1. Allan in T.Dot's Avatar
    Hi all,

    I'm here to rant a bit about this new BB Traffic in conjunction with TomTom. I wrote a thread asking users if they were experiencing the same problems (http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...oblems-749230/). Now I've actually just figured out what this entire mess is about. Here's your test, if you have a TomTom GPS, run both BB Traffic and TomTom GPS at the same time. They will probably give you the exact same route with similar traffic conditions. I'm pretty sure TomTom doesn't use real-time traffic as BB Traffic did before. Am I correct? Check with Google Maps with the traffic layer on and see what the traffic conditions are like. The same route has a whole bunch of red on it right. That actually explains a lot of problems I was experiencing before as noted in my post.

    My experience with the TomTom GPS is that it's essentially a speaking map. It just tells you how to get from point A to B with traffic based on 'history'. Last time I checked, traffic was a dynamic beast that kept on changing, especially here in Toronto.

    So here I am...20 minutes early for work than my usual time my reason because I decided to figure out my own rout. And I am seriously pissed off at BB Traffic. This new 'partnership'....actually has degraded BB in a whole new way where I am utterly disappointed.

    Come on...someone run this test and let me know if you are experiencing the exact same thing. I returned to a BlackBerry experience because it had great features that kept me highly efficient. But now I've noticed some serious deficiencies with these new services and am greatly annoyed. Anyone....someone, please tell me I'm just wrong and back it up. But if I'm right...heads up...there's to pay.
    10-19-12 07:59 AM
  2. kbz1960's Avatar
    I don't use it but didn't they just announce a partnership not long ago?
    10-19-12 08:06 AM
  3. sk8er_tor's Avatar
    Tom Tom does in fact use live traffic updates. I think you need to give it more than just one day to figure out how it's working and that's assuming they've transitioned to Tom Tom for BB Traffic.
    flyingsolid likes this.
    10-19-12 08:36 AM
  4. Gees97's Avatar
    Lol your rantin about something that's free? Get a garmin if you want a working GPS
    10-19-12 10:46 AM
  5. southlander's Avatar
    Seems ok here in North Carolina, USA.

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk
    10-19-12 10:58 AM
  6. skyrocket9's Avatar
    Works fine for me very accurate!

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    10-19-12 01:33 PM
  7. Icarus3000's Avatar
    @Allan - I think you might be on to something.

    I'm in Toronto as well.

    I have always found BB Traffic to be very reliable with quick live traffic updates. Then it stopped working for me completely for about a week.

    Now it is working again, but the traffic reporting seems to be off. It normally takes me 35-40 minutes to drive to work, but this morning BB Traffic reported no traffic along the usual route (during rush hour!) and predicted I could make the trip in 23 minutes. Unless the whole city was on strike and nobody told me, I knew that was impossible.
    kozmo68 likes this.
    10-19-12 03:22 PM
  8. blackmoe's Avatar
    The only quirk I've noticed is that the distance to the next turn will sometimes greatly differ between the screen and the spoken announcement. For instance the screen will say 350m (metric) to the next turn while simultaneously announcing 150m.
    10-19-12 03:56 PM
  9. FBA's Avatar
    Traffic reporting in Canada, even on a Garmin GPS (Non HD-Traffic) is poor at best. It is much more precise in the US, where it has been around for quite a bit longer. Your BB traffic will continue to suck for quite sometime, until they forge a partnership with Garmin or Navteq and move to HD traffic, which may be a long time until you see it in all major cities, in Canada. TomTom is NOT known for good traffic reporting.
    10-19-12 04:05 PM
  10. Icarus3000's Avatar
    Traffic reporting in Canada, even on a Garmin GPS (Non HD-Traffic) is poor at best. It is much more precise in the US, where it has been around for quite a bit longer. Your BB traffic will continue to suck for quite sometime, until they forge a partnership with Garmin or Navteq and move to HD traffic, which may be a long time until you see it in all major cities, in Canada. TomTom is NOT known for good traffic reporting.
    Maybe,,, but I found the traffic from BB Traffic to be fairly accurate in Toronto previously.
    10-19-12 06:16 PM
  11. tekware's Avatar
    I have a Garmin, and I love it, but if you want useful traffic (I have lifetime on Garmin) in Toronto, Garmin doesn't cut it. At best it could be described as somewhat useful, and only between 9am to 5pm Mon to Fri.

    I've always used my Garmin in conjunction with my 9900 and BB Traffic. BB Traffic was ALWAYS more updated and accurate when it came to traffic. Any move away from that would not make me happy. I was both curious and pissed off earlier this week, when BB Traffic just kept coming up with network errors and just sat there.
    10-20-12 12:31 PM
  12. mhw100's Avatar
    I do hope they get this sorted-its been great up until now.
    10-21-12 01:01 AM
  13. Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes's Avatar
    Tom tom uses live traffic on their gps's. I dont suggest taking dvp or gardiner.
    10-22-12 12:49 AM
  14. kozmo68's Avatar
    I've also seen a definite slip in traffic accuracy since last weeks little outage.

    BB traffic is one, if not the most used app I have because of just how accurate the traffic reporting seemed to be. I rarely use the turn by turn commands because it's all about the traffic reporting for me... No matter where I'm going, I always turn it on even before I get in to my car. Nothing like getting a better sense of how the traffic is and how long its going to take before getting on the roads. It's become such a habit that I even turn it on when traveling with others.

    I live in the GTA and up till now it's always been extremely accurate, but that seems to all be changing... Saturday morning I had to re-route myself because it didn't indicate road closers, thankfully I had plenty of time to get where I was going. And this morning I took a different route (full of traffic) thanks to BB traffic telling me that everything was clear and free. Not so lucky on arriving in time this morning..... If this keeps up I'm going to have to resort to using google maps or even pulling out my Garmin every time I'm going some where.. I hope RIM can fix what ever the issues are causing BB traffic such in accuracies because for me, BB traffic was ultra convenient and totally awesome. Going back to GPS, not so much!
    10-22-12 01:29 PM
  15. Icarus3000's Avatar
    My disappointment continues as BB Traffic went from being a very useful app, to a barely usable app (in Toronto).

    This morning I was late for a meeting near the Eaton Centre, as it (a) informed me the traffic was "green" when it fact it was bumper to bumper, (b) tried to route me through a street that was closed to traffic due to construction, and (c) tried to convince me the Eaton Centre was about 4 km west of where it actually is... (If you are near downtown Toronto, you can try this yourself - search for "Eaton Centre" and select "Joey's Eaton Centre" - I think it's at 1 Dundas West. Not sure where it was actually trying to send me, as I shut it down when I realized something was way off with the directions).

    BB Traffic was honestly one of the reasons I have held on to my (now somewhat long in the tooth) 9700, but it's really starting to P*$$ me off too...
    10-22-12 01:40 PM
  16. mscrivo's Avatar
    Add another disappointed user to your list. I've been using BB Traffic ever since it came out, and for the last year or so, it's been amazing. I can easily say, it's become the single most important app for me and has been a huge time saver. Now, after last week's outage and it coming back online, the traffic has been nowhere near accurate, in fact, it's worth than inaccurate and would probably be better if I didn't use it at all now. Really sad, I don't know what they've done, but it's a huge step backwards.
    10-22-12 01:41 PM
  17. davisgq's Avatar
    Add another disappointed user to your list. I've been using BB Traffic ever since it came out, and for the last year or so, it's been amazing. I can easily say, it's become the single most important app for me and has been a huge time saver. Now, after last week's outage and it coming back online, the traffic has been nowhere near accurate, in fact, it's worth than inaccurate and would probably be better if I didn't use it at all now. Really sad, I don't know what they've done, but it's a huge step backwards.
    I have to agree as well. This past Sunday I did a test route to my local sporting goods store using BB Traffic. Luckily I knew the general area. It told me to take a right on the road when the sporting goods store was actually on the left. When it tried to re-calculate, it got confused and told me to do a U-turn. I was like, what?! I'm already at the store... I don't know what they did to the app to screw it up, but hopefully it's quickly fixed.

    Reminds me of the episode of "The Office" (US) when Michael and Dwight are relying on GPS and it takes Michael into the lake despite Dwight's warning that they were heading to the lake. Of course Michael relies on and follows GPS and they truly end up IN the lake. I don't carry paper maps anymore, but I keep google maps on my Bold as well as my Garmin GPS and a keen sense of direction. If push comes to shove, I pull up Mapquest on my Bold, but BB Traffic will never replace my Garmin. At least not right away.
    10-22-12 02:42 PM
  18. Allan in T.Dot's Avatar
    Hi folks,

    Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. I must admit, aside from mail (I don't even use BBM that much), this is the most important app that I've got. This problem must be a Toronto thing. Mind you...now that I think about it, going an avg of 20 KPH on Hwy 401 during rush hour would count as green because that is the norm right? LOL. I'm not going crazy, but I am disappointed.
    kozmo68 likes this.
    10-22-12 03:04 PM
  19. kozmo68's Avatar
    Hi folks,

    Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. I must admit, aside from mail (I don't even use BBM that much), this is the most important app that I've got. This problem must be a Toronto thing. Mind you...now that I think about it, going an avg of 20 KPH on Hwy 401 during rush hour would count as green because that is the norm right? LOL. I'm not going crazy, but I am disappointed.
    20 Km on the 401 is definitely a plus at best of times...
    10-22-12 03:42 PM
  20. crack_me_up's Avatar
    I searched this thread for the same reasons. Loved BB Traffic before and recommended it many times. Now it's only useful if I need directions. I am experiencing the same inaccurate traffic flow issues but additionally, it's no longer recommending routes I used to take before the "change". Many times a route using the 407 would be more kms away but faster during the evening rush hour. Worth the extra $ and kms for a nicer drive and significant time savings. Now it never recommends that route (and no, my settings are not set to avoid tolls). I'm so bummed this app is no longer working properly. I don't want another gadget in my car!
    10-22-12 10:35 PM
  21. Hypnoboy's Avatar
    I'm in Los Angeles, and I can confirm that my BBT app is now kind of useless. I used the app, as usual, for all three of the places that I went today, and it didn't have ANYWHERE near the right information. Now I can see that sometimes things might be a bit off due to a VERY recent incident on the road, but when I've been in a slowdown for 30 minutes, I expect an update. Heck, it USED to update me INSTANTLY.

    For the record, I do Real Estate Photography. I'm EVERYWHERE in Los Angeles and Orange County. I used this app EVERY DAY since it came out. so this is KILLING me.
    flyingsolid likes this.
    10-22-12 11:02 PM
  22. Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes's Avatar
    take the 407
    10-22-12 11:09 PM
  23. Matt J's Avatar
    I live in Toronto and have recently noticed that BB Traffic is both unreliable and inaccurate. If it manages to connect to the server, it gives very odd traffic conditions. It showed the 407 as highly congested the other day... I didn't believe it, and check the radio which indicated no problems.... so I just sailed through it with not traffic! The app is useless lately.
    10-23-12 04:27 AM
  24. Phaethonas's Avatar
    Where i live, we pay 20 euros for BB Services alone and BB Traffic is non existent.
    10-23-12 04:45 AM
  25. mscrivo's Avatar
    We need to figure out who to contact to get an explanation of what happened and how to reverse this mess. This app was so amazingly helpful that I now feel lost on my morning and evening commutes. Luckily I learned most of the good routes BB Traffic used to find for me when the highway was clogged, but it sucks not knowing which of those routes is less congested.

    This was really the last good thing keeping me on blackberry, and the only thing that made the wait for BB10 a little more bearable. Now that it's gone, I suddenly feel the urge to switch devices.
    Icarus3000 and flyingsolid like this.
    10-23-12 10:13 AM
45 12

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