid, and
things are easy again.
There are a lot of 2610's on eBay for about $250. To me, this is a
great deal for a great unit. If we didn't already have two of them...
(One was remanufactured, the other from eBay.)
| |
| Darren Griffin - PocketGPSWorld.Com 2007-06-10, 10:33 am |
| On 2007-06-10 06:05:55 +0100, joelbeacham@gmail.com said:
> First, please don't reply in email... I seldom check this account.
> I'll check back to the usegroup to get any answers, for which, by the
> way, I thank you in advance!
>
> I'm going to buy a hand held GPS for use in the car soon and my wife
> would like two features, but I don't even know what one would call
> them much less what makes/models have them (if any). I'm hoping you
> can help...
>
> 1) The ability to enter several destinations and then ask the unit to
> calculate the most direct route between them all. With gas costing
> what it does, this would be pretty useful
Many units will allow 'itinerary' or multiple waypoints but the order
in which these are visited must be decided by you. What you require is
'route optimisation' i.e. the ability to calculate the optimum order in
which to visit each location which requires vastly more processor power
than current handhelds can muster presently.
--
Darren Griffin
PocketGPSWorld - www.PocketGPSWorld.com
The Premier GPS Resource for News, Reviews and Forums
| |
| Jack Erbes 2007-06-10, 10:33 am |
| joelbeacham@gmail.com wrote:
> First, please don't reply in email... I seldom check this account.
> I'll check back to the usegroup to get any answers, for which, by the
> way, I thank you in advance!
>
> I'm going to buy a hand held GPS for use in the car soon and my wife
> would like two features, but I don't even know what one would call
> them much less what makes/models have them (if any). I'm hoping you
> can help...
>
> 1) The ability to enter several destinations and then ask the unit to
> calculate the most direct route between them all. With gas costing
> what it does, this would be pretty useful
That is really two features. The first is multiple destination routing,
the second is route optimization.
Multiple destination routing is, by itself, a wonderful features because
it is about the only way that you can create routes that will follow a
specific series of different roads in a specific sequence. With it you
can have complete control of routing by adding via points or waypoints
to the route.
Route optimization (also called Auto Arrange or the "salesman's
solution") is very useful when you want the GPS to calculate the
shortest route for traveling a route with a series of locations.
The newer "x" series (60/76 Cx/CSx) models will do multiple destination
routing but not route optimization.
The earlier, now discontinued StreetPilots like the 26xx and 72xx series
all did both of those things. On current products, the Quest, Quest II,
and StreetPilot 2820 will do both but do not have internal batteries so
are not suitable for handheld use.
The zumo models will do both multiple destination and auto arrange and
have an internal battery that is good for about 4 hours.
> 2) the ability to change an environmental variable and have the unit
> suggest a new route or detour. For example, you can see the highway is
> blocked ahead. How do you tell the GPS unit that the old route won't
> work and that you need a detour?
That brings three or four features into play, route setup, route
avoidances, detours, and route avoidances. And the interplay on those
really gets complicated. If you go to this page and start sorting the
GPS receivers into groups by type (on the road, on the trail,
motorcycle, etc.) and then start selecting models from each group and
doing comparisons, you can start seeing lists that compare models to a
list of features:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134
> We are total noobs so please take pity and type slowly and loudly. If
> you would point me to good forums other than this one, good FAQ
> collections and so on, I'd appreciate it. I've found a number but it
> would be nice to know your favorites.
To get a single GPS receiver for handheld use and use in an automobile
too requires accepting major compromises in one place of the other. I
have a GPSMAP 76Cx handheld and a StreetPilot 2610 dash mount auto unit.
And they are definitely apples and oranges and I don't think there is
one GPS receiver that would do it all for me.
The 2610 needs external power and works well in the car. For a trip by
car I would not consider leaving home without it.
I also use the 76Cx in the car, on boats, on motorcycles, on a ATV, and
on foot. It is most certainly the most versatile of the two. It is
rugged, waterproof, and will run all day on a pair or AA cells.
When I use the 76Cx in the car, I am giving up the larger, easier to see
display and audible turning prompts initially. And I also lose route
optimization, auto arrange, avoids by area, detours. The interface is
slower because I don't have a touchscreen, handheld remote control, and
the larger more visible displays for doing the search and find things.
But the 76Cx is adequate for use in the car. It uses Route Navigation
and Route Details screens, larger/more visible pop up screens just
before turns, and a number of alarm sounds, to get me through it all.
If I am going to make a transition from car to boat or car to on foot
and away from power during a trip, the 76Cx will be my first choice.
> By the way, I've spent some time searching the archives and the web in
> general before posting, but since I don't even have the terminology
> I've gotten nowhere fast.
If you spend some time here,
http://gpsinformation.net/
starting with the obvious basics of it all, you'll probably find it
helps. But there is not a hard and fast or mutually agreed to be all
set of rules for the use of terminology. Makers often "invent" things
by giving old things new names and the product pages are aimed more at
telling what they think you'll need to hear to close a sale.
As you read keep a list of capabilities of features you think you want,
then you can start looking at the product comparisons and better
isolated the likely candidates.
Good luck with the quest.
Jack
| |
| dtong22 2007-06-10, 12:33 pm |
| On Jun 10, 1:05 am, joelbeac...@gmail.com wrote:
> First, please don't reply in email... I seldom check this account.
> I'll check back to the usegroup to get any answers, for which, by the
> way, I thank you in advance!
>
> I'm going to buy a hand held GPS for use in the car soon and my wife
> would like two features, but I don't even know what one would call
> them much less what makes/models have them (if any). I'm hoping you
> can help...
>
> 1) The ability to enter several destinations and then ask the unit to
> calculate the most direct route between them all. With gas costing
> what it does, this would be pretty useful
iGuidance 3 can do both which allows you to load up both your laptop
and pda. Plot the route or several destinations in your laptop (stupid
to do that on a tiny pda) the calculate the route and distance and
transfer the locations (they called favourite ) to your pda.
>
> 2) the ability to change an environmental variable and have the unit
> suggest a new route or detour. For example, you can see the highway is
> blocked ahead. How do you tell the GPS unit that the old route won't
> work and that you need a detour?
>
Any gps program can do that incl iguidance .
> We are total noobs so please take pity and type slowly and loudly. If
> you would point me to good forums other than this one, good FAQ
> collections and so on, I'd appreciate it. I've found a number but it
> would be nice to know your favorites.
One great feature of iGuidance is that you get a second lic to load
that into your laptop which is a great great help in case another
family member (say your wife or gf) wants to use your pda-gps. To
use the laptop is clumsy I agree. But it is a great fall-back solution
(plan B) as a last resort.
I also have iGuidance (W Europe) loaded up in the system as well and
you can tell the problem or pda set up is the most versatile of all
>
> By the way, I've spent some time searching the archives and the web in
> general before posting, but since I don't even have the terminology
> I've gotten nowhere fast.
>
> Thanks!
>
> JB
Daniel , Toronto
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<joelbeacham@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1181451955.715023.22530@m36g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> First, please don't reply in email... I seldom check this account.
> I'll check back to the usegroup to get any answers, for which, by the
> way, I thank you in advance!
>
> I'm going to buy a hand held GPS for use in the car soon and my wife
> would like two features, but I don't even know what one would call
> them much less what makes/models have them (if any). I'm hoping you
> can help...
>
> 1) The ability to enter several destinations and then ask the unit to
> calculate the most direct route between them all. With gas costing
> what it does, this would be pretty useful
It's called route optimization or optimal via ordering. Only a few current
units can do this that I'm aware of including Garmin Quest/Quest2, 2820, and
Zumo. On the Quest you can have up to 254 via points in a route and select
from fastest (includes knowledge of speed limits), shortest, or off-road
route calculation methods.
To my knowledge most of the newer Garmins can't do this including
Streetpilot 300 series, 500 series and Nuvis.
>
> 2) the ability to change an environmental variable and have the unit
> suggest a new route or detour. For example, you can see the highway is
> blocked ahead. How do you tell the GPS unit that the old route won't
> work and that you need a detour?
Many units do this to some degree including the ones listed above. The
Quest for example has Avoidances (e.g. route avoiding highways, toll roads,
etc or user defined road segments and rectangular areas) and Detours
(re-route avoiding the next x number of miles/km in the current route).
Quest has a 20 hour rechargable battery and is shirt pocket size.
| |
|
| Alan wrote:
> In message <DkQai.102$7b4.42@newsfe03.lga>, Don B <buroker@charter.net>
> wrote
>
>
>
> Probably no Road Sat Nav does the most fuel efficient route. You may
> have the quickest route or the shortest route but the shortest route may
> involve you stopping at 100 sets of traffic lights which will do favours
> for your fuel consumption.
I never said anything about fuel efficient route. The 2610 will let you
put a starting waypoint, an ending waypoint, and several vias. You can
then have it calculate the most efficient route, mileage wise, from
start to end.
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