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NAV - Neat New Stuff!

5K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  SkipHuffman 
#1 ·
Hi, folks!

I hope everybody is doing well this week.

Recently, I had to do a lot of driving. Had to do something to take my mind off the hurricanes I've been fleeing, so I began playing around with NAV.

I discovered that you can pull up POI names by typing them in.

Try it. I spelled out "HOLIDAY INN" and it gave me over 200. I sorted the list by distance, then picked the one closest to me, hit "route", and she routed me right to it!

I was also able to find a "detour" function. Yup, it's in there! While you're driving, hit "route" and "detour", then choose the distance. At various times, it may say 3 miles, 5 miles, 10 miles. Other times, you may be offered choices of 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles. Works pretty good, particularly if you are on a freeway and want to get off and circumvent a traffic accident that lies ahead of you.

I found that I can tap the left-screen (I always use dual-screen mode because it's very "Trekkie" and quite useful at the same time), with the left side "north up" and the right side "front of car up"). When you tap, the screen will pan and scroll to "center" the bull's eye. You can zoom in and out and pan to actually locate turnoffs, geographic, road, or other landmarks. The left-hand display will even show me the distance to the "bulls-eye" cursor. You have to look at those distance icons and use common-sense to figure out what they mean.

It takes practice. But with practice, I found that I can "pick" and "poke" the left-screen, then hit "route" to get her to direct me to a destination, even while in motion!

NAV has tons and tons of options, folks.

If you are lucky enough to have NAV, you really should be playing with it. And yes, I do mean "playing" with it. You have to treat it like a game, or else you won't learn it. "Playing" is really the best possible way to start finding this stuff! If you don't take the time and make the effort to find the features, then you will be losing out on this fantastic capability.

Yeah, I know the manual sucks. I'd rewrite it, but I just began working on my PhD, so I regretfully will have to decline. Somebody else will have to undertake that task.

Bad manual notwithstanding, NAV really is a FANTASTIC tool. Not using it is a decision you make to your own potential detriment, particularly if you find yourself in a strange city. I never even realized how many little towns there are in "old Florida" and South Georgia! It's like being on a constant Easter egg hunt! Fun stuff!

So I urge you to take the time. Approach it with a child's curiosity, and you will be fascinated at what you can learn, even in your own lifelong stomping-grounds!

She knows what McDonald's is, and she knows where all of the Holiday Inn hotels are. I don't eat at McDonald's, but I figure anybody who knows where they are can't be all that bad! Get to know her, and she'll be really good at helping you out.

Now go forth and self-educate!
 
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#2 ·
I'm the techie kind but I've always relied on the low-tech method of paper map to find my way around. Besides, my wife can't even use the tv remote control, a NAV system is a total waste of money for us.

A friend of mine would not buy a car without NAV. He goes to any area, keys in "Thai restaurant", or "Vietnamese restaurant" or "Chinese restaurant" as the case may be, and never goes hungry.
 
#3 ·
Hi, "V"!

My initial post was not necessarily aimed at people trying to decide whether or not to get NAV. I was only making a point to those who already have NAV and maybe have not taken the time to learn it. Or maybe those who have it and got frustrated and/or "gave up" on it.

If you have NAV, I urge you to take the time to explore it, because it can be far more useful than you may realize. You will only know this if you have explored it. It's like food. How can you tell if you won't like corn and green beans if you have never tried them?

By learning it, NAV owners will be able to make a more informed decision as to whether or not to use it. Besides, you've already paid for it. Why not take the time to learn it? Or at least learn how to use the "emergency" and "detour" features before you need them.

NAV may even turn out to be a life-saver one day, and yes, I mean that literally.

It's just my opinion.
 
#4 ·
vegas1 said:
I'm the techie kind but I've always relied on the low-tech method of paper map to find my way around. Besides, my wife can't even use the tv remote control, a NAV system is a total waste of money for us.

A friend of mine would not buy a car without NAV. He goes to any area, keys in "Thai restaurant", or "Vietnamese restaurant" or "Chinese restaurant" as the case may be, and never goes hungry.
I got the navi because my wife cant read a map.
 
#7 ·
My wife and I got the Nav, and it was immediately helpful as we drove 350 miles home from the dealer. When we found the switch (green rectangle) for "Enable toll roads," we were able to take 30 minutes off our estimated driving time to destination.

We've been showing the car to relatives (brought it home Sunday) by trying to get lost in neighborhoods with looping, winding streets, then picking an easy destination and finding the way out.

Another nice experiment is a journey that requires lots of turns at the beginning and end (cul-de-sac or one-way streets), but none in between, so you can converse without using the "Suspend Guidance" command.

The Prius-2G Yahoo group has a great thread on "What is Your Favorite Nav Command?" It also discusses steering wheel control without touching the screen.

My question for this discussion, if you don't mind a little off topic, is do you call the Nav lady anything? I find my response of "Thank you, thing" (an Addams Family reference) doesn't go with a voice that is so non-thingish. And "Yes, Dear" doesn't feel right, either. Of course, I don't have to call her anything - just call her on the steering wheel button.
 
#8 ·
I find "Yes Mistress Prius" to be very submissive.

If you're feeling dominant, you could always respond with "Don't tell me how to drive, B....!"
 
#10 ·
Once in frustration with the bizarre responses of the voice command function, my husband said "f*** you" to Majel (after Majel Barrett, the voice of Star Trek's Enterprise's computer). Her response was "Turning navigation system off."

Susan
04 silver BC
11,200 miles
This tank 47.8 mpg
 
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