Nav System: Rural areas w/o 3G service

[ToddRLockwood]

I'm curious to know if I will have to plug in my Garmin GPS when driving through parts of Vermont that have no 3G coverage.

[contaygious]

If you have tech package you can still type an address into the nav screen even without 3G. Then it will send the address to the nav software on the dash. There just isn't anything in google maps.

I would test it out first though to be sure everything works ok

[dflye]

From what I've seen, if you have the Nav option to enable turn-by-turn directions, you can get that working in the instrument cluster. But it is a bit of a pain to enter in the destination, as first the touchpad wants to attempt a google search over 3G.

Really wish there was a completely independent way to use the Navigon vs Google search / routing. I'd prefer a way to have the Navigon display enabled even when a route isn't in use. That and many other nav features, I need to stop before I rant myself into a thread hijacking!

[ToddRLockwood]

I was wondering about the map loading. I'm surprised they opted for doing this in realtime, instead of storing the maps in the car. Someone there is assuming that there will be 100% 3G coverage across North America, which just isn't true, especially in rural hilly areas.

[dflye]

Well, if my 3G dies again, I'll try and see how well the nav behaves, as I would hope that the entire Navigon map set is stored locally. Be nice if they gave access to POI data so that you can find the nearest eatery/mall/rest area/park w/o having 3G operational, but I don't think that is there now.

[contaygious]

Well there are maps in the car just not for the google maps screen.

[ToddRLockwood]

Well there are maps in the car just not for the google maps screen.

OK, I understand. I heard somewhere that Garmin had a role in the Model S NAV system. Is there any truth to that?

[kitk]

OK, I understand. I heard somewhere that Garmin had a role in the Model S NAV system. Is there any truth to that?

The navigation software is "Navigon", which is a Hamburg, Germany-based company that Garmin acquired in June of 2011. They seem to be operating as a subsidiary and haven't shed the Navigon branding from their products.

[ToddRLockwood]

The navigation software is "Navigon", which is a Hamburg, Germany-based company that Garmin acquired in June of 2011. They seem to be operating as a subsidiary and haven't shed the Navigon branding from their products.

Interesting. So is there actually integration between Google Maps and the Navigon software? Or is the Google map just an independent location display?

[shady]

My house has no cell coverage, so every time I start a journey, I'm going to have to use the painful method of entering destinations.
I'm really hoping for wifi to be implemented soon (when I say soon, I'm a long way from my delivery estimate yet!)