Google Maps

[caller]

I've looked up the cost of a Samsung Galaxy A33, and Google suggests 'Typically $258–$450.

I paid under B7k for it two years ago, it would be even less now, if they still sell it?

[Big Boy]

I guess whatever the cost, you still have the right sensors built in. I've tried a few downloads of different apps, but repeatedly get the same message. I don't remember the ago of my phone, but such sensors were not included. My wife's phone is much newer than mine, but still a budget phone. I'll try her phone to see if the sensors are built in - she's usually with me when I need compass direction.

[Big Boy]

Success - no problem with my wife's phone.

This got me thinking..... what was the release date of my phone (I know I've had it a long time) - September 19, 2016

[GroveHillWanderer]

Most of what you say makes sense. However, as an example, this week I was in the car park of a new (for me) hotel in Ratchaburi. In front of me is a main road with traffic moving left and right. The instruction isn't turn right or left, it is 'Head North'. I have a 50% chance that North is left - I am not a homing pigeon. That first instruction has a direction arrow pointing through the roof of my car (straight ahead).

I'm not sure I understand the problem. The default orientation for Google Maps is that the map is oriented such that due North is straight up.

If you've rotated the map at all, then a compass pointer appears with the red portion showing you which direction North is (see below).

So either way, you should be able to tell which way any point of the compass is, just by looking at the map.

[Big Boy]

I'm not sure I understand the problem.

Yes, my phone displays the compass pointer, but it doesn't move. The problem is, not all smart phones have the correct sensors for the compass to work. That being the case, why does Google Maps start the journey differently to the rest of the journey? After the start instruction e.g. Head East, every other instruction will be e.g. Turn Right, Go Straight, Turn Left, Do a U-Turn.

Using the same protocol throughout would be so much easier.

[Nereus]

I'm not sure I understand the problem.

Yes, my phone displays the compass pointer, but it doesn't move. The problem is, not all smart phones have the correct sensors for the compass to work. That being the case, why does Google Maps start the journey differently to the rest of the journey? After the start instruction e.g. Head East, every other instruction will be e.g. Turn Right, Go Straight, Turn Left, Do a U-Turn.

Using the same protocol throughout would be so much easier.

As your phone does not appear to have the correct sensors, when you first input a destination, before you move, the phone does not know which way you are pointing / parked. But it does know that where you want to go, so it tells you the direction to start off with.

[STEVE G]

^Yes, exactly. Some years ago I used to use a phone without a compass sensor for hiking and it can only derive a direction when you're moving from the relative change in position.
You only had to walk 5-10m for it to start working but if you stopped, the direction cursor would start to wander around.
Walking it wasn't really a problem but I can appreciate that turning a car around in traffic is not always so easy.

[Big Boy]

Thanks for making sense of that first instruction for me guys. Generally, I'm delighted with Google maps, having used it to travel thousands of miles around Thailand. It was just that first instruction that always baffled me.

[buksida]

What are people using as an alternative to Google Maps? The damn thing still takes us off-road or through someone's field just to shave 11 seconds off a journey rather than picking the perfectly good road that may be a kilometer further distance-wise. You'd think AI would now be able to tell the difference between a dirt track and a road, but not with Google Maps apparently.

May revisit Waze or Maps.me for an upcoming road trip. Are there any others to try?

[Dannie Boy]

I know you’re a lot more tech-savvy than I am, but in settings have you disabled fuel efficient routes?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[buksida]

Tried that, it still takes you on dirt tracks for the same journey. Maps.me is no good for rural areas, it seems, as very little is marked. Maybe there is no alternative, planning routes manually seems to be the way to go rather than relying on tech giants.

[Dannie Boy]

I’ve not tried it, but I read that Waze allows you to avoid dirt tracks!! - just looked and they call it Unpaved Roads!!

[404cameljockey]

Tried that, it still takes you on dirt tracks for the same journey. Maps.me is no good for rural areas, it seems, as very little is marked. Maybe there is no alternative, planning routes manually seems to be the way to go rather than relying on tech giants.

I like to explore Hua Hin even though by now I know the best routes already. To get from Canal Road (Makro end) to Black Mountain it wants to take you along a dirt track that leads to a dead end in barren fields in the middle of nowhere.

When I first came here GM took my car up a narrow and eventually terrifyingly steep dirt track past small farms with fierce dogs until I was halfway up a mountain. I stopped when my small car's 1.6l engine wouldn't proceed vertically any further while in automatic, and the boulders in the road started grounding the car, I did a difficult twenty point turn and returned. Fun though.

[Big Boy]

In the early days, I trusted my satnav (TomTom at the time) too much, and even found myself bogged down in a field once. A lot of determination, and a lot of luck, I managed to get myself out. The car was well in need of a clean afterwards. That was a huge lesson learned. Since then, if the road looks dodgy, I don't take the turn. The satnav always sorts it out afterwards.

I think they all use similar algorithms.

When I thought Google Maps was going to end as we know it, joelle recommended Waze and MAPS.SE. I started using Waze, and it worked well, and had a few whistles and bells not on Google Maps. However, I gradually moved back to Google Maps out of habit, as opposed to anything else.

[404cameljockey]

I bought a Garmin many years ago when this all started. I chose Garmin because you could hack the software and I enjoyed a free Alan Rickman drily commenting on my driving. Brian Blessed was fun too. Like you, Google Maps is the way for me now. Dropping a location pin to send to someone is a huge advance, provided you're sending it to someone who knows how to use it!