demingr

Hello. This is bothering me to no end. 2 months ago I bought a $200 handheld GPS (Mio DigiWalker C310x) at Staples. Although I have been interested in moving map gps (I have had hiking type, no map gps before) the price put me off. I got the Mio and was absolutely blown away - and I am a computer/gadget nut. The interface and function are fabulous and the Points of Interest database is great - with a great interface. I can search "Starbuc" (no K no S) across the country and it shows me a list of the nearest and updates the distance as I drive.

On the RDX, I have to select Name or Category. Selecting Name doesn't matter because for Names with a lot of hits it forces a category as a lower level navigation. It really really really sucks. I CAN NOT find a Barnes & Noble closer than Michigan - even though I live in Philadelphia and have 4 within 10 miles all having been there for 5-10 years.

I was looking for Subway today for lunch. Tried typing it in and got like 8 categories. Something like
...SubWay Restaurant
...SubWay Inc
...SubWay and CO,
...SubWay Fresh
...SubWay Fast Food

Drilling into each I would find 1 to 5 entries with the closest 900 miles away. I finally hit the "real" entry and had several hundred locations - the closest 4 miles away. I drove a quarter mile deciding to skip it, turned into the nearest shooping center, and there was a subway!

It may have only been there a year (or maybe 5 - I don't know) But I am sure my handheld would have found it - and 20 others - close by. Much more easily, much more accurate. I can pull up every subway in the US sorted by distance dynamically updated - $200!!! I can't stand the way this thing on the RDX works.

Don't get me started on the "Proceed to the highlighted route.." shit. Don't you know where the fuck I am?? I'm driving in a parking lot about to pull out - should I go left or right??? quick!!!???? ....."Make a U turn if possible..." ???? Give me a break.

Somebody commiserate please.

steev

Go to a real restaurant, with decent food.

(j/k please dont flame!)

demingr

Sad but true

kenjr

I agree - the maps need some serious updating. I could live with a larger list of possible options...if they were actually updated recently and more correct.

Hell, my neighborhood has been around for 3 years and they still don't have any of my subdivisions streets on the map yet.

I know for certain of several gas stations that have been around for 5+ years that don't show up at all on the map. I know it's hard with all the recent mergers and stations changing ownership and such...but many don't even show up at all.

I too get frustrated though with the overwhelming number of possible entries that come back when searching for something. I did the same thing for Office Depot a few weeks ago. I'm in Austin, TX...why on earth would that thing show me anything more than 50 or so miles away without me explicity telling it to look further?? I've checked in the menu options - is there a way to limit the distance that it searches when finding something?

turboted

One word...Google. Have we all become so lazy we can't even do a Google search for an address before we get in our vehicle? And since when is Subway a "restaurant" where anyone whould want to eat lunch? Someone with the funds to purchase an Accura would, IMHO, want some real food for lunch. I'm happy Wolfgang Pucks "Spago" comes up on my RDX GPS screen, now that's lunch!

kenjr

Get over yourself, seriously. Maybe you always start every trip from home and then turn around and come back, but I'm not always at a place where I can 'check google' before heading to another location. And what if you are traveling in another city where you wouldn't know what to google for even if you wanted to? You just want to find a goddamn Subway...and not one that's in Troy, MI when you are in Dallas, TX?

We're all so happy for you that you eat at Spago for lunch, but you've added nothing to this conversation whatsoever. I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say that everyone on this forum who owns this vehicle could eat at Spago whenever they wanted to...but your point is?

flar

I have a question about which options you are using for your search.

I once did a search for something and I forget how I did it, but it ended up showing me places that were several states away. I then redid the search the way I normally do it and it showed me the local places. I'll try to remember the successful sequence that I use, but I know that at some point I select an option "sort by distance to travel" - but the one time I got locations hundreds of miles away I didn't see that option.

I think the sequence I normally use is - Menu, Places, Category, Restaurant, and I think that is when I get the "sort by distance to travel" option. Doing it that way I always get local places, but then again I live in a major metropolitan area so that could have something to do with it.

demingr

Yes, you can get the "sort by distance" option when going "by name", but the names have so many variations that it becomes near useless. Again Subway or Barnes & Noble is listed under 5-8 variations with Inc./Co./Company/etc. that you need to drill into the categories until you find the most populated one.

It would be much better if it just took what you typed and matched it no matter where in the name it occured and then listed all of those by distance. This is the way the Mio works. And it does it with a better menu interface, an incredibnly effective 3D perspective navigation display, all for $200 (on sale). It kills me that I spent $2000 to end up having to carry the $200 unit with me.

I'm going to write Acura and ask that they at least try to get the software search working and suggest they work on the currency/completeness of their maps. Or better yet just buy their maps from one of the big Two map vendors like everyone else.

Here is a picture of the [not english] navigation screen of the Mio. I think Garmin, Tom Tom etc are similar.

[IMG][/IMG]

And, as long as we're complaining, why does the Insert Image function on this board not put the [IMG] [/IMG] tags in the popup text box which prompts for the image url? It tells you that you need them but doesn't put them in as a defualt starting text.

rRDXg

The search function on this system is fair at best, and that's probably being generous.

I've tried a number of POI searches on this Nav system, and have not once successfully found what I'm looking for.

The first was a Post Office, which has been in place for at least 10 years. I even tested the Nav when I was within sight distance of the P.O., but the nearest one it found was 4 miles away. I'd consider that to be a good search result, in comparison to the others.

Tried to find an Office Depot - I got the list of all Office Depot variations, the closest being 600 miles away. In reality, there was one 3 miles from my location.

Any time I try to locate a POI by name, this has been the result.

On the upside, I'll give props to the navigation once you actually do have an address that the system recognizes. The map view is perfectly in sync with reality, and the voice prompts work well for me.

In comparison, my wife has a Prius, and I've always found that nav system to be slightly off, i.e. we pass a location on the Nav map several seconds after we pass it in reality.

rpeete

I wonder if you have the latest DVD for your system?

I do not use the POIs extensively but anytime I have tried to use it, it worked great for me. I have looked for gas stations, restaurants and post offices. And in each time, I always found the closest one very quickly.

Now I will admit that I use the voice command "Find nearest restaurant/post office/gas station" rather than the user interface. It takes about 3 seconds and voila! the list appears already sorted by distance.

Give that approach a try. I do not usually look for a specific restaurant but I will have to play with that and see how successful I am. I prefer finding the closest restaurants and then scrolling until I find the one that suits my fancy at the moment.

catnippants

So the two big map vendors are NavTeq and TeleAtlas. Delorme also has a mapset, but from what I understand it was originally built from the TeleAtlas base and then maintained/updated through the years by Delorme (could be right or wrong here). The Alpine/Acura/Honda system uses NavTeq maps. I have systems that use both, and the accuracy really depends on your area. For where I live, I find the NavTeq maps to be more accurate. The REAL difference appears to lie with the POIs. Even though I have systems that use the same maps (from very close years), the POI lists (while organized and sorted the same) seem to be VASTLY different. It almost sounds like the the map vendors sell a base POI set, and each implementation adds additional or different POIs. In general, I have found that the NavTeq organization of POIs is a little more difficult to get the hang of then Teleatlas. I have also found that most cheaper portable GPS systems (ie: TomTom, etc.), use Teleatlas maps - which might explain why you like your handheld better for POIs. For what it's worth, the Teleatlas POI list in my area has traditionally stunk.

Granted...my info may be dated by a couple of years, but that is what I remember from my many years of dabbling with various portable and fixed nav systems...

Mike

SolidState

I'm with you man. That is why I don't see the point in paying for an update. So many times I want to look for a particular business and it's so difficult to find using the RDX directory.

Example lookup:

Starbucks
BestBuy / Best Buy


There are several other places that kills me that they are so hard to find in the directory, but I didn't keep a list. Most of the RDX directory will give me the some place that is 400+ miles away.

SolidState

Look up Best Buy or Starbucks and let me know if you can find the closest on the first try.

sasair

I have done both of those searches in the past and found exactly what I was looking for the first try and drove to them without a problem. I think you just have to do it right, and part of the problem with the system is that it is more complex than most systems and sometimes not as user intuitive as some of the simpler systems out there.

SolidState

I don't know man, I go to directory and search by name and I get stuff that is nothing close to what I would expect. I know there are at least >10 Starbucks within a mile of me, yet I get starbucks >100 miles of me or something else. It's listing of catagories and stuff that not even close.

demingr

Sasair, I enjoy your posts, but you're totally off on this one. The unit is sub par. Simply go to Search by Name and don't type anything in, just drill into the complete list of POIs. It lists them alphabetically by name! Come on. Thats useless - how many 6 item screens is 2 million POIs? Contrast that to how very useful it would be if the list were sorted by distance. You'd have a list of all businesses around your location and could scroll through looking for entries that you were interested in - but not necessarily searching for specifically. The database itself may be ok (still think its not as complete as cheap handhelds), the search/browse functionality is abismal.

Hell, even typing in a name, it grays out the letters that would not result in a hit but still forces you to turn the dial across each one of them. Why doesn't it advance to the next valid entry?

catnippants

Can people post what version of the DVD they have? I bought my RDX early, and it had version 4.41 - and I saw many of the problems that have been described here (far away listings, etc.). When I upgraded to 4.55, I was pleasantly surprised to see that these issues had disappeared. Your mileage may vary, but that was my experience. The searches are much more usable for me now. Are you all on 4.55?

Mike

Claire

How can you tell which version you have?

grooks1

There is a small door on the passenger side of the center console. Pop off that door and you will see the navigation DVD player. Eject the DVD and it should have a white cover and will likely say version 4.55.

The most current version is 4.56 but I don't think any of our RDX's shipped with this version as it was released within the last 2-4 months.

sasair

Why would you go to "Search by Name" if you are trying to search by distance? or rather why would you think that "Search by Name" would search by distance? "Search by Name" implies that you have a clue what the name is....

turboted

When given the choice of freshly prepared from scratch organic humanly treated protein, over the garbage they serve at Subway, I’ll take the real restaurant stuff anytime. Perhaps Acura should include a category of garbage food restaurants on its GPS, so Subway’s and McDonald’s will be shown, for those of you that don’t care what you place in your body.

kenjr

You can - just say "find nearest fast food..."

And while I agree that McDonald's is total crap, come on...Subway isn't that bad. They have plenty of stuff that's healthy, particularly if you are eating turkey, ham, vegetables, etc... You can't really believe that just because you go someplace where you have to sit down and someone has to take your order...you eat healthier food??

That said, we're talking about the functionality of a GPS here. I was simply trying to make a point.

bselva

My Navi on TL does the same, it really sucks as demingr said. It has been many years since Acura came up with their Navi system but no improvement since I saw the first Navi in a CL!!!! Give me a break, this is what Acura calls it "the best Navi". I would pay extra if there is an upgrade or update for my Navi...

rpeete

Sometimes I think people really 'work' at trying to find fault with something when they are just nitpicking.

Do you think that Acura is compiling that database of POIs? Heck no! It comes out of some company's 'Lat/Long enhanced' yellow pages database that they license to GPS manufacturers. And companies list themselves a bunch of ways so a nationwide yellow pages is going to have lots of duplicate business names (business names are only unique within 'states' unless their name is trademarked and they are willing to pay the legal fees for court challanges to keep their name unique nationwide). So if we want to lay fault with the POIs you need to find out who is providing the database and how often they update it.

Can the Nav System be improved? Sure it can! That is hardly a complaint -- any system in any car has room for improvement. But feature for feature is this Nav System better than most others installed in CARS today? Yes it is. And I think that is the point I want to make.

Comparing a car system to a Pocket PC solution is comparing apples to oranges. Does the Pocket PC software have voice command? Does it have great GPS reception in cities with tall buildings? Does it contain the ENTIRE United States or selected states? Is your Pocket PC also a cell phone and MP3 player and are you running those apps while using the GPS?

Hmm... probably a lot of NOs to those questions. I have a Pocket PC Phone that I LOVE and I have GPS software installed on it for about two years nwo. It works very well but I would not want to be playing my MP3s while using the GPS and taking/receiving phone calls all at the same time. Apples to Oranges...

Let's keep it real folks. No car is the Holy Grail of automotive excellence as far as gadgetry or engines are concerned. We buy what we like (and sometimes need) and we pray that the next few model years don't totally leave us in the dust! lol

The RDX has a great combination of cool gadgets and nice performance. Enjoy it.

Stevenm

I dont like the way it says "proceed to the highlighted route and the guidance will begin", but i t doesnt say what the name of the highlighted route is, and all i can do is try to figure out from the little arrow where I am, and then where It wants me to be. I think its confusing, and has screwed me up several times. Does this happen to anyone else?

bselva

Yes it does the same on all Acura I tested from CL, TL, TSX, and MDX!!! I believe it is same on RDX but I don't recall it when I test drive it. This is a problem when you come out of a big parking lot, there are many in LA!

I didn't compare Acura Navi to a Pocket PC, but I've tested my laptop with a GPS and it contains every POI I ever asked for but my Acura with updated DVD has missed a lot. Although my Pocket PC 2003 SE does support voice recongnition and works well with the downloaded limited maps for a system with 64MB storage and fits in my palm. I don't expect the POI to be fully updated since it is not practicle but I do expect Acura to improve the basic bugs or limitations.

I love my Acura and I will buy another Acura again, in fact I'm shopping for a new RDX but what bothers me is the bugs I found 4 years ago and complained to Acura are still there in the newer models! Now, that sucks.

Stevenm

If it helps any, I am very satisfied with my new RDX. My complaints are minor, the main thing is the car does run great after 12000 miles. No trips back to the dealer. Nice people at the local Acura dealership also

flar

I haven't tried this (yet), but have you tried hitting the "Map/Guide" button to get a list of directions - that should have the name of the first street on the route. Alternately you can also press the jog dial and choose "Directions" to get a list of streets on the route...

silver08rdx

I've complained about this on an other thread too...but is there any way in the world to find a DMV using this GPS? I couldn't find my local BestBuy, CircuitCity, Target, Walmart or Panera Bread using this GPS. I found them alright, but just not my local stores..all entries were dozens of miles away.

Also, is there a way to enter GPS co-ordinates as the destination?

BTW, I was at the dealership(Radley Acura) challenging the dealer to find BestBuy for me, Radley is right across a BestBuy..they couldn't find it, nor were they able to find a DMV. The dealership promised me that they'd get in touch with NavTeq.

snrsuave

It's not a problem with NavTeq as they are only a map provider. It's the software the nav uses to search for POIs that sucks. It should search for any match to your input, and then return the results sorted by distance to your position. The system has two major problems.

1. You have to put in the EXACT name the POI is listed as. Example... if your nearest Walmart is in the database as "Wal-Mart" and you search for "Walmart", the system will not find it. Instead it will return the "Walmart" that does match which is probably a few states away.

2. The category system is ridiculous. Some Walmarts will be under grocery stores, some will be under electronics stores, some in misc stores, etc.

The way it should work is that you search for "Walmart" and the system searches it's database and returns any results that are close, like "Wal-mart", "Wal-Mart, Inc.", "Wal-mart Stores", "Walmart Supercenter", etc. and then sort the results in order of distance to travel. It should not ask you what category you want if you are searching by name.

silver08rdx

I totally agree with snrsuave, this is definitely 2 pronged problem. 1-Database, 2-firmware. The system gives me options to search for steel furnaces of some kind, but gives you no option to search for governmental offices?? AND, who ever designed this GPS has made it a priority to find schools wihtout much problem, I can only think of one kind of people who'd make frequent searches for local schools...

What can I say, I spent money on this GPS system, I'll start telling myself I love it...maybe I'll belive myself.

mau108

I barely use my gps but when I do its been dead on.

I know have gps in my cell phone (pocket pc cell), my laptop and my dell axim x50v ppc. All have their goods and bads.

neo1738

i have had the similar problem. when you try to find national chain stores it finds them 500mi away. the mom and pop shop down the street it usually finds no problem. civil/govt/schools (including colleges) places are easy to find, some restaurants are tough, but shopping is the worst by far.

i dont think people are questioning pocket pc solutions. i think the problem people are having is Acura charges near $3000 for the "tech" package and you can get just about all of those features with better POI for about $400. (maybe less if you hit a good sale). I bought my gf a garmin c530. it has voice recognition dialing which uses the phones phone book so no stupid programming the 50 numbers i think i will call most into the gps. it has the new sensitive reciever which works in the city (NYC the "only" city haha j/k.) it has FM traffic updates if you choose to pay for them including the green, yellow, red roads thing. and it has the entire US, parts of Canada and Mexico (thanks to ebay and a $30 SD card) it also plays mp3 with a $25 fm transmitter which is better quality than XM (less compression). and we could buy a xm or sirius reciever for $200 and call it a day for about $2000 less than the tech of the rdx. (the other $1000 i factor for MID and sound system)

i'm not saying i dont love my RDX or my GPS, but when the competition is getting it better than acura, it means acura has something to strive for. It also means that because other companies have got it right, it can be done. This is what makes people want immediate results. I understand that isnt likely or practical, but i think you see where people are coming from.

dombey

Ok guys, here is how it is done. I read the manual (gasp) last night after being extremely frustrated trying to find SuperTarget on my 4-day old 08 Tech:

If you're trying to look by place name, give up. I know, I know, that is what everyone is complaining about here, but there is a better way: Keywords. With keywords, you don't have to know exactly how is it spelled. And you don't need to know which category, either.

So here's how you do it:
-MENU
-Find PLACES

-Instead of selecting "by name", go by category (bear with me).

-Choose one of the categories. Say you want Best Buy, go w/ Shopping. If you want Starbucks, go w/ restaurants. Easy as pie.

-When it asks you to round down what you want, just select the first one, which is like "All Shopping" or "All Restaurants". Choosing anything else here will backfire if your destination is miscategorized.

-Then, you get the opportunity to enter a KEYWORD. Nice thing here is that you don't need complete words. The system will return anything w/ what you enter in it. So, "Bucks" will get you all the starbucks, "best" will return Best Buy, and "Targ" will return Target. Nice!

-Next, it asks you how you want this list sorted - by distance is the way to go.

Voila! If it is in your DVD Database, it will appear before you.

The only ways I've found this NOT to work are:
1) Location not in the DVD (brand new places)
2) Grossly incorrect entries. For example, I still couldn't find the Target on Cty Rd B in Roseville, MN. I entered the phone number and discovered why - the DVD Database has this listed as a Starbucks!!!! (there is a starbucks inside the Target).

Try it out - it will cut your frustrations down, I promise!!!

johnny99

Thanks for the tip. I finally got around to reading the manual (p. 33-37 "Finding the Place by Category"). Searching the for POI destinations is very easy if you know the right steps (which are not very intuitive from the GUI). It is very easy and accurate, even by voice, if you speak clearly. The results are sorted by distance from your current location.

The manual even says that searching by name is not useful for common names.

mickie

yup, I learned the hard way too...after choosing a catogory, choose
"SORT BY DISTANCE TO TRAVEL" or you'll be in east bum f..k in no time. works gret if you figure out the quirks!

mickie

It took me a while to figure out thatstarting with the name is the wrong place to start. If you gereralize the catagory and then type a name choosing distance to travel. I've had no trouble with the system. I did point me to a local bank that had since moved, but that was the worst of my problems.
If "a" doesn't work, try a different route (narrow down the options) Always start with the city you're in or it will show you butt fu** armpit USA. and inveribly, it will take you there.
The system got me crazy at first too, then I calmed down, and learned how to use it in a friendly way. I learned that I wasn't using it right. Oh go figure...