Garmin et al v. iphone Maps & Apps

I think/heard that cell-phone GPS does not work well when phone call comes in while guiding you on a route. This problem has been rarely covered in so-called "comparison tests".
Besides, not everywhere you will be going have great receptions unless you always stay within cell-phone coverage areas.

 

This is the biggest weakness of the navigation apps that are sold as services by the cellular companies. No cellular signal and you are SOL. Garmin is now selling a version of their navigation software that will run on some of the more popular smartphones, so if you are not wanting to have to drag along a dedicated GPS, there is another option.

 

With a cell phone there are two ways to determine your location: GPS or cell tower triangulation. Cell phones, like the iPhone, that have a GPS chip work for finding your location even if your in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal - they don't rely on the cellular network to find your location. Cheaper phones that do not have GPS included can suffer from that problem - but it's important not to confuse the issue.

Of course, the issue with receiving a phone call while navigating is one that's unavoidable on cell phones - in order to answer the phone, you have to temporarily stop using it to navigate.

I think the first two articles gave a great description of the differences - using the maps application sucks, using a dedicated GPS application rocks, but not quite as good as a dedicated device. I think a lot of his complaints about the iPhone app will go away over time - remember, the app is really, really new, while the GPS devices have been around a while, which means it will take a bit of time to offer the full feature set that's available on the comparable devices.

 

FWIW, I really like my Garmin Nuvi. It sits up right in my line of sight where I don't have to look away to see it; it shows the map of my location and highlights my route, with turn arrows; and it speaks the directions.

 

I just put 900 miles on a Garmin 765T driving around California. I was really impressed with this unit. It's still on sale at Costco online which is where I bought mine. Costco returns on GPS devises are not limited to 90 days.

Costco - $279.99 after $50 OFF Garmin nüvi® 765T 4.3" Touchscreen GPS

I had my daughter's car radio modified to accept aux in so I could plug the GPS into the car speakers. I loaded a 2g SD card with music on the GPS from itunes. The unit mutes the music when giving directions. Nice feature.

 

The navigation application that is offered as a service by Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint uses the cellular service in combination with the GPS chipset in the smartphone. No cellular service, and no guidance. The one advantage of the Garmin software application for smartphones, is that you are not tethered to the cellular coverage requirement.

 

I don't know how the iPhone 3G(s) works, but the BlackBerry smartphones that have the GPS chipset and the cellular carriers navigation application require cellular service for the navigation guidance to work. I have tested this out on a trip to Santa Cruz on California Highway 1 - there are areas in the middle where there is no cellular coverage. In those areas, the navigation guidance ceases to operate and you have to continue on until you get back in cellular coverage. Fortunately, the application picks up from where it last had cellular coverage and doesn't require a re-entry of the address you were being guided to.

I was told that the AT&T navigation service for the iPhone 3GS works the same way as the BlackBerry navigation service application. If so, then you will need cellular coverage to use the AT&T navigation application for the iPhone. You could use the native iPhone navigation application, but that will have you looking at the iPhone display instead of at the road, which can be quite hazardous.

 

I have both the Iphone and a Garmin. The Iphone GPS is inaccurate, right now sitting at my office it shows me an entire block south of where I am actually at. The phone also gets very warm and eats up the battery. Other than out of date maps, the Garmin has been very good, although I question how it picks routes at times.

 

My Garmin Nuvi gets me where I want to go, which is better than I would do on my own. But I, too, sometimes question its choice of routes. Going to a certain part of town it wants to take me over a grade level railroad crossing where there are sometimes long delays due to trains. And going to Waterton Park it wanted to take me through Kalispell, which I knew was longer, because I had researched routing choices. So I told it to take me to Cranbrook, and then told it to take me to Waterton.

My only other complaint is that sometimes, when there is a Y in the road, it will fail to tell me "keep right" or "keep left" and it's not always clear which fork is the main road.

But overall I love it.

Another curious item: The Garmin always underestimates the amount of time a trip will take, as if it assumes there are no stop lights and traffic in cities will always move at the speed limit. MapQuest, on the other hand, always overestimates the amount of time a trip will take, as if it assumes I will drive slower than the speed limit.

My old Garmin Street Pilot allowed me to indicate sections of road to avoid. I don't think the Nuvi has that feature. That was useful for avoiding those grade level railroad crossings, though at least here in Spokane I know them now, and just don't take them, and it calculates another route.