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Help The OFFICIAL Google Navigation Thread

My wife's sister needed to be picked up from the Pitt v. Notre Dame game last weekend so I did a google voice search for Heinz Field (where Pitt and the Steelers play)... took us to a very bad area of the city no where near the stadium... lucky for me the wife said she thought she saw it on the other side of the river a mile or two back... doh!

and my home address shows a picture of the highway

other then that it has worked pretty well for getting around
 
Did you have a sat lock--are you absolutely sure? Are you sure that a street with a similar name was not selected? Couldn't you tell from the map that the end point is not where you wanted to go? Have you checked the sat image?
 
Yep, I can get there as well from Ohio. Looks like there might be some houses at the 1700 end of the street not on the map, but you should be able to find the correct house number once you're actually on the street. I don't trust any mapping service for house numbers. They're off by a couple houses most of the time. My current house is off on both systems map data.
 
Hahah yep I just got there too. It'll take me 1 day, 12 hours to get from my current location in Phoenix to Cross Creek Way, Dunedin, FL 34698. Not sure why the OP is having probs. Are you sure you had your GPS turned on when you were trying to find the address?
 
aaron19953 said:
This one, via TomTom Rider2;
Qik | aaron19953 | Untitled

Or this one, via Droid + Google Maps;
Qik | aaron19953 | Untitled

Musta been a typo.. i typically enter the road name, zip ..

-=< aaron >=-
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KK Dood.

I'm not really understanding your posts, and I certainly didn't understand your last one. It appears to be two videos showing someone navigating somewhere. However the address in both the videos was very blurry so it is difficult to tell where they were trying to navigate.

Most people in most places aren't having too many problems with Google Nav. I'm really sorry if a few places you have tried to go were inaccurate, but like anything else, Google isn't perfect. Plus, the service you are using is FREE. You aren't paying anything extra for it than you would be otherwise with any other smartphone. Get it? It's FREEEEEEEEEEEE.

What do you want us to do for you? If you want to know if other people with Droids can or cannot find the address you couldn't find, then please post the full address. Otherwise I don't know what to tell you, because we have no idea what you are talking about, what you are complaining about, or what you were trying to find that is making you feel so bad.

I don't mind helping you, but you have to help me help you.
 
I have to agree that calling Navigation "terrible" is a gross overstatement, however, it does need significant improvements.

On the maps side of things there are errors that are just embarrassing. I'm not talking about obscure streets and specific house inaccuracies (which, to me, are somewhat understandable.) I'm talking about errors with major thoroughfares. In particular, Google Maps doesn't seem to know that the the Big Dig in Boston is finished. If you go to Google maps and get directions from zip code "02126 to Logan Airport" it'll send you downtown through some crazy route to catch the Callahan tunnel instead of taking I-93S to I-90E. I'm sorry, but that's downright embarrassing. I'm from Boston, so I know not to go downtown, but for the poor soul that is trying to return his rental car this is a ridiculous error. I will be reporting this to Google, and hopefully they'll resolve it quickly (since it's such a major error). I've also seen smaller errors, but I kinda expect those of any software.

On the navigation side of thing the enunciation of the street names can be terrible (as someone pointed out above with spanish names in SoCal). Could be a pain sometimes, but not that big of a deal imo. However, they really should clean up POIs. I know how to make custom Maps in Google maps, but accessing my custom POIs should be made easier. There should also be a standard set of POIs within the Nav system. I have other apps that are nice and servicable, but I should be able to access this stuff from within Goggle Maps. These are areas it would need to improve upon to become a full-fledged Nav system.

For me, I don't own a Nav system, so this works out great for me. I was thinking about getting a Nav system, but I knew I would only use it sparingly (I know how to get to where I'm going 90% of the time). However, if I did own a Nav system and depended on it dearly, I wouldn't use a phone as Nav (even if they did make the fixes above) because this is a phone and there will always be issues with using your phone as a Nav system (inlcuding doing both communicating and navigation simultaneously will require some amount of user interaction; perhaps too much to operate a motor vehicle in traffic safely).

Bottom line: I think it's important to remember that this is a Navigation system on a phone. If you rely heavily on navigation, you should probably get a system from a company/device that is focused on optimizing your navigation experience.



Charlie.Masone said:
Where is this clearly stated? The salesperson said it has GPS navigation?
Click to expand...

Every time you open navigation it says "beta".
 
kabbie_mcfeely said:
I used Google Nav to go geocaching today.

I found 9 out of the 11 caches I looked for, using only the Google Nav on my G1. The other 2 were not quite where they were supposed to be, but did find them after a little non GPS searching.

Why do I post this ??? Well in order to find geo caches you need to get within a couple feet of them. Most are in forested places in the area I searched. The are also camoed so they blend in to surroundings.

Now if the GPS, maps or Google Nav was as bad as most people say they are, this would not be possible to do. I have posted elsewhere on the forums that you need to disable cell location and on use GPS location for accurate fix. This is what I did today and the evidince is there to back it up. It didnt take any longer for a sattilite lock as some say.

Take it as you will, just posting my findings.
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I have to jump in here. Looking for a point, a lat/long is always accurate by definition. But when google maps finds addresses it is making assumptions using math and address matching technology. It has to decide a lat/long and street location rather than a single point.

A street has 100 addresses, Google maps puts 50 in the middle, 75 at 3/4. That sort of address matching does not take into account the reality of lot sizes etc. My house is never found correctly by street view or maps because it thinks I'm a few houses down the road.
 
Please keep all Google Navigation related content in this thread. That includes complaints, tips, requests, praises, etc.

Thank you.
 
Dan_Droid said:
KK Dood.

I'm not really understanding your posts, and I certainly didn't understand your last one. It appears to be two videos showing someone navigating somewhere. However the address in both the videos was very blurry so it is difficult to tell where they were trying to navigate.......
Click to expand...

Maybe something got lost in translation..

(NOTE, why did they merge these 2 posts.. grrrrr)

The OP said he couldn't find an address
In post #38 the OP said he couldn't find an address
In post #44 asked the OP what the address was
In post #56 the OP said it was "cross creek dunedin fl"
In post #68 i showed both my Tomtom and the Droid mapping to the correct address

I couldn't get the video to clear up enough, but the destination should have been clear enough for the OP to

recognize..

I'm totally with you on the "hey, it's beta and it's free"
NO gps is 100% accurate, less you're with the NSA, FBI, etc.. haha

but seriously mods, why merge these different posts?? It's almost impossible to figure out what going on now

-=< aaron >=-
 
TomWS said:
Actually, the fact that it DOES work with the SP700 may give us a clue why it doesn't work with a normal BT headset. The SP700 supports A2DP protocol for stereo music, most std BT headsets don't, they support Headset and Handsfree profiles that only require lower quality SOC protocol.

If the Navigation application is only designed to output 'stereo' audio, either through its own speaker or headphone jack, then it probably uses A2DP protocol...

We need to get our requests into the "Car Home" application developers to get them to change this!

Tom
Click to expand...

..EXACTLY what I was going to say regarding the bluetooth. I have a Plantronics Voyager 855 Stereo set and it works just fine with GM. My Gf's cheap emerson set does not. GM sends the sound through the A2DP protocol.

A thought on the BETA issue... yes GM for Droid is BETA right now. Given that Google created the whole darn OS and did a pretty good job on it, and that they tend to pump out updates on a regular basis(unlike Blackberry for example), I doubt it will be long before GM is updated and becomes an all around kick-a** navigation app.
 
Charlie.Masone said:
I just came home from a three day buisness trip, I had the Droid navigate me to seven address' and it only got one right! I took me to the right street but nowhere near the right block 5 times and took me to the street next to the correct street twice!

My Garmin nuvi puts me in front of the correct building 98% of the time and within a few buildings away (on the correct street) 2% of the time. Any time it puts me at the wrong address i was my fault.

I was really planning to retire the Garmin to my wifes car, but I cannot trust this. I havn't carried maps in years.
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ive been doing it a lot lately, using the nav that is. What I have found is it will take you in some wierd routes, but I noticed it always trys to put you on the correct side of the street that your destination is on.
 
make sure if your a google maps fan and your getting a mistakes on your course report it to google... here in pittsburgh there are alot of one way streets and i have been reporting them (i have only lived here 3 months, but i know if it tells me a one way that if i just drive a block i can catch the next street and double back) and things do change on the google maps page... sometimes slowly but it does change
 
I think the Google Nav is pretty good, but these are the things it has messed up on.

1. GN has told me to make a right against a no right turn sign.
2. GN has told me to make a left through a median.
3. GN directed me to the right street but the street was cut by a major road that could not be crossed, so i was left at a dead end, requiring me to circle around.
4. GN has on several occasions asked me to make right off major roads onto local streets where no right turn can be made.
 
I have the same problem with my motorola bluetooth...everything else comes through fine just not the turn by turn...Is there an app for this?
 
When will the users realize that Droid provides just a mobile display of Google Maps? Same services, same directions, same problems--it's a free beta, for God's sake! If you want better directions, get a $500 Garmin, but even their maps have problems. Goggle doesn't create map data; they are purchased from TeleAtlas and are updated only annually, but the data may be 2-3 years old. Go to any Garmin (which uses Navteq maps), or Tom-Tom, or Magellan discussion group, and you'll see the same kind of whining...
 
TonyG said:
When will the users realize that Droid provides just a mobile display of Google Maps? Same services, same directions, same problems--it's a free beta, for God's sake! If you want better directions, get a $500 Garmin, but even their maps have problems. Goggle doesn't create map data; they are purchased from TeleAtlas and are updated only annually, but the data may be 2-3 years old. Go to any Garmin (which uses Navteq maps), or Tom-Tom, or Magellan discussion group, and you'll see the same kind of whining...
Click to expand...

I don't know why this bothers you so much, but there's nothing wrong with pointing out Google Maps' shortcomings.

You say GM uses TeleAtlas? Well they must be using TeleAtlas data from years ago, because they've already fixed some of these errors.
 
TonyG said:
Not true; perhaps you don't know that no software map, whether it's from Navteq or Tele-Atlas, has true street numbers coded in; they simply divide the blocks into some sections and spread the numbers evenly. Therefore, if you have a long, almost empty lot, the street numbering is more than approximate, but the block is correctly located...
Click to expand...

I've always understood this to be the case as well. However, I have come across several issues with individual addresses that suggest Google Maps is doing something different.

For example, on the Google Maps web site, searching for three different addresses on the same street - 195, 197 and 199 - gives an approximately correct location for both 195 and 199, yet 197 is shown to be almost a mile away (driving distance) on another street (not even an adjacent street). Around these three addresses, if I right-click on the "right" place and select "what's here" I get a range of addresses on that street. Number 197 happens to be at the end of one range and at the beginning of another range. I don't know if this has anything to do with the problem.

Another example is that right-clicking and selecting "what's here" usually gives the nearest street address. On the same street as the one above, I can do this in two locations and the addresses reported are #59 and #69. These two addresses are in fact next door to each other. However, if I do this in between these two locations, I get an address on a street that is almost 3 miles (driving distance) from where I selected.

Another thing I've noticed is that (in my area, at least) Google Maps places gray squares on the map, which appear to indicate the approximate location of buildings or houses. Some areas have these squares and some don't. In the next town over, they don't do this, but they do show property lines.

My point is that Google Maps is clearly working off more data than is provided by Teleatlas.

If anyone wants to see for themselves, these addresses are all on Betsy Ross Drive, Freehold, NJ.
 
Why can't I run Google Navigation with a birds eye view without having to select a route? A lot of times with my GPS, I don't want to enter in my destination (I know the way) but I like seeing the streets/lakes/parks, etc that are along my way, and I'd also like seeing traffic ahead.
 
Google used to use Navteq as their map data provider in the US (and were superior when they did so, IMO). Then switched to TeleAtlas in the fall of '08 (TeleAtlas data is subpar in the US, IMO).

Then a few months ago, Google terminated their deal w/ TeleAtlas as far as map data in the US is concerned. In the US, Google is now their own map data provider. They source data from all types of government agencies, from their own mapping vehicles, and from user submissions.

This is obviously most beneficial for Google, as they now pay no licensing fees and can do whatever they want w/ their data, and they allow immediate error correction submissions from anyone via the GM site (previously errors would have to be submitted via TeleAtlas and could take months to make into GM). This is why we have Google Maps Nav for free. The downside is that since they have 'rebooted' their map data source, it will take awhile for the accuracy of their data to be on par w/ established data providers like Navteq or TeleAtlas. I would guess that eventually Google map data will be equal to or even superior to Navteq map data in the US.

See below for more about Google's map data:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archive...n_favor_of_street_view_cars_crowdsourcing.php

Way more than you ever wanted to know about Google Maps:
http://searchengineland.com/tectonic-shifts-altering-the-terrain-at-google-maps-27783
 
Gunner said:
Google used to use Navteq as their map data provider in the US (and were superior when they did so, IMO). Then switched to TeleAtlas in the fall of '08 (TeleAtlas data is subpar in the US, IMO).

Then a few months ago, Google terminated their deal w/ TeleAtlas as far as map data in the US is concerned. In the US, Google is now their own map data provider. They source data from all types of government agencies, from their own mapping vehicles, and from user submissions...
Click to expand...

This explains a lot. There are new-ish streets nearby that I could swear had names on Google Maps previously. These same streets now appear with no names.
 
^

Yup, looking now at whole neighborhoods that don't have street names, that I know had street names this summer.

I see why so many people are complaining.
 
Yep, there was a lot of complaining when they made the switch from Navteq to TeleAtlas, and now there is a whole new batch of complaints since they've switched to their own data.

My office, which was correctly located on the Navteq maps (and on the TA maps, I think), is now incorrectly located about 1/2 mile away per Google's data.

It's going to take a while (maybe a couple years) but as the errors are corrected, I think GM data will end up being very good.
 
wow didn't think I'd get that much of a reaction from that. Ok, I din't say that the maps were terrible, just that I was dissapointed. The Street is actually Cross Creek Dr. in Dunedin, FL.

28.018183,-82.754426 - Google Maps

It's the road that goes in between the advanced auto parts. Checked again with my friend and he has sprint not verizon.

You can't run google navigation without the GPS turned on. It sends you to the settings to turn it on. and yes there was sat lock.

And none of the other maps that I checked online showed that street.

Premature to state that I was disappointed is most definite.

Needless to say tho, I am coming from using the LG Dare on a premium plan. That phone is a "semi" smartphone if I can use that term loosely. The internet was not fast nor did it have apps along the lines that the droid does. But needless to say for $10 less a month then what I am paying now I had similar access to the web and a "fully" functional navigation app. Which the $9.99 that is costs is waived with that plan. Switching over to the blackberry plans canceled that for me.

Now granted that the app is in very early beta, I am sure over the next 8 years that it is in that state (as google usually does) It will probably improve. Maybe adding an avoidance toggle, Shortest, fastest route, etc.

Everyone that has this phone are early adopters. And there are gonna be flaws with the phone and/or software.

And as far as being some suburb outside tampa. Pinellas county is the most densely populated county in FL.

anyways, I still love the phone. and I am glad I lit some fire under some people's a**es on the forum.
 
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