Impress your Siri-Loving Friends: Garmin's Smartphone Link & SpeakToIt Assistant - Your iPhone Can't Do This!

Siri is cool. No question.  But it can't do it all.  Once in awhile I love to show my "no one does it better than Apple" friends something that someone does better than Apple.  That day has arrived with Garmin's Smartphone Link app for Android, a compatible Garmin Nuvi and Assistant by Speaktoit.  This is the closest you can get today, to natural language processing on a PND.

I've previously covered the awesome (and largely undocumented) features of the Smartphone Link app. Smartphone Link combined with Assistant by Speaktoit provides you with one of the most user friendly and fast navigation interfaces that I've ever seen.

Using Assistant by Speaktoit is beyond the scope of this post.  But it is voice recognition - how hard can it be, right?  The Assistant app can be started on Android in a number of ways.  A simple application shortcut can be installed on your main screen. There is a widget available for quicker access directly to the voice recognition engine.  Or the app can even be assigned to the long-press of the search key on your phone.  Take your pick.

Now for the Garmin integration.  Check it out:

1. Start Assistant using the method of your choice discussed above.
2. Speak your search such as "Show me the nearest coffee shops."
3. Within Speaktoit, you will see a Google Map "widget" of the nearest coffee shops.
4. Press the large quadruple arrow button (looks like a cartoonish "X' button) in the upper right hand corner to open the Google Maps app.  Speaktoit passes your spoken search query to Google Maps automatically. 
5. Now that Google Maps is open, follow the instruction in my previous blog post to pass this to your Nuvi.

This may seem like a convoluted process.  In reality it takes about 10 seconds from the time you speak your search to the time your Nuvi has the address.  Do it twice and it will become second nature. Handsfree. Voice Recognition. Natural Language Search. Fast.

Garmin's Smartphone Link - photoLive Traffic Camera Tips

Garmin's new Smartphone Link app for Android has only been out for a couple of days.  The excitement seems to be building about what this app can do.  In my view, the most powerful feature is greatly under hyped by Garmin, as I outlined in a previous blog post.

Another feature with some real promise is what Garmin calls photoLive Traffic Cameras.  This premium annual service is actually a feature already available on the web from the folks at TrafficLand. TrafficLand aggregates roadside closed circuit television cameras across the US.  On the TrafficLand website, you can view these cameras.

Garmin's photoLive Traffic Camera subscription brings these traffic camera images onto your Garmin Nuvi through the Smartphone Link app.  From either the Apps menu or the Traffic menu, you can access the camera video by clicking the myCameras icon.  It is important to note that this is NOT live video.  These are static snapshot images from a live video camera.

After selecting the myCameras icon, you see a grid of your favorite cameras and the Add A Camera icon. Selecting Add A Camera shows you a text list of the nearest cameras with a name based on their location.  You have to be familiar with the roads to know where these cameras are.  I recommend using the TrafficLand website as a reference where they show a map of each city and all the camera locations and names as you define your favorite cameras on the Nuvi.

Once you select a camera name on the Nuvi, you are presented with a more useful screen:

Add-A-Camera screen on Nuvi w/ Smartphone Link photoLive feature.

On this screen you are able to see the camera location on a map as well as the direction it is pointed.  This helps in selecting the cameras that are important to you.  Once you press Save, you will see your selected cameras on a 4x4 grid.  You can click any video in the grid for a full screen image of that camera.

Garmin Smartphone Link photoLive myCameras grid

In my testing, in a Sprint 3G service area, the cameras refreshed at a rate of 1 camera image per second.  I found it very acceptable.

There is so much potential for additional functionality with this service.  Lets hope that Garmin improves the photoLive service with some of these ideas:

Select Cameras Near Other Locations
If I am starting a trip from Des Moines to Chicago, there might be key cameras in the Chicago area that I will want to see on my route.  Obviously, I do not want to look for and select these cameras in route to my destination.  I want to queue up all the cameras of interest before I go as part of my trip planning effort.

Camera Organization
Once the ability to save cameras in locations other than my current location is implemented, then Garmin needs to provide the ability to organize sets of cameras.  For example, I might have a "Home" set of cameras, a "Chicago" set of cameras and a "Trip to Florida" set of cameras.

Automatic Display of Video
The photoLive app is just screaming for a proximity alert type function.  Imagine for example, a trip where on a certain point you can go the "north route" or the "south route" to your destination.  Traffic congestion could dictate which way you go.  Let's face it, today's traffic data feature of a PND is nice, but it isn't always accurate.  You can't replace human knowledge.

Imagine as you approach that "decision intersection" that a video from a predefined camera shows up in Nuvi split-screen style showing you the video of the latest traffic condition.  Now THAT could be useful.

It would seem straight forward to implement.  Select a point on the map and select a camera to display.  Done.  Drive.

POI Based Triggers for Video Display
When you leave your house every morning and select the WORK saved favorite one piece of information you might like to know is what does traffic look like on the freeway today?  Imagine a photoLive camera being assigned to your saved favorite definition. When you start a route to that saved favorite, a camera's video is displayed in split screen for a few seconds as you start out.  Coolness.  Better yet, the trigger could be time based.  When I select WORK between 7am and 9am, show the camera.

My hope is that as Garmin expands the utility of Smartphone Link, that they will start to use Smartphone Link as the user interface and configuration for some of these features then send the configuration to the Nuvi.  No matter how good PND's get, you can't beat the usability of the smartphone user interface.

Further testing of Garmin Smartphone Link Live Traffic points to GTM-60 compatibility issue

Early I posted a detailed blog post about my problem with the new Live Traffic subscription feature of Garmin's new Smartphone Link app for Android.  Well, some additional testing narrows down the nature of the problem.

I decided to try using my Nuvi 3490LMT with Garmin Smartphone Link while NOT connected to the GTM-60 HD Traffic receiver.  Low and behold, Live Traffic through Smartphone Link works!  And it worked solidly.  My Nuvi could go to sleep, my smartphone could go to sleep and time and again, upon waking either device up, Live Traffic came back to the unit through the Smartphone Link app.

Here is what the Nuvi shows just after reestablishing a bluetooth connection:

Nuvi 3490LMT connected to Smartphone Link but disconnected from the GTM-60

After a couple minutes of the Nuvi and the smartphone being awake with a bluetooth connection established, the message at the top said "Traffic up to Date" once again. 

Recall from the previous blog post that when the Smartphone Link app is connected to the Nuvi and the GTM-60 is plugged in, the screen looks like this:

Nuvi 3490LMT traffic screen while connected to Smartphone Link and the GTM-60 simultaneously.

If you disconnect the GTM-60 from the Nuvi, restart the Nuvi and connect to Smartphone Link traffic is restored.  Traffic is provided by Smartphone Link Live Traffic.

If you disconnect Smartphone Link, restart the Nuvi and connect the GTM-60 traffic is restored.  Traffic is provided by HD Radio Traffic.

If you connect both Smartphone Link and the GTM-60 to the Nuvi it appears that right now you get no traffic at all based on the problem illustrated in the picture above.  Of course the only way to power the Nuvi 3490LMT out of the box is the GTM-60.  So another method of powering the Nuvi will have to be used if you want to use Smartphone Link until Garmin solves this problem.

I reach the following conclusions with this test:

1. Smartphone Link Live Traffic does indeed work through the Android app.
2. There is a problem with a peaceful co-existence between Smartphone Link Live Traffic and the GTM-60's HD Radio Traffic.
3. From the screen shot above, one of two things appears to be happening:
1. When the Nuvi is plugged into the GTM-60 and Smartphone Link, the Nuvi really isn't getting any traffic content at all, as the screen above is showing you.  This incompatibility needs to be resolved by Garmin. Or....
2. The Nuvi indeed IS getting traffic content through Smartphone Link Live Traffic despite the above screen shot.  This screen, could be showing you only the GTM-60's status and since Smartphone Link Live Traffic seems to trump the GTM-60 Garmin didn't think through the presentation and content of this screen when a user is using Smartphone Link Live Traffic.

So, if you are loving life with the Smartphone Link app and bought the Live Traffic feature, it appears that you need to either run the Nuvi on battery for short trips or run it on a non-traffic receiver power adapter.  Let's hope Garmin gets this straightened out quickly.

Garmin Smartphone Link - Live Traffic problems surface

Yesterday I discussed Garmin's new Smarphone Link app for Android.  You can read it here. Within hours of posting the story, I began to run into problems with the Live Traffic feature of Garmin Smartphone Link as I dug deeper into the app.

While HD Traffic works great on my Nuvi 3490LTM, my $19.99 Live Traffic service does not.  Why do I need both?  As Garmin explains in this FAQ, Live Traffic through Smartphone Link allows you a potentially greater coverage area than HD Traffic does.  I bought Live Traffic as a backup, so I thought.  Turns out that Garmin doesn't appear to have thought through the issues of using HD Traffic with Smartphone Link Live Traffic very well.

A technical issue appears to be preventing me from receiving Live Traffic from Smartphone Link. The Nuvi doesn't appear to be smart enough to know it isn't receiving Live Traffic from Smartphone Link and switch over to try HD Radio Traffic. It just sits there using Smartphone Link without receiving traffic at all.

What does this mean for real road trips?  It appears to mean that Live Traffic isn't a backup at all. It is an either/or proposition.  If you aren't receiving Live Traffic for whatever reason, HD Radio traffic won't be there to back you up.  The only option appears to be to turn off Smartphone Link entirely, which turns off all its other great features as well.  That is a poor design choice.
Short of being able to handle a switch between Smartphone Link Live Traffic and HD Radio Traffic automatically and intelligently, the Nuvi badly needs a user setting to switch between the two services.

As you can see below, everything is swell with traffic on my Nuvi 3490LMT with HD Radio traffic. I've got a strong signal and am receiving traffic reports.  I've disabled Smartphone Link for this picture.

Nuvi 3490LMT using HD Radio Traffic

Enabling Smartphone Link breaks the traffic service it appears.  In the photo below, you can clearly see that my Smartphone Link Live Traffic subscription is active.  Other Smartphone Link services work fine, so my bluetooth communication with my Nuvi is clearly functional.

Nuvi 3490LMT Smartphone Link Subscription Services Status Screen

Look what happens to my traffic function now.  The photo below was taken within 30 seconds of the HD Traffic photo above.

Nuvi 3490LMT using Smartphone Link Live Traffic

As you can see, the traffic content is gone.  The message "Traffic up to Date" has been replaced with "Waiting for Traffic Data."  The text on the right provides tips for diagnosing bad traffic reception.  The content of this message deals with the Nuvi's HD Traffic receiver attached to the car cord.  This is irrelevant when using Smartphone Link because the traffic doesn't come from that receiving any more.

I've watched this screen for 15 to 20 minutes and the message "Waiting for Traffic Data" never goes away.  The Nuvi also doesn't hande the switch back to HD Traffic very well.  When you turn off bluetooth, the HD Radio traffic signal strength bar returns, and it populates with screen bars to indicate the HD Radio traffic signal is back.  However, the mesage "Waiting for Traffic Data" remains.  You have to physically turn off the Nuvi (hold down the power button for several seconds) then start it back up.  At that point, the HD Traffic content comes back.

Once you purchase Smartphone Link Live Traffic there is no way to turn it off and still use the other services.  You are stuck.  I completely deleted the bluetooth pairing between my phone and the Nuvi and deleted the Smartphone Link app from my phone.  I reinstalled the Smartphone Link app and paired my phone and Nuvi again.  My thinking was that since the Live Traffic Service was an additional in-app purchase, if I reinstall the app, I might have to actually go back into the act of purchasing Live Traffic again before it would recognize that I already purchased it and reactivate it.  Nope.  As soon as you open Smartphone Link, it must check in the background what services you've purchased and reactivate them automatically.

I contacted Garmin phone support.  That went no where fast.  When the rep's questions start with "What is the name of that app?"  "Is that an app that Garmin makes?"  and "What does the app do?"  you know that you are not going to get resolution to a technical problem like this.

Garmin does have a support email menu selection specific to Smartphone Link.  I've submitted this problem to them. I was greeted with a message to expect a 3 day wait, so I wait.

Problems with a new v1.0 app are to be expected I suppose.  Garmin clearly needs to work through issues with this app and I hope they do so soon.

For now, I'd stay away from Smarthphone Link's Live Traffic add-in until Garmin has responded to this problem and it appears to be working as expected.  I'll post updates on the blog.

Garmin Smartphone Link - Revolutionary (undocumented) Power Brought to the PND

Today, Garmin announced a seemingly modest new capability to a subset of it's Nuvi lineup.  Garmin's Smartphone Link is an Android (sorry iPhone users) companion app that provides some interesting new connected features.  You can download it here for free from the Android Market.


This app is a welcome enhancement to a somewhat stale PND marketplace. It appeared as though there were two distinct camps developing: smartphone nav apps or PNDs. Take your pick. With the limited popularity of connected PNDs, it seemed as though there was little hope for a product that intelligently blended the two together.

Not anymore.  Garmin, in my opinion, has successfully blended the smartphone and PND world together with their Smartphone Link app.  Given the new features this approach brings in its 1.0 introductory version, it is very exciting what might be in store for us in the future.


What is so revolutionary about this app is what is unadvertised and largely uncovered so far today.  At first blush, the free features of this app are very ho-hum. There aren't many.  The app gets a little bit sexier with the optional subscription services, but the uptake on fee-based services remains to be seen.  But underneath the hood, there is an incredible feature to be discovered and IT...IS...FREE.

Garmin's Smartphone Link Android app actually delivers to your PND, complete Google Maps search integration, integration of most 3rd party apps "locator" functionality, full Contact file address integration and complete calendar appointment address integration.  Read on!

At CES, Garmin has released new PND models that include the Smartphone Link capability.  But, it was nice to see Garmin extend the capability backward into some of their available current models as well.

At first look, the Smartphone Link app appears to be limited on features, especially free features.  However, under the hood is one of the most powerful PND capabilities to come to market since the demise of Dash Navigation. The obvious features will be dealt with here.  They have been widely covered.  What is important and spectacular are the undocumented capabilities of this app.  They are truly remarkable.  Here they are:

Garmin's Smartphone Link app for Android allows you to:

1. Use Google Maps on your phone, search for anything and instantly send any search result to your Nuvi.  Full Google Search on your Nuvi!
2. Use any 3rd party app that includes a Store Locator that is based on Google Maps and instantly send a search result address to your Nuvi.
3. Use your Android Contact file and send any contact's address to your Nuvi.
4. Use your calendar (Google or Microsoft Exchange) and send any street address entered into the calendar appointment's "Where" field to your Nuvi instantly.

That's right folks...it is all there, and it is FREE!  There is nothing better than a working example.  Here we go:

These directions are for my Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic Touch 4G on Sprint.  The exact sequence of keystrokes may be different on your phone.  I will assume that you've downloaded and installed Garmin's Smartphone Link app on your phone.  I assume you've paired and connected your Nuvi to your phone.  If so, continue on:

Google Maps or another app has likely claimed "default" status for some of the features on your phone.  We need to clear that default status to demonstrate these capabilities.  Don't worry.  This isn't a hack or something underhanded.  It is easily restored at any time of your choosing.

1. From your phone's main home screen, select MENU, then SETTINGS.
2. From the SETTINGS menu select APPLICATIONS.
3. Select MANAGE APPLICATIONS.
4. Scroll to find the "Launch By Default" section.
5. Click CLEAR DEFAULTS. If you have some other navigation app (like Waze, Navigon or others) that have claimed this default status, you need to clear that also. If you aren't sure, try this
1. Go to your Contact app on your phone.
2. Open a contact.
3. Scroll down to the Contact's street address.
4. Click it. The mapping or navigation app that opens is the app that has claimed the default status.  You need to clear that app's default status as described above.

Now the fun begins.

1. Open Google Maps on your phone.
2. Search for Pizza Hut.
3. Click on this results icon in the lower left hand corner of Google Maps.
4. Click on your desired Pizza Hut location.
5. Click the DIRECTIONS button.
6. On the directions screen, press the blue arrow.
7. Be prepared for awesomeness.

Since you cleared the defaults, you've opened the door for Garmin's Smartphone Link app to provide you a bit of sweetness.  At this point you should see a screen that says "Complete Action Using" and then a list of apps.  The list of apps depends on what is installed on your phone, but the news of the day is that Smartphone Link presents itself as an option here!

Warning: if you are a Google Navigation user too, I would recommend that you do NOT check the "Set As Default" box before clicking on Smartphone Link.  If you do, it will pass every Google Map selection to your Nuvi, rather than giving you the choice.  By leaving that box unchecked, you have the choice every time: send it to your Nuvi or send it to another app.

When you click Smartphone Link, look up at your Nuvi.  That Pizza Hut location will be instantly passed to you Nuvi, ready for you to say Go!  Oh, so awesome.

Garmin has just opened up the entire world of Google Maps to your Nuvi and I hope the world gives Garmin a big, sloppy kiss for it.

This mechanism of passing Google Map results is what opens up the other functionality mentioned above: passing Contact addresses, Calendar appointment locations and 3rd Party Store Locator functionality.

To navigate to ANY contact on your smartphone on your Nuvi without entering anything into your Nuvi, give this a try.  First, we need to enabled a Google Lab's feature in Google Maps.  Open Google Maps and do the following:

1. Click the MENU button in Google Maps.
2. Select SETTINGS.
3. Select LABS.
4. Scroll down and enable Bubble Buttons by clicking it.
5. Exit Google Maps.

Now for the contact functionality.

1. Open your Contact app.
2. Search or browse to any Contact.  Click it to open it.
3. Scroll down to find the contact's street address.
4. Click on it.  The address should immediately get passed to Google Maps.
5. Because you enabled Bubble Buttons above, your Contact's location should be marked and the text window should have a phone icon on the left and the infamous blue arrow on the right.
6. Click the blue arrow.
7. TaDa!  Click Smatphone Link and your contact's address is instantly sent to your Nuvi.

Finally, calendar functionality, though you've probably figured it out by now. It goes without saying that you must have a valid street address listed in your calendar appointment's "where" field for this to work.

1. Open your Calendar app.
2. Select an appointment.
3. Click on the address listed in the appointment.  The address should immediately get passed to Google Maps.
4. Because you enabled Bubble Buttons above, your Contact's location should be marked and the text window should have a phone icon on the left and the infamous blue arrow on the right.
5. Click the blue arrow.
6. TaDa!  Click Smatphone Link and your contact's address is instantly sent to your Nuvi!

The utility of this capability is endless  When traveling, imagine giving your smartphone to your traveling companion and asking them to search for a stopping place for gas, food, a hotel, etc.  You drive.  They search.  When they find something, they zap it to your Nuvi instantly.

This is a stunning feature. Why it is undocumented is beyond me.  Garmin SHOULD be jumping up and down and waving their hands about this significant, free feature of their new Android app.  Regardless, it is a great feature and one that has drastically increased the capability and usability of anyone that has a compatible Nuvi and an Android smartphone.

Follow me on Twitter