2015 Honda Fit Navigation Option? Your Phone!

[JMII]

I'd post a link but its that "other" car site, the one that starts with a J. Anyway they claim... "The last and best feature of the car is Honda's GPS solution: it's your phone. You can order the car with navigation for something around $1500, or you can download the HondaLink app from Honda for $59.99 and get something better. With the app, the car will display your phone's GPS on its seven-inch display. That means as you upgrade your phone, you'll be upgrading your GPS, too. I can't think of a better system." Hope this is true and other OEMs jump on the bandwagon. Most logical system ever.

[Derek Kreindler]

It's about **** time! I believe you can do this on the Chevrolet Spark as well.

[Travis]

Nurse girlfriend has had MUCH more interest in vehicles lately and we went on a test driving spree on Monday since we were both off work. She was toodling around in a 2010 ISF and made a comment which, at first, struck me as insane, but then basically echoed what you're saying. She said that factory navigation units have always been trash, and since the smartphone came around, there is next to zero reason to want one in your car. Before opening my mouth to argue (which I loooove to do,) I realized how much merit her statement had, especially now. OEMs focusing on general connectivity and device communication instead of having their own software and map updates is a fantastic idea that should save a lot of time and effort for them.





Edit - what the flying **** is this Math Required ****?

[PhotoJim]

Being able to display your phone on the dashboard would help a lot.Â* The display is the most convenient feature of a native nav system.



The other thing that makes a native nav system useful is the lack of dependence on mobile connectivity.Â* It would cost me a metric buttload of money to roam on AT&T once I cross the American border, but my Accord doesn't care; it already knows where the roads are.Â* There are also still significant areas where there is no coverage to be had.Â* Still, as phones get larger in capacity it's not out of the question that a completely downloadable road database could become available on smartphones.

[JMII]

PhotoJim said It would cost me a metric buttload of money to roam on AT&T once I cross the American border, but my Accord doesn't care; it already knows where the roads are. I've got the TomTom app on my iPhone now for that very reason. Its about 2GBs worth, not that much really and covers the whole US of A. I don't think most people consider the connectivity issue, they figure the map is on their phone, but the "map" is really just being downloaded over the air. No cell signal = no map! Travis - I'm guessing the math thing is stop the 'bot spammers. Its better then those silly fuzzy images of letters or numbers you have to figure out.

[Sam P]

That's why I use the Navigon app (now part of Garmin) on my iPhones; it's been very useful since 2009 for trips outside the USA.

However, I'm now on T-Mobile with free international data roaming (2G speeds but better than nothing) so maybe Google Maps will be a viable option now that I'll have connectivity without having to pay Verizon's hilariously high rate for international data of $25/100 megabytes.

[vipul_singh]

I don't know...If there is a phone call while you are figuring your way through dense streets, it could be a major irritation.



I think there is still a good business case for dedicated sat nav.

[qest]

The electronics in a car have to work for many years sitting in a hot car in the summer and below freezing in the winter. Â*You get in, start the car, and bam! Â*The lawyer screen pops up even if it was 140 degrees or -15 degrees.



That new iPhone 5S has "Nonoperating temperature:Â*-4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)." So, leaving it in your car, even shut down, would likely mean a dead phone several times a year.