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I use a 5 year old TomTom which is decent. I wanted a Garmin, but I couldn't refuse the TomTom because of the incredible one day sale Amazon had on it back then.
Location: The Northeast - hoping one day the Northwest!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyRider
I noticed my Garmin Nuvi's map is way out of date. Looked in Garmin's web site and they want $50 for map update. I do have an iPhone but I prefer a dedicated GPS unit on the windshield. There is gotta be a way to get non-Garmin maps somewhere.
I prefer my Garmin over my phone. I like to stream pandora when I drive, and I like to look at the GPS, so based on how I drive... it's much easier for me to use a GPS. Also, I notice my Garmin gives me better directions too.
Yes, spending $50 for updates is not something i want to do, but 99% of the time where I need to go will be on the main street anyway. Kind of stinks sometimes not having updated restaurants, etc... but at least I can get an idea of what I want, and once i exit off the highway if I see things I want - I can go there instead.
Waze and my iPhone 5 is a much more usable solution than any Garmin. Real time routing based on traffic, real time alerts of hazards, cops etc. I used to have a Garmin Nuvi in my travel bag, but haven't taken it on a single trip this year (I travel 3-4 weeks of the month).
I also used to use a Garmin 496 with XM weather when I was flying myself. Now using Foreflight and a Stratus 2 which gives me weather and traffic and doesn't cost the $50 per month XM used to ask for Aviation weather. Garmin are nowhere on this move to smartphone mapping and surely must be hurting.....
I noticed my Garmin Nuvi's map is way out of date. Looked in Garmin's web site and they want $50 for map update. I do have an iPhone but I prefer a dedicated GPS unit on the windshield. There is gotta be a way to get non-Garmin maps somewhere.
I'm assuming that's a rapidly shifting revenue model, the consumer stand-alone GPS for driving. Bet those product planners at Garmin have been very busy since 2007 and the first iPhone with maps came out, instantly making some of their product lines obsolete.
Stating the obvious, think two curves on a graph, labeled "Consumer usage trends of GPS products": one going up to the right, "use of smartphones and cellular service for GPS." Or, embedded GPS chips in Smartphones (if such a thing exists. Bet it does.)
Other: "Consumer use of stand-alone GPS products from us and our competitors". Heading downhill fast. Line becomes asymptotic with X-axis over time: won't go to zero, but will flatten out as a low percentage of total consumers sooner vs. later.
I just had my stand-alone Garmin 60CSx refurbished. A 2006 model. Cost $110 for the refurb, necessary only due to my negligence (cracked the screen in a weird accident). Otherwise it was still running great. Now, this is a smaller unit, but color and jam-packed with cool features mostly for hikers. But I used it as the stand-alone GPS a couple cars and trucks from 2006-2010. Then I bought an in-dash Kenwood unit w/Garmin GPS, also a product with finite lifespan (though I knew that going in). That too will be mostly-obsolete in the near future, no more than ten years I'm guessing.
So the Garmin 60CSx is relegated to motorcycling, and hiking. Motorcycling may, or may not, be one of the last bastions for stand-alone Garmins, though that won't last long either once every Smartphone has GPS chips, big screen, and can be software-modded to do motorcycle stuff in a thin case (or comes water and weatherproof from the factory).
Marine and aircraft are probably still big markets. They are "probably" focussing more on that, and maybe personal sports units, though again: if the Smartphone people (Nokia, Samsung, Apple primarily) have any brains at all, they're figuring a way to completely and permanently displace Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan in the consumer space over say the next 5-10 years. Smart watches from Samsung, Sony, and others are sweeping in; that's just the product to displace Garmin's whole sports line. If they include a heart rate sensor.
Meanwhile, the $110 I spent on the refurb for Garmin? Meh: probably a borderline-waste, though it will remain relevant for hiking and ever-more-limited motorcycle use at least a few more years, I'm guessing. I have it setup in such a way that it is convenient for my particular purposes (fire road maps, heading and ground speed, timers, etc.) That's niche-market, though. Paying for "map updates" yearly is about an inch from becoming entirely-unattractive, too, to OP's point. Soon, 99.9% of consumers will say "Nuts!" to that, as well.
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