Teleptype Worldnav 3100

I just got mine in. Looks like a quality piece.
Windshield mount looks a little small - about half the size and length
of the one Magellan supplies. Otherwise looks good.

http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?screen=prod&product_code=31002&category_code=



I'll come back with a full report after I've used it a bit.

rex B

Remeber a new software/firmware version is coming out on 11/16/06.
Should be ver. 3.09 at that time.

steve wrote:

Is there a provision for updates?


http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?screen=prod&product_code=31002&category_code=

I read on the website that updates are free for 90 days.

After whining about how long it was taking to get mine delivered, it arrived
yesterday -- ordered on 10/28/2006 and arrived on 11/14/2006. That seems
reasonable to me and is in line with what they promised on their website.

I never had or used a GPS before, so I don't know what I should expect.

My first reaction yesterday was that the packaging and everything else made
it look like they put some thought into it and it looked good.

I tried it on my way home last night and it didn't seem as good as I had
thought, but I figured I probably had to get used to it and learn how to use
it. One problem I had was that the screen was too bright for use at
night -- it is very distracting to drive with it lit, and it creates a
distracting reflection in the middle of the windshield. I tried setting the
brightness to the minimum and it still was too bright. I thought about
placing the carry bag or some other cover over it but that would block the
signal.

When I used it last night, as I entered the destination address it
automatically produced drop-down screens so I could scroll to the state and
town after the first letter for each. I thought that was impressive. I
can't remember if it also did that for the street name.

But, I found that it seemed to be lost a lot while I was driving. It kept
telling me completely wrong things to do. I admit that I purposely turned
off the route that it had suggested, then it would say "searching for
route", and then it would often give wrong instructions. A few times, by
the time it figured out what I was supposed to do, it was too late for me to
make the turn. Sometimes, I would be 50 feet from an intersection and it
would say "in 400 feet, turn right onto ...." But, again, I figured I just
have to learn more about how to use it and how it works and decided to wait
until today to try it again.

Today was a complete waste of time. Something is definitely wrong and I am
now about to try reading the manual again. First, it didn't do the
drop-down menus while entering any destination addresses as it had last
night. Then -- and this was really frustrating -- it kept saying the
addresses I entered were not found. I know the addresses were good and they
were on well-known roads, not some remote podunk street. Then I tried an
intersection of 2 well-known roads and again it said "not found". I tried
picking a Point Of Interest ( a local hospital near where I wanted to go)
and it found that and showed the street address of the hospital. Then on
the way there, I made a few changes in my route of travel and again it was
so lost it was pathetic. It gave wrong street names, told me to turn in the
wrong direction, etc.

Then I tried entering the exact street address of the hospital that it found
as a point of interest. I already knew the exact address and it was the
same as the address it showed when it found that same hospital. I entered
the address exactly the same, several times, and it said "not found".

I started thinking about returning it and then realized that on my $264
purchase (including shipping), to return it I would have to pay return
shipping ($15) plus take a 15% "restocking fee" ($37) for a total hit of $52
on a $264 the purchase.

So, I got to work and I logged on here to see what others were experiencing
and I was glad to see there is a new software/firmware update coming out
tomorrow. Hopefully, that will fix it.

Well, I have not gone anywhere unfamiliar so far.
I did find a few incorrect locations and instructions, but then I
noticed the antenna was down. It seems better with it opened out.

In going to my home, it misses the actual location by several houses.
But then so does the GPS in my wife's new Lincoln.

Seems like the turn instructions are a little too far away for my
taste. The Ford OE unit gives you a voice instruction about 100 yards
away, then a tone at the turn-in point. The Worldnav seems to let you
know about 1/2-3/4 mile away, but that may be speed-dependent.

I thought the software was pretty good, but the menus are non-intuitive.
I have just about got that figured out. Basically, if you want the
nav menu, you tap the screen rather than hit the M button.

The video player doesn't seem to go full-screen, so you get about 3/4 of
the screen for your video. Photos are full-screen.
There is about 256K of room left on the 2mb SC card for your own files -
music, photos, vids.
I like the form factor - compact and seems well constructed.

I agree the screen is too bright. The night setting at the dimmest
level is OK. Daytime is OK.
It should be easier to switch to night setting. You have to go through
the setup menu.

The windshield mount is too small, allows too much vibration in my
stiffly sprung roadster. I mounted it on drivers left, so it sits at the
edge of the instrument cluster, and at the same distance from my eye.
Also makes it easy to work with my left hand, right off the steering wheel.

The included carry bag is a joke. It's basically a black "Crown Royal"
bag that fits the unit, but is too small for accessories.
I intend to pick up a cheap camera bag instead.

Route recalculation is very quick - much quicker than Magellan 360. The
Worldnav has a better chipset and a faster processor.

So far I'm calling mine a keeper. I do intend to take a road trip before
the return period ends.


BETA-32 wrote: