Navigon pocket pc navigation: Register online
I just got angry about Navigon. This company steals my time. I’m sorry for this rant.
A friend of the family bought a PDA-navigation system for his car around a year ago – he didn’t have a PC, so he consulted me, as the one who knows these machines well, to install his navigation system. And I did. It took up to two hours to install the needed software and the map of Europe on my PC before I could begin to install all this stuff on the PDA – and it was a really fast PC!
Let’s go on… To use the software on your PDA, you have to go to the Navigon website to find out a code. How to do this? Go hunting at http://navigon.com! You find the option under “Service & Support > Productregistration”. So far so good. Create an account in the database (they need your name, your e-mailaddress, your postal address, your telephone number, the number of your business phone and the number of your mobile) and log in. Choose the softwareversion you own, enter the serialnumber and the devicenumber shown on the Pocket PC’s screen, click “Send” – and there you go, take the shown code, enter it to the PDA and you’re finished. I printed the website with the code two times: on paper (and put it inside the manual) and to a PDF.
In the following months I had to reinstall the software every now and then on the PDA, so I was glad to have the printed sheet of paper with the code (the PDF vanished…). The last time (a few weeks ago), reinstalling the software didn’t fix the device: It couldn’t establish a connection to
a satellite. What to do next? We took the PDA to the service. They checked it and there it is again, waiting for me to install the navigation software.
Well, I know the process quite well now, let’s go. Fire up the PC (I usually use a Mac), install the software, transfer it to the PDA and now: enter “the” code. Where is that f’ing sheet of paper you printed it on? It’s gone. Allright, no big problem, you can retrieve it online. Start firefox… Finally entered all the thousand-digit serials and clicked ok. The answer? “We’re sorry, this service doesn’t run at the moment because we’re currently editing our database.” WTF? Why did I have to enter all these serials before? I can understand that there’s someone playing with the settings right now, but please show this message before you force your client to fill out all these forms.
Next to the message I found an alternative – so I hacked all the serials into my mobile and sent it via SMS. The answer was the same message as cited above. Why do they show this method as an alternative if it doesn’t work either? I’ll have to wait until tomorrow, then I’ll call their hotline to get this damn code. And to ask them, what they thought when they applied this error message. In my eyes it is idiocy to let someone fill out endless forms and to tell him “We’re sorry [...]” afterwards. I don’t say anything about runtime errors, that can happen. But hey, did they know that they are currently not providing these services or did they not?!?
UPDATE: We finally have the code. But the device doesn’t work. What’s up? It can’t connect to the GPS receiver, but that thing is directly attached to the PDA, so there’s no way to cut a connection… The service didn’t fix anything – it’s the same as four weeks ago.
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i think you should contact the consumer protection and try to give the product back. You shouldn’t need an internet connection for using a gps system.
somtimes those pda-based havn’t that good connections to the satelites, perhaps you should try it outside again and wait a few minutes.
The Problem actually is not the connection to the satellites, it’s the connection between the PDA and its backpack GPS receiver. The software can’t find the receiver… It’s back to the service now – if they aren’t able to solve the problem this time (e.g. by replacing the device), I think it will be given back to the shop.
The navigation system doesn’t need an internet connection itself – you need a code to use the Navigon software. This code can be accessed online, by SMS or via a call to the producer’s hotline.
However: Thanks for your advice!
I can understand what you are saying…me I just bought this Navigation thing this morning..the shop assistant told me it was easy to install…I got back to the shop and he wasn’t able to get the right code…then I succeeded in finding the right one…but now I am not able to change the language from German to Italian…it seems there’s no way to change it while the shop assistant swore that there were every kind of language…can’t see the hour to send it back on Monday and get my money back
This is what I like most about these service people: They tell you everything’s easy to use but they themselves have no clue about how to configure the products they’re selling.
Another example of this phenomenon ist the following: In the early days of me having a mobile phone (sth. like five/six years ago) I went to T-Mobile’s shop (that’s my service provider) and asked them, why I can send images to friends that are clients of T-Mobile (D1), Mannesmann D2 or Viag Interkom – but not to the ones that have their contract with E-Plus. In response they asked me if I was sure that my mobile is able to send images. They really had NO idea. Of course it is able! How else could I send these image messages to clients of three service providers! Afterwards they told me to go to the Nokia shop (my mobile was a Nokia 3310) and to ask them. I didn’t, it was too stupid.