| subPlanck@excite.com 2005-12-22, 11:48 pm |
| I think the original poster should quote a bit more from the WSJ
column, since the article essentially says that nuvi is no better than
any other GPS unit in finding optimum local roads and that it is too
expensive. To quote:
[=2E..And the N=FCvi's core function, GPS navigation, is still too crude
and clumsy to command such a high price from a mainstream, casual user.
This is a problem with every GPS receiver I've tested, not just the
N=FCvi. Too often, all of them suggest routes that a savvy local driver
would immediately recognize as too long or too slow or too likely to
place you into heavy traffic. That level of inaccuracy might be fine in
a $150 device, but $900 is a lot to pay for roundabout directions...]
My question: what $2000 automotive GPS is better in this respect? If
the author cannot cite one, he's just unproductively bitching.
[=2E..Like every other navigation system I've tested, N=FCvi gave me
routes that were technically accurate, but usually suboptimal, often
seriously so. My favorite example was when it tried to put me on the
notorious Washington Beltway, and then a second freeway, at rush hour
to get me to a point I could have reached in five minutes via a local
street that was maybe 200 yards past the freeway entrance.
I was able to change these instructions by selecting an option
instructing N=FCvi to avoid freeways, but then it would have ignored
them even when they were the best option. The N=FCvi includes a clock.
So, why doesn't it, at the very least, have the brains to keep you off
urban freeways during rush hour?
The N=FCvi suggested different routes for the same trip on different
days, and once lost its way when I emerged from a tunnel. It also had a
habit of suddenly, and without notice, zooming its map view out so far
that it showed the whole city, instead of my route. These examples may
seem like nitpicking, but they're fair when a product like this costs
almost $1,000...]
[=2E..Worst of all for such a costly device, the built-in travel guide
has only sample data. To get the whole thing, you pay another $75...]
This is a legit complaint, but Garmin (and others) are in it for the
money, so if they can, they will.
As slick as the N=FCvi is, I consider it too expensive for the value it
delivers, at least for mainstream, casual users...]
Hass anybody else noticed the sudden zoom-out?
Where do you think its price is going to be in the spring--closer to
$600?
z=2Eentropic
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