Help Is Navigation on S3 as good as Garmin? What adjustments need to be made?

I've used Garmin Sat nav's for over 15 years, as well as Sat nav on Nokia, iphone and now my Galaxy S3, here's my 2 cents worth, but I'm in Europe so some may not apply....

Garmin, advantages are the stored maps, multi point routing, the routing options and free radio traffic updates. As well as user options for adding selected POI (point of intrest) - shopping, food, cashpoint, etc. etc.

On the phones, the basic sat nav uses a live data link via gprs or 3g/4g to get the maps and info as you drive. Great if a) you're not charged for data, and b) you have coverage. But I find the times when you're really 'lost' you get no phone signal, so all the smart phones are useless in these cases unless you have pre-downloaded the maps - this rules out the built-in google maps application.


As for routing..... Modern garmin offer multi point routing, so you can set several waypoints for your route. Routing options for car/truck/motorbike/suv as well as shortest, fastest most eco friendly route etc. If you select options for truck it avoids if it can single track roads and dirt track roads. Smart phones tend to just offer less options, on my S3 it's offers just driving, walking and cycling, regardless of the terrain. For example my S3 gave me directions home this afternoon, down single track roads with hills. This may be the shortest route, but it's neither the quickest or the most economical, and if you're a driver like my mother, then being off the main road would be a nightmare.


On the plus side, if you have 100% coverage and no data charges, then the smartphones will often have more up to date maps, live data links, live speed camera updates etc.


Some, GPS applications allow pre-downloaded maps which help, and some offer POI downloads and better routing options.


However, data on the networks here can be expensive. So, untill, we get free/very cheap data, 100% 4g/3g coverage and better routing options I'll stick to using my garmin.

I just use a compass and a map. I don't know what crazy age you guys are living in.



but on a more serious note, Garmins usually have a pretty good accuracy on flat ground (3-5 meters) while it seems the SGS3 is a little bit more off some times up to 50 meters inaccuracy. However with that being said, both work very well while moving!

I think if you are just going to drive around California and not do any like back country hiking, then the SGS3 will be just fine. Don't need to shell out 400 dollars when you really don't need 3-5 meters accuracy.

NJRonbo said:

I will be taking a trip out to California in another month and I am wondering whether it will be better to buy a new $400 Garmin or save money and use the GS3 as a navigation device via Google Maps (or perhaps something better recommended here).

It's not the money that concerns me so much. I want to make certain that the navigation I use works well and puts me on the best course.

Now, if I do use the GS3 I will have to buy a windshield mount.

I also need to know what kind of adjustments have to be done on the phone. For instance...

1. I notice phone brightness automatically adjusts itself. Not sure if this is a good thing.

2. Email notifications and other buzzing sounds not related to the navigation may divert my attention.

3. Keeping the phone active is fine since I will have a bluetooth headset.


What needs to be turned on/off or adjusted for a diversion free navigation experience?

Will the phone get too hot sitting on the windshield?

Basically, just want to know how well the Google navigation performs and if I should even consider buying another navigation app -or- just buy the Garmin.

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I'm a little biased as I work for GARMIN, but I love having a stand alone GPS and not having to use my phone. And $400 would be way more then you should spend to find a really nice GPS.

If you have a Costco or Sam's Club near, you should be able to find an excellent Garmin with lifetime maps for less than $200.

Or simply get one of the offline GPS programs for Android: Copilot and others.

I would not use my S3 for Nav for any long periods of time as it gets super hot after 15 minutes of constant use and drains the battery like crazy.

I use my S3 with the AC vent mount (with AC on) and AC plug adapter for power and that works for me.

Don't know how good Garmin is with real-time traffic updates but Google Maps provide pretty good traffic info in the frequently congested California highways.

You can save Google Maps offline.

Google Maps for Android Will Be Available Offline and Let You Navigate When There's No Reception

NJRonbo said:

Hence the reason for using a car charger/adapter.

But I do agree that the phone probably gets super hot. It gets really hot just sitting in my pocket.

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Not probably. It does get hot when charged up and using gps/4g. I can confirm that for a fact as I just used my phone on a trip a couple of weeks ago