Garmin Guidance 3.0 Traffic - not impressed

I have had some time now to play with both the new Garmin 3590 as well as my previous Garmin 3490, both of which have new Garmin guidance 3.0 along with the new Navteq HD traffic.

While these are both pretty good PND devices, I have to say that my experience so far with the traffic service is pretty underwhelming.  I mean, it is great that the higher bandwidth service provides us with more granularity in the traffic data. However, if the content is just wrong it doesn't matter how granular it is, it is wrong.

I have run into many situations with the traffic service where it leaves me scratching my head as to how the traffic data can report what it is reporting.  Or worse yet, not reporting what it should be.   Navteq has always had an arrogance about themselves.  It would just be nice if that arrogance were backed up by rock solid product content.

A recent example was a trip to Las Vegas. There's an intersection of two major freeways just south of the strip in Las Vegas. This interstate intersection and several portions of the connecting interstates is in the middle of a major construction project.  This construction project has closed several ramps between interstates. And when I say closed I mean closed as in "the pavement has been dug up" closed. I don't mean closed as in "hey we need to close this ramp for half a day so we can move some equipment in and out" closed. If you go to the DOT website for Nevada, this construction project and these closures are well-documented. But despite all that, my Garmin backed by Navteq traffic, tries to route me right through the closed ramps on the course of my trip.

I mean really Navteq. How hard is it to hire an intern and tell them to review the websites for the DOT? Is it really that hard to incorporate documented construction data into your traffic service? In 2012? Wow.

They have the opposite problem in other areas. In the Des Moines market, Navteq has a perpetual traffic delay at exit 68 where I-35 connects to Iowa 5.   There is no delay there. It doesn't exist. And without question, that delay does not exist 24 hours a day. This is Des Moines Iowa folks. There is no traffic delay that exists outside of about a two hour window during rush hour.

Today, traveling on I 88 into Chicago I was warned of a 9 mile 15 minute delay. Here's a picture of what the road looked like smack dab in the middle of that so-called delay.  This wasn't I 88 in Chicago mind you. This was I 88 in the middle of rural Illinois about 100 miles west of the closest Chicago suburbs.  Short of a meteor landing in the middle of the highway, there is no traffic out here. Ever.

I will spend the following week in Los Angeles. I look forward to seeing what kind of accuracy this new traffic service has in a major market like LA. I will blog about my experiences when I return. So far, to say I'm underwhelmed is an understatement.

Garmin Nuvi 3590LMT vs 3490LMT Comparison Pictures

I picked up a Garmin Nuvi 3590LMT today to replace my Nuvi 3490LMT.  The 3490 will grace my wife's car from now on.  On paper, I wasn't expecting a big difference between the 3590LMT and the 3490LMT, especially when looking closely at the specs.  My wife simply needed a new unit, so I figured I'd order the newest one for myself while I had the opportunity.  These two devices are generally referred to as a 5" model and a 4" model respectively.  But when you examine the spec sheets and look at the actual dimensions you figure out that there really isn't a 1" difference.  That led to my lack of expectation for a big difference.

Wow! Was I wrong.  I frankly don't care what the spec sheet says.  The 3590LMT is huge compared to the 3490LMT and I like it 100% better for that reason only.  I found myself having to really focus on reading text on the 3490LMT especially on things like photoReal junction imagery.  Those concerns are gone with the 3590LMT.

Here are some comparison pictures between the two devices:

The difference in the screen experience in this photo is real.  The 3490LMT is brighter, but the colors are more washed out.  The colors on the 3590LMT are more rich and deeper.  I much prefer the 3590LMT screen after having both devices side by side.

Something is up with the routing on these two devices.  I have the exact same route calculated on both devices.  The two devices agree 100% on the route to take. They agree on the miles.  But the 3590 has me arriving over 2 hours earlier than the 3490 on this 22 hour trip.  I've never driven it so I don't know which is more accurate.  Also note that the 3590 is 2 hours quicker WITH a red traffic icon, showing a 15 minute delay leaving Las Vegas.  The 3590 is getting a traffic signal through Smartphone Link.  The 3490 does not have a traffic source.

I wonder, since the 3490 has no traffic source in the photo above, if because of that it doesn't take historical traffic data into account?  Perhaps that feature only works when there is a traffic source connected?

The only other difference between the two units is that the 3590 has a firmware v4.70 upgrade available for download out of the box.  The 3490 reports the latest available as v4.40.  Not sure if the firmware update has any impact on routing calculation or not.

There is no difference in glare on the two device screens.  The apparent glare on the photo above is strictly a limitation of the environment that I took the photo in.

There is a thickness difference as well between the two devices as can be seen here.

I was somewhat disappointed to see that, out of the box this brand new unit had two-version-old 2012.2 maps installed.  I had to do a map update out of the box to get to 2012.4.  Not sure why a brand new device that just shipped two days again would have 6 month old map data on it.  I could see having 2012.3. Perhaps I simply don't understand the production cycle on devices like this.

Finally, note that currently the 3590LMT has the same problem of an incompatibility between Smartphone Link Live Traffic and the HD Radio traffic described in my earlier blog posts.  No update from Garmin as of yet to fix this problem.

TomTom and Android - My View

One of the lingering questions in the turn-by-turn navigation industry is why TomTom has failed to answer the challenge that Android has presented them.  Because of TomTom's (near) silence on the issue, we are left to speculate.  Here is my speculation.  TomTom does not have an Android solution for one of the following reasons:

• They want a solution but can't get it out the door for technical reasons.
• They don't want a solution and view it as a strategy to compete with Android. (Doubtful)
• They view partner solutions as "good enough."

Each of these are viable reasons, based on TomTom's own actions.

Let's start with public comments made by TomTom executives in 2009, yes almost 3 years ago.  In 2009, senior VP for TomTom onboard mobile Benoit Simery was quoted as saying "We cannot ignore such a successful platform as Android."  Well, it is three years later.  You've done a pretty good job of ignoring it so far.

Android was growing in 2009, no question.  Today, however, Android's popularity dwarfs what it was in 2009.  It would be one thing if TomTom was blind to Android's growing popularity in 2009, but clearly they weren't.  Clearly Android's popularity exploded since that statement was made.  Yet, not only was TomTom unable to muster a response to that popularity that allowed them to ride the popularity wave upward, they remain without an answer to this day, nearly 3 years later.

In the spring of 2011, another TomTom executive, Corinne Vigreux made a public statement that "(they) are currently working on an Android version."  TomTom would have been better served by Ms. Virgreux not saying a word.  To state that, yet not deliver almost a year later, fuels technical incompetence discussions.

TomTom publicly announced the need to address Android in 2009.  They publicly announced, two years later, that they are working on an Android solution.  Now, nearly a year after that, they still haven't delivered. 

TomTom's own mobile discussion forum is dominated by two discussions posts, both discussing Android.  Between the two posts, they have received 27,000 views - by far the most of any posts on the forum.  Yet, despite TomTom's willingness for their two executives to speak publicly about Android on two occasions, they have allowed these two threads to develop and be viewed over 27,000 times without a single comment.  

If TomTom truly wants an Android solution but can't get it out the door for technical reasons I question their technical competence.  ALK, Navigon, Waze, Mapquest, Sygic, NDrive, NNG and others are all on at least their second generation Android products.  There is no reasonable explanation for why a technical problem is preventing TomTom from getting a first generation product to the Android market.

I rule out TomTom not wanting an Android product as a (misguided) strategy for how to compete with Android, given the two executive comments highlighted above.  If there has been a change of heart at TomTom about Android then TomTom owes their customers a similar pubic statement indicating that they will not support Android.  Close the door on the issue if that is the case.

If TomTom is content with partner solutions like Route66, my personal opinion is that this is a highly misguided strategy.  Maps are becoming a commodity.  Automated map correct solutions, such as those being used by Waze, will make solutions like TomTom MapShare obsolete in my opinion.  TomTom appears to have no answer.

In my opinion, the only company today, with the power to differentiate their maps from a competitive perspective is Navteq.  TeleAtlas has greatly improved from years ago, but I personally do not believe they are equal to Navteq when it comes to the details.  Compare the text of a Navteq freeway exit sign image to the text of a TomTom freeway exit sign image and you will see what I mean.  Navteq's text is usually 100% accurate when compared to the actual freeway sign. The TeleAtlas text is usually close, but often times appears to have been built from the Exit number and intersection road names only, positioned on a sign to look like a sign.  They often lack the specific text of the road signs themselves, like the city name, landmark and other details that are unrelated to the actual exit number or road name.

All of this leads me to this conclusion, which is my personal opinion:  TomTom does have two pieces of valuable intellectually property left, that are currently not commodities.  However, their lack of an answer for Android squanders any remaining advantage of that intellectual property on a daily basis.  I believe that the US market will look back at TomTom and say "remember when TomTom screwed up their Android strategy?  They had a shot at one time."  Will TomTom become tomorrow's Kodak?

TomTom's remaining, valuable intellectual property is IQRoutes and HDTraffic.

Clearly TomTom/TeleAtlas had a competitive advantage over Navteq with IQRoutes.  Navteq is in catch up mode on that feature.  But TomTom is allowing Navteq to catch up.  A competent TomTom strategy would have been a strategy that leverages the head start of IQRoutes and builds on it to remain far ahead of Navteq.  Smartphones, both Android and iPhone, had to be a key part of that strategy for it to work.  TomTom is blowing that opportunity.

IQRoutes (and HDTraffic) needs users.  Users are TomTom's probes for these features. These features are nothing without users.  For these features to remain accurate and thus valuable, they need to continue to be fueled with user data from a growing user base.

TomTom should be doing everything in its power to continue to build its user base, in order to preserve the value of its intellectual property of IQRoutes.  Instead, TomTom has been completely incompetent on an Android strategy, which has resulted in not adding users. For users that have switched to Android as their navigation choice, TomTom gets nothing from them.  Out of nearly 1,000,000 potential customers PER DAY, TomTom get NONE of them.  TomTom is allowing Waze to succeed at TomTom's own game because of TomTom's lack of a competent Android strategy.  Do you think TomTom will ever get those users back?  I think not.  Even if TomTom eventually does come up with a competent Android strategy, they have given their potential customers so long to use a competitor's solution that I think most of them will say "so long TomTom" for good.  

But in my opinion, TomTom still has a small chance.  They do still have a large customer base and solutions like Waze have a long way to go in mid to small markets where IQRoutes is more complete.  If you read a TomTom Facebook post, you will see that it is getting increasingly difficult for them to not get bombarded with customer posts blasting them about their lack of Android presence on nearly anything TomTom posts there.  While that has to be unbelievably frustrating and perhaps embarrassing for TomTom, they should see one sliver of good news in the current situation:  customers still care.

When customers quit caring and asking for a TomTom for Android solution, that is when TomTom should be very, very worried.  That day is not far off.

Garmin Nuvi Speed Limit Alerts - A Lost Opportunity

My current Garmin GPS is a Nuvi 3490LMT.  I've owned it for about 2 weeks.  Prior to that, I've owned about 8 Garmin GPS devices going back to the very first StreetPilot III.  But after owning the 885T, I took a couple years off from Garmin products due to my frustration with Garmin's products and their support.

As I've said here before, Smartphone Link is what brought me back to Garmin again.  But that doesn't mean that my frustration with Garmin has gone away.  Little things that I've encountered over the last 2 weeks have fueled that frustration again.

The Nuvi 3490LMT, until next month, is the top of the line. It does one thing: it is a PND.  It is priced the same as most smartphones and some tablets - both of which are devices that do much more than a PND does.  In my opinion, for Garmin to continue to sell $399 PND in a smartphone world, it better do navigation better than anything else can do navigation.  In many ways, the 3490LMT delivers on that expectation. But in some ways, and they are seemingly simple things, Garmin drops the ball.  Dropping the ball on the little things reduces the justification for buying a $399 PND and further props up their smartphone competitors.

One opportunity that Garmin is squandering is the handling of speed limits.


Navteq map data has historically been best in class. It remains to be seen how crowd sourced solutions like Google Map Maker, Waze and OpenStreetMaps will change that.  But today, I'd argue that given all the characteristics that make a map accurate (roads, road class definitions, speed limits, freeway signage, etc.) Navteq remains best in class by a large margin.

Navteq's knowledge of speed limits is very, very good. It amazes me to drive down rural highways in the middle of Iowa and see the speed limit indicator change almost simultaneously with the speed limit sign as you drive through a small town.  Companies that use Navteq data have an advantage to leverage.

Garmin leverages Navteq's quality speed limit data in a half-hearted way at best.  They should do better.

Why does this matter?

It is rumored that with the release of iPhone 5, Apple will implement a built-in turn-by-turn navigation solution based on some quite acquisitions that they've made. Clearly Android has had that advantage for some time now, which has created pressure on traditional PND manufacturers like Garmin, TomTom and Navigon.  If the iPhone includes this capability as well, the pressure on Garmin and TomTom will only increase.

Garmin must continue to innovate and be better than anyone else for customers to continue to justify spending as much as a smartphone for a dedicated PND device. Google Navigation and any future built-in iPhone solution will NOT have Navteq maps. For the remaining time that Navteq remains best in class, Garmin should leverage that advantage to the greatest extent possible.  They aren't.

Garmin's current implementation of a speed limit alert feature seems to smack of a company that thinks it is the king of the marketplace  - resting on their laurels, rather than a company that faces an ever increasing challenge to their entire consumer business model in the near future.  It is almost as if they just want to check off a marketing spec sheet box that says "speed limit alerts" rather than actually improving the feature to make it useful.

My most significant complaint about Garmin's current speed limit implementation is the inability to use the feature without actually looking at your GPS.  Currently, the only speed limit alert that Garmin has is a "feature" which turns the speed limit sign on the screen red in color when the speed limit is exceeded by 1 MPH.   This means that the user is informed that they are exceeding the speed limit only on the off chance that they happen to be looking at their PND screen.  The technology should permit so much more and customers of a $399 PND should be demanding it.

Here is what Garmin should do to fix their current speed limit alert implementation:

1. Garmin has a TTS engine on the GPS.  USE IT.  There should be no reason that Garmin can't use the TTS engine for a simple "Speeding Alert" message.
2. A notification of speeding at 1 MPH over the posted speed limit is not useful.  Car speedometers don't permit a visual accuracy of 1 MPH.  No one cares if they are speeding by 1 MPH.  No policeman cares if a car is speeding by 1 MPH.  There is no way that knowing you are speeding by 1 MPH provides any safety benefit whatsoever.  It is a complete waste of a potentially useful feature.  Garmin should give customers a simple menu option to select the speed overage that they care about.  At a bare minimum, the alert should be set at an overage that actually means something, such as 5 MPH.

There shouldn't need to be a blog written to address the two things mentioned above. Customers should have expected that kind of improvement from one firmware version to another shortly after speed limit alerts was first introduced.

What Garmin should be doing, is moving beyond the fixes noted above, in order to continue to innovate and leverage the quality of the Navteq data they have.  Garmin should be adding features such as:

• Proactively warn customers of an upcoming speed reduction on their route such as when driving into a small town where the highway speed limit changes from 55 MPH to 35 MPH or other drastic changes using TTS voice alerts.  "Caution: Speed Limit Reduction Ahead."  Now that is useful use of the available Navteq data.

Garmin: use the differentiating data that you have at your finger tips and give us differentiating features.

Garmin Smartphone Link Advanced Weather - Half baked or Another Broken Feature?

I am 10 days into my experience with Garmin Smartphone Link. Since my initial post my clear excitment for the strategy has wanned somewhat as I've run into some technical problems.

Something is not right with Smartphone Link Advanced Weather. At least I hope it is a technical problem. If this is how it is intended to work, then I've been duped into thinking Garmin got the Smartphone Link strategy right. If this is "how it works" I was clearly wrong. Advanced Weather is a premium annual subscription option in Smartphone Link. Here is what Garmin says about it:

So far, the animated radar images have worked fine - as have the current conditions and the forecasts. Today's problem is with the severe weather alerts feature. Today we had our first instance of severe weather in my area. As I am driving on a route, my Nuvi alerted me. Cool, a weather alert! Look at the black weather warning icon below:

A few minutes later while at a red light, I clicked on the black weather alert cloud. I looked forward to reading about this weather alert. Here is what I got:

I got nothing. What I expected on this screen was the text of the severe weather alert at a minimum. I thought that Garmin might surprise me, given that it is a GPS, and actually show me more than text. Perhaps they will show me a map with the area of the alert highlighted - maybe with an overview map of my current route overlayed? Nope. Instead I get a black screen.

Yes, Smartphone Link was connected fine. Yes, my phone had a data connection. Yes, other Smartphone Link services were working. That isn't the problem.

A few minutes later, driving on the route, I received another severe weather alert. This time the black cloud icon changed. Notice the '2' underneath the cloud symbol. That must mean there are now 2 severe weather alerts.

This time, after pressing the cloud, I come to this screen:

That is better! Now I see that I have been notified of 2 winter storm warnings. Great. Let's find out more. I clicked on each of the yellow banner icons:

I got nothing. Again. Over the course of the day, the cloud icon built up to 5 alerts in quantity with 5 identical  winter storm warning boxes with 5 blank black screens when you clicked them. Clearly there is no useful purpose in how this feature is currently implemented, assuming of course this isn't a technical problem.

 
Three explanations that I can think of:

1. The feature is half-baked and what I expect to happen above isn't done yet. In this scenario marketing had to get Smartphone Link out by CES and engineering wasn't ready. In that case, the fact that they are charging a subscription fee for the above is just bad business.
2. The feature is fully implemented but isn't working correctly.  In this case, some things clearly haven't changed at Garmin.
3. The feature is fully implemented and this experience represents what Garmin had intended the feature to do. If that is the case then run people. Run as far as you can from these subscription services in Smartphone Link because they are an utter waste of your hard earned money.

This feature is significantly lacking in substance.

1. Why show me multiple,  identical "Winter Storm Warning" icons if you aren't going to tell me the details of the multiple winter storm warnings? What good does knowing there are multiples of them do me?
2. What possible good do these warning provide me when you don't tell me anything about their location? Are they near my current location, along my route or near my destination? What time did they start? What time do they end? What is the nature of the weather event I'll experience during the time span of the alert?

Think about it Garmin. I HAVE a smartphone, or I wouldn't be using Smartphone Link. I HAVE free weather programs available from multiple vendors. I can access weather information with my voice on my smartphone with SpeaktoIt, Nuance Dragon Go, Vlingo and others. I don't NEED one more weather app. What I NEED is Garmin to leverage that weather content against my current location and planned route and present it to me in an innovative way that only can be done on a PND. The above, if that is truly it, fails badly at this.