There are a couple of advantages to such a system as the Breeze. I like that I don't need an internet or a cellular data connection. I find stroking an iDevice on the street both inconvenient and distracting and often frustrating, the distinct tactile buttons of the breeze are very convenient.
A quicker start-up and initializing would be good as would be bluetooth for equipment like the Aftershokz. The larger formfactor allows a much longer battery life and although I haven't yet run into that as an issue with the iPhone neither have I had it out on a long trip whereas I have used the Trekker all day.
I do find that the Trekker battery doesn't like the cold very much but neither does an iDevice and I can work the Trekker reasonably well with gloves and/or briefly removing a mitt whereas a touch device ...
Certainly there are improvements which could be made to Trekker. 1) improved cold weather battery 2) perhaps magnetic compass enhancements3) more frequently and readily available downloadable maps and perhaps POI information to keep more readily current
4) Bluetooth connectivity iBeakon accessibility when/as that becomes more readily available.I agree the price point is pretty high but given the age of the device relative to smart phone technology it has stood the test of time well.
None of these devices are anything as mobile as I expect mobility to be:Just try keeping up jumping through hoops to keep your phone roaming into the States or over to Europe! My wife and I each had a Vodafone SYM which we have been unable to keep updated, their Customer Service numbers are inaccessible from here so we'll have to get new numbers again when we go. Roaming calling and data services are ridiculous, it cost me 4 dollars a minute to call across town in Texas with my Canadian phone, it used to cost me 2 dollars to recalculate a route on Wayfinder, remember Wayfinder? Maps for the UK cost me another hundred and twenty bucks for the breeze and the same again to buy United States maps. There are of course "add-ons" to your plans for added roaming and data and the like provided you make all those arrangements before you go and remake them when you get back but remembering the point of a mobile phone is mobility, this all seems a long way behind the times.
Dale Leavens.----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Arrigo" <n0oxy@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2014 8:57 PM Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: treker breeze question
I would think, since there are good gps apps for both of the major smart phone platforms, there would be no reason to go with a treker breeze, not to mention the expensive price.On Jul 5, 2014, at 5:12 PM, Dale Leavens <dleavens@xxxxxxx> wrote:They still support it, just how often maps are updated though is something else. I did hear a roomer that they may be working on some sort of upgrade or new project but only heard it once and have not seen anything.Oddly, in my limited experience it so far still works best of all not including those products that work on the braille notetakers which I have never used.Blind Square still does not announce upcoming intersections or not in this town anyway and yesterday when we went over to Timmins I didn't have a chance to really test it as I needed a known reliable solution. I expct though it would have more current points of interest than say Trekker due to the customer base on FourSquare.Dale Leavens. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marco Antonius" <news@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2014 5:43 PM Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: treker breeze questionI think that trekker breeze is no longer being supported by humanware. Marco the rocketTo change your email settings (unsubscribe, digest only, or vacation mode):On Jul 2, 2014, at 8:35, Ray Carette <ray957719@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: I would like to knnow how often tomtom updates their maps because there are things listed in downtown Manchester NH which haven't existed in at least one-two years such as Pappajohns pizza which tomtomm says is downtown and hasn't been as I said for at least a year or two.On 7/1/14, Will Walsh <willwalsh14@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: thanks Sent from my iPhoneTo change your email settings (unsubscribe, digest only, or vacation mode):On Jul 1, 2014, at 10:22 PM, "Dale Leavens" <dleavens@xxxxxxx> wrote: Will,You get country maps on the Trekker Breeze when you buy it. These would besay USA or Canada or maybe Great Britain.If you want them for other countries you have to buy them from Humanwarefor something like a hundred and twenty bucks.It gets a little more complicated for the USA because you can only have 4 maps on a card at a time and therefore you need 4 cards to hold all the USA maps, some states on each card. If you travel beyond your currently installed card you'll have to change to the one which has the state youhave moved to.You manage your maps with a programme you download to your computer fromtheir Web Site. Hope this is helpful. Dale Leavens.----- Original Message ----- From: "Will Walsh" <willwalsh14@xxxxxxxxx>To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2014 10:04 PM Subject: [gps-talkusers] treker breeze questionHi all,I am wondering how to download maps on to my treker breeze and if mapsare free. I am getting mixed messages. I was told by the people thatdonated this to me that maps were free. Humanware is claiming I have to pay for extra maps. Which is it. And if they're free, how do I obtainmore and download them? thanksSent from my iPhoneTo change your email settings (unsubscribe, digestonly, or vacation mode): http://senderogroup.com/social_media/email.htm Additionally, to unsubscribe send an email togps-talkusers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject.To change your email settings (unsubscribe, digest only, or vacation mode): http://senderogroup.com/social_media/email.htm Additionally, to unsubscribe send an email togps-talkusers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject.http://senderogroup.com/social_media/email.htm Additionally, to unsubscribe send an email to gps-talkusers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject.-- Have an awesome day.To change your email settings (unsubscribe, digest only, or vacation mode):http://senderogroup.com/social_media/email.htmAdditionally, to unsubscribe send an email to gps-talkusers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject.http://senderogroup.com/social_media/email.htmAdditionally, to unsubscribe send an email to gps-talkusers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject.To change your email settings (unsubscribe, digest only, or vacation mode):http://senderogroup.com/social_media/email.htmAdditionally, to unsubscribe send an email to gps-talkusers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject.To change your email settings (unsubscribe, digest only, or vacation mode):http://senderogroup.com/social_media/email.htmAdditionally, to unsubscribe send an email to gps-talkusers-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject.
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