Is MapShare worthwhile?

[cputrdoc]

It's discouraging to know that MapShare submissions will only get integrated if sufficient other TomTom users report the same bug. Makes me wonder why I do it. Okay, I guess I know why I do it, but I want to know how many others feel the same way.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Actually if just one person submits a correction it will get integrated. It just takes longer because it goes to the bottom of the list to be verified. They figure the more people that submit the same thing the more important it must be so they verify those first.

 

[cputrdoc]

Actually if just one person submits a correction it will get integrated. It just takes longer because it goes to the bottom of the list to be verified. They figure the more people that submit the same thing the more important it must be so they verify those first.

I met a TeleAtlas employee today at lunch, he confirms your feedback, Bama, and he confirms that TomTom knows the feedback verification cycle is unacceptably long. He said if you connected all of the road segments reported in any one day, it would be as long as if you took all road segments in Europe and connected them end-to-end. TomTom wasn't prepared for such thorough feedback, and are trying to figure out a verification procedure that scales.

 

[dhn]

Which is a political way of saying that Mapshare doesn't work (not that most of us are too surprised )

 

[Gilbert]

I met a TeleAtlas employee today at lunch, he confirms your feedback, Bama, and he confirms that TomTom knows the feedback verification cycle is unacceptably long. He said if you connected all of the road segments reported in any one day, it would be as long as if you took all road segments in Europe and connected them end-to-end. TomTom wasn't prepared for such thorough feedback, and are trying to figure out a verification procedure that scales.

Tell us all the juicy details of your conversation. I'm all eyes...

 

[chatin]

I wonder how many use the option to download unverified mapshare submissions from some/many users.

Personally, the thought that there may be errors in my map because of any incorrect MapShare data I may have downloaded makes me feel uneasy.

 

[Gilbert]

I wonder how many use the option to download unverified mapshare submissions from some/many users.

Personally, the thought that there may be errors in my map because of any incorrect MapShare data I may have downloaded makes me feel uneasy.

Knowing they are way behind in their workload makes me opt for all corrections because it will take ages before they verify all of what was sent. How many will willfully send bogus info? A very small minority and I can live with that as well as live with the weird routing TT sometimes make out of their ?verified? maps...

I have yet to determine MapShare wrong data or, for that matter, good data, but find the information about what was corrected and where is so sparse (not to say completely lacking) as to make me wonder if it serves us as well as it should. If I need to spend 10 minutes to find no local data was sent in the last MapShare update, I consider it a complete loss of time. I don't mean other areas are unimportant but knowing what local updates are would allow me to check them out. TT should inform or at least provide some sw to inform us on the updating data and its significance. I don't know about all of you but I'm not happy with the way the system works mainly because I don't easily know what I'm downloading except it is an ?update? which does not mean much.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I opt for all corrections as well. I too believe that a very minor percentage submit incorrect data and I think most of those are honest mistakes.

Maybe I have a different take on the whole mapshare thing. I enter and share Mapshare corrections not for myself but for YOU! In hopes that you do the same for ME! Then together we can make this tool we use much better than depending on big sister to try and capture all the minute changes that occur in our area all the time.

 

[Michael Quinlan]

I think the main problem with Map Share is the result of a combination of things:

• delays in integrating submissions that results from the number of submissions being orders of magnitude more than they anticipated
• Map Share updates are specific to each map version

The problems that result are:

• Users with older maps, or even newer maps (within a few releases), won't benefit from my submissions
• If I choose to upgrade my maps, it's likely that I'll lose the changes I submitted, and no longer benefit from them myself.

Under these circumstances, users who actively submit Map Share changes are discouraged from upgrading their maps.

 

[pianoCM]

I think MapShare is the bright idea for all gps users and manufacturers.
Garmin, Magellan, and other competitors should follow Tomtom's footsteps.
The next improvement of Tomtom MapShare will/should be allow users to report potholes
Anyway, while I love MapShare, I do think Tomtom MUST carefully verify those reports/updates first, 'cuz I know some waco keep playing around by changing the street names in my area for fun.

 

[chatin]

...[*]Map Share updates are specific to each map version[/list]

Since the TT Go 930 uses a different map version than the TT One 130 for the map of USA, does this mean that the mapshare submissions from people using the TT 930 will not be available for those using a TT 130? I didn't know this.

On a side note, How does the option "Report Other Error" work? I used it a couple of weeks ago to add a missing street and was hoping that when I connected my TomTom to TT Home, that the street would somehow appear on my map but I now know that is not the case. If and when TT verifies my submission to be correct, will they add the missing street as a mapshare download and it will then appear on my map? Or are verified missing streets submissions only added to their maps when Tomtom updates their map versions?

 

[cputrdoc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.7) 320x240; VZW; Motorola-Q9m; Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard)

Which is a political way of saying that Mapshare doesn't work (not that most of us are too surprised )

Regarding the PC response, he was from the local field sales office, so of course he's a pro at sprinkling the happy dust on this.

Anyway, I filed a spport ticket about this before posting the poll and got a response today. I'm using TomTomForums Mobile without the benefit of copy & paste on my web-enabled phone, but the jist was this: currently all updates from MapShare are verified. The setting to display corrections that haven't been verified is a forward-looking feature that hasn't been implemented.

I've offered to verify map corrections in my area if that would help. I'd love to see TT implement an Amazon-like "this correction was helpful" feature.

 

[dhn]

Mapshares for one map do not carry over to the map of another unit or, for that matter, to an upgraded map of the same unit.

One can only hope that reportable errors (those type of errors NOT on the first screen of errors) do find their way to an upgraded map; they won't appear as a mapshare download.

 

[cputrdoc]

Since the TT Go 930 uses a different map version than the TT One 130 for the map of USA, does this mean that the mapshare submissions from people using the TT 930 will not be available for those using a TT 130? I didn't know this.

On a side note, How does the option "Report Other Error" work? I used it a couple of weeks ago to add a missing street and was hoping that when I connected my TomTom to TT Home, that the street would somehow appear on my map but I now know that is not the case. If and when TT verifies my submission to be correct, will they add the missing street as a mapshare download and it will then appear on my map? Or are verified missing streets submissions only added to their maps when Tomtom updates their map versions?

If a TT One 130 and a TT 930 are using the same version of the map (e.g. 720) then it's likely they would receive the same MapShare data.

As for Report Other Error, those submissions are likely flagged for a human to review and input in the right manner. I don't think MapShare can deal with new streets, so those will have to wait for the next full map update; it's possible that other MapShare-capable updates through the "Other Error" option would get pushed, but I don't know what their policy is. I do know they're backlogged, so it may be a while before they act on those submissions.

 

[cputrdoc]

Which is a political way of saying that Mapshare doesn't work (not that most of us are too surprised )

On that note, I got this from a support technician today, which starts to explain why they don't allow just any map correction through even if they had the capability:

Dear Marc,

Thank you for updating your incident with this information. Currently there is nothing setup that would make it so customers can help validate the information. We ask that you report the information, and then we validate it. The reason for this is if you download data from other users directly without the validation, it is possible that someone has put in faulty information. Also if a truck driver was to block a road as it is not a truck route, you would then download and install the information so if you went to that area, you unit would act as if there was not a street there.

If you have any further questions or comments, please email or call us at 866-486-6866 Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM until 7:00 PM EST. Thanks again for writing. At TomTom we believe in showing you the way the easy way.

With Best Regards,

Harvey
TomTom Customer Support

 

[Buddharay]

Under these circumstances, users who actively submit Map Share changes are discouraged from upgrading their maps.

well, the theory is that mapshare changes are integrated into all the new map updates, so that keeping your mapshare changes is unnecessary. also, why would anyone want an older, out of date map? if someone refuses to update their map, how can they complain about the quality of it?

 

[cputrdoc]

well, the theory is that mapshare changes are integrated into all the new map updates

Yes, it's a nice theory. In practice, TomTom has admitted that they are very behind in integrating and validating MapShare submissions.

I jumped ship from the Magellan brand after I learned it takes about 1 year for a submission to get into the official map, and after obtaining the map, it was taking Magellan 1 additional year to get that map to their customers. I have high hopes the wait isn't that long for TomTom, but based on what I've seen so far, I have doubts.

 

[Michael Quinlan]

well, the theory is that mapshare changes are integrated into all the new map updates, so that keeping your mapshare changes is unnecessary. also, why would anyone want an older, out of date map? if someone refuses to update their map, how can they complain about the quality of it?

That's the theory. However, experience has shown that theory differs from reality. The delay in processing Map Share corrections (that I mentioned) results in several map releases that DO NOT contain corrections that have already been submitted. The "problem" arises with corrections that take immediate effect on my maps, such as road closures, turn restrictions (8.x firmware - and 8.x maps? - only). When I update my maps to a new release, it's likely that these corrections won't be included in the new release yet, hence I no longer benefit from the effort I made.

For someone who makes a lot corrections, this can be why they would want to stick with their aging map.

 

[Michael Quinlan]

On that note, I got this from a support technician today, which starts to explain why they don't allow just any map correction through even if they had the capability:

Dear Marc,

...Also if a truck driver was to block a road as it is not a truck route, you would then download and install the information so if you went to that area, you unit would act as if there was not a street there...

Apparently the support tech isn't aware of the fact that when making a Map Share correction you are asked if the change is permanent and valid for passenger cars.

 

[Bobinsc]

I'm with Bama Rambler on this. I just updated and now have 14,341 updates made to my 705.1481 map. Best thing since white bread!.....
I thank each and every one of you that submitted updates and please continue your good work, even after I use my free upgrade.......13 days left.......