Most people seem to tolerate Garmin’s ad-supported traffic pretty well, and consider it a fair trade in exchange for free lifetime traffic. While it’s true that the ads aren’t very intrusive, some folks are really bugged by them, so let’s look at ways to avoid the ads:
How to get ad-free traffic on your Garmin nuvi
March 19, 2012 By 8 Comments
Garmin StreetPilot Onboard iPhone app gets traffic camera option
November 23, 2011 By 2 Comments
Tired of inaccurate traffic data? How about live traffic camera images instead? Well that’s a new option as of today’s update to the Garmin StreetPilot Onboard app for the iPhone. The update will also add live weather info and the ability to share points of interest via Facebook and SMS. While the update is free, the photoLive Traffic Cameras feature will cost you $9.99 as an in-app purchase.
Google Maps drops traffic time estimates
July 18, 2011 By 1 Comment
Google has quietly dropped their “in traffic” time estimates from Google Maps. When you set up a route in the past, you would usually see two time estimates, including one showing the estimated time “in traffic.” Traffic conditions are still shown, and you can still change the time of day to visually see the impact on traffic, as shown above. But this won’t change the estimated travel time.
Carmageddon and real-time construction updates
July 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I-405 (or “the 405” to locals), the major north-south artery through western Los Angeles, will be shut down this weekend from Friday evening through Monday morning, leading some to dub it Carmageddon. Theoretically, this is where connected devices and smartphones will shine, letting you know that you should take an alternate route (though a more appropriate directive might just be “don’t drive!”).
Waze is all over this, as is TeleNav, which isn’t using their mapping providers (NAVTEQ and TeleAtlas) for this as much as they are other sources like DOT, CalTrans and Westwood One. It’s also nice to see that Google has a warning up about the closure, even without specifying a date for a trip. I guess there are some advantages to living in LA; I’m not sure Google ever did figure out the six month long closure of I-40 between North Carolina and Tennessee.
Garmin nuLink gets live traffic cams in Europe
May 10, 2011 By 3 Comments
Looks like Garmin is pulling a TomTom, rolling out cool new features on the other side of the pond while leaving US commuters stuck in traffic. The nuLink 2300 series, announced today, brings European motorists PhotoLive cameras and 3D traffic.
The state of live traffic reporting in the US
January 14, 2011 By 2 Comments
A GpsPasSion forum member has posted an excellent piece on the state of live traffic reporting in the US, with historical background, a look at the various ways traffic is reported, and even a ranking of number of probes for the key players. Google tops the list BTW, thanks to their Android coverage. There are a couple of pieces missing (NAVTEQ sources, iPhone probe data sent back to Apple – and no, I don’t have the answers to those), but overall this is the best summary of its sort I’ve seen. There are a few shoes left to drop – Apple’s predicted mapping solution, the fact that Garmin will soon have a lot of probe data as their mobile apps take off, and (as the article notes) RIMs massive network of probes.
TomTom to introduce lifetime traffic
January 7, 2010 By 2 Comments
UPDATE: Our TomTom XXL 540TM page has been posted.
TomTom announced today that they will begin to offer Lifetime Traffic Updates later this year. There’s no word on who the data provider will be, but they are saying that coverage will include 89 metropolitan markets in the US and four cities in Canada. The new Lifetime Traffic Updates will be bundled with a range of TomTom devices starting in early Q2, 2010.
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