#HereMaps Doesn't the lack of alternate routes bother anyone else?

[giulianoreali]

I am a Moto X user and a Lumia 925 user in Brazil. I generally like Here Maps, but as someone who needs to drive around many times a day, it annoys me that Here Maps doesn't present alternate routes so you can compare which way is best for you. You need to trust the app blindly and hope that it nails the route, but unfortunately it doesn't always nail it, sometimes sending you out on weird and illogical routes (this is anedoctal though). What's (much) worse, if you decide on your own there is a better route than the one provided by Here Maps and start driving in that direction, the app doesn't seem to be smart enough to understand that you chose not to follow its route, and it keeps trying to direct you back onto the route it chose for you. That drives me crazy (no pun intended)! Doesn't that bother anyone else? I usually see everyone on this site gushing over Here Maps and I don't see many people complaining about this. Is it really an unimportant feature for most? Or are people just being protective of Nokia/Microsoft?

I really like my Lumia and I'd like to rely more and more on it, but as I drive a lot I don't feel confident enough to leave the Moto X home, as I really like (and need) Google Maps Navigation (it just got better, btw, by presenting other routes automatically as you drive, without you even having to search for them) and Nokia doesn't seem bothered by this deficiency in one of their most important apps. The Lumia is otherwise proving it can match the Moto X in most regards (with WP 8.1) and I'm happy with it.

Any thoughts are appreciated

 

[ntice_521]

"What's (much) worse, if you decide on your own there is a better route than the one provided by Here Maps and start driving in that direction, the app doesn't seem to be smart enough to understand that you chose not to follow its route, and it keeps trying to direct you back onto the route it chose for you."

It's not quite that dumb...it will recalculate the route, at least sometimes. It has for me.

Better map programs allow you to customize the route by setting "waypoints" (places the route must pass through).

By far the best thing about Here maps/drive is that it works offline, just like a dedicated car GPS unit.

 

[Mellifluous]

Are you using Here Maps or Here Drive?

Here Drive always recalculates for me if I decide to go a different route. Generally it calculates the fastest route and it tends to be pretty successful.

 

[muvig]

In our country the HERE Drive+ doesn't work, shows message " blah blah... area not yet covered" the only alternative is GPS Voice Navigation which uses Google Maps Or Bing Maps, Nokia denied GPS Voice Navigation to use there maps. i discovered that HERE Maps and Bing Maps are the same (Same Map Data)

 

[hemanlive]

I am a Moto X user and a Lumia 925 user in Brazil. I generally like Here Maps, but as someone who needs to drive around many times a day, it annoys me that Here Maps doesn't present alternate routes so you can compare which way is best for you. You need to trust the app blindly and hope that it nails the route, but unfortunately it doesn't always nail it, sometimes sending you out on weird and illogical routes (this is anedoctal though). What's (much) worse, if you decide on your own there is a better route than the one provided by Here Maps and start driving in that direction, the app doesn't seem to be smart enough to understand that you chose not to follow its route, and it keeps trying to direct you back onto the route it chose for you. That drives me crazy (no pun intended)! Doesn't that bother anyone else? I usually see everyone on this site gushing over Here Maps and I don't see many people complaining about this. Is it really an unimportant feature for most? Or are people just being protective of Nokia/Microsoft?

I really like my Lumia and I'd like to rely more and more on it, but as I drive a lot I don't feel confident enough to leave the Moto X home, as I really like (and need) Google Maps Navigation (it just got better, btw, by presenting other routes automatically as you drive, without you even having to search for them) and Nokia doesn't seem bothered by this deficiency in one of their most important apps. The Lumia is otherwise proving it can match the Moto X in most regards (with WP 8.1) and I'm happy with it.

Any thoughts are appreciated

I have exactly the same issue with Here Drive+. I stay in Delhi (India). during my daily commute, I know all the possible alternatives and take the route based on traffic conditions. However, Drive+ only gives one route option, which I know is not the best one. If I take any other route, it will keep bugging me to take U-turns or diversions to go back tot he route it suggested till the time when I am more than half-way through. I often joke about the lady (I have activated female voice) as the most stubborn lady I have ever come across. The end result is that I have stopped using drive+ for navigation. I still turn it on many times just to calculate time taken, distance covered and it gives me accurate warning whenever I over speed.
I have seen screen shots of other drive+ though where people are given options. So I am wondering if there is some setting etc. which I need to make.
P.S. I have changed route options to fastest, most economical and balanced, but all give only one route.

 

[hjpal]

You are quite right. It is very annoying, that your are stuck with the route, that Here Drive has chosen, unable to choose another route. It should be possible also to set waypoints, e.g. in order to be able to go the nearest gas station, and then pick up the route again.

 

[gomezz]

I often joke about the lady (I have activated female voice) as the most stubborn lady I have ever come across

I call her Mona. :wink:

TBH I use sat-nav on my phone only for simple A-B routing and homing in on my final destination, not necessarily following the suggested route. I use my fully featured Garmin for planning and riding interesting routes when touring on my my motorbike.

 

[o0Nighthawk0o]

To a certain extent it bothers me but, being a free, offline nav program I can live with it. I only use it for navigation when I am going to someplace unfamiliar and it has yet to fail me.

What was interesting is that today I looked up a route I need to drive this weekend on Google Maps because that is what I get my mileage reimbursed by. Google Maps has the trip at 188 miles. I then went into Here Maps and the route came up to 220 miles. This was using Balanced Route. I then switched the route in Here Maps to the Fastest and it switched to the exact route that Google Maps gave.

The only thing I would like Here Maps to do is be able to set up a route online and then export that route to my phone.

 

[hemanlive]

There is no solution to this yet, but I discovered on facet of it during my several trysts with it. If I chose different routes on different days and simply turn on Here Drive+ (regardless of the fact weather I switch on the navigation or not). it picks up two or three routes that I normally take. Post that it will give me an option of chosing either of the two (the two routs will show the time it will take to reach my destination and estimate stoppages for traffic for each route).
If only it gave these options by default. Navigation is not meant for people who already know their way. It should be designed for people who don't know the way. It never fails to take you to your destination, but the route chosen may be longer or slower. One extreme example was that I wanted to go to a resort near Delhi. It was about 80KM from my place. Drive+ gave a route that was 140+ kms and suggested it would take me over two hours to reach. I simply drove till I was closer to it and then turned on Drive+ as I was unaware of exact location. It took me to the right place but it took me just about an hour to reach. So the route suggested was neither the shortest, nor the fastest by any means. Nokia needs to improve this part and it will have by far the best navigation app that anyone can ask for.

 

[benrp]

Yeah, it is a annoying, although if I'm using HERE drive its usually because I don't know how to get there myself and am happy just to trust HERE maps.

 

[zabihjan]

I am a Moto X user and a Lumia 925 user in Brazil. I generally like Here Maps, but as someone who needs to drive around many times a day, it annoys me that Here Maps doesn't present alternate routes so you can compare which way is best for you. You need to trust the app blindly and hope that it nails the route, but unfortunately it doesn't always nail it, sometimes sending you out on weird and illogical routes (this is anedoctal though). What's (much) worse, if you decide on your own there is a better route than the one provided by Here Maps and start driving in that direction, the app doesn't seem to be smart enough to understand that you chose not to follow its route, and it keeps trying to direct you back onto the route it chose for you. That drives me crazy (no pun intended)! Doesn't that bother anyone else? I usually see everyone on this site gushing over Here Maps and I don't see many people complaining about this. Is it really an unimportant feature for most? Or are people just being protective of Nokia/Microsoft?

I really like my Lumia and I'd like to rely more and more on it, but as I drive a lot I don't feel confident enough to leave the Moto X home, as I really like (and need) Google Maps Navigation (it just got better, btw, by presenting other routes automatically as you drive, without you even having to search for them) and Nokia doesn't seem bothered by this deficiency in one of their most important apps. The Lumia is otherwise proving it can match the Moto X in most regards (with WP 8.1) and I'm happy with it.

Any thoughts are appreciated

I have been giving headache to Nokia since Lumia 900. I can believe y they are so thick head now. I left Windows phone for 2 years. I am back now and still the same crap the Nokia drive still doesn't offer alternative routes and other options that g maps offer. I guess Nokia maps is waiting for g maps to take them over

 

[hemanlive]

They are doing a fanstastic job with the quality and details on their maps. It is way better than Google. However, Navigation is simply pathetic. I only use it now for fun. I just don't get why it is so hard for Nokia to fix this?
Personally, I found certain features of the maps in Symbian to be better. For e.g. that showed various lanes on a road and told me which lane ot take. It gave me statistics about total distance travelled, time taken, average and top speed etc. which was good. It is all gone now.
My default app is Gmaps+ and I rely on Here Drive+ on for outstation trips. Even Then I first compare the route with Google and only when it shows me the same route, I use it.
Unfortunately is saddens me to see that Nokia just does not care about this issue at all

 

[the whole taco]

yes it does.
still. nearly 6 months after the last post here.
pretty unbelievable.

frustrated the other day I compared Maps and HereDrive+, usually I get the same route but this time I got different routes, neither any good.
waypoints would help navigate around known issues such as roadworks, events etc