I have a bunch of maps and files from both providers. I also have a bunch of questions I hope someone can help me and probably others with.
Currently using TT maps. I have used NQ maps before and can't see the difference. Which provider excels in the North America region? Does it make any difference if you calculate one route using TT and calculate it using NQ?
If you are using TT, but have NQ files in the same folder, will IGO use the files it needs from another provider? Since I have a bunch of .hnr files for North America, but I am using TT maps as default, does keeping these maps make any sense or it depends on which maps are selected? Or maybe TT has its own means for calculating fast, economical, short, etc.
What is a GREEN route? I guess it has to do with the environment, but how?

livanpinar wrote: Currently using TT maps. I have used NQ maps before and can't see the difference.

Too bad for you

livanpinar wrote:Which provider excels in the North America region?

Most advise the HERE maps (the Navteq ones) for the US. I can't say that is 100% true as I know of at least one (a close friend and ex moderator here) who says TT are best in California.

Let me say this: for every question you ask, the personal likings next to the location can demand for a certain make of maps. That is so in the USA and in Europe. Best is to test yourself. It may differ from State to State, as it differs between European countries.

livanpinar wrote:Does it make any difference if you calculate one route using TT and calculate it using NQ?

You should also test that yourself. See my previous answer.

livanpinar wrote: If you are using TT, but have NQ files in the same folder, will IGO use the files it needs from another provider? Since I have a bunch of .hnr files for North America, but I am using TT maps as default, does keeping these maps make any sense or it depends on which maps are selected? Or maybe TT has its own means for calculating fast, economical, short, etc.

It's best not to mix the files from different mapmakers. When in the mapfolder different folders are placed for the different makes, a mapchanger addon let's you change between HERE and TeleAtlas/TomTom.

livanpinar wrote:What is a GREEN route? I guess it has to do with the environment, but how?

Calculating the route with the less fuel consumption, based on how you set up the average fuel consumption in settings? Less consumption = less pollution = green.

Thanks Katastrofe, but still in the dark in some parts. Actually live in Toronto, Canada. I do use the mapchanger addon. When you say "better in California" what do you exactly mean? Are route calculations closer to what you would expect? Is the map more detailed and shows more streets? I have used both and don't see a perceptible difference. But maybe that's just me that have not paid attention or it actually made no difference where I live because both maps are good here. I very rarely go out of the city, and if I do, I follow the GPS instructions. But it could mean someone has tested both for the same destination, and with one, the route calculation was completely off or made no sense.

With the addon, I selected TT and has been using it for a while. It takes me from A to B and usually chooses a good route. But as I don't go the same route every day it is hard to say if TT is better than NQ, or it's just slightly better or not. So, if I have both TT and NQ in the same map folder and choose TT with the mapchanger, will IGO still use NQ for missing information?
Thanks

No, by using the mapchanger it's either this or that mapset you use.

Every part of the world has a mapset that is better in certain parts of the country/continent. Sometimes this map is better in cities and that in the open, sometimes it's just the mapset that is simply better in the part of the world (country or State) you drive in at the moment. There eis no real rule for this.

Besides more detail (like my friend said about California an TT) routing is a part of the ease of use. Only routing is also influenced by the program version too. I live in Europe and prefer TT for several reasons including detail like existing house numbers and streets. On older programs, routing and Navteq always made me do detours, TT rarely did.
In other European countries, for the same reason I prefer TT, users prefer Navteq. So again, there is no rule.

Just one. Where ever you drive around, you can't always know where you are exactly and how to route the best, but the maps will bring you there in the end. Who cares for a small detour or whatever issue when you don't know better? When you do, do you need a GPS and maps?

My suggestion for NA is to use the HERE [Navteq] maps and select the "easy" option - not "fast."