Keibot

I admit that I'm definitely no car expert, but when I checked out the RDX nav system and then immediately afterwards the Infiniti EX's nav system, the EX seemed to really be cutting edge and the RDX looked definitely unsophisticated.

But assuming that all I need the Nav for is for the typical functions like POI, directions, traffic, etc., then I wonder how much better it really is. Sure it may not be as slick in terms of visuals or amount of features, but I just care if it does a good job with getting the info I need quickly and easily.

Thoughts????

johnny99

CNET called the RDX navigation system the best on the market:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10846_7-6675891-1.html

Radec

Curious, What exactly in your opinion made it "cutting edge"? When I was looking at the FX, I thought that the graphics & interface did look "crisper" (if that makes sense ) than on the RDX, but the voice activation in the RDX was far superior. Content in both was fairly lacking. Maybe they updated it a bit on the EX?

Pote757

The Alpine based, knob driven interface is aweful, IMO. Compare it with the Kenwood based, touch screen entry systems in the Lexus and Subaru and you will see how easy it 'could' be to find a POI or address. Frankly, any system that you cannot upload custom POI's is 20 years behind the aftermarket products. I'll run my wife's Garmin in the RDX when we are going to out of town loactions because it is that much better at being able to send me to the places I want to go.

unxadm

Try doing anything with your Lexus based Gen 5 NAV while the car is in motion, talk about 20 years behind.

Radec

I don't have a problem with the Nav once you have an address that you can input, it is getting an address that can be a hassle. Just yesterday, we we going to an address that we had on "Wheaton st". Well in my address book, we misspelled Wheaton to weaton, so of course the nav never picked it up. I then used my iphone, and google maps was able to guess at what I wanted and gave me the correct spelling. Once we had the right spelling it worked OK, but if other map programs can help you like this why can't this one?
I also know my wife had a hard time finding a Lowe's once because she didn't spell it with the apostrophe. If you just put in Lowe or Lowes, it won't pull up what you are looking for, it has to be lowe's.

The voice stuff is nice, but it still has some room for improvement. This is my first in car nav though so even with its shortcomings I still think it is pretty neat.

Pote757

dude, read the internet. The hack is easy!

Her lexus doesnt have the nav - like I said, garmin blows all the oem's away.

mau108

I've used the FX navi and RDX navi.

FX is ubber crap, the image looks like a shit, very cumbersome input. RDX is easy but not all that great for fiding poi's.

I still prefer my iguidance or tomtom on my pocketpc over them both but the functionality of having the gps there with you anytime is good.

Oh my phone has google maps so thats even better (live internet updates!)

catnippants

I still find it interesting how people feel so strongly about portable nav systems. Based on much of the discussion here, I went out and bought my wife a Nuvi 660 for Christmas. While it is very nice, it's a long way from 'blowing away' the system in my RDX...

Mike

Pote757

Here are my list of blow it away factors:
1. Can upload, download and share POI's with other users
2. Can upload and download and share tracks. One of the coolest things to do with tracks is to opent them on your computer, plot them in Mapsporce, then export to Google Earth. Pretty sweet way to re-live a particularly fun drive, vacation, ski trip or hike.
3. Map updates cost about $60.
4. Touch screen interface. You can spell words like normal, not by spinning your dial off, and much quicker.
5. Finding POI's is much more user friendly.
6. Listings of Interstate rest stops, traffic cams, and other stuff not in the Alpine database.
7. You can take YOUR unit with YOUR data from car to car, using it in rentals, friends w/out nav, etc.
8. Don't have to worry about clearing all your personal data and your friends data out of your car when you trade or sell it.
9. If it breaks, you dont have to take the car to the shop and have the dashboard removed.


To be fair, here are some pro's to an OEM system:
1. Integrates with auto stereo
2. Harder to steal.

In thinking off hand real quick of pros and cons , 9 to 2 is a blowout in baseball or hockey in my book.

MMike1981

my biggest gripe about those tiny portable navs...is..its TINY for 1, and 2, they just do not compete with car integration. At least from my experience, i havent seen one that will shut off your car stereo then speak to you when directions are coming up. I think this is what sets apart oem units from the portable ones....and i think its def a major convience issue..i dont wana have to keep my stereo off just to hear my directions. My gf has a garmin in her car and whenever we go some where we have to keep turning the stereo down to listen to the directions...so in essence you keep having to watch the screen to make sure u dont miss a prompt...she has a bluetooth tsx. in long highway drives..this really isnt an issue, but when we goto for example manhattan, it would be more of a convience to have something integrated. if this feature has changed and the units can do this now, forgive everything i just said lol.

As far as the Acura's unit...Alpine makes one of the best if not THE best navi's. My car buddies with all their benz's and BMW's are quick to recognize this fact too. if you ever use a benz or a bmw's, (im not sure about infiniti) you;ll be glad u have the Acura's.

silver08rdx

Adding to Pote757's points
- Cannot input/read the gps co-ordinates.

tirple

+1, Got a buddy with a Bimmer I-Drive, and he thought mine was way better than his

catnippants

To be fair to Garmin and many of the other brands, if you jump up a model number or two, they come with built in MP3 players and FM transmitters or headphone jacks. This allows you to listen to music and have the nav system interrupt the music as needed. It's just that the FM transmitters are always underpowered due to FCC regulations (so they sound like crap) or you have to deal with even more wires.

Ok...so that's your opinion. Here's mine:

- 1 & 2 are don't cares for me.
- 3 is a good one. The Alpine updates are WAY overpriced unless they add new software/interface features regularly.
- I actually disagree with 4. I'm particular about my screens, and I have yet to find a touch screen that doesn't scratch from use. I do agree that they are easier to use, and when the invent one that won't smudge or scratch from use over time, then I'll go back. In this case, the non-touch screen was actually a selling point for me.
- 5 is a partially good one. I do find it easier to find things with Garmin's interface. However, it doesn't hold true for all portable navs.
- 6 is also good. I don't care about traffic cams, but rest stops would be nice. I've never actually checked to see if they are there. Given that both the Garmin and Alpine map data is from NavTeq, I've never understood how the POIs are managed. Why would they differ???
- 7-9 are don't cares for me.

On the pros to the OEM systems, they are HUGE. You're 9 to 2 may be valid from a pure numbers standpoint, but let's now add weights to them. For me, the two pros for the OEM systems FAR outweigh almost all of your pros for the portable systems. I already can't stand dealing with the windshield mount, wires, etc. First I have to find just the right place to mount it. If I want power, that's one wire. If I want decent sound, that's yet another because the built in FM transmitters all suck. It's just a hassle to take the darn thing anywhere. Then there's the 'I left it home because it is a hassle and I didn't think I'd need it', and you inevitably find a need for it while you're out. In hot weather I can't leave it in the car because it is detrimental to Lithium Ion battery life. By the way, can you even replace the battery in these things?

Blows away? Nah....
Mike

silver08rdx

Touchscreen GPS systems force you to take your eyes off the road if you're entering info while driving (a big no-no in in itself), a knob allows you to 'feel' and hear your way around the interface.I've used a touch screen GPS system for years before coming to the knob, I like the way the GPS system reads the entry out when I'm driving. Its just safer.

90% of my problem is with the POI, 10% with the alpine system itself.

mau108

I believe you can also talk to the navi so who gives a crap about knobs while driving

silver3.5

obviously you're not very literate in high tech stuff...garmin's nuvi line blows away any OEM nav system in terms of functionality, ease of use, portability, cost, and cool features. also, alpine's nav dvd only have 7 million points of interest while most garmins have 10 million plus POIs. you would love MB and BMW's nav system then. they are ancient and most of them are not touch screen.

catnippants

Nice job. You join the forum, open a thread that is almost a year and a half old, and throw an insult with one of your first posts? Not a good way to make friends. Did you have a bad day?

Mike

Teledatageek

I hate to disagree with you. I have tried several and think the Garmin Nuvi is not that great. Slow, inaccurate, etc. It's not bad but no way compares to the Acura OEM system.

I'm evaluating Garmin vs. Tom Tom right now for our fleet of tech vehicles. Both have their pro's and con's and for the price - not bad. But in no way close to the factory system.

oblio98

No handheld NAVI can match the usability of an in the dash Navi.

They may have more features, and may even wipe yer azz, but there's no way you can be driving, grab the joystick, and scroll, zoom, or see detail on the map with a "little NAVI".

markmass

I have a Garmin 60csx and it's way more reliable than the Navi in the 2009 RDX w/2.73 software. The Garmin is made for off-road use, but the road maps in the Garmin are more up to date even though I haven't updated them since 2007 (?).

I'm in the Bay Area, California. This is what I encountered on a single trip last month:

1) When heading north on 680 from Oakland to Sacramento, there's a fork after you across to bridge to Benicia. You have to go right to head towards Sacramento. The RDX Navi doesn't know this so there's no warning and it's has to recalculate after figuring out you're still on 680.

2) The Navi unit stopped updating the map while I was heading east on 80 towards Sacramento. The map was panning, but the roads just disappeared. I-80 isn't some small road that nobody drives! I had to stop the navigation and reset the route for it to update the map again. How ridiculous is that?

3) When I got to the outskirts of Sacramento, the RDX Navi didn't warn me to exit right to stay on 80 and avoid going through the city. I was taking with my friend so I wasn't paying attention and was relying on the Navi to warn me. I saw the sign (towards Reno) and had to get over to the right lane in less than 1/2 mile while going about 80 mph in dense traffic. It was difficult and I probably pissed off a LOT of the people around me.

4) The Navi maps around Auburn were outdated. The Navi completely missed the 49N exit. I've gone this way before so I knew where to go. You don't want to rely on the Navi in this area.

5) When taking 80S through Oakland to San Jose, the RDX Navi will tell you to go right near the Bay Bridge. You actually have to stay in the middle. If you head right, you'll wind up in San Francisco. (Un)fortunately, traffic is a nightmare so you'll be crawling and will see the signs and can safely ignore the RDX Navi.

All of the exchanges existed before 2007 (my Garmin is up-to-date), but the 2009 RDX Navi maps were outdated.

The maps are good to have in the RDX while you're driving, but the Navi is a complete disaster. Simply put: Don't rely on the RDX Navi alone. Bring a map or have a back-up GPS because otherwise you're going to get lost.

catnippants

As I said before, I think the map accuracy really depends on your area. I do agree that the RDX Nav is lacking - both in POIs and road updates. In addition, the software is incredibly primitive and has some bugs. However, I have never had a problem with it in the areas I travel. It is LOADS more convenient than carrying around our Nuvi - especially when you consider the integration, the wires needed for the Nuvi (if it's a long trip), etc. I love our Nuvi, but when it comes to convenience, I'd still vote for a built in.

Mike

brizey

Screen size trumps everything. Even resolution is not as important as long as it is OK.

corduroygt

Got my iphone 3GS with me in case the gps misses something, or I need to look up an address that's not in the POI. Google maps rocks!

phoward_15

You'll be able to get the Tom Tom application for the new iPhone 3Gs very soon if you need it. I was going to purchase a portable GPS for when we rent cars but now that the iPhone has this no need. Hopefully it'll be somewhat decent.

im blown

I absolutely hate trying to look up a POI. type in "starbucks" and it asks whether it is "american, italian, fast food or other"...ridiculous system for finding the closest anything. Anyone find anyway around this? This is my second acura with Navi, I really thought that they would've fixed this issue with the newer years.
-Joshua

corduroygt

I got my previous car broken into before and have a tomtom GPS stolen, so I would never use a standalone GPS ever again. I don't want to remove it, put it back on, and I dont like the way it looks sooo....aftermarket.

snrsuave

This is what I've been trying and it seems to work for me on my 2007 RDX:

1. Search for "Places"
2. Select "Category"
3. Choose your category
4. Select "All ..." for your category, i.e. "All Shopping" or "All Types" for restaurants
5. Select "Search for Places by Keyword"
6. Select "Sort by Distance to Travel"
7. Enter what you're looking for. Doesn't even need to be perfect spelling or the full name and it finds it. For example, "Walmart" will find Walmart, Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Supercenter. "Lowe" will find "Lowe's" and anything else in the area that has "lowe" in the name, like "Flower"

Hope this helps and although it seems like quite a few steps, it is very simple and quick.

catnippants

That's the method I use as well. Seems like you shouldn't have to jump through hoops though...

Mike

VeNeNo

iTrader: (1)

Acuras Navi is one of the best if not the best stock navi in cars today. Now with that said just be happy you have a navi and that it looks great intergrated with your vehicle, if you don't have it or just don't like spending extra $$ for the integration than great. Spend less cash and use your cell phone or whatever device you have, say its better and laugh at us for getting the tech package (or maybe we will laugh at you for not having integrated navi..?)

corduroygt

Try entering 3300 Falls Road, Baltimore MD, it will only let you enter numbers starting with 5. However, you can do map input and mark it on there, and magically it will know where it is!

lumpulus

Not in screen size it doesn't.

JCL622

does the 2010 RDX still use DVD disc?? or is it already HDD integrated?

rm6968

Navigation systems that control your A/C and everything is nice too. I think that is almost a must in a system. Radio, heat, a/c and navigation all in one.

phineasboggs

One problem is the RDX system has a big learning curve before it's instinctual. Just like any voice prompts require a long time to memorize!!

Second, when I tried to familiarize myself with the Nav about a month ago, it was totally wrong, and gave wrong directions. I will probably never trust it again. But it's nice to see the pretty map.

Meanwhile, my garmin fits nicely into my armrest storage.