Bought my first ever GPS from Target.... a TomTom
XL340S for $97.

I drove from Texas to Missouri while using it and the
maps were severely out of date!

This got me to thinking if GPS that is based on
cellphones system a better idea whereby the maps can be
loaded ON THE FLY from nearby towers such that only the
maps needed are being used and the maps are always up
to date!?

What do you think? Keep my TomTom or get maps on my
cellphone?

(E-Mail Removed) said this on 11/29/2009 2:27 PM:
> Bought my first ever GPS from Target.... a TomTom
> XL340S for $97.
>
> I drove from Texas to Missouri while using it and the
> maps were severely out of date!
>
> This got me to thinking if GPS that is based on
> cellphones system a better idea whereby the maps can be
> loaded ON THE FLY from nearby towers such that only the
> maps needed are being used and the maps are always up
> to date!?
>
> What do you think? Keep my TomTom or get maps on my
> cellphone?

I'll be interested to see what other responses, but I just got a 330s
this week and as much as I went on line and updated and received 3
updates, the shopping center about 2 years old across the street is not
on the map.
Now, not to bad mouth tom tom, I checked google, yahoo, and mapquest and
all 3 of them didn't have it either. As a matter of fact only google
had the land plowed, the others were back in the days when it was forest.
Another user on a forum made a comment that most maps are horribly
behind on updates. As much as 3 years. Of course that was his opinion.

My daughter has an Iphone and she just looked up the Walmart over there
and its mapped for her with the google maps application for iphone.
Its not the same map as I get on the internet with IE. So they are
doing something diff. *Note this is just one road. I'm not trying
to say that all maps errors are going to be this way*.

Big_Al wrote:
>
> My daughter has an Iphone and she just looked up the Walmart over there
> and its mapped for her with the google maps application for iphone. Its
> not the same map as I get on the internet with IE. So they are doing
> something diff. *Note this is just one road. I'm not trying to say
> that all maps errors are going to be this way*.

It's a problem with all the mapmakers. The update cycle depends on where
the update relates to, how densely populated the area is, and when the
last survey plane flew over. My experience in various bits of Europe
suggests an update lag of between 3 months and 3 years. Minor things
like speed limit changes are picked up more or less at random, depending
on whether anybody's used the map sharing facilities to update them, and
whether they've been verified.

Then there's the licencing agreement between the unit makers and the
mapmakers, which can dictate a particular update cycle.

Just my two penn'orth.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> Bought my first ever GPS from Target....
> a TomTom XL340S for $97.

> I drove from Texas to Missouri while using it
> and the maps were severely out of date!

Thats unlikely. Give some examples of what you believe is severely out of date.

> This got me to thinking if GPS that is based on cellphones
> system a better idea whereby the maps can be loaded ON
> THE FLY from nearby towers such that only the maps needed
> are being used and the maps are always up to date!?

Thats there right now with the high end cellphones like the Nokia N96 etc.

And you can use google on a cellphone too.

> What do you think? Keep my TomTom

Yes, work out why you believe its severely out of date, thats very unlikely.

> or get maps on my cellphone?

You wont do that for $97

"Rod Speed" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>> or get maps on my cellphone?
>
>You wont do that for $97

True Rod...... and something I thought abt.

I needed to go from Tyler Texas to Paris Texas and it
didn't know Hwy 271 existed and tried to take me
another route way out of way

I may stick with a dedicated GPS rather than cell phone
based.... but notice Garmin has a model out called Nuvi
500 that is good for car AND bicycling and hiking and
may trade for that model. That way I could get more use
out of a GPS since I only take driving trips once or
twice a year

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
"Rod Speed" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>> or get maps on my cellphone?
>
>You wont do that for $97

True Rod...... and something I thought abt.

I needed to go from Tyler Texas to Paris Texas and it
didn't know Hwy 271 existed and tried to take me
another route way out of way

I may stick with a dedicated GPS rather than cell phone
based.... but notice Garmin has a model out called Nuvi
500 that is good for car AND bicycling and hiking and
may trade for that model. That way I could get more use
out of a GPS since I only take driving trips once or
twice a year

***

Try putting Gilmer or Mt Pleasant in as a waypoint so it will force the GPS
to go that way. According to Google, Hwy 271 is not the shortest, and if
you have your GPS set to 'alway go the shortest way' you will get the other
route through Paris which is 17 miles shorter than via 271.

Enter this search into Google maps:
tyler to paris TX, USA

I've got the same unit and soon found out this trick to force the route you
want.

Cheers,
Larry

On Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:17:53 -0600, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> "Rod Speed" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>> or get maps on my cellphone?
>>
>> You wont do that for $97
>
> True Rod...... and something I thought abt.
>
> I needed to go from Tyler Texas to Paris Texas and it
> didn't know Hwy 271 existed and tried to take me
> another route way out of way

Any possibility you are misreading the situation? My TomTom knows all
about US271 but it still chooses to route to Paris over US69 and then TX19.
I note that Mapquest and AAA TripTik also both know about US271 also they
still agree on the same choice of route as TomTom.

Maybe this is a conspiracy where the operator of some gas station,
luncheonette or giant plastic dinosaur etc. has bribed everyone to take
motorists over a worse route. Or else they all noticed that US271 takes
you way off to the East and over a longer (in miles and hours) journey.

Tony

"Larry" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Enter this search into Google maps:
> tyler to paris TX, USA
>
>I've got the same unit and soon found out this trick to force the route you
>want.

OK I stand corrected!

I obviously don't know how to fully use my GPS yet!

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
"Larry" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Enter this search into Google maps:
> tyler to paris TX, USA
>
>I've got the same unit and soon found out this trick to force the route you
>want.

OK I stand corrected!

I obviously don't know how to fully use my GPS yet!
***


No problem. After you have gotten used to it, you will be amazed just what
it will do.

Fairly steep learning curve if you want to use all the features but not too
bad. Make sure to download 'TomTom Home' from their website. You can do
automatic updates and the user map updates etc.
http://www.tomtom.com/services/service.php?id=16&tab=87

Cheers,
Larry
Australia

(E-Mail Removed) wrote
> Rod Speed <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote

>>> or get maps on my cellphone?

>> You wont do that for $97

> True Rod...... and something I thought abt.

> I needed to go from Tyler Texas to Paris Texas
> and it didn't know Hwy 271 existed

Thats a very indirect way of doing that route.

Did you ask it to do an alternative route until it included that highway ?

> and tried to take me another route way out of way

How did it go compared with the google.maps route ?

> I may stick with a dedicated GPS rather than cell phone
> based.... but notice Garmin has a model out called Nuvi
> 500 that is good for car AND bicycling and hiking

Most of the Tomtoms will do that too.

> and may trade for that model. That way I could get more use
> out of a GPS since I only take driving trips once or twice a year

Yeah, that would certainly be useful.