Cafe Chat Discussion
Anonymous
Posted on:
25th May 2007 02:44pm
Last Post 28th Mar 2010
Replies 228Discussion: Satelite navigation systems. will they take off?
Satellite navigation is one of the fastest growing markets in the world, and with a wealth of devices on offer from various manufacturers. Some can be fitted or come installed in your car, others are handheld devices. Will it take off in Australia/NZ in a big way? Prices for an entry level in-car or handheld system come in around $500 AUD.
I guess it comes down to how often you drive and need directions? Does messing around with a street directory every now and again create the urge to go out and spend $500 on one of these devices?
The jury is out with me and even if I had one I am unsure just how much I would use it.
Do you have any experience of using one of these? Share your thoughts on the subject please.- dangerous dave
Posted on:
28th May 2007 01:36pmdangerous dave says: I think they will take off, more and more car manufactures are starting to include some sort of nav system in there cars. I've used them a few times and thought they were great, really handy when you've got no idea where your going. Not too sure if I'd spend $500 on one though, I don't need them that much.
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twadles
Posted on:
26th Feb 2009 08:20pmdangerous dave says: I think they will take off, more and more car manufactures are starting to include some sort of nav system in there cars. I've used them a few times and thought they were great, really handy when you've got no idea where your going. Not too sure if I'd spend $500 on one though, I don't need them that much.
twadles says: yes in a big way these items are now the in thing with the work i do and have done so for the last 39 years in heavy vechicle transport travelling in every state of australia, even though i have extensive movements in all states i still can get lost or i have to refere myself to a street directory for that tiny lane not found on the usual maps that we carry. We as a professional Drivers must go with satalight-nav-systems, they are the elite operators guide for the future in all trucks travelling our highways now and in the future, you will see nav-sat systems grow very big in size to accomodate for heavy vechicle operations in-built to their dash or added to roof consoles for easy veiwing by the operater , also larger screen size and versatility for the impaired will also make a move in the same direction as nat-sat systems are further designed as early as 2010, hoping conitinued price reductions keep it affordable for all to use , this is an exciting product now showing its true colours and openings into the cell phone market as well with many more applications to come, good on those in the market for a top product , show us more .
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Posted on:
28th May 2007 01:48pmsays: I doubt if they would be used much - except perhaps in hire cars for tourists - especially at he cost of $500.00
- Gray
Posted on:
28th May 2007 01:59pmGray says: I just bought the latest Nokia N95 and it came with GPS navigation. Have used it already to get around my own city (Adelaide) as the maps included are detailed enough. The phone also came with maps of Asia, and I go to Thailand twice a year so that's great too. Basically, this technology will boom for sure and soon I'm sure everyone will have access (cheaper and cheaper) in one way or another. The voice directions are a great additional featuire which I'm sure will help with the popularity - another back seat driver!
- shellypelly86
Posted on:
28th May 2007 04:46pmshellypelly86 says: These devices are booming. I haven't used one personally but they would be very helpful with travelling around cities in surburbs that you haven't visited before like in suburbs of Brisbane. It would be much easier than going onto the internet and looking up maps and driections on sites like whereis.com or googlemaps. It would save on having to print out maps from the web and refering to a referdex also to understand how you get somewhere you haven't been before. You would be able to look and hear where to go in one device.
- Jacob971
Posted on:
28th May 2007 10:15pmJacob971 says: Some people might get them for fun. However, I pretty much know all the streets in my city by now, they are only really essential if travelling in foreign territory for the first time.
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Posted on:
29th May 2007 06:15pmsays: I have a sat nav in the car and have found it incredibly useful; especially for finding my way around Auckland on several ocasions. I don't use it much in my home city, but away from home its great and is a real time and stress saver.
- jacki
Posted on:
29th May 2007 06:19pmjacki says: i recently purchased a tomtom 710 and found it so far ,fantastic the tomtom so far a found no problem with it and with he hands free part for the mobile it;s become a very useful gadget to have.
- solstice
Posted on:
12th Jun 2009 03:14pmjacki says: i recently purchased a tomtom 710 and found it so far ,fantastic the tomtom so far a found no problem with it and with he hands free part for the mobile it;s become a very useful gadget to have.
solstice says: I have Tom Tom on my mobile and found it very useful on a recent east coast of Australia trip with so many new roads and ways to get from point A to B without needing the street directory it was great however, living where we do there are not that many roads so its useless for home area use.
- veegeeute
Posted on:
29th May 2007 06:55pmveegeeute says: As a gadget I think they are selling well but they have some major bugs to work out before I will fork out the 500 to 900 dollars to buy a decent Nav system.
I've had hire cars interstate that came with Satnav and it was somewhat handy to look places up but I can also do this with Google maps on my N70, and I found that the incar units often had incorrect info or were way too late with the instructions.
I recently had a good look at a number of brands at my local autobarn as they had a great cross section including TomTom and Garmin units but the big failing IMHO was the poor quality maps supplied.
When I pointed this out to the salesguy he told me of the premium quality maps from Whereis and grabbed a 900 dollar unit to show me, I chose a street which it found but it didnt show the whole street nor did it have its condition or paving type right, I then chose 3 other locations which it had great difficulty finding or had the wrong data on including areas within a few state forests and national parks not to mention their alignment to the points of the compass.
I then grabbed my Melway street directory from the car and found all the info just fine and pointed out the differences in quality of mapping between the 2 as well as the almost total lack of topical information on the premium maps on the "Satnav" unit.
Dont get me wrong here, the units I looked at were excellent but the mapping available for Australia lets them down and when it improves I will probably buy one however I just cant see any real benefit the way they are now. Melways has spoilt me lol.
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