[mstr_pixel]

I downloaded the Garmin Mobile trial Monday and now that I've been using it a few days I wanted to share my experience and see how others are doing with it.

I was very excited to try Garmin Mobile on my Storm. I waited to download the trial until I felt it was a time that I'd really have a chance to try it out. I downloaded over the air. I had no problems downloading and installing and it appears to have no compatibility problems.

It looks good on the Storm and the audio is fine. The problems is that the directions it gives are awful. It has told me to turn the wrong direction on several occasions. It has taken me way out of the way. Its told me to turn onto roads that weren't there.

The voice directions told me to to .3 miles and turn right when actually it was 5.3 miles and turn left. This happed twice.

On the first day of my trial it told me to turn onto road A and go 1.3 miles and turn right. I thought 1.3 miles was a little long and on the screen the name of the street it was telling me to turn onto was road C. I needed to turn onto road B before getting to road C but there was no mention of road B. It treated road A and B as if they were one road. To make matters worse, as I mentioned earlier in this paragraph, that it told me to turn right after going 1.3 miles when actually I needed to turn left. In all fairness when I actually arrived at road C it did tell me to turn left.

Yesterday I used it to get to a location that I was generally familiar with but I wasn't exactly sure where the final distination was. The directions it was giving me were taking me so far out of the way that I finally gave up and used Blackberry Maps.

I'm very disappointed. I thought this was a great idea to be able to use my phone as a gps in my car and for text to voice directoins its not a bad price. It just seems like there's a crazy person in my phone trying to get me lost.

[debbiep]

Used it while in Maui over the holidays and thought it was fine but can never replace the original Garmins out there. Plan on using the Garmin on my Storm while walking in big cities and for quickly finding something to eat, easy directions.
Just not as good as the 'big boys'.

[Miggwilson]

I wonder if VZ Navigator is any better?

[Ultrafied]

That is Garmin. I have had Garmin do this to me not only on the Storm, but on my Nuvi 200W a few times. This has been one of the reasons I like VzW. Pay a little more, get a little more IMO.

[oldblackbeard]

Im on the 7 day trial and the software is awesome but the directions are not very accurate. Although nothing is worse than VZ Nav. Please just let us use Google Maps!

[mustang02]

I wonder if VZ Navigator is any better?

The directions are correct. I used it this summer while traveling to Myrtle Beach. It told me exactly turn by turn where to go from Charlotte. I've never tried the Garmin product, I also don't feel like paying $10 bucks a month for VZNavigator. In an emergency, like mine, I downloaded it and it worked.

[Randy Sr]

I had Garmin mobile for my Motorola Q. I was a bit disappointed. It got me lost on a trip from Boston, having me turn into Hartford CT then basically leaving me there as it tried to recalculate the route which seemed to take forever. Luckily I had a portable GPS unit along with me which I booted up and it got me on the right route before the Garmin rerouted. The verbal directions would cut off near the end of the sentence and I had to hit the "talk" button to have the audio replay. Didn't know if it was a Garmin issue or a Motorola Q issue.

Since buying the Storm, I have been using the VZ Navigator and while I'm not crazy about spending $10 a month for it either, it is flawless. The verbal directions given are in plenty of time to make the turns. It recalculates routes quickly and I especially like the ability to avoid certain roads or delays, a feature that I never really saw with the Garmin. The updated traffic on the VZ Navigator is also a nice feature. Another nice feature of VZ Navigator is it's ability to update constantly, whereas on other GPS systems..updates are going to cost you $$$. My son for instance has a portable GPS and a map update CD for his system was $60.

[onlineaddy]

You should report navigation errors to Garmin or Navteq. That would help improve the product.

[iso100]

I actually purchased Garmin while waiting for TeleNav to come out with a Storm version. Garmin is much better than the horrid VZ Navigator, but TeleNav blows both of them away. I would strongly suggest TeleNav as they have a $10/mo subscription option just like VZW but every feature is better.

[Thalinor]

It’s all a matter of personal preference. I don’t use VZW Navigator, but I have heard good things. The $10 is outrageous IMO. This is the same problem I have with this Garmin app.

Blackberry maps is free and works as a basic no frills GPS, with basic point to point navigating. It does not have auto rerouting or a POI database. It can save favorites and allows you to set a home and work locations. When finding directions, you need to put both a start and end point. They have made the start point easier by putting in a “my location” option but it’s still an extra step over conventional GPS’s which just route from your current location in less you tell it otherwise. Location is fairly accurate and its shows you how many satellites are connected. Moderate lag in scrolling around the map depending on cell signal, because it downloads maps from an online service.

Google maps is free as well and has a more options then blackberry maps. You can get satellite images, POI’s, street view, etc. I have found it faster to start then BB maps but slower to scroll around maps as there is more data to download then with BB maps. Keep this in mind if you have a limited data plan. I found on average Google maps was downloading 200k per ~10 miles of maps. If you scroll around a large area a lot you will find you have downloaded a MB of data very quickly. For those of us on an unlimited plan, its not a real worry.

One annoying thing I found was that it does not show how many satellites you are connected to or if you are even connected at all. The size of the accuracy ring is a good indication if you are connected, but I would like to see a connection status screen added. Google maps is more aesthetically pleasing the BB maps on all levels and looks more refined. It has a traffic feature and favorites, but no separate home and work waypoints. Directions can be set up for driving or walking. Like BB maps, you have to input both starting and ending locations with a “current location” option for the starting point. With Google maps however, the current location is default for the starting point which makes it easier then BB maps which requires you to pick that option every time you want directions. I cannot comment on Googles ability to reroute or how the directions work as I have not had a chance to use it for directions yet.

Personally, I have a Pioneer GPS built into my car, a second backup Garmin for driving and a Hiking Garmin for the woods. My cell phone would be a last resort as a GPS. I can see it being useful if I spent a lot of time in a major city; which I do not. I will probably not be using the GPS on the phone much [therefore would be pointless to pay for it] but am happy Verizon did not lock it down.

[thunder88]

hm. thats rather disappointing... with the quality of the stand alone garmin GPS units i would have thought their application would be awesome. oh well.. can't win em all i guess. thanks for the review!

[greydarrah]

I love the Garmin app. I've been using it for about a month now and have never gotten bad directions. Maybe some areas are not mapped out as well??? I agree with an earlier poster that said you should report any bad directions to Garmin. It's the only way it will get fixed. At a one time cost of $80, it's a lot cheaper than VZN as well. $10 per month is a total rip off for all the money we are already paying VZW.

Grey

[Robotpedlr]

I also use the Garmin Storm app and love it. No bad directions for me either. I think there are only like 2 companies that do the actual mapping..so if you live in an area that is not well "mapped out" all those that use that brand of map are probably going to be wrong. But for the majority of us, it should work great.

[rshrimp]

I have been using VZN for over a year. I travel all over the US and use rental cars. (30-40 weeks a year) GPS technology is the best thing that has happened to me since the laptop.
I dont use it to find my way home from the office.
VZN gets me there every time!
It does have it's querks and on occasion it will tell you to take an exit and tell you to go straight and right back up the on ramp.
The trick is to have some clue of where your going and not turn right into a building or something just because it tells you too. (You need to stay in command and not relinquish control.)
I dont like spending $10/month but it is constantly updated and also contained the entire US yellow pages as POI's.
The search works great. FInd a bank, resteraunt ect. Works great!

[imma_rage_quit]

I wonder if VZ Navigator is any better?

I've used VZ Nav for about a year 1/2 and it's never let me down once!

[bigredrandy]

My experience with the Garmin is that it has given me a couple of "bad directions" since I installed it, and it seems to miss a few roads, or try to put me on roads that don't exist (yet). But I've had the same issue with a MIOMap unit and a Magellan also.

Some of the problem is that the GIS database (the map information) isn't always up to date, OR it may be showing "proposed" roads.

Another thing I've noticed. The second morning I used it, it tried to take me the "back way" to work. I argued with it (as I tend to do with electronics anyhow) and kept going my "normal" route. It kept trying to get me to go a different way. It was only after about 5-6 minutes of thinking, "This P.O.S. has lost its mind", that a ham buddy of mine called me on the radio and said, "Whatever you do, DON'T try to use I-25, there's a big accident...." Turns out the Storm/Garmin had polled the traffic network and figured out how to route me around the tie up.

This event was what convinced me to buy the service only 2 days into the trial...

So don't assume it doesn't know what it's doing if it tries to take you on a route you don't think it should...

[imma_rage_quit]

My experience with the Garmin is that it has given me a couple of "bad directions" since I installed it, and it seems to miss a few roads, or try to put me on roads that don't exist (yet). But I've had the same issue with a MIOMap unit and a Magellan also.

Some of the problem is that the GIS database (the map information) isn't always up to date, OR it may be showing "proposed" roads.

Another thing I've noticed. The second morning I used it, it tried to take me the "back way" to work. I argued with it (as I tend to do with electronics anyhow) and kept going my "normal" route. It kept trying to get me to go a different way. It was only after about 5-6 minutes of thinking, "This P.O.S. has lost its mind", that a ham buddy of mine called me on the radio and said, "Whatever you do, DON'T try to use I-25, there's a big accident...." Turns out the Storm/Garmin had polled the traffic network and figured out how to route me around the tie up.

This event was what convinced me to buy the service only 2 days into the trial...

So don't assume it doesn't know what it's doing if it tries to take you on a route you don't think it should...

I agree but it should give you the option to route around it or go the fastest way or at the very least say there is traffic on road XYZ and it is re routing you...

[nate8u]

i use the garmin everyday. work flawless.. love it. i also have a tom tom in my car, its a few years old. i find the garmin more accurate. sucks you had a bad experience.

[BigVDawgy]

Anyone notice issues with Garmin Mobile after upgrading to Trapster 1.2.1? I posted a strange occurance I experienced in the following thread:
http://forums.crackberry.com/f134/ne...ml#post1432537

[blackops#IM]

I love it so far and love the program. I do have a love for garmin products though.
Totally I will go ahead recommend to everyone and all of my friends without a remorse.