Is there any way to search for POI categories by voice that are not right next to you? When I search for Dining "near here" it only shows places within a block of my location and it doesn't seem to allow any sub categories such as Chinese food or fast food. I also tried to search for a Best Buy and it didn't show up in the search for shopping even though I knew there was a Best Buy in the local area. I had to stop and punch in Best Buy by hand to find it. Suppose I wanted to find a Costco in another town. Is there any way to do this by voice? Is there some way to get better searches by voice command?
I am curious about this too. I gave up trying to use POI in that situation. Life is too short to spend most of it yelling at your dashboard like a looney.
I think it should be technologically capable of searching for POIs by name or even a category more specific than the very very broad categories like "Dining," that show on the main screen but I don't see how to do it. If it can understand a street name entry by voice command, then it should also be able to understand "Panda Express" or "Safeway" or even "supermarket." I know that the portable Garmins that have speech recognition let you search for POIs by name using your voice. I also know that on a Honda, you can say "nearest Chinese Restaurant" and it will show you listings to choose from in the general area.
I am sure that is true, but the only time I tried to find something via voice commands I ended up very frustrated as it couldn't even understand what I was saying way before we got to the specific type of restaurant or store. I gave up and used my IPhone.
Is there any way to add POIs into the system (like speed cameras)? I'm in the UK and we are plagued by these "safety" cameras or tax collectors whichever is your preference, I;d just like to get a warning so I can stay "safe"
I don't think there is a way to add custom POIs, like you can with a portable Garmin. It is very frustrating finding POIs by voice but there are subcategories that aren't listed -- although I haven't figured them all out yet. You can find them in the navigation system user manual as well as the quick reference (they don't all match). See this thread for an interesting response I got from the Nav Lady after a frustrating exchange: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/66445-prius-nav-lady-so-polite.html
I haven't had much problem with it understanding the commands that it does have, but I don't understand why it is missing so many useful commands. There are a lot of obscure commands that few people would ever want to use. It has less than useful commands such as skipping CD tracks and seeking up and down to the next radio station which can be done much more easily by tapping the steering wheel control button up and down. It has voice command to add POI icons for "Shipping and Copies" to the screen, but it does't let you use voice command browse and navigate to the nearest fast food by category or name? If you want to find the next Taco Bell drive-through you need to pull over and use the touchscreen by hand. What??!! Why not let you browse all the screens by voice that you can access with your fingers?? Other car navs do that and more.
All of these posts reinforce my feelings about the Toyota Nav. Basically, in a word, it sucks. My Garmin is far superior, and at less than 20% of the cost.
Yeah, I don't use my in-car NAV for finding POI while driving since they made it so impossible to do. I found an old hacked Garmin Nav XT software for my Windows Mobile phone that makes it work just like a portable Nuvi, complete with US maps built-in more detailed than what's in my car. No extra monthly fee either. I'm not sure why Garmin discontinued the software, but I think they do still support a Blackberry version. But mine works wonderfully, including the "Garmin Online" section which gives nearest gas prices, weather, flight delays, etc. Actually the gas price feature is what I use most on it. And it's very accurate, even in remote areas.
