Actual Entunes Usage?

That's confusing. Earlier you were talking about Entune's traffic interface with nav and now you say you don't have it?

Traffic interface with Nav is a key functionality. A must have option in my view. Had I known that the Prius 6" XM/Nav package could do XMNavTraffic, I would have gone for a Prius IV with the higher end XM radio which can get XM Data Services (Traffic, weather, etc).

Toyota's idea with 6" and Entunes provided internet based traffic via cell phone is to see if they can capture the $15 a month that XM charges for the traffic.

NavTraffic via XM is the better way to go. Cheaper. More reliable. No usage of data services. No roaming charges on trips. No "no service" issues.

That said, Entunes Traffic does the job but requires monitoring for data usage.

 

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Waze is the best app for those us in SoCal.. Wish the Navi integrated with traffic. I tried this morning to see what the time would be to go to Santa Monica -- said 35 minutes. Then I tried Waze.. 75 minutes.

 

Have driven almost 900 miles on my prius. Entune usage...the first day to 'play' with it.
Usability on a scale of 1 to 10 maybe 1. If you have an Iphone and BT streaming you dont need Entune. Its a hassle. You dont need iheart radio, or movie whatever, or sucky bing! Streaming quality better + the iphone has way more radio choices. HD radio app anyone?
I wish Toyota has saved the dollars and spent on finessing the Nav app, or even better made the 7" screen standard.

 

Ever try Gasbuddy? its on your phone available as an app. Have been using it for over 2 years now.

 

Over the weekend I was on a trip to San Francisco to visit AT&T park, the home the Giants. One the trip I got alerted a few times to "traffic ahead" but it was difficult to figure out what traffic and what ahead means. I am fairly sure there is no traffic aware routing but there does seem to be traffic warnings.

In the end it is a complete waste of time to have the traffic info if the GPS is not going to automatically help you avoid it.

 

Following ProximalSuns's suggestion I went back and made sure I had a bluetooth internet connection before running the Maps app and it DOES integrate with traffic. Unfortunately, while I know it adjusts routing based on traffic, I'm not sure how well it estimates arrival times.

That said, I've stopped using Waze in favor of the nav because I found the routing to be pretty much the equivalent for my commute and I prefer the in-dash display. Plus, my phone isn't the latest and greatest so any extra load I can take off it the better.

 

I've been trying to get a Sirius version of software with maybe a buffer. I have the same problem in MA with all the trees with the XM version. There's little or no buffering and the radio cant keep up. ive loved the service years on other radios in other cars though.

 

The Nav does interface with the Entune traffic....you either have to be connected via USB with the Entune app running on your phone or have a tethering app or plan to do it without USB hookup....It actually works very well...I have been notified many times of upcoming traffic and accidents and have been rerouted via the nav...

-M

 

When you receive the "traffic ahead" warning, if you then press "traffic" from the nav menu, you'll be able to access traffic warnings "along you route" for details.

 

Just picked up my car on Monday and haven't played with the entune yet other than to get connected and check the weather. how do you get the traffic updates? is this automatic or just when you are in Nav?

 

If the car is connecting to the internet via the phone (be sure to put your Entunes ID and PWD in the car's nav unit SETUP) then you will see menu items for BING, Pandora and Traffic. Push the Traffic menu item and it will show it connecting and then it will provide an overlay on your nav screen. It will show traffic alerts by area or relative to a route if you are navigating to some place. To try it all. Do search on BING. Navigate to it. Check the traffic. Then turn on Pandora as you drive there. That will test out the three internet programs so you'll know you've got the car setup.

 

I should have read this before the drive home from work................two hour traffic jam due to an accident.

 

It's always nice to get a traffic jam warning and offer to reroute. BING, Traffic and Pandora live via the phones internet connection is a nice feature.

 

Does the built-in nav reroute you once you log into the traffic app?

 

Yes! You have the option of having it do it automatically, or having it ask if you wish to be re-routed around an upcoming traffic jam. I've seen them both..and prefer the option setting.

 

Whoa... cool. Where's the option to ask located?

 

lol...good question. I seem to remember finding it in the navigation options menu, but it may have been from the hard "set-up" button alongside the display. At the same time, you'll be able to select the radius of traffic "warnings", meaning, from how far away you'll receive advance warning of an upcoming traffic situation. Sorry I can't be more helpful, but if you just sit in the car pounding buttons, I'm sure you'll find it. I find the nav system's capabilities to be comprehensive if not particularly user friendly: nothing is quite where you expect it to be!

 

The first day I got the "V" my wife got home late from a meeting. It was 10:30pm and she found me in the garage, inside the car, "pounding buttons."

 

Got my V last week and I really don't understand what it is at I should be paying a monthly fee for Entune for. The system is using my phones data plan on a free based OS (Android) with apps developed by companies I already get on my phone. It cannot communicate with my Android Nexus phone (cutting edge Android) to pull messages, it can only BT to use the data and phone calls. Aside from the voice interface to their 6 apps, just what is Entune doing for $15 a month? I get 6 apps for that? With XM, I get CD quality, 100+ channels for $77 a year and use it much more than Opentable or Movietickets. Besides, there is many more apps that should have been ported to Entune by now. UrbanSpoon, Car Locator, Amazon MP3, Flight Stats, Nook &/or Kindle with an option to read my books to me while I drive to name a few. Once my free trial is done, unless there is some major improvement, I doubt I will renew.