Durham GPS

Public transit routing

2010-02-15T14:27:00.002-05:00

If you go to Google maps, you can now get directions involving public transit in urban centres such as Toronto and Montreal. These routes will not only show the usual turn by turn directions with distance and projected time but some can also show the transit cost.
This kind of navigation assistance is now also available on your GPS. Garmin offers what they are calling cityXplorer™ Maps. These maps are down-loadable for a price starting at US$10 and include only one urban centre for each download. They cover cities mostly in North America and Europe. Only 2 cities in Brazil and one in the Middle East are covered at this time. Note that this will only add the pedestrian routing if you already have coverage for the city loaded on the unit.
Value for money? Perhaps if you don't already have coverage for the city or you definitely want to explore a city using transit.

Dual Numaps update

2009-07-06T21:11:00.005-05:00

I have commented on the numaps service before but wanted to specifically address the dual update option. When you consider the cost of doing updates it is a great deal to be able to update both the European and the North American maps for life for US$150. This is great for the units that come preloaded with the dual maps such as the Nuvi 370 but it also works on units to which you have added a different map by way of an SD card. Some of the customer service agents will tell you that you cannot use this map update option unless the dual maps are preloaded but don't believe them. It works best on models like the C340 but does require their assistance for models like the C550. Do not be goaded into purchasing separate numap updates as it costs significantly more to do that.

Garmin customer service

2009-07-06T21:00:00.004-05:00

I have often complimented Garmin for their customer service but lately my experience has been mixed. I had an issue that one customer service agent told me could not be resolved in the way that I was suggesting it could be done unless I spent mega dollars. I suggested that because it had been resolved on a previous occasion with a similar model unit. For some reason, this individual did not take the time and effort to really look at the facts that I had presented but instead choose to give a canned response.
Very disappointing. On the other hand my persistence paid off and on my second call to resolve the same issue (which proves that it sometimes just depends on who answers your call), the solution was provided within minutes. She even thanked me for my long standing loyalty to the brand based on the number of units that were registered in my name. My advice is when you are told no, just call back; chances are it won't be the same person and if you are lucky, the no will become yes.

Lifetime subscriptions

2009-02-28T07:31:00.003-05:00

It seems that Garmin has learned an important lesson about lifetime subscriptions from Navigon. Navigon introduced this concept with their traffic service more than a year ago. Now Garmin has come on board in providing it on all traffic service renewals. So for what used to be an annual $60 subscription that same $60 now provides you with the service for the lifetime of the antenna. I stress the antenna as the subscription is tied to the antenna and not the unit. This means that you can use the same antenna on a different device and still get the service.
Garmin has also introduced this concept to map updates as you can now purchase their nüMaps option which provides updates for the life of the unit. They also suggest that the updates will be more often (up to 4 times per year). The difference between the cost of a one time update and the lifetime subscription is negligible so clearly Garmin is prompting its customers to go in this direction. For us in the GPS rental business, this is a good thing as map updates are a significant hit to our bottom line but we must do them to ensure that our customers always have the most current information.

MSN Direct service on the Garmin C580

2008-10-11T11:16:00.003-05:00

The MSN Direct service has been active in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) for a while now as I previously blogged in July of o7. The service now does include traffic for this area which is great. The problem I am experiencing is the time it takes for the MSN receiver to acquire the signal and begin displaying any information. This may be due in part to where we are located out in Whitby. Even when we test the service closer to the GTA core, it still seems to be slow in recognising the signals. This is especially true if the unit has not been in use for a while.

It is still a great service and superior in terms of cost and content compared to the Clear Channel option using the GTM 20 traffic receiver. You are getting more relevant travel related data (traffic, weather, gas prices and movie show times) at a lower cost including an affordable lifetime subscription option. We hope that over time the annoying lag time flaw will be corrected.

Garmin Map Update 2009

2008-06-15T08:31:00.004-05:00

This latest North American map update from the good folks at Garmin is one of the best yet from a Canadian perspective. There were several inaccuracies from my vicinity in the east GTA which were missed on two previous updates that have been corrected on this one. It seems that they are incorporating more data from the locally based DMTI Spatial which is entirely focused on geocoding the Canadian landscape. Hats off to Garmin. Lets hope they will release a Mapsource MetroGuide Canada version 5 soon as the current version 4 has been around for a while.

CFRB appearance

2008-06-15T08:21:00.003-05:00

Marc Saltzman invited me on his technology show to talk about GPS on June 1 at CFRB. As usual it generated several calls to our office from his listeners. It was generally a good session and we got through more than we did on the last occasion when I was only on for about half of the show. Marc is a great host who knows his stuff in the technology world but without coming across as a "know it all".

You can hear the show from his blog at http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2008/06/techtalk-whats.html

Garmin Nuvi 670

2008-04-17T22:37:00.003-05:00

I just got one these units and I am impressed. It was a few dollars more than its cousin, the Nuvi 370 but it is well worth it for the additional features. The first obvious difference is the wider screen for those of us with less than perfect vision. It has all of the features of the 370 but also includes an FM transmitter. I must admit that getting the GPS directions from your FM radio will interfere with your radio listening so it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
Another perhaps minor improvement is that as soon as you disconnect the car adapter, it gives you the option to shut down immediately rather than waiting on a count down clock. Another fine product from the folks at Garmin.

Theft of GPS units on the rise

2008-03-02T07:41:00.003-05:00

This headline caught my eye because I have always cautioned my customers against leaving the GPS on the dashboard. Common sense would dictate that you should not leave any valuables in plain sight when you are away from the car. Part of the problem is the use of these suction cups mounts. I have always recommended dash mounts over suction cups. It is never as convenient to remove the unit from the windshield so most people will just leave it in place. With a dash mount you simply lift the device and put it away. You don't leave any tell tale ring marks on the windshield. Many times this is the visual clue that there is a GPS in the car which would encourage would be thieves to break in.
Two other reasons to use the dash mount. Here in Canada we have what I euphemistically call "weather issues". For reasons that I am sure the scientific minds will explain, the suction cup can fall off on cold days risking damage to the device. Secondly Minnesota and California do not allow anything to be put on the windshield which could potentially obstruct your vision.
Garmin has dash mounts for all of its units even though most are sold with a suction cup. There are third party dash mount solutions for the other GPS manufacturers. I urge not to use the suction cup.

Tomtom map fiasco

2008-01-21T18:04:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I related the big map update fiasco at Tom Tom which caused to me to completely abandon the brand. I assumed that they would have resolved the issue by now seeing that they acknowledged the problem when they refunded me for shipping. Well it seems that they learned nothing from the experience. My cousin bought a very pricey Tomtom so he could drive up from New York to my place in Whitby. To his dismay, he could not find my address. The whole subdivision was missing. This is a subdivision which has been in the Garmin database for at least 3 years. Bear in mind that a GO910 that I purchased back in March of last year had the subdivision and then the "update" did not. Which map update do you know has less current information than its predecessor? Here is my warning yet again; do not get sucked in by the hype. Tomtom is an inferior GPS.

GPS traffic service in the GTA

2007-12-14T04:59:00.000-05:00

The traffic service which is available on many GPS units has gotten a lot better for users of the service in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This is the case for those units receiving the signal from the Total Traffic Network provided by Clear Channel. The information is fairly current and comprehensive although it only covers the major arteries. The really big limitation is that they only broadcast 5am to 7pm Monday to Friday. I contacted Clear Channel and they have no plans to have 24x7 service in this market unless (they say) demand warrants it.
The good news is that Garmin has finally resolved the issue that they had with the C500 series with respect to the traffic service in the GTA. A recent software update available from their website makes the magic happen.

Navigon 5100

2007-11-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

We have been product testing the Navigon 5100 for about 2 weeks with a view to offering it as a rental unit. The major selling point was the traffic service at no additional cost. This compares to all of the other GPS manufacturers which charge at least US$60 per year. The other big surprise (according to their customer service) is that map updates will also be free. An update is due in January 2008 so that is eagerly anticipated. They also offer Zagat ratings of hotels and restaurants also at no extra cost.

The navigation features are similar to those available on higher end Garmin units such as "text to speech", small form factor which is useful for pedestrian trips and Sirf Star 3 GPS chip for quick satellite acquisition. Other notable features are the "photo realistic junction views", "lane assistant" and automatic speed warnings.

The quality of the traffic service has been the focus of our testing. So far although it has not been completely fault free, the service in the Greater Toronto Area has been surprisingly good even compared to Garmin's service. Both companies use the Clear Channel "Total Traffic Network" but Garmin has had issues with some of their models (any model using the GTM 20 antenna).

It is likely that the Navigon will be available for rental on our site soon. One issue is that it does use a suction cup mount which we generally avoid. We are searching for an after market dash mount.

Durham GPS on CFRB

2007-10-14T09:11:00.000-05:00

I did an appearance on CFRB's Tech Talk show on October 7. I have been on the show a few times before at the invitation of Marc Saltzman, the tech savvy host of the show. We hoped to update the audience on the newest features of GPS technology including real time traffic and Bluetooth. Since the introduction of real time traffic to Canada (Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal), I have been testing out the service. I warned Marc that I was not prepared to give it rave reviews yet as even Garmin admits that they have had some issues with introducing the service to the Canadian market.
Unfortunately we did not get a chance to review any of the newer features on the show as we ran out of time just dealing with the basics and taking a few calls. Marc the ever gracious host, promised to invite me back again so that we get around to those other things. CFRB is available on the AM band at 1010 and on the internet at www.cfrb.com. It is the biggest talk station in Canada.

Garmin C330/C530 map update issue

2007-09-15T16:31:00.000-05:00

There is a solution for updating the C330/C530 to the newest maps but it could be pricey. You can load the lower 48 states on the internal storage and then purchase the preloaded Canada maps on an SD card. Garmin was kind enough to ship cards for my C530's for free. I did not push for this solution on the C330's as the model is discontinued. I don't know if they will be as generous with everyone as I am one of their best customers considering the number of Garmin units I own.
Bottom line is that to use this solution you have to purchase the current North America map update DVD (US$70) along with a separate purchase for the Canada map (US$80). If Garmin did not send me the Canada map for free, I would have thought twice about doing the update.

Tomtom GO 910 with North American and European maps

2007-09-08T15:51:00.000-05:00

The Tomtom was sold. It is very unlikely that you will see Tomtom on the Durham GPS website anytime soon available for rental. There were just too many issues that made me uncomfortable offering it to my customers. Big disappointment for me since I had heard so much about this much vaunted GPS company. Garmin still remains the leader for me and apparently they are now the sales volume leader worldwide.

Garmin C330 map update issue

2007-09-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately the engineers at Garmin were not thinking ahead. Garmin just released their update for the North American maps. The problem is that some models like the C330 and C530 do not have enough on board memory to hold the update. You now must decide whether you want the lower 48 states or Canada but not both. This is a disaster for someone like me renting units to people travelling all over the place in North America. I will be looking at all my options including disposing of my current inventory of C330's.

MSN Direct service on the Garmin C580

2007-07-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

The MSN Direct service has been available in the GTA for the Smart Watch for some time. A few Garmin units including the C580 which I had a chance to "test drive" recently, provide some of the content here in the GTA. You will get local weather and movie show-times but unfortunately the local traffic and gas price features do not appear to be active at this time. It actually shows gas prices in nearby Buffalo and would probably also show traffic for that area if there were any issues.
I am hoping that they will finally introduce the traffic service here in the GTA but it seems to taking a while for implementation. I will eventually test drive this unit in an American city where the service is available so that I can compare it to the FM TMC service on the C550.

MapSource NT vs non-NT

2007-06-24T17:30:00.000-05:00

I discovered that there is a huge advantage in using the NT version of the City Navigator MapSource maps. For some reason, they are able to fit the same amount of map data into a smaller space. I needed to update the European maps to version 9 which now has expanded coverage into Eastern Europe. The original non-NT European maps needed more than 2 GB of space. This meant that the update would now require more storage than the cards which we were using on our units. The two choices were either to split the database into two parts and install the maps to separate cards or use a larger storage card. The second option was not available for the C330 which Garmin has advised can only handle up to 2 GB storage card.
I actually found a third option. The NT version of the City Navigator version 9 requires 1.4 GB of storage. It would cost another $300 to purchase this version but this was far less expensive when compared to purchasing additional cards. For anyone thinking of updating their maps, there is generally no price advantage to getting the non-NT maps. As long as your system is compatible with the NT version it just makes more sense.

Tomtom and public relations

2007-06-03T18:00:00.000-05:00

Tomtom finally responded to my request for refunding my shipping cost after almost a month. When you consider that the request is based on a colossal screw up with their map update, you would have thought that refunding shipping would be done with some dispatch. No; they need further evidence that I did incur this expense even though I already sent them the invoice from Canada Post. I understand the need for some documentation but now it almost seems that the onus is on the customer to show that the request for compensation is warranted. They have clearly made an error in offering an update which will need to be revised. A good "PR" gesture would be to settle at least the relatively minor request for shipping and even look at some other ways to show good faith to those affected by this issue.

Tomtom is not winning me over!

2007-05-21T12:43:00.000-05:00

Tomtom might have lots of fans in Europe but they are not winning me over. My rental client called me from Montreal to say that the unit would not turn on. I was not able to offer any suggestions but he took the initiative to check out some blogs online. He found out that there is a reset button which generally resolves this problem. Although resets are not uncommon in GPS receivers, the information he saw suggests that the Go910 is particularly prone to this problem.
I then found out that the car adapter does not charge the internal battery as it does on several Garmin units. If you plan to use the battery power for any length of time you must use the AC charger. I did not supply the AC charger to the renter on the assumption that the car adapter was sufficient having been accustomed to the Garmin approach. If you drain the battery, it apparently makes a reset necessary.

At this time I am unlikely to add any other Tomtom products to my rental pool.

First rental on the Go910

2007-05-18T21:09:00.000-05:00

After a rocky beginning with Tomtom, Durham GPS had its first rental of the brand today. I look forward to the feedback which I always get from clients-whether positive or negative. I admit to to having some misgivings but that may be that I am using the Garmin brand as the yardstick. Tomtom has been advertising heavily on Talk640 recently and claim to be the biggest in the GPS business.
I still await some resolution of my claim for expenses as a result of the map snafu. Lets see if they come through and restore my faith in their company.

Tomtom 910 map update-Part 2

2007-05-05T12:51:00.000-05:00

I just received the unit back from Tomtom after they reloaded the original maps. As expected the, detail that I had on the older version was now back. They cannot explain how an updated map ends up with less detail than the previous version. I spent some time on the phone with their customer service and told them them how unhappy I was with this especially since I paid the shipping for the update and also paid the freight to have the unit returned to them to reload the maps. They have promised a refund of those costs but I also expect that they will investigate how this could have happened as I suspect that there are other Canadian customers who may have the same issue. Since they are claiming that the update has so much more information than the previous version, I must conclude that they must be referring to the US maps.
Lets see if there is a response from them.

Tomtom 910 map update

2007-04-21T18:09:00.000-05:00

I recently received the map update for the North American map on the Go 910 which I acquired in March of of this year. To my surprise, some of the detail that I had prior to the update was lost. This included my own street in Whitby. I spoke to Tomtom tech support and they are just as surprised. The only thing they could offer was to have the previous maps re-installed but it required me sending the unit back to them in the USA. Needless to say this was a huge disappointment and Tomtom can expect to hear from me by way of a formal complaint. Lets see how customer service oriented they really are.

Garmin comes through again

2007-04-06T07:31:00.000-05:00

One of my iQue 3600's was not holding the charge so I got an RMA from Garmin for their local repair centre in Quebec. Sent it off for repair and got a replacement unit which sadly was no better than the one I sent. Got on the phone with Garmin and told them that I would prefer to send it directly to them regardless of the extra shipping cost and possible duty. They gave me a new RMA and today I received my new replacement unit from them with a new charger thrown in for good measure. Garmin's customer service is A1. I don't mind paying a premium price for a premium product especially when it is backed up by premium service. There are several new players in the GPS market. I have yet to find one with the after market support that Garmin provides.

Dashboard Mounts

2007-04-01T17:39:00.000-05:00

My friend in Atlanta just bought a Garmin SreetPilot C330. This unit has come down in price but is still a great unit. I recommended that she get the dash board mount for the C330 which I think is a much better alternative to the windshield mount. At Durham GPS, all our rental units except the TomTom are supplied with a dashboard mount. They are very stable and easier to remove. In colder climates like we have here in Canada for half the year, dash mounts can fall off and potentially damage the unit. There is also the issue of safety. There are 2 states in the USA that do not permit anything to placed on the windshield because of safety concerns.
If anyone knows of a dash mount for the TomTom, please leave me a suggestion.

Tomtom Go 910 and customer service

2007-03-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

I bought this unit after my disappointment with the Magellan 6000T. There were some pleasant surprises. I made my first call to Tomtom customer service today. I was talking to someone in less than 5 minutes and the person was actually quite helpful. I compare that to my experience with Mio when I decided to try out their low cost 310s. I sat on the phone for 30 minutes and was put back on hold after someone spoke to me for about 60 seconds.
I have had to make a few more calls to their customer service since then to get clarification on some features and the responses have been quite satisfactory. They do need to work on a few things which I will go into more detail on in a future post.

Magellan 6000T

2007-03-19T21:09:00.000-05:00

I was looking forward to testing out the traffic feature on this unit because this was the first one to offer traffic data for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). I had been waiting months for my favorite manufacturer Garmin to introduce the service here. Their original target (according to Clear Channel that provide the service on behalf of Garmin) was end of December 2006 for Toronto and Montreal. They provide the service for several major cities in the USA. After hearing that the date was pushed back to May 2007, I started looking at alternatives and Magellan seemed to be that alternative. I took it for a spin on my trip to Atlanta. Here is my feedback:
I could not get the Bluetooth to work consistently. The Garmin STP 550 offers Bluetooth and it works brilliantly. Magellan (and this is the case for the Roadmate 700/760) is a bit chatty as you go along the 401. It insists on announcing that you should keep left at every exit to the collector lanes. I have yet to see the traffic alerts at work but I noticed that the reception seemed to be very inconsistent even in areas where you would have expected strong service. The interface and buttons are not as intuitive as on most Garmin models which was my biggest concern.
Final decision; return the unit. I have opted for my first Tomtom. I will review the Go 910 in my next post but so far so good except for some glaring shortcomings.

Durham GPS on CFRB

2007-03-11T22:44:00.000-05:00

I did my third interview on CFRB with Marc Saltzman's Tech Talk show on March 11. It is clear that compared to each of the previous two appearances, people are beginning to catch on to the technology and from the questions, the awareness that has been sparked is leading people to sit up and pay more attention. My first appearance was in November of 2005 and most people that called then were clearly hearing about GPS for the first time. Now they are asking about specific issues and features that have been bringing the technology more into the mainstream such as traffic information and Bluetooth functionality.
The affordability of some of the newer units as well as the wider range of choice of manufacturers is making ownership seem within reach of many average consumers so it was important to make the case for rental. This will be addressed in more detail in future posts but it was Marc that pointed out that just the cost and availability of map updates may be a good reason to rent at least for now.
I hope to be invited back later this year as I am sure that my favorite manufacturer Garmin will have introduced something new and exciting to the market by then.

Durham GPS

2007-03-11T17:34:00.000-05:00

This blog will discuss GPS technology and products. I run a GPS rental company in Ontario Canada. You can check out the website over at www.durhamgps.com. Over the past two years, I have accumulated some experience with various companies and their products. This blog will relate some of those experiences and offer some opinions.