New user: feedback
  • Vote Up2Vote Down frankvfrankv
    Hi,
    I'm trying Navigator Free, after trying various other Android car navigation apps.

    A couple of thoughts that would improve Navigator (IMHO):
    1. More options in the Speed Warning Threshold... I find that 10% is just a bit low, and 20% is just a bit high. Any reason why this can't be an incrementing number box or similar?
    2. User-selectable directions-speech distances... I find that 2km, 1km, 500m, 200m, "turn now" is overkill and would like to turn off at least 2 of them.
    3. User-selectable warning sounds (e.g. from MP3 files)
    4. Volume settings for warning sounds and directions.
    5. An option to only give the Speed Camera warning if you're above its speed limit.
    6. I use my phone to play music via BT whilst driving. I have an app "Speed of Sound" to automatically adjust volume based on speed. How about incorporating that into Navigator?
    7. The default "Sound output channel" setting to "Use SCO protocol for BT audio" results in my music being silenced, then a short pause, then the warning sound (except these seem distorted?) or directions (missing the first word or so?) then the music resumes. It's much better if that setting is turned off. Ideally, the music volume would be turned down (but not off) when Navigator makes a sound.
    8. Notifications (and directions?) to my Pebble smart watch.
    9. When I drove to work, Navigator directed me to use a back street which would have involved 2 more turns (R,L,R instead of just R) than just following the main road, although that route might have been a few metres shorter. Turns (and especially right turns for me in a country that drives on the left) should be factored into finding the quickest route to avoid this.
    10. Can Navigator learn traffic speeds on specific pieces of road from my driving and therefore over time fine-tune it's quickest route?
    11. A couple of other navigation apps have the ability to report and see petrol prices (and traffic jams and so on).
    12. The auto-zoom zooms in a bit too close for my liking... can that be configurable?
    A long list, I know, and some of them are a bit trivial. And some would be major redesigns. But just passing this along in case it helps you (and in the hope that I'll see some of these features).

    Thanks for all your work with Navigator, and for sharing the Free version.

    Frank

  • 3 Comments sorted by
  • Vote Up0Vote Down hvdwolfhvdwolf
    1. Fully agree. Even better would be two settings. One below 80 km/hr and one for over 80 km/hr.
    2. Agree. The only current option is to adapt your own tts.xml but that is not an everyday job for the everyday user.
    3. That is possible be it manually. In the navigator folder you have the folder "warning sounds". You can put your own in there (I have that as the standard sounds are horrible). Note that on every new update these files are overwritten so make a copy of your sounds somewhere on your phone.
    4. I assume different volume settings between warning sounds and directions? That is hard to do in Android itself. Again: you can easily set the internal volume of your own warning sounds WAVs lower or higher depending on whether you want to hear the sounds or instructions louder. I have "gentle, not too loud" sounds for my warnings.
    5. No meaning. I don't care.
    6. I agree, but no matter whether it is bluetooth or not. Some apps automatically regulate sound volume (direct or bluetooth) depending on speed.
    7. As far as I know is that not how it works with an external device connected to the car set. It is done by the car set, not the external device (phone). (But I'm not sure. I drive different cars and the behaviour is not always the same).
    8. No meaning. I don't care.
    9. Navigator doesn't know/use speed penalties. Only road speed (or default if not tagged to the road) and distance to calculate a route. For that reason Navigator does not take into account that turns, especially those involving upcoming traffic, take more time and need to be part of the route calculation. Same for traffic lights, speed bumps and other speed regulating options, etc. Unfortunately navigator doesn't use neither of them. I'm already requesting at least 1½ year for those options, as you are not the only one asking that and I always put my request again to those "new" requests, like yours.
    10. I assume it can, but if you are a real speeder breaking all kind of max speed laws, or a "traffic jam rat" using all kinds of possibly illegal or at least disapproved short cuts, I think navigator legally has a problem facilitating that.
    11. Traffic information (jams) announcement is part of new paid functionality coming to Navigator via Tomtom HD traffic. See other posts. And petrol prices ??? Never heard of that
    12. No it can't. So that would be a feature request as well.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down ZilvinasJonaitisZilvinasJonaitis
    I'm with you on these improvements. Especially, on fastest route calculation mentioned in no. 9. I think there could be more improvements in selecting optimal fastest route. I often get suggested to take residential highway (in terms of OSM) instead of obvious advantage in taking a secondary or even a primary highway for just of some insignificant distance advantage. That's not smart approach in my opinion.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down tomastomas
    please set higher preferences for major roads
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