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Google Navigation

  • 14-02-2011 10:36pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 4,539 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    I haven't been able to find a Google Navigation thread on the Android forum so thought I'd start one. (I'm sure someone will link to one just to prove me wrong!)

    I'm trying to use Google Navigation as my main in car GPS and I've managed to figure out how to make a destination a "Starred" location so I can store and return to it at a future time.

    Two questions are bugging me which I hope someone here can help with:-

    1. Is there any way to label or name a starred location? Instead of using the address which Google labels the location e.g. 18-22 XXX Street, I'd like to name the starred location "Jimmy's Takeaway Pizza". Any ideas how I can do this?

    2. I run around with my kids at weekends going to various sports events and often use Google Maps on my laptop to identify where I'm going and using the right click "What's Here" option to get the GPS co-ordinates. I was always able to enter these on my old Garmin GPS system but can't seem to find a way to enter the GPS co-ordinates into Google Navigation. Any ideas how I can do this?

    I hope this thread can become a collection of useful Google Navigation tips for everyone!!

    Cheers,

    Ben


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 8,176 ✭✭✭ongarite


    BenEadir wrote: »
    1. Is there any way to label or name a starred location? Instead of using the address which Google labels the location e.g. 18-22 XXX Street, I'd like to name the starred location "Jimmy's Takeaway Pizza". Any ideas how I can do this?

    Edit and rename your starred locations here:
    https://www.google.com/bookmarks/l


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,783 ✭✭✭heebusjeebus


    I was looking to do the exact same.

    Thanks ongarite


  • Registered Users Posts: 746 ✭✭✭smackyB


    Instead of using the "what's here" feature and taking note of the co-ords,try using the chrome-to-phone extension for the chrome browser. When in google maps, simply drop a marker and then hit the send to phone button on the extension. That should open up google maps on the phone automagically! :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭BionicRasher


    BenEadir wrote: »

    2. I run around with my kids at weekends going to various sports events and often use Google Maps on my laptop to identify where I'm going and using the right click "What's Here" option to get the GPS co-ordinates. I was always able to enter these on my old Garmin GPS system but can't seem to find a way to enter the GPS co-ordinates into Google Navigation. Any ideas how I can do this?

    A few ways to do this
    1. enter the GPS co-ordinates in the search bar on the phone and it will find it for you
    2. use the 'whats here' option on the PC and send it to yourself in an email (see the option to 'send' under 'more' when you right click on a location. It send you an email and you can click on the link to view this on the phone
    3. use Chrome to Phone app (its in the market) in Google Chrome browser to send the map to your phone - find the spot on the PC and just click send to phone and there you go.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,539 ✭✭✭BenEadir


    Thanks tui0hcg, the "Send" option works a treat. Much appreciated.

    Ben


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭BionicRasher


    I find the Chrome to Phone app is great as all you do is click one button and it sends it directly to the phone from the PC - works great also if you are looking at a website on the PC and want to see it on your phone - one click sends the page straight to the phone. You can even set it up to open automatically as soon as it gets to the phone


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,707 ✭✭✭niallb


    How about adding your current location so that you can find it again?

    It's a real problem that the full use of the application seems to require a laptop logged in to a google account!

    I've always had a few hiccups with Navigation since my google account is a google apps account,
    but I still can't see an easy way to do this.

    I'd expect to be able to do one of the following on a GPS:
    1) Menu -> Save current location
    2) Long hold, popup menu, save location

    Am I just missing something obvious?


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    it should just go straight to your location when you start up the app :/


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,707 ✭✭✭niallb


    it should just go straight to your location when you start up the app :/

    ???

    Yes. It does.
    I want to know how to save my current location so I can find it again when I am somewhere else!


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    niallb wrote: »
    ???

    Yes. It does.
    I want to know how to save my current location so I can find it again when I am somewhere else!

    Oh. I misunderstood completely :o

    Just press on the location on the map so the pop up appears, then press on the pop up and press the star in the top right corner


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,539 ✭✭✭BenEadir


    Ultimate,

    Here's one for ya!

    Can I go into Google Maps on my PC, zoom into a location and designate it as a Starred Place so that when I jump in the car and launch Google Navigation it will appear as one of the listed Starred Places?

    Ben


  • Registered Users Posts: 33,382 ✭✭✭✭listermint


    Incidently, on this.

    Has anyone noticed how excessively poor the battery performs even when plugged into the 12V HTC charger in the car. Google Navigation appears to eat more battery than the charger can keep up with it. It just constantly goes in a downward curve.

    Also gets very hot with Charge and GPS and screen on for more than 1 hr.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭BionicRasher


    BenEadir wrote: »
    Ultimate,
    Can I go into Google Maps on my PC, zoom into a location and designate it as a Starred Place so that when I jump in the car and launch Google Navigation it will appear as one of the listed Starred Places?
    Ben

    You sure can - really quick way of getting directions - zoom in use the 'whats here' option on the PC and then star it
    It will show in your starred place in a matter of seconds on the phone:)


  • Registered Users Posts: 828 ✭✭✭SkySter


    listermint wrote: »
    Incidently, on this.

    Has anyone noticed how excessively poor the battery performs even when plugged into the 12V HTC charger in the car. Google Navigation appears to eat more battery than the charger can keep up with it. It just constantly goes in a downward curve.

    Also gets very hot with Charge and GPS and screen on for more than 1 hr.

    I had the same problem. I used a cheap car charger I got on ebay and it did not supply enough charge. I bought an official HTC one and problem solved. If you check power it should say charging AC. If it does you should be ok.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,164 ✭✭✭k123456


    tui0hcg wrote: »
    You sure can - really quick way of getting directions - zoom in use the 'whats here' option on the PC and then star it
    It will show in your starred place in a matter of seconds on the phone:)



    Hi I tried this and is not working, prob. something i am doing wrong


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,164 ✭✭✭k123456


    Question on caching of maps to phone


    Imagine I am abroad and dont want to use data (turn3g off) , say I want to navigate from Madrid to Girona

    Using a wifi connection, (in Ireland before I leave), can I download the route to phone , looks like I can only do this using Maps, rather than navigation ?

    I arrive in Spain and switch off 3g, will the navigation work and better still , will it reroute me if I go slightly off course, miss a turn ?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭BionicRasher


    k123456 wrote: »
    Hi I tried this and is not working, prob. something i am doing wrong

    Click on map (on the PC that is)
    Choose 'Whats Here'
    the map will then either show a little green arrow or the place marker
    Click on arrow or place marker and you will see a little star next to the address
    click the star and that is then saved to your starred places
    it will show on your phone almost instantly


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,539 ✭✭✭BenEadir


    tui0hcg wrote: »
    Click on map (on the PC that is)
    Choose 'Whats Here'
    the map will then either show a little green arrow or the place marker
    Click on arrow or place marker and you will see a little star next to the address
    click the star and that is then saved to your starred places
    it will show on your phone almost instantly

    Then click on https://www.google.com/bookmarks/l and change the name from gobbledegook Longitude and Latitude numbers to something that means something to you.

    This little thread is becoming quite the Wiki for Google Navigation knowledge eh???

    Ben


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,539 ✭✭✭BenEadir


    k123456 wrote: »
    Question on caching of maps to phone


    Imagine I am abroad and dont want to use data (turn3g off) , say I want to navigate from Madrid to Girona

    Using a wifi connection, (in Ireland before I leave), can I download the route to phone , looks like I can only do this using Maps, rather than navigation ?

    I arrive in Spain and switch off 3g, will the navigation work and better still , will it reroute me if I go slightly off course, miss a turn ?

    k123456 you might need something like this for offline navigation http://www.mapdroyd.com. Haven't used it myself but can't imagine it's as user friendly or up to date as Google Navigation but might be a good backup option if you lose your 3G connection or want to leave it turned off.

    BTW, depending on what network you are on data roaming within Europe is no longer as punitive as it was. I get 50mb a day FOC in Europe as part of my standard 2GB monthly data package with Vodafone and I believe if you don't have that facility you can call them and they will only charge €1 a day for 50mb. I'm not 100% certain on that as I haven't had to use it recently but it's worth checking out before going to all the hassle of trying to use offline maps. I can't imagine Google Navigation would use more than 50mb even if you drove for 24 hours straight. Can anyone confirm the amount of data Google Navigation typically uses per hour of driving?

    Make sure yo have your email sync and other data connecting apps turned off as well however.

    Hope that helps.

    Ben


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,711 ✭✭✭Gryzor


    tui0hcg wrote: »
    Click on map (on the PC that is)
    Choose 'Whats Here'
    the map will then either show a little green arrow or the place marker
    Click on arrow or place marker and you will see a little star next to the address
    click the star and that is then saved to your starred places
    it will show on your phone almost instantly

    When i do this, i can see the location in https://www.google.com/bookmarks/l, but it doesn't appear in Navigation on my phone. I have to go into Maps first, then back into Navigation and its there then...


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭BionicRasher


    I have tried in vain to get a good way to map a route either on the PC (and transfer to my phone) or directly on the phone when I want to go via a location to another location

    Example -

    I want to go visit Dublin to do a bit of shopping.
    I want to go to Ikea first
    I then want to go to Woodies on the Naas Road
    I then want to go to Dublin Zoo with the kids

    How do i set that up?
    I know I can star each place and do one after the other but thats a pain


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭BionicRasher


    Gryzor wrote: »
    When i do this, i can see the location in https://www.google.com/bookmarks/l, but it doesn't appear in Navigation on my phone. I have to go into Maps first, then back into Navigation and its there then...

    Strange
    When I star a place on the PC I can then go to navigation on the phone and I see 5 options
    Speak Destination
    Type destination
    Contacts
    Starred Places
    Recent Destinations

    I just click Starred Places and viola

    on a side note
    Anyone know how I can get this on my Desire? http://www.htc.com/uk/howto.aspx?id=8833&type=1&p_id=324
    Would be real handy for the car


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,711 ✭✭✭Gryzor


    tui0hcg wrote: »
    on a side note
    Anyone know how I can get this on my Desire? http://www.htc.com/uk/howto.aspx?id=8833&type=1&p_id=324
    Would be real handy for the car

    Google's version isn't as pretty, but it's alot more configurable than the HTC one..

    Edit: Forgot the link for the HTC one


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭BionicRasher


    OK
    Found the HTC one - well a version of it anyway
    You need to install the HTC apk and also the CarHomelauncher apk if you want it to fire up say when your phone connects to your Bluetooth in the car

    the apk's are in post 5 here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=760322
    Very nice

    I had tried the Google one before but for some reason the screen kept timing out and it would not auto connect to my Bluetooth

    The HTC one is very nice and has some great features when you click on call buttons etc - nice big icons

    oh by the way you need to have Unknown Sources allowed in you applications to enable you to install an apk like this


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,711 ✭✭✭Gryzor


    just tried the HTC one again, been ages since i tried it last. Doesn't seem to work on gingerbread, keeps force closing when i try and get at the settings....been using the google one for the last few months, launches automatically for me when bluetooth connects...


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,539 ✭✭✭BenEadir


    tui0hcg,

    Thanks for the links, I've been using the MyCarDock app from the market for a while but it's not that good.

    I downloaded the three APK's from the XDA thread and although they download OK when I click on them I get the following error mesage "No application can be found to open this file." :confused:

    I have a Samsung Galaxy S running Darky's 9.2 ROM and Dolphin HD browser. I've downloaded other APK's via the ROM and Browser without a problem.

    Any thoughts?

    Ben


  • Registered Users Posts: 33,382 ✭✭✭✭listermint


    SkySter wrote: »
    I had the same problem. I used a cheap car charger I got on ebay and it did not supply enough charge. I bought an official HTC one and problem solved. If you check power it should say charging AC. If it does you should be ok.

    Its a 12V 1A Charger with HTC cable, So nothing wrong with the supply, the device is not designed to have multi hardware power requests. Battery just isnt up to handling that type of abuse, it never was. So i cant see it changing other than placing with a large mA battery


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,707 ✭✭✭niallb


    Oh. I misunderstood completely :o

    Just press on the location on the map so the pop up appears, then press on the pop up and press the star in the top right corner

    Thanks for that. This might explain my problem with it a little more:

    Navigation/Maps still doesn't allow you type in your own name for the location.
    That's bad enough in the city, where at least you'd expect the address to be close.
    In a rural area, if you try to save a location, it comes up under the name of the closest domestic or commercial property on a street - which can be over a mile away, and completely unrelated to the location you want to save!


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭BionicRasher


    BenEadir wrote: »
    tui0hcg,

    Thanks for the links, I've been using the MyCarDock app from the market for a while but it's not that good.

    I downloaded the three APK's from the XDA thread and although they download OK when I click on them I get the following error mesage "No application can be found to open this file." :confused:

    I have a Samsung Galaxy S running Darky's 9.2 ROM and Dolphin HD browser. I've downloaded other APK's via the ROM and Browser without a problem.

    Any thoughts?

    Ben

    Ya had the same problem last week on my non rooted Desire
    I found this worked https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hwkrbbt.downloadall
    It allows you to save the file to your SD I believe and then you can open it with Astro or something similar and install it from there


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  • Registered Users Posts: 67 ✭✭Kileir


    BenEadir wrote: »
    Hi all,

    I haven't been able to find a Google Navigation thread on the Android forum so thought I'd start one. (I'm sure someone will link to one just to prove me wrong!)

    I'm trying to use Google Navigation as my main in car GPS and I've managed to figure out how to make a destination a "Starred" location so I can store and return to it at a future time.

    Two questions are bugging me which I hope someone here can help with:-

    1. Is there any way to label or name a starred location? Instead of using the address which Google labels the location e.g. 18-22 XXX Street, I'd like to name the starred location "Jimmy's Takeaway Pizza". Any ideas how I can do this?

    2. I run around with my kids at weekends going to various sports events and often use Google Maps on my laptop to identify where I'm going and using the right click "What's Here" option to get the GPS co-ordinates. I was always able to enter these on my old Garmin GPS system but can't seem to find a way to enter the GPS co-ordinates into Google Navigation. Any ideas how I can do this?

    I hope this thread can become a collection of useful Google Navigation tips for everyone!!

    Cheers,

    Ben


    If you want to enter GPS co-ordinates directly into google maps on your phone then you need to enter the co-ordinates in BRACKETS like so - (53.033745,-7.302734)


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