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msmobiles.com_robot
Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 16777215
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 Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 8:13 am Post subject: Warning: Mapopolis is cheating customers! (car navigation / mapping software with Bluetooth GPS support ) |
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Incredible but true: imagine that a company is giving away for free trial (they expire after nine days) something and then, when user decides to buy the thing after trying it out, user receives inferior product, tha...
Read more at http://msmobiles.com/news.php/2921.html |
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jehlinger
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 1
Location: houston
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 12:42 pm Post subject: |
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not exactly accurate. You can get voice-prompting and the full features from the demo, but you have to purchase the Navigator Maps not Platinum+GPS. It clearly states the features available in descriptions of different map packages.
I don't feel that is dishonest, they are just trying to make different features/options available at different prices for those that maybe can't afford the entire program.
No affiliation to mapopolis, just a longtime user. I've tried Tom Tom and generally prefer mapopolis to their product across all platforms. |
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palmsolo
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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I'm afraid your incredible, but true story is not actually true. You need to purchase the Navigator MapPacks to get full voice navigation functionality. I have it on my Smartphone and it works extremely well. The Smartphone Navigator maps are the same as the Pocket PC Navigator maps. I don't believe you can buy the individual maps for the Navigator version, but $100 is still a great deal for such a functional navigation program.
I recommend you edit your story and apologize for making such a bold statement when you just purchased the wrong set of maps. Their site is pretty clear about what each version does, under Navigator it states "dynamic door-to-door navigation with voice prompting, including all Platinum features, requires GPS device, simultaneous display of individual maps limited by population (20 million population in North America, 13 million population in Western Europe), no expiration." |
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EJR
Joined: 18 Mar 2004
Posts: 2627
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 1:32 pm Post subject: |
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| palmsolo wrote: | The Smartphone Navigator maps are the same as the Pocket PC Navigator maps. I don't believe you can buy the individual maps for the Navigator version, but $100 is still a great deal for such a functional navigation program.
simultaneous display of individual maps limited by population (20 million population in North America, 13 million population in Western Europe), no expiration." |
so I can't buy individual map (for one city) with spoken and visual automatic directions but I have to spend $100 to get what? road maps without city maps? with city maps too? could you be specific?
anyway: giving trial version (that expires after 9 days) and then forcing users to spend 100 dollars just to have map for one city - isn't it scam? I think it is.
in close vicinity of where I live (western europe) there are more than 30 million people (very big density of population) so this 13 million limitation is also ridiculous and of no use if I want to drop by to neighboring countries that are very close to each other...
the bottom line is: Mapopolis is cheating people and unless they will not make it possible to purchase full (with spoken and visual directions showing automatically) map for single city, and if they at the same time will continue offering trial versions that confuse and cheat people, I see no reason to correct the news item. |
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pcdoctorca
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 1
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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| msmobiles.com_wiseacre wrote: |
so I can't buy individual map (for one city) with spoken and visual automatic directions but I have to spend $100 to get what? road maps without city maps? with city maps too? could you be specific? |
If you want spoken door-to-door, you need to buy the map pack. Includes major roads and city. $100 will get you North America. $125 will get you Western Europe.
| Quote: |
anyway: giving trial version (that expires after 9 days) and then forcing users to spend 100 dollars just to have map for one city - isn't it scam? I think it is. |
OTOH, Mapopolis is the only vendor that even offers a trial. It is not unusual to offer the fullest featured version as trial. It's up to you to decide which features to buy.
| Quote: | | in close vicinity of where I live (western europe) there are more than 30 million people (very big density of population) so this 13 million limitation is also ridiculous and of no use if I want to drop by to neighboring countries that are very close to each other... |
Using the major roads maps, which do not count for the pop limit. You don't want to load all street level maps for a long trip anyways.
| Quote: | | the bottom line is: Mapopolis is cheating people and unless they will not make it possible to purchase full (with spoken and visual directions showing automatically) map for single city, and if they at the same time will continue offering trial versions that confuse and cheat people, I see no reason to correct the news item. |
What other navigation software offers that option? Mapopolis lets you try before you buy, their prices are in line with all of the major players, nobody sells full nav maps by the city. And Mapopolis updates the software for FREE regularly. |
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stiletto
Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 3:59 pm Post subject: I disagree with news item |
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I do not think Mapopolis did anything wrong. It was clear to me when I purchased the Platinum map pack that I was getting a version without all the bells and whistles. I don't have GPS so I was not concerned about that. In fact, I am glad that I can purchase a version without the GPS bells and whistles, because I don't have to pay for them. I do not know why Mapopolis does not offer the Navigator maps by the City, but only offers the MapPack.
Anyways, when I purchased it I felt comfortable that I knew what I was getting, and what I was not getting. I like the application very much. |
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jswinden
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 2
Location: Austin, TX
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 4:51 pm Post subject: Wow, so Forrest Gump was right, "Stupid is as stupid does"! |
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Wow, so Forrest Gump was right, "Stupid is as stupid does"!  
If you had looked on the Mapopolis website for MapPacks that are available for PocketPC Smartphones, you would have seen the following:
http://www.mapopolis.com/home.jsp?v=c&pg=su&s=1092069298750171&p=&q=6
- Navigator, $99.95
Description: dynamic door-to-door navigation with voice prompting, requires GPS device
- Platinum, $34.95
Description: door-to-door driving directions, no GPS support
If you wanted the dynamic door-to-door navigation with voice prompting, you should have purchased the Navigator maps rather than the Platinum maps. It certainly isn't the fault of Mapopolis that you are too stupid to read the descriptions and ascertain which MapPack you needed! The Navigator maps are excellent and provide what they say they do.
If you contact Mapopolis and "politely" explain to them that you "mistakenly" bought the wrong MapPack, I bet they will let you upgrade to the Navigator MapPack by paying the difference in the prices.
I've been using Navigator for a year now, and I believe it is arguably the best mapping solution available for PocketPCs. I think you should be more careful in the future and I think you should retract your article as it is not only incorrect but slanderous.
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Jack Swinden
www.JackSwinden.com |
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EJR
Joined: 18 Mar 2004
Posts: 2627
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 5:14 pm Post subject: Re: Wow, so Forrest Gump was right, "Stupid is as stupid does"! |
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| jswinden wrote: |
you should have purchased the Navigator maps rather than the Platinum maps. |
I purchased only 1 map for 1 city in western europe - that's all I need. I paid for it a little over 10 bucks. I don't need any "pack" for whole Europe, I need only 1 city in 1 country (at this moment, in future another 1 city in another country, etc). So to get full functionality (showing and speaking directions) for one city I would need to pay 100 bucks for whole product!!! Don't you see it that it is scam to offer limited functionality for one city and forcing you to buy whole pack? |
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jswinden
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 2
Location: Austin, TX
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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Have you really checked on the TomTom maps. I just went to their website. The maps for Western Europe alone are $179, and that does not include the TomTom application. The TomTom application costs an additional $149. That is a total of $328 for TomTom application and maps. The only single city map they offer is Paris and it costs $14.95. So even if you live in Paris and only buy that map, it will cost you $163.95.
Compare this to Mapopolis Navigator. The navigator application is FREE. The Navigator MapPack for Western Europe is $124.95. Thus you can have the maps for all of Western Europe for a LOT less than the TomTom map for Paris alone. To have the equivalent Western European mappacks in TomTom costs you $328. So I ask you, how is Mapopolis charging too much? Their maps are better than TomTom's and cost less.
I think you need to do more research before making statements that are far from true.
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Jack Swinden
www.JackSwinden.com |
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EJR
Joined: 18 Mar 2004
Posts: 2627
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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| jswinden wrote: | | Compare this to Mapopolis Navigator. The navigator application is FREE. The Navigator MapPack for Western Europe is $124.95 |
OK, tell me one thing: if I would buy that "Navigator MapPack for Western Europe" then does it contain detailed maps of ALL CITIES in Western Europe too? I cannot believe it because only one map - of one city - is over 1.5 MB. I simply don't believe that this pack for Western Europe covers all cities! How many MB has it? |
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Dumdidum
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 76
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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I own the Western europe map-pack! You will get all the maps! You can download an area or a whole country...!
With detailed Citymaps! But the maps are big - I think it's about 60MB for Switzerland only...
_________________
www.ruttensoft.com - Smartphone development
www.pocketpc.ch - Swiss Smartphone and PocketPC-Community
www.mobilehelp.ch - Remote Support Solution |
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EJR
Joined: 18 Mar 2004
Posts: 2627
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Dumdidum wrote: | I own the Western europe map-pack! You will get all the maps! You can download an area or a whole country...!
With detailed Citymaps! But the maps are big - I think it's about 60MB for Switzerland only... |
OK, that answers my questions, thanks Rutten, but still I can't buy map for just one city - I am not interested in whole western europe but in individual maps of individual cities! Therefore still I maintain thesis that practices of Mapopolis are not quite fair. |
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todd3835
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| msmobiles.com_wiseacre wrote: | | jswinden wrote: | | Compare this to Mapopolis Navigator. The navigator application is FREE. The Navigator MapPack for Western Europe is $124.95 |
OK, tell me one thing: if I would buy that "Navigator MapPack for Western Europe" then does it contain detailed maps of ALL CITIES in Western Europe too? I cannot believe it because only one map - of one city - is over 1.5 MB. I simply don't believe that this pack for Western Europe covers all cities! How many MB has it? |
Ok, you are really beginning to not make sence. First, you go and say that you feel you got screwed. Ok, I can understand that. But when you can see that you can buy the NAVIGATOR maps, which is what you ran as a trial, for all of western europe, you instead go and tell people to use TomTom instead, because you simply didn't read the easy to read product description? Then when your told that Mapopolis is in fact far cheaper than even a single tomtom map, and you get all of Western Europe, then you still don't believe.
Well, I'm here as a mapopolis customer, and I've been a mapopolis customer for about 2 or 3 years. I've been a customer pretty much since they started, which was on palms, not on the PPC/SM. Thier customer service is FIRST RATE. I never go more than 12 hours without an email reply. As for TomTom, I waited a WEEK for a simple question about pre-purchase. I read thier description, and instead of buying thier product and FLAMMING them when I didn't get what I wanted, I decided to get some questions answered first. They barely answered my question, and when I emailed them back about an eta on software only for Palm (instead of a gps/software bundle), I never even got a reply back! How's that for a company?
So next time you feel like slandering a company, maybe you should go ahead and contact thier support and get your problem resolved. They may have even refunded your money if you could convince them of how much of a moron you are that you can't even read descriptions properly.
As for when the Navigator is only availible as Pack is probably in relation to the fact that the viewer is FREE. They make almost nothing on Plat/Plat+gps maps/packs. They are there as a curtsey, and with the hopes that people will upgrade to navigator. If your interested, in the past, they have let people use a single map purchase price towards the upgrade to a map-pack. That means if you paid 10 dollars for your single map, they will likely give you 10 dollars off the purchase of a map-pack. I don't know if they still do this, but you can try talking to Cheryl @ support<at>mapopolis<dot>com.
-Todd |
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EJR
Joined: 18 Mar 2004
Posts: 2627
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| Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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Please note:
clarification from Mapopolis about this situation is available here. |
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