Geomate.jr

Hi Edward Pleased to meet you as well and thanks for the question. With the Update Kit you will be able to refresh the default filtered list of approximately 250,000 geocaches. You will also be able to select unfiltered regions and also lists for other countries. The files will be renewed daily and there will be no restriction on quantity or frequency of updates. You can update as often and as many times you want with no additional service charge or subscription. I'm not sure what you mean by 'smart update'. Our objective was to provide a product that is as affordable as possible so every member of a family can each have one and enjoy geocaching together - kids love getting involved and doing rather than watching. To try to do this, we consciously moved the cost of the update capability out of the device and into the Update Kit (no, it's not just a USB cable). In doing so, a family can now have many affordable devices and only one update kit, rather than having a number of more expensive units that has the update capability built in. Personally, I would hate having to pay for the toaster every time I bought a loaf of bread to make toast - I only need one toaster... As we don't restrict one device to one update kit, all you need is access to an update kit - either in the house, at your neighbors, or at the store where you bought your Geomate.jr... As for the warning, we do actually display the date the database was loaded upon start up. Oh, and I hope you'll be pleased to learn that during the development of the Geomate.jr we worked very closely with many members of the geocaching community. (Ourselves as geocachers included). I hope this has answered your questions! Cheers Warren

Hello, Warren. My name is Dan, I'm a Libra, and I like hiking, camping, scuba diving, sailing, and geocaching. Glad you dared to come onboard and face the masses with the flaming torches. I try very hard to avoid mob mentality, but I'm sure that you spend much of the day reading past posts and know that I am one that wasn't exactly thrilled by the rollout of your product. Now, before I begin... let me say that I understand, from your media rollout, that the basic concept was to give parents, that most likely already have, or will get, a geocaching.com account, with a relatively inexpense route to let their kids play along. I "get" that. But there is obivously no promise that will be the case. I hear you addressing concerns such as the ethics of geocaching now, but why were those not addressed before the product rollout, if they are so important to you? How are we to protect our geocoins and travel bugs, for example, from folks that have zero clue as to what they are all about? I put my caches out so that I can get the feedback from those that found it. That is my one and only repayment for my investment. I also have a reasonable expectation that those that found it will respect it. They will not steal it, they will not toss it aside, they will rehide it as found. And they do this because they are part of the geocaching community. Your customers do not need to be a part of that community... in fact, they don't even need to be aware that the community even exists. There are a few here that have attempted to minimize our concerns, but I hope that do not side with them. Those of us that are concerned about this are not taking those issues lightly or making them without thinking about it. These are very real concerns that have consequences. You released your product without considering those consequences, therefore I, and probably others, are concerned and somewhat skeptical about your promises to take them into consideration in the future. Unfortunately, aside from making our caches inaccessable to your users, we don't have many options but to trust you. All thing aside, thank you for coming her to face our concerns That in itself goes a long ways toward mitigating our doubts. Hi Dan Pleased to meet you. I have no problem with 'facing the masses'. In fact, it is vitally important to me that we listen and learn from the geocaching community. While developing the Geomate.jr we have spoken with and worked with many members of the geocaching community (ourselves and our friends being a part of that community) and I welcome any opportunity to meet and work with even more. This forum is an excellent way to achieve that. We are a small company and we still have a lot to do. We have some great ideas on how better to continue developing community and to reward those who take the time to place caches. While we are working on improving our offerings, we have made a conscious decision to work only with distribution channels that understand and respect geocaching and the community - Groundspeak and REI. Now is our chance to learn, refine, and improve. And your help with this is most welcome.

True, but did you get a 250K PQ from Amazon? The point is not about the use and technicalities of the Geomate Jr. Its about the "integritalities" of getting almost 30% of the registered caches, worldwide, included with the purchase... without any "buy in", or education. Hi again, Warren, I guess you got the short straw. I appreciate your stepping up to the plate, but your response did not really satisfy my concerns... How many have already been sold, (or at least packaged ready for shipment). A little late to be developing the material, I'd say. How about the ethics of working with the group (us, the cachers) who hide and maintain caches which enables the organization (GS) to make the Geomate Jr database possible. Doing it this way, I fear you'll run out of time, long before you run out of GeoMate Jr's to sell. Not forgetting the grannies and grandpas looking to buy that thing they heard about from the cousin that does that geo-sport thing for their techno grandkid with all the other tech toys. Are they going to remember all you told them, so they can pass the information on with the Geogift? Having a GPS, but needing to register with GS so I could use it to geocache, is what drove me to geocaching.com All said and done, I know the GeoMate Jr is here to stay. I just feel concerned about the integrity and longevity of a sport I have really got to enjoy. Thank you once again for your time. Good Luck I'm sorry that my response did not satisfy your concerns. I am more than willing to listen to suggestions on how better we can protect the integrity and longevity of the sport that we all enjoy. I welcome the opportunity to talk with you directly and learn from your experience. Please feel free to contact me at any time. Contact details can be found on www.mygeomate.com

Glad to see you here. I'm been testing out my 'Mate for the past week and there's a lot I like about it. My question is regarding the name itself. In my aging mind, Geomate jr. presupposes there is a Geomate Sr. Does Apisphere have a full featured (mapping, more cache data etc) Geocaching specific gps in development? Also, when should we start looking for the update kit at REI or Groundspeak.com? I'm happy to hear that you are out and about with a Geomate.jr! As for the name and whether there will be a "Sr", well that would be just telling. That said, why stop at just one product?? Now, the Update Kit, you should start seeing that appear and available in June.

Hello Warren, Nice to have you join in here and perhaps answer some of the questions. I'm sure it will go a long way to alleviating some of the concerns that have been expressed here. One of those concerns has been about people purchasing the Geomate.jr. and heading out with no real understanding of what they are doing. We have seen the PDF of the quick start card and the info on it regarding geocaching seems a bit lacking in detail. Particularly with regards to travel bugs and geocoins. Are there now, or are there plans for, more details about geocaching in the packaging? Thanks. Thanks! And it's good to be here! I think for the most part, this question has been answered in my last posting. That said, I would love to hear some suggestions of what you would like to see. From experience, long text-based manuals are used as bird cage liner at best. Perhaps we could do something more enticing like a "Trackable Identification Card"?? Show what a trackable looks like, what it is, and what to do with it?? There is a brochure at Geocacher University that has been long regarded by many as a standard piece of equipment to be carried with when caching. It is a basic explanation of geocaching printed on both sides of a standard sheet of paper. Something like it could be used. A glossy fold out in eye catching colors that gives a basic description of caching and the ethics of the pastime on one side and split the other side between trackables and cito. Thanks for the tip. Yep, I know this brochure well.

Hello Warren, Nice to have you join in here and perhaps answer some of the questions. I'm sure it will go a long way to alleviating some of the concerns that have been expressed here. One of those concerns has been about people purchasing the Geomate.jr. and heading out with no real understanding of what they are doing. We have seen the PDF of the quick start card and the info on it regarding geocaching seems a bit lacking in detail. Particularly with regards to travel bugs and geocoins. Are there now, or are there plans for, more details about geocaching in the packaging? Thanks. Thanks! And it's good to be here! I think for the most part, this question has been answered in my last posting. That said, I would love to hear some suggestions of what you would like to see. From experience, long text-based manuals are used as bird cage liner at best. Perhaps we could do something more enticing like a "Trackable Identification Card"?? Show what a trackable looks like, what it is, and what to do with it??

Hi Warren, It's been asked by a few folk. So to put it in my own words.... When I got my GPSr as a gift, I Googled what to do with it, and happened on Geocaching.com. While I could read the logs for the cache, the coordinates and details were a bunch of question marks. I had to open an account, by agreeing to the Groundspeak terms etc, in order to gain access to this information. In so doing, I had to acknowledge an understanding of the rules and ethos associated with the community. Caches which others had placed at their own expense, with the understanding it would be hunted by others involved in the sport were then made available to me. My concerns are not about Apisphere, or the Geomate Jr per se, but about the product which may/will be given by unknowing family members to folk (because of the excellent marketing) who have no understanding of how this community grew, and what the existing members do to make those tupperware boxes available for others. Trades, coins, travelbugs, the cache itself, how are these concepts being relayed to the end user when it's being given by well meaning family members. Your concern about the integrity of the activity and the community is very valid and it is something that is very important to us as well. We are currently developing more material to address ethics, set expectations, and to educate. However, our intent is to also work directly with groups and organizations, to act as ambassadors for the activity, and nurture good ethics. For example, we (in conjunction with REI Outdoor School instructors) took a local school geocaching this morning as part of a 'leadership' themed camp. We didn't just go geocaching, but spent a lot of time talking about navigation, problem solving, environmental awareness as well as geocaching ethics and expectations. Ultimately, we hope to drive anyone who is interested in geocaching to geocaching.com and the community.

Think that would do it??? So, your list of Questions or anyone elses would be??? Who knows, if someone would make a post asking clear questions, not trying to Stir the pot someone ""in the know"" may answer... I can't beleive at least a few people from Groundspeak and or Apisphere aren't reading this... My name's Warren, I'm a Pisces and I like hiking, camping, scuba diving, sailing, and geocaching. I'm also from Apisphere and I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have.

Hello all My name is Warren and I am the product lead for the Geomate.jr. I'm sure there are a heap of questions that everyone has about the product, the company, and our intentions. I would be delighted to field any questions people may have and provide as much information as possible. Looking forward to chatting! Cheers Warren