Newbie questions

[just_jeepin]

Inaccurate POIs
I got my first GPS (a refurb TomTom 130S) about a month ago and one thing that is driving me crazy is the inaccuracy of POI files. One POI might be a few tenths of a mile off (not bad), but some others are as much as a quarter mile off! I've tried 3rd party POIs instead of the built-in ones but they aren't much better.

Built in POI icons
I've noticed that one McDonalds will have the McDonalds logo while another will use the generic restaurant logo. Is there a way to fix this?

Also, McDonalds, Wendy's have custom icons but White Castle and Burger King do not. Is it possible to add a custom POI icon to the built-in POI?

I'm beginning to think I should have gotten a Garmin. I've heard the POIs are more accurate.

 

[dhn]

There is no question that some pois are not very accurate. You can alter the location of custom ov2 files and with the latest applications, I think the built in ones can be altered as well.

In terms of the logo.....

If you see the McDonalds logo for some locations, it may be as a consequence of being associated with a custom ov2 file you downloaded while the generic restaurant logo is tied in with the built in pois.

The following was provided some time ago by a user in response to somebody else who asked how the generic logo could be switched for Applebee's that he had downloaded. So, if you substitute McDonald's for Applebee in the info below, it may work.

===============================================
Applebee's Poi
________________________________________
Now That You Have The Applebee's Poi And Btmp (logo)
If You Want To Update With Other Locations In Othe States Cities Or Towns You Go To Do This:

Turn On Tomtom Tap And Go To Page 2 Of 3 Tap Browse Map Then Tap Find , Tap Address, Tap City Center (for Example Miami Fl)
Tap Blue Dot , Tap Find Poi , Tap Any Poi Catagory, Tap With In 150m,
Write Applebee, You Will See All Applebees In That City,
Tap First Square, Tap Blue Dot ,tap Add As Poi , Write Applebee,
Tap Done! And Continue With All Squares You Will Have All New Icons With Logo. Instead Of Square With Fork And Knife......
Was That Clear?
================================================

 

[theparson]

It should be noted that all brands of GPS have some inaccurate POIs in various locations.

TomTom is unique in that users can correct these.

 

[canderson]

It should be noted that all brands of GPS have some inaccurate POIs in various locations.

TomTom is unique in that users can correct these.

I've found this to be particularly true in large strip mall and large mall areas. An entire mall complex covering several city blocks will sometimes use the same BASE address for every business in the complex. The GPSr tosses out a location that puts you in the ballpark, but sometimes it's a big ballpark.

There is a mall area in the Broomfield, CO area that is a total rats nest of streets with strange and wonderful loopy intersections to both surface and divided 4 lane nearby. Selecting any one of dozens of different businesses as a POI will put you at exactly the same spot, often very far away from your destination.

Fortunately, TomTom/TeleAtlas actually knows about some of the unnamed "streets" that are "internal" to this area, and I can modify a POI for any spot in their huge lot area that is most appropriate for a given business. I certainly agree that being able to correct one on the fly is a good thing for a GPSr to be able to do.

 

[sageuvagony]

It really depends on the area too. When I took a business trip to Alabama, every POI in that area (10 miles of road) had POI's that were 1 mile off!!!! I had to call every place I had to go to for directions and had told them my current location. Every business I called for directions told me "Let me guess, you are using a GPS to find our building but we are no where to be found? Yeah, we get these calls all the time, no matter what brand of GPS, they are all lost"

But here in Tampa, FL all of the POI's are pretty dead on target.

Edit: I even tried using mapquest and microsoft maps from my cell phone and they had the POI's listed almost a mile off as well. The area of Alabama was pretty new though. About only year old or so. That may have to do with the POI location problems.