TTG on Watchdog

[pammy]

right now!

And I know where they are coming from! Jane's not doing too well for us atm

PC World ended up giving the woman her money back for what seems to be TTG nav prob's

Jane made some serous mistakes when we were in Cambridgshire recently - only saving grace was that another sat nav, not TTG, made the same errors too

 

[RichardM]

What are the problems with them Pammy?

 

[pammy]

Basically giving kack directions. Telling you take turnings that don't exist etc, and not just new road builds that it hasn't caught up with

 

[Steve_Perry]

shute! I missed it. Do you know if WD gets repeated at all?

Jane's normally pretty good for me.

S.

 

[Ian B Walker]

My Navman is juuuuuuust Fine

 

[GrahamC230K]

Touch wood, my Panasonic system is also absolutley smashing - just a shame I need €280 (with 20% discount) for a 2005 DVD. Me thinks I'll wait until the 2006 one is out for that money.

Anyway, is this a widespread problem - location and model wise?

I recommended a TTG 700 to a colleague based on experieinces from people on here!

 

[Steve_Perry]

...I recommended a TTG 700 to a colleague based on experieinces from people on here!

Perhaps you can tell us how he gets on with his

Don't get me wrong, I'm still happy I have mine and I'm well impressed with it, especially when combined with the free PocketGPS World speed camera database.

S.

 

[jimmy]

I have always been very pleased with my TTG. Had a slight hiccup yesterday in Bath city centre, it was trying to get me to turn into 'Bus and Taxis Only' roads and I ended up going around in a couple of circles until I followed my nose and headed off in the right direction. The TTG was then fine taking me to all the addresses and then home again.

What puzzles me is that it will take you from A to B on one route but occasionally will then take you back from B to A on another totally different route??

 

[Steve_Perry]

Just found the online reference to tonight's feature.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/reports/transport/transport_20051004.shtml

Satellite Navigation Systems From PC World

4th October 2005

Amanda McKinnie bought a satellite navigation system that could not direct her out of her local village, Rainham. She was left driving around in circles for ten months, while PC World refused to refund her the £405 she paid for it.

PC World had previously supplied her with three other satellite navigation systems. One directed her over the Dartford Crossing, regardless of her destination. Another was not loaded with any maps at all and a third spoke only Spanish.

The final system was by Tom Tom and cost more money, but it turned out to be the most problematic of all. Amanda spent 45 minutes following its directions just trying to leave Rainham, in the process it even directed her into someone's back garden!

PC World says it has sold thousands of satellite navigation systems to satisfied customers. It accepts it should have refunded Amanda's money sooner and has now given Amanda all her money back.

To be fair it looks like one individual who's had issues with four different types of sat-nav system and her main beef seems to be with PC World. I wonder what the previous 3 units were before she got a duff TomTom?

S.

 

[pammy]

Just found the online reference to tonight's feature.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/reports/transport/transport_20051004.shtml

To be fair it looks like one individual who's had issues with four different types of sat-nav system and her main beef seems to be with PC World. I wonder what the previous 3 units were before she got a duff TomTom?

S.

iirc they were nav man units but I could have got that wrong

The problems we have with Jane have been replicated across other units too, but was this lady experienced is what we have had on a number of occasions. She tells us take a turn that lands you in a field on a regular basis. We get the go one way come back another issue too

She got me totally lost a couple of weeks ago somewhere fairly local. It was local knowledge that got me to where I needed to be - not Jane

Having said that - wouldn't be without it

 

[Steve_Perry]

iirc they were nav man units but I could have got that wrong

Ooh, if I didn't know you better I'd say you were winding up our Ian

The problems we have with Jane have been replicated across other units too, but was this lady experienced is what we have had on a number of occasions. She tells us take a turn that lands you in a field on a regular basis. We get the go one way come back another issue too

She got me totally lost a couple of weeks ago somewhere fairly local. It was local knowledge that got me to where I needed to be - not Jane

Having said that - wouldn't be without it

Well if you're ever at the western end of the M4 corridor between Jn47 & Jn48 don't take Jane's advice to come off at Jn47.5 I haven't seen mine show this phantom junction but my boss's TTG700 thinks it there. I'm guessing mine will do the same glitch.

Surely this is down to the teleatlas maps that TomTom use?

S.

 

[pammy]

Ooh, if I didn't know you better I'd say you were winding up our Ian
.

Who meeeeeeeeeeeee

Well if you're ever at the western end of the M4 corridor between Jn47 & Jn48 don't take Jane's advice to come off at Jn47.5 I haven't seen mine show this phantom junction but my boss's TTG700 thinks it there. I'm guessing mine will do the same glitch.

Surely this is down to the teleatlas maps that TomTom use?

S.

She does a similar thing on the M11 and it must be down to the teleatlas as SILs nav not TTG did exactlky the same thing

I'd seen what she was going to do on the screen and got the old dusty paper map out and thought this could be interesting. Sure enough - "come off here"- "where, it's a bl**dy field woman!!!"

 

[Madferrit]

Sure enough - "come off here"- "where, it's a bl**dy field woman!!!"

That one word sums it all up!

I wonder if yoda, with use of the force makes the same errors

 

[mickl]

I've just got a Garmin I3 unit from PC world for my Zed and it's great. Like a mini Tom Tom but only £197. Tried several routes the last couple of days and it's not put a step wron. It's actually a few yards more accurate than the smartnav system I have in the C36.

 

[guydewdney]

My Garmin occasionally takes me down some tiny little roads (fun in a CL...) - but apart from thet, has been 98% reliable

It once sat there saying

"turn left, turn left, turn left" for five minutes, then suddenly came up with "turn right"... followed of course by turn left turn left (whilst stationary on a dual carriageway)

 

[Spinal]

Hmmm, I have TT 5, not go... Jane is installed somewhere, but Yoda and Picard know the routes much better (though some one way streets aren't scannable )
Spinal

 

[Thmsshaun]

I have TT5 and has been pretty superb. Was a bit dodgy when I went to Salcomb down some proper rough lanes but then I went the way I wanted to for part of it.

Trys to take you down a few dodgy turns especially when I have done the od bit of HGV work. But it it a case of common sense. Slow on approach does it look suitable? Yes no? Take the choice if you dont go it will re route you I have to say it is A1.

I had done an 18Th Birthday Disco the other week on a Fri Night and should have been away with TA for the weekend. I joined TA Saturday morning. On the way back the A5 from Nescliffe was close the only way was into Wales. Without TOM TOM it would have been a night mare.

I dont rely on it but then it is a computer so if you trust it too take you 100% the right way all of the time then that is your own problem. It wont.

No different to MS autoroute.

I tend to look at a map choose my route then use TOM TOM for the last 1 to 2 mile to the destination.

 

[Dave Kerr]

I've had the same problem with TTG 5 about taking one route to A and then coming back another from B.
I have also been taken down dead end streets but the AA navigator also did the same.
If either of them suggest that I take a completely stupid route which it does often I ignore it and it then recalculates the right route eventually most of the time.
Sometimes when only a couple of hundred metres from my house it will still try and get me to turn round and go the suggested route.

I need the speed camera alert on mine but can't get it from the site.

Dave

 

[Thmsshaun]

I've had the same problem with TTG 5 about taking one .

Dave

That is annoying

I need the speed camera alert on mine but can't get it from the site.

www.pocketgpsworld.com

If you are still having trouble from there PM me.

 

[scotth_uk]

I didn't see the show, as I find it hard to watch their one sided drivel and crap. Did they make the point that the map data is provided by a third party?

What people don't seem to understand is that the route calculation process is really just application of Dijkstra's Algorithm to a database of information (roads). Whilst you may have a preference for a better route, it is basing it's decisions on hard metrics. It *will* take you the shortest path, based on the information it has available.

And there is the problem - if the information is naff, it will make a mistake.

What I would like to see is more fields of information being included in the database, and considered during the routing algorith. Something like average speeds, accident rates, congestion at time of day, etc.

All of that extra thought is bound to cost a lot of money at the mapping provider and will push up the price of end units.