Time to change to RAM?

[AirstreamJim]

Originally Posted by jdcamp

You don’t need a Nav system use your phone.

Thanks for the feedback, but I’ll decide what I need.

To quote an earlier post, which states my viewpoint exactly:

Originally Posted by JamuJoe

I use and appreciate the factory NAV system in my 2017 RAM, as I find it easier and less distracting (hence safer) than using my iPhone in a mount. I have state of the art NAV on my iPhone and iPad (both terrestrial and nautical) which I use for planning and backup in uncertain situations. A sailor never relies on one source of navigation. Add the First Mate with Nat’l Geo or Rand Mac on her lap, and I’m very well directed[emoji6].

I own an iPhone 8 Plus. Nice, big screen. It is indispensable to me in general. But I don’t use it for navigation while driving for the above-stated reasons. I use it before a trip to get an overview of my route. But once I’m in the driver’s seat, the built-in navigation system in my 2016 RAM 2500 is all I use.

To each his/her own.

Jim

[nickcrowhurst]

Originally Posted by jdcamp

You don’t need a Nav system use your phone.

I use a Samsung B2100 phone with no GPS. IMHO one vital aspect of an effective use of technology is "resilience". By that is meant the capability of carrying on in spite of a failure of one component in a system. If one combines multiple applications in a single device, and the device fails, one loses multiple applications. The Samsung B2100 phone is itself highly resilient, being water-resistant and shock-resistant. It is used by the pilots of rescue helicopters in the Swiss Alps. Mine cost me $20, used, on eBay.

[JonDNC]

Originally Posted by jdcamp

You don’t need a Nav system use your phone.

Ditto to what the others have said, I was tongue in cheek re; tech, still working and in the business. I find both have their place. Also phones don’t always have coverage and that means no maps unless you’ve previously planned everything out which makes it hard to be spontaneous. Might be why I also have paper maps including topographical ones for hiking.

[rmkrum]

The iPhone 8+ navigation apps I use both include internally stored maps.

They are “NAVIGON” which is now off market and SIGIC. Both have an external HUD that connects to the phone via Bluetooth and is easy to view.

Note: taking NAVIGON off the market is one reason I will not use any Garmin products ever again. They deliberately bought a great program just to kill it and eliminate competition. Sad...

And yeah, I’m 70+, still working full time in computer security, and I’m a computer geek and Ham Radio operator of long standing. Tech stuff is my bread and butter.

[gypsydad]

Man; sure a lot of "un happy" folks complaining about the navigation systems in this post...We use the Ford nav; also own the Garmin, but don't use anymore...still carry it for some reason?...most times our Ford system works fine...we also use the cell phones (Apple and Galaxy) when we want to confirm our route if something looks suspicious...but we always still have a map handy...not sure why anyone would make a decision to buy/trade in a vehicle because of a nav system anyway?? Remember when all we had were maps?

[DKB_SATX]

I absolutely positively HAD to have factory nav when I was ordering my Lariat... because the package that you have to have to get air-conditioned seats and LED headlights included the nav. The air-conditioned seats in Texas are worth the cost of the entire package, and scorching the retinas of people who high-beam me is a nice added bonus. The nav also doubles as the Android Auto display so I can use those maps on the big screen, but Android Auto doesn't use the mid-panel display (between the speedo and tach) to present turn info so there are tradeoffs.

[jaybauman]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

The air-conditioned seats in Texas are worth the cost of the entire package

True story.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by jaybauman

True story.

Ah, but the "massaging" seats with the AC is the "cat's meow"! Ford...just saying on a long trip, they are a nice addition to AC seats!

[JonDNC]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

Ah, but the "massaging" seats with the AC is the "cat's meow"! Ford...just saying on a long trip, they are a nice addition to AC seats!

They are something else [emoji106]

[jcl]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

...not sure why anyone would make a decision to buy/trade in a vehicle because of a nav system anyway?? Remember when all we had were maps?

We made such a decision when we bought a current vehicle. It is a 2007 model. The platform was introduced by BMW in 2004. That means the manufacturer was sourcing components during development of the vehicle for three years prior. If we had purchased the factory Nav system, it would have been a system that was current in 2001. It would now be, in the best case, 18 year old technology. Anyone using an 18 year old cellphone?

Our collective technology update expectations are based on the cellphone and laptop industries. For a built in system, that is completely unrealistic, given vehicle product development time plus typical 7 year product runs.

Our decision was easy. We special ordered the vehicle, partly because we wanted a manual transmission and the dealer didn’t stock any, and partly to avoid the Nav and phone integration that would have been outdated before we received the vehicle, and which the dealer order as a standard for all their inventory.

Shortly after, we purchased a 5 series, although not for towing. Special ordered, same dealer. No phone integration or Nav system. Dealer didn’t know offhand that he could order that way, only because he had never done it. We never regretted the decision. Sold the vehicle a few years back, and there were no issues with the lack of those features.