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Old 09-16-2009, 08:50 PM
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Default Rand McNally TND GPS

FYI, I got a demo of the Rand McNally unit yesterday. My overall feel of this unit is that RM took a lot of time and were "thinking like a truck driver" when developing it. The features are relevant (for the most part) and are extremely extensive. This unit has several key features that none of the others have and may be going to raise the bar on trucking GPS technology. One disclaimer that I always preach - you early implementers of ANY new technology device are always the "canary in the coal mine." However, as far as the condition of this unit at "launch time" (next week) I have not been more impressed at a first look than this one.

Here's a taste of the features that impressed me so far:

- Big buttons and icons (5" screen)

- Ability to send feedback on roads, truck routes, points of interest directly to RM via computer hookup. (including your reviews of any POI or business that gets pooled and shared with all other users when they connect.)

- Miles driven per state report.

- Hours of Service module. Ability to enter your state of duty (Driving, Off-duty, On-duty) with built in alerts if you go into violation.

- Very thorough truck stop descriptions and filtering. It shows you all info about what is IN each truck stop - not just where it is. You can filter your search by the amenities (i.e. those with a restaurant, Cat Scale, internet, etc.)

- Road construction info built in. It is updated every 2 weeks at RM and will update your unit when you plug in via the lap-link with any construction zone changes. (free)

- Program updates automatically when you plug in via their lap-link (free.) Map data updates will not be free (just like all the competing units.)

- Very professional address book that is storable alphabetically or by number. You can add you own notes to yourself about any address you put there and you can create "categories" in your address book (like a particular warehouse chain, store chain, whatever.)

The true test is truck routing accuracy no matter how fine the interface and features are. RM uses NavTeq maps with an overlay of additional Rand McNally proprietary additional map data and truck restriction data. Their marketing claim is that this system has more miles and more truck attributes than any other system. Our road tests begin next week.

More to come...
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Old 09-16-2009, 10:42 PM
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What's the price going to be on these units?

Can you force the routing? waypoints?
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Old 09-16-2009, 11:57 PM
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What's the price going to be on these units?

Can you force the routing? waypoints?
$499 (and if it passes further tests this week to go up at my site we will have free shipping and no tax for some period of time)

Yes, you can plan multi-stop trips or force the routing by entering an address, adding a POI, by clicking on a spot on the map, or by (another major advantage feature) telling it to "avoid / favor" a particuler road or road segment.
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Old 09-17-2009, 11:44 PM
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Does the unit have the ability to import your own POI's into their own categories? I've already got hundreds of saved shippers/receivers saved into a CSV file with the gps coordinates.
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Old 09-24-2009, 06:16 PM
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Does the unit have the ability to import your own POI's into their own categories? I've already got hundreds of saved shippers/receivers saved into a CSV file with the gps coordinates.
It does not have that ability right now. RM says it is on the roadmap as a possible future capability.

I created a page last night with a TON of screens and descriptions of this unit. That should answer many questions about the features and the "look" of the new TND units. My own road testing will begin soon, but I have been working closely with one of the Rand McNally beta testers. He is a truck driver and has been using and helping to develop this product for the last 10 months.

Here's the link for screens and features: Rand McNally TND truck GPS navigator features and screens - TND500 review
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Old 09-24-2009, 10:22 PM
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Looks interesting. Will be looking forward to your updates on actual usage. I would defintetly buy one if they would add live traffic like my Dash Express has.
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Old 09-24-2009, 11:35 PM
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The lack of ability to import your own POI's is a huge drawback, at least for me.
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Old 09-24-2009, 11:44 PM
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Originally Posted by mike3fan View Post
Looks interesting. Will be looking forward to your updates on actual usage. I would defintetly buy one if they would add live traffic like my Dash Express has.

Ya, I talked to them about that and it is on their roadmap - but not on this initial release software. They do have a really helpful road construction feature though in this one. I think that will be pretty significant in terms of being a competitive advantage. However having real-time traffic is pretty huge, I agree.
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Old 09-24-2009, 11:45 PM
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The lack of ability to import your own POI's is a huge drawback, at least for me.
Of course it has a ton of them built in (like all of them) but if you have your own custom database, it would be nice to be able to pull them into these different units.
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Old 09-25-2009, 01:45 AM
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Mainly it's the shippers & receivers I've already got saved. I have about 250 now, with about 50 of them being very regular locations. So, it'd save a lot of time when going to the same place again.
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