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r1derbike
10 Posts |
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Marvin Hlavac
Canada
6902 Posts |
 Posted - 22 août 2006 : 16:10:15
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| IIRC the price used to be a lot more in the past. Their "End of Summer Sale" is very reasonable. |
Marvin Hlavac |
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r1derbike
10 Posts |
Posted - 22 août 2006 : 23:22:02
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Yes...I'm thinking of purchasing it. I've got a bluetooth OnCourse BT-339 that works well, but the S&T software I tried from Microsoft irritated me more than usual...
Charles |
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Marvin Hlavac
Canada
6902 Posts |
Posted - 22 août 2006 : 23:37:34
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| If you are tempted to try it, there is very little to risk. If you don't like it, they have a very generous 30-days money back guarantee http://www.alk.com/store/returns.asp |
Marvin Hlavac |
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r1derbike
10 Posts |
Posted - 23 août 2006 : 02:56:33
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Thanks for the info, Marvin. I just placed an order, but it says it will ship when the items become available. I'm assuming the software is backordered. Sent a query to support to find-out if that is the case. Most businesses will have an out-of-stock disclaimer on the order page. At least they don't charage your card until the item is shipped. ;}
The 30 day trial is indeed generous. They must have a lot of confidence in their product!
Charles |
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Marvin Hlavac
Canada
6902 Posts |
Posted - 23 août 2006 : 10:14:31
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| Let us know how it goes, Charles. |
Marvin Hlavac |
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r1derbike
10 Posts |
Posted - 24 août 2006 : 04:05:19
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Software is in stock, will be shipped tomorrow. Should take 4-5 days for arrival. Couldn't pass-up the price on the software, I almost paid 199.00 for it several weeks ago! Good things come to those who wait!
Charles |
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lcicciari
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 24 août 2006 : 19:01:33
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Hello Everyone!
I have started looking into a laptop gps solution, and came across this site. I must say I'm impressed.
There are a few choices on the market right now. Which would you recommend? I am flip flopping between the Garmin one and the MS Streets and Trips.
I think i know the answer to this question, but I wanted to be sure. Say I buy the Garmin GPS receiver, will that work with all other software? I ask because I will be going to Rome, and also want to use AutoRoute while driving in the countryside.
Thanks in advance for all of your help. It is much appreciated! |
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Marvin Hlavac
Canada
6902 Posts |
Posted - 24 août 2006 : 20:05:43
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Hi lcicciari,
A few months ago I met a service technician who uses the Garmin software and hardware with his laptop mounted in his service van. He was very happy with it. I wish we had some feedback here on the forum from users of the product, but it seems nRoute by Garmin is not as widely used as other programs.
If you buy the Garmin receiver you will need to use Franson GPS Gate software (or a similar solution) to make it compatible with most non-Garmin software. (GPS Gate will also help if you have a non-Garmin receiver and wish to use it with nRoute software.) |
Marvin Hlavac |
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lcicciari
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 25 août 2006 : 16:08:27
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Marvin,
Thanks for your advice.
Luigi |
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r1derbike
10 Posts |
Posted - 26 août 2006 : 04:41:18
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Received the ALK CoPilot disks today. Strike 1; my home address is not listed in the U.S. Street Maps, even though they trumpet up-to-date street maps through fall of '05. This address has been active for over 10 years. My immediate neighbors are not listed either. Strike 2; Two software installation lockups that needed hard resets to recover, and continue with installation. I've not had a single software lockup during install of other software on my Toshiba laptop.
Quality of the maps is much less than I expected.
Taking a trip south this weekend, will report on actual navigation impressions later.
So far, I'm not impressed, but will give it a chance to show its stuff on the road...
Charles |
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Marvin Hlavac
Canada
6902 Posts |
Posted - 26 août 2006 : 10:01:48
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:( Not a good first impression...
Is your street on the map at all? Is it just that you cannot search for your house number? |
Marvin Hlavac |
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r1derbike
10 Posts |
Posted - 26 août 2006 : 21:57:09
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My street is not listed. A rough-drawn loop is on the map (in white) with the moniker "no name" attached. It doesn't even show the cul-de-sac at all, a stone's throw from my house.
It looks like I may forgive the lack of updated information, as it appears more densely packed areas have better information. Just got back from a short jaunt, with some wrong turns thrown in to test the software; it instantly recalculated routes, as soon as the wrong turn was made. Impressive.
The male voice is at least understandable, the female voice is not, with far too much bass frequency response. I'm going to add my own voice commands shortly. The male voice is rich in high frequency response, the female voice should have been also.
The 3D view is something new, with very large graphics. I'm not sure I like it yet, will experiment further.
The graphics, colors and display bullets-and-bars reminded me of old DOS based graphics systems, that have been groomed to look much better. I prefer modern, higher resolution, professional looking graphics in a user interface. Frankly, I'm not impressed with the graphics.
Operation of the software is easy, and intuitive, and I was blown-away with the capabilities and options in the Trip Planning Mode. The software is feature-rich, and leaves both DeLorme and S&T in the dust for its capabilities.
I give it an 7.5 stars out of 10. Positives being instant route recalculation, feature set, and ease-of-use. Negatives being less-than-stellar graphics, and out-of-date maps.
Charles |
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Marvin Hlavac
Canada
6902 Posts |
Posted - 26 août 2006 : 22:12:14
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| Thanks much for your first impressions! When I looked at version 8 last year I remember liking Australian voice. I don't recall now if it was male or female. |
Marvin Hlavac |
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r1derbike
10 Posts |
Posted - 27 août 2006 : 04:49:47
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Another quirk:
CoPilot had me turn right off route, take the first left, then turn left again, and wound-up back on the same road I was traveling when I turned. Loss of time, and more mileage. There was no reason for this! I back-tracked to do it again, and it did it again! This is one complaint I've heard several times regarding the ALK CoPilot software. Don't know how common this bug is with other software, but many more negatives and I'll have to return this software...BTW, there were no accidents or obstructions on the road I was traveling.
Charles |
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Laptop GPS Software Compared
