Leaving for a trip in a bit, so don't know if I'll have time to log on here for a couple of days, tho I am taking the laptop. We'll see how navigation goes with the 310, running along side the 760. I said I'd hold off on posts until the firmware update. It was , and IMO, it was disappointing.
If your're looking for a daily use device, at this point I'd have to recommend the nuvi 700's over the HP310. There's a lot of things I like about the 310, but stability seems to be an issue. I've had to do several resets over the past two weeks. Fatal error on the firmware update, content manager update unable to load, no satellites on three separate occasions and one general lockup when booting. These all (except for the fatal error), required a simple soft reset, taking an extra minute or so. But it's certainly an aggravation. The 760, on the other hand, has NEVER ONCE needed a reset in 6 months of use.
The HP has a beautiful display, but not THAT much clearer, map-wise, than the 760. In fact the map colors of the nuvi work a bit better than the HP/Teleatlas colors. A LOT of green on the HP. . . Except at night, with way too many blue tones. Because of all the menus it tries to display on the main map screen, it actually shows less of the map than the 760, unless you put it in full screen view. . . it's either/or, no in-between. I've found I prefer full-screen view, doing without the info tabs. Strangely, I haven't missed the other info, so apparently it's not really that necessary to display it all, at least for me. Full screen display (other than colors) is quite an improvement over the nuvi. Movement is much smoother with the 310, but both devices tend to be slightly behind the actual vehicle position. As an example, it's quite common for the nuvi to "jump" to the turn, while the HP countdown (in feet) is frequently showing 50'+ remaining when I'm actively in the turn. Night screen on the nuvi is so much better than 310.
The way poi's are handled and displayed on the HP is wonderful. (Garmin should take note. This is actually USEFUL)) The transparency keeps the screen uncluttered (something TomTom should think about instead of trying to be pretty) and being able to choose how far away and very specifically which icons to display is clearly a huge advantage over every other device I've seen. Economical routing option has also turned out to be a very useful feature as a gas-saver. Detour (used once) worked well, but I had the distance set right for the situation by happenstance. I can imagine trying to change it in traffic to be a problem (and by how much? NO TRAFFIC RECEIVER!). Because of small key sizes, it's quite difficult and requires quite a bit of attention to change views or change destinations while on the road. The nuvi has larger keys and is quite easy to tap without having to look away from the road much, if at all. Even entering addresses on the HP is somewhat difficult because of the necessarily smaller keyboard. I often preferred (required?) the included stylus to initiate menu functions or input data. The 310 has a less sensitive touchpad than the 760, unless you use the stylus, which works perfectly, no pressure required.
Lack of a traffic receiver for the 310 is a major drawback, impacting routing and detour usefulness. Voice is quite poor compared to nearly every other device I've heard, even after the update. "Avenue B Northwest" still comes out of Susan as "Avenue Northwest", no B. Jill sounds quite good tho. She must have spit the marbles out.
In a work setting, I'd have to recommend the 700's over the 310. More stable OS, easier to manipulate on the road, and MSN2 or TMC traffic.
The 310 is certainly more fun, 3D buildings (in the LARGE cities) and terrain is interesting to see. Playing with options and settings, seeing how one impacts another, can fill up a otherwise boring hour. Lots of possibilities for additional functions (fondly called hacks). My son loved playing games on it. (Can't remember the game, but one of them has no obvious way to quit. Had to go to FAQ's to find out. It's not in the manual, and there ISN"T a quit button) Haven't tried video on it yet, tho I may on this trip. I imagine it looks great, as the screen is so detailed and clear. In a nutshell tho, I just don't think the 310 is ready yet as a professional tool. Fun? YES, absolutely!! With a couple of simple HP changes, I may buy one. It just doesn't quite feel "finished" yet, more a work in progress.
For now, this is a general post regarding a recent trip to Atlanta, via Savannah from Central Florida. It would be fairly detailed, but my "significant other" hasn't found the notes I had her write during the trip (AARRGHH!).
I originally set the HP for economical routing and previewed the route. In many instances, it pretty much matched the nuvi "fastest" routing, except as I approached Savannah. As it looked like several local roads were then used, I elected to change to "fastest". Route now was nearly identical to the nuvi, or so I thought. At the Turnpike interchange north of Orlando, the HP wanted me to go PAST the exchange approx 1.5 miles, turn left at another State highway, then back to the interchange. I can only guess that the TA map did not recognize the interchange as being accessible from the Eastbound lane. The nuvi correctly used the interchange. Other than that, all clear until I arrived in Savannah. The poi's of the HP seemed more up-to-date. Found only one closed store on it, compared to two with the nuvi. To reach the hotel, the HP wanted to use 2 left turns. I followed it's routing waiting a bit for a turn arrow at the first and waited thru 2 light changes for the second left. The nuvi wanted me to take an earlier street, then a series of three right turns. It would have been faster with the nuvi (right on red).
While in Savannah, my wife wanted to go to the Chart House. When I entered the poi in the HP and hit the green check, it promptly rebooted, evidence that the OS still has some instability. When I re=entered the destination, no problem. . . it routed me correctly, the way I would have normally gone (I vacation in Savannah fairly frequently). When I left Savannah the next morning, I discovered the HP unable to locate satellites about 5 minutes out (Just didn't notice) Had my wife not been there I would have had to pull over to do a reset, since you can't safely do that on the road. An annoyance.
I followed nuvi routing to Atlanta, since both devices gave me pretty much the same route. As we approached Atlanta, the HP wanted to route me off
I-16 pretty early. I stayed with the nuvi and our destination near downtown was very easy to get to. The HP would have had me on downtown roads for a fair distance. But WOW, how nice to see how HP showed Atlanta. What I saw in front of me matched nearly identically the 3d building display. I will say that routing in Atlanta was easier to follow on the HP than the nuvi since my view was the same as the HP display. (But I can confirm that Susan, tho louder, still clips off some pronunciations. very poor quality compared to the nuvi). I absolutely loved the city display on the HP. My wife got quite frustrated with trying to cancel a route on the HP after I had changed my mind. Push and hold wheel, push cancel. Still rerouting. Again, still rerouting. She finally figured out "delete route" instead of "cancel". Also, even with her small fingers, she frequently hit "home" rather than "Space" on addy entry. Also had problems in using the scroll wheel, never getting clear on why the menu changed. She grew to HATE the HP. (Probably why she "lost" the nav notes ) I will say that even tho she seldom uses my 760, she had no problems in entering routes, finding poi's or canceling. One odd thing on the nuvi. . . one gas station/convenience store was shown to be at the top of an overpass. Just a TAD off. It actually was almost a 1/2 mile beyond that. The nuvi never lost satellites in Atlanta, the HP did once, but just for a moment. The nuvi was better at routing right to the mall offices I was visiting. The HP was not reliable once I was on mall property. The HP was also much more likely to show me on the highway rather than the parking lot and showed confusion for a few seconds once I exited the parking lot, turning around a couple of times. The nuvi on-screen tracklog also was a big help in getting back to property entry point. The HP was no help until I got back on the highway.
On the return trip, the nuvi did do one strange manuever,which I didn't follow; it wanted me to exit I-16 and get back on at the next ramp. I didn't see a traffic warning, so no explanation. In fairness, at the very beginning of the trip, the HP wanted me to make a right onto a side road, then a left to get on the second road, when if you continue, the original road merges into the second in another 100 yards and you avoid an additional traffic light. Guess they all give strange manuvers occassionally. Overall, both devices gave pretty reliable routing, tho the HP preferred local roads a bit more often than the nuvi. A local might be comfortable on small city streets, left turns and all. As a stranger to Atlanta, I generally preferred the nuvi routes, which tended more towards major roads, at least in Atlanta.
If I lived in a large city with 3D mapping available, I might prefer the HP, even with it's OS issues. It is reassuring to actually see the building ahead at your turn. It gives you more confidence that you're making the right turn. On the highway, and routing overall, I'd rather have the nuvi by my side with traffic reporting. It was very useful once I got back to Orlando and had a report of an accident blocking the interstate. By the way, when I hit detour on the HP, it created a completely new and slower route with numerous lights back to my home, rather than trying to get back on the interstate. Detour was set for 5km. The nuvi did put me back on I-4 past the accident after I ignored the first turn back.
Ease of use on the road? Nuvi easily wins, no contest. Big city? A toss up. I preferred the nuvi routes as a rule, but I was much more confident with the HP view. I will say the nuvi is more readable and much brighter in that late afternoon sun. I do like the "economical" routing around my home territory. Uncomfortable with it in Atlanta with it's liberal use of smaller side streets, sometimes not in the nicest neighborhoods. After two tries, it stayed on fastest the rest of the time.
Fair comments. Though you did forget to mention that the iPaq sells for slightly less than half of what the Nuvi 760 goes for.
Now do you see the power of the 310 with Ped Mode enabled? The graphics will come in handy for city centre strolls. Screen lock and disable snap to road should aid as well.
Garmin and TT have much more stable platform than Windows CE devices. Nature of the beasts.
I think HP will continue to lean HAAAARRRRDDD on NavNgo for them to upgrade the software even more.
For you, the HP will be a great 2nd machine. TA maps, a gazillion POIs and all for $200!
I just got my iPAQ 310 and am having some issues. I haven't been able to update yet as the update is 1Gbyte which takes some time with my 500kbps DSL. I tried to update at my work (very fast connection) but it kept locking up on the downloads and it never finished (maybe due to some IP configuration at work). I hope the poor sound quality and the poor bluetooth operation as a speakerphone will improve with update.
In the morning drive the iPAQ allowed me to dial my office but no sound came out. In the afternoon, the speakerphone worked but I couldn't hear my wife (sound quality good but way too low even at max volume) and my wife heard garbled noises out of my mouth.
I cannot get the Outlook contacts sync to do anything. It 'syncs' and there are no contacts as a result.
I live near Minneapolis and I see the 35W bridge still looks intact. Is there any way of avoiding that? Does iPAQ have anything like TomTom share maps or can I modify anything on the map?
The iPAQ website is hard to navigate. I cannot even see if there are European maps available. Are there?
Gatorman discussed the use of the POI semi-transparent icons and how you can change those that display and how far. I find the manual useless (only a few pages long) and did not see how to change these.
I just got my iPAQ 310 and am having some issues. I haven't been able to update yet as the update is 1Gbyte which takes some time with my 500kbps DSL. I tried to update at my work (very fast connection) but it kept locking up on the downloads and it never finished (maybe due to some IP configuration at work). I hope the poor sound quality and the poor bluetooth operation as a speakerphone will improve with update.
In the morning drive the iPAQ allowed me to dial my office but no sound came out. In the afternoon, the speakerphone worked but I couldn't hear my wife (sound quality good but way too low even at max volume) and my wife heard garbled noises out of my mouth.
I cannot get the Outlook contacts sync to do anything. It 'syncs' and there are no contacts as a result.
I live near Minneapolis and I see the 35W bridge still looks intact. Is there any way of avoiding that? Does iPAQ have anything like TomTom share maps or can I modify anything on the map?
The iPAQ website is hard to navigate. I cannot even see if there are European maps available. Are there?
Gatorman discussed the use of the POI semi-transparent icons and how you can change those that display and how far. I find the manual useless (only a few pages long) and did not see how to change these.
That's all for now. Thanks for any advice.
The manual is 79 pages long.
Dont use contacts to sync, as that has issues.
TTS sound is no longer a problem if you do an easy modification.
Last edited by infama on Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:46 am; edited 1 time in total
You like to niggle, don't you Gatorguy! Ouf! The TomTom crowd must feel some relief that you have embarked on another one of your crusades!
Oh yeah! The Gator knows (technologically) where the threat comes from.
No Garmin nor TT can handle the fireworks of the iPaq with its iCandy 3D maps, 12m POIs and top class hardware!
Last edited by infama on Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:58 pm; edited 1 time in total
Uncle Ben, voices, radio button sizes and lack of traffic are my only real complaints with the HP. I like it more than what I've seen of the TT's so far!
'Course that may change
"TTS sound is no longer a problem if you do an easy modification"
Well my iPAQ is a brick now that I did the 'upgrade'. I assume I'm going to have to send it back to HP.
Anyway, what is this 'easy mod' you speak of? Does it come if the update is successful?
On Outlook contacts I will stop trying to do that given it has 'issues'. Too bad that was a nice feature instead of having manually type in all my contacts.
Also, I am still wondering how to handle the loss of a major artery (35W bridge) in the city and whether my speakerphone sound volume and quality is an anomaly.
Uncle Ben, voices, radio button sizes and lack of traffic are my only real complaints with the HP. I like it more than what I've seen of the TT's so far!
'Course that may change
"TTS sound is no longer a problem if you do an easy modification"
Well my iPAQ is a brick now that I did the 'upgrade'. I assume I'm going to have to send it back to HP.
Anyway, what is this 'easy mod' you speak of? Does it come if the update is successful?
On Outlook contacts I will stop trying to do that given it has 'issues'. Too bad that was a nice feature instead of having manually type in all my contacts.
Also, I am still wondering how to handle the loss of a major artery (35W bridge) in the city and whether my speakerphone sound volume and quality is an anomaly.
Did you read and try the manouvers in this (sticky) thread? (How to force a firmware update).
It may cure your problem like it did for that poster.
Uncle Ben, voices, radio button sizes and lack of traffic are my only real complaints with the HP. I like it more than what I've seen of the TT's so far!
'Course that may change
Traffic is coming (I think). When is anyone's guess. Voices have been fixed with a simple mod. Radio buttons and too small a keyboard, I don't know man. I'm 6' 5", I weigh in at 240 lbs, I'm considered heavy-built, my hands are normal for my frame, and I have NO problem, none whatsoever, with any buttons or keys on the 310. Of course, I don't use fingerprints to tap the screen, I use gentle fingertips! Be gently, don't push hard, gentle, feathertouch ...Try it, it works!
Uncle Ben, I'm sure I would get used to the way the buttons need to be tapped. They're just smaller than I'm accustomed to. Also, I previously posted that the HP screen is LESS sensitive than the nuvi. Not so. Just need to be more particular as to where you tap. If done properly, the HP registers great.
Uncle Ben, I'm sure I would get used to the way the buttons need to be tapped. They're just smaller than I'm accustomed to. Also, I previously posted that the HP screen is LESS sensitive than the nuvi. Not so. Just need to be more particular as to where you tap. If done properly, the HP registers great.
Actually, to me its a bit less sensitive than the TT..but still usable.
Did you read and try the manouvers in this (sticky) thread? (How to force a firmware update).
It may cure your problem like it did for that poster.
I sent you a PM BTW.
Sorry, I didn't try the sticky. I will shut up until I try that.
I didn't notice the PM, thanks, I read it and will try it when the time is right.
I tried the sticky instructions. Deleted all within NAV except the liscense. Opened the content manager but when it tries to load my profile it crashes every time. I am at the end of the road, sending the device back to HP for repair.
Did you read and try the manouvers in this (sticky) thread? (How to force a firmware update).
It may cure your problem like it did for that poster.
I sent you a PM BTW.
Sorry, I didn't try the sticky. I will shut up until I try that.
I didn't notice the PM, thanks, I read it and will try it when the time is right.
I tried the sticky instructions. Deleted all within NAV except the liscense. Opened the content manager but when it tries to load my profile it crashes every time. I am at the end of the road, sending the device back to HP for repair.
I guess that is all you can do at this point. Sorry.
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) I will say that even tho she seldom uses my 760, she had no problems in entering routes, finding poi's or canceling. One odd thing on the nuvi. . . one gas station/convenience store was shown to be at the top of an overpass. Just a TAD off. It actually was almost a 1/2 mile beyond that. The nuvi never lost satellites in Atlanta, the HP did once, but just for a moment. The nuvi was better at routing right to the mall offices I was visiting. The HP was not reliable once I was on mall property. The HP was also much more likely to show me on the highway rather than the parking lot and showed confusion for a few seconds once I exited the parking lot, turning around a couple of times. The nuvi on-screen tracklog also was a big help in getting back to property entry point. The HP was no help until I got back on the highway.
