goron59's thoughts on PCM/Car Play

[MacFresh]

Yes it's community based so as soon as something happens, any driver can report it at a click of a button for all others to see.

[goron59]

Not really a work around. This works for any background audio and doesn't even need CarPlay.

Wake is interesting as it depends on people using their phones whilst driving to be accurate. And of course the passive side requires everyone to be using waze.

I mainly dislike it because of the onerous data collection/privacy abuse.

[MacFresh]

Yes it just works through the Bluetooth audio connection isn't it? Lot easier to just buy a good air vent mount, put your phone there and use any map app you like (perso prefer google maps to maze, simpler leaner graphics, quicker operation but maze speed limit and speed cam feat is really great) while you can also use pcm for other things and at least you get a visual on the navigation.

[wilko]

I've used waze all over europe and North America, and it's brilliant.
It relies on you having a 3G or better data connection, but it's routing servers do all the work based on user speeds/data.

In the USA I found every cop car had already been tagged by other users, and usually in europe you get a warning if there's one around. This along with warnings of broken down vehicles, traffic issues, and camera warnings etc make it my go to app for nav. Best of all it's free.

I don't give a monkeys if they want to collect data on what I'm doing.

I've not used the Pcm nav in my 911 since I got it, or Tom Tom on my phone.

The nav in my Macan will never be used, but it comes on a turbo anyway.

I've stopped specing nav on the wife's car, and don't think it'll be more than a few years before car manufacturers realise that connected devices will be people's sat nav in the future, and integrating them into the cars screen is what people want (CarPlay only gets 10-20% there)

[MacFresh]

Yes, data collecting been the rage since we all use little plastic cards to make payments and got up to a new level since we all use smartphone or opened social media accounts. Can't avoid it really unless live with the Amish community so might as well use nice free products in exchange for loss of privacy...

[goron59]

There's a whole spectrum of data collection activities, but Waze is pretty much at the top of privacy intrusion. Thinking "everyone does it, it's all the same" is dumb. But if you don't care, good for you! If you don't care about being navigated along routes that someone has paid Google to issue based on your personal information... yay! You get the picture. Or not. Probably no middle ground here. Frothy fanboism rarely does.

For those thinking Waze is somehow unique in connected navigation, Google Maps itself is connected (it's the same company - duh). Apple Maps is connected. Why? because it gets its routing and traffic from a number of sources, including the stuff sold on by Waze. Yep, if you don't use it, you still benefit from it.

PCM traffic data is sourced from places including passive traffic activity - i.e., when vehicles are moving slowly (possibly by Waze users slowing down to update where police are) you'll know about it.

Having it built-in to the car's facilities? Well, it's already happening. It just doesn't have Waze written on it.

Technology works best when you are unaware of it.

[ Yes, I have used Waze. No, I don't think it's actually that good anyway. Most of the time, the reported points are wrong ]

[Col Lamb]

OK I am now going to have to do a Google search to find out what the hell Waze is.

And then I have to think at just how I have managed to travel all over the country with just the inbuilt SatNav and the CD multi changer and an AA 1999 UK roadmap as backup.

I must be getting old!

[goron59]

OK I am now going to have to do a Google search to find out what the hell Waze is.

And then I have to think at just how I have managed to travel all over the country with just the inbuilt SatNav and the CD multi changer and an AA 1999 UK roadmap as backup.

I must be getting old!

Waze, simply, is a navigation system with emphasis on users supplying key information.

A key point is that it's absolutely illegal to use most of its features whilst driving. So either the information is out of date/wrong or provided by people who care nothing of the law and the safety of themselves, their passengers or other road users.

:)

[wilko]

Waze lets you report things via voice commands, and auto senses if you are going slowly where no problems have been reported. It asks you if you're in a traffic jam and you just have to push the big red tick on the screen.

No more dangerous than changing the track on your music whilst driving.

[wilko]

And using Google maps or apple maps while roaming, eats your roaming data allowance pretty quickly. Waze doesn't.
I've never had waze route me anything other than the route I would have taken anyway, except where there are traffic issues.