Topic: Review : Kenwood DNX9960

[Sol Asylum]

you have to be damn good looking.  Its the only way to get away with it.

GJ

Say that's convenient!

[elff]

Ok here is a good example of what I am talking about with Garmin

There are complete towns in the USA that Garmin does not have in there system due to the fact that they only use Postal City names.
So, as an example, if you are tying to find a location that is in
ChesterBrook, PA
and you enter State you can't enter ChesterBrook.  It doesn't exist in the Garmin database.
So then you select search all Cities and enter the street name, and since PA is huge and street names are really common, you are presented with a huge list of possibilities, all in towns that are not Chesterbrook.
If you somehow know what Postal Carrier delivers to Chesterbrook, then you could select Wayne, PA which is where the Chesterbrook mail is handled.
But unless you are a resident of either Wayne or Chesterbrook, there is no way in hell you would know that, so you are fawked if the town is not the same town that delivers the mail.

And NO
This is NOT fixed in the latest Map update which should only be data and not routing logic.
This is why I think Garmin Sucks.
Other vendors do NOT have this issue

[smartin]

I agree. 07Bluestone and I played hell trying to figure out the correct town to put in the Garmin to get us to the Wingfoot hangar. It was by luck that I tried something that ended up being the correct city. But it wasn't very intuitive.

[elff]

I totally forgot about that. I had the same issue but since we were in a large group, I didn't put too much effort into it as we have a long train of cars.

This is why I think Garmin Sucks,  there are just too many locations that are not in the data.
Maybe the new routing is better, but that won't help you if you can't find the destination.

[Sly Bob]

All I know is that in the last 5 years or so that I have owned Garmin units I have never had an issue. I know that if you search Google for TomTom problems there are no shortage of links.

As I said before it's what works best for you. I hate Zaino waxes where others love them. We all are divided into different camps you have to use what works best for you. TomTom for you, Garmin for me.

There has to be SOME reason that the Garmin is number one in market.   

http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2010/07/1h_2010_gps_market_share.php

1     Garmin
2    TomTom
3    Kenwood
4    Pioneer
5    Magellan
6    Alpine
7    JVC
8    DEI
9    Sony
10    Audiovox

Don't you think we're  ?

[elff]

In this case, it's what works, has nothing to do with me.  
While these are only a couple of examples, this has been the norm for me searching and routing on a garmin.
I am also not just comparing it to Tom Tom,  it is products that are not Garmin.  
Things that are not on a Garmin are on Tom Tom, Google Maps, Expedia, Microsoft Maps.
I know this because I constantly have to check another source when the Garmin doesn't work.  
Alot of these other companies use the same map base that Garmin does, so why do Garmins constantly not have the same data?

Your example is Market Share, which does not equate into BEST product.  

And to further point the finger at that, the Kenwood's use Garmin, they don't have their own GPS system,  so that causes me to question the validity of their fact finding.

I will beat that Horse because the amount of money I spent on this product, it should be better.  Garmin's Tech Support attitude does not help.

If you want a Map system that has serious holes in it's Data Database, and are content with the vendor really not caring,
then by all means go with a Garmin.

I am just pointing out that there are more accurate solutions and alot of them are free.
It's sad that I have to verify my $1000 system with a free app, just to make sure I will get where I am attempting to.

[Critterman]

Try Igo.  That is pronounce eye-go.  It even tells you when you exceed the posted limit.  And when it tells you is adjustable by %.  It also shows pictures of your highway exit.  It comes with cheap chinese radios. 

[DickW]

I have owned Tom-Tom, Magellan, Pioneer, Garmin and several off brands. All of them have their little goofs, but Garmin is my choice by far. I have been all over the U.S. and part of Canada with out a problem from my Garmin.
 But that is what makes horse races, difference of opinion.

[Critterman]

I have had 3 Magellan's, the I-go, What ever is in my Pioneer Radio, and the one in the wife's Honda.  None of them tell you the same way from a to b.

[SHiNY]

I have had 3 Magellan's, the I-go, What ever is in my Pioneer Radio, and the one in the wife's Honda.  None of them tell you the same way from a to b.

I used the Nav system on my Droid yesterday (Google Maps) and it sent me home an entirely different way than it sent me to a location. Very odd.  I really like it because it shows me the traffic pattern.

[elff]

I just picked up the East Coast copy of navigon for the iPhone.
it is very nice.  In doing some tests it found all of the problem locations I had on the garmin so I am happy with that, it looks great and when you enter a destiniation it gives you the weather there, local gas stations and local parking information.
Pretty darn cool.
I will be giving this a test whenever I am in the Jeep.

The guys at Endgadget seem to like this one the best out of all of them.  Apparently you can get a one time traffic for life purchase too.  So I might consider that.

[Morfious]

Pioneer uses TeleAtlas for its maps and a propitiatory system for the mapping algorithm.  Pioneer is not without its quirks either.  Route 1 can be (Rt 1, Route 1, US Route 1 or US 1) depending on how it was entered into the system.  Sometimes there is not even similarity between similar road types.  US 1 vs Route 27.  Pioneer has search by telephone number.  This is very quick and quite helpful (assuming the phone number is known by the nav system).  This has been my go to method of finding places and when it works, it's amazing.  Not sure if garmin has something like that, but knowing your particular nav system's quirks is par for the course.

[elff]

Tested out the Navigon software on my iPhone today.
I really like it.  It immediately gives you 3 options for the route and the route was a good route.

[Sly Bob]

This is the "free" option?

[elff]

Nope

But you can buy Navigon in different location packages for different prices.  Makes it pretty reasonable.

[Sly Bob]

I don't have a cell phone so I would have buy a smart phone as well but I wouldn't want to be tied into a contract anywhere so I would have to buy an unlocked one.

I wonder what an unlocked iPhone costs...

[DickW]

Unlocked IPhone 3G on e-bay for 259.00

[elff]

For these nav apps you want at least an iPhone 3GS.
The speed is significantly faster than a 3G