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Gps - Why So Little Memory?


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I find it so odd that even the lastest high end GPS's come with so little built in memory storage (e.g., like Garmin C-60) I know the Meridian and Exmplorist series has the option to add SD cards, but that is still extra money.

 

The technology exist to have huge amounts of memory. Look at the iPods. Even the iPod Nano has 2 GB.

 

For the amount of money you pay for these high end GPS's, you would think having at least 2 or 3 GB of memory would be standard.

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This question comes up time and again. I don't know that garmin's ever showed up to explain their thinking... Of course since we all (or me at least) keep buying garmin stuff maybe they have right lol.

 

(oh, and you can actually get a get a garmin with lots of memory and/or expandable slots, but those street pilots aren't cheap)

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I find it so odd that even the lastest high end GPS's come with so little built in memory storage (e.g., like Garmin C-60) I know the Meridian and Exmplorist series has the option to add SD cards, but that is still extra money.

 

The technology exist to have huge amounts of memory. Look at the iPods. Even the iPod Nano has 2 GB.

 

For the amount of money you pay for these high end GPS's, you would think having at least 2 or 3 GB of memory would be standard.

For the average GPSr user, 8 MB or 24 MB are all they need.

 

How many people travel frequently from coast-to-coast where they need loads of memory?

 

I think people would rather have a reasonably-priced, works-for-me GPSr than one with more features/memory than they need and a higher price tag.

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I find it so odd that even the lastest high end GPS's come with so little built in memory storage (e.g.,  like Garmin C-60)  I know the Meridian and Exmplorist series has the option to add SD cards, but that is still extra money.

 

The technology exist to have huge amounts of memory.  Look at the iPods.  Even the iPod Nano has 2 GB. 

 

For the amount of money you pay for these high end GPS's, you would think having at least 2 or 3 GB of memory would be standard.

For the average GPSr user, 8 MB or 24 MB are all they need.

 

How many people travel frequently from coast-to-coast where they need loads of memory?

 

I think people would rather have a reasonably-priced, works-for-me GPSr than one with more features/memory than they need and a higher price tag.

Yeah, maybe, but technology allows for small units to have GBs of memory. My 76cs cost way more than an Ipod and what was the difference between the 76cs and the 60cs? Memory.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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Lowrance= No card, no maps. I have a 64MB and a 512MB, and yes, a smaller card might suit my needs, but who can resist having 4 states of high detail TOPO maps!

 

That is one thing I've noticed about Garmins, 0 memory expandability. But if they had a Gig or 2 of memory, you wouldn't need removable cards.

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. . .  technology allows for small units to have GBs of memory. My 76cs cost way more than an Ipod and what was the difference between the 76cs and the 60cs? Memory.

I wonder if an Ipod could be dropped from 10 feet down onto a rock outcropping and come through okay like my friend's 60CS has . . . ? :(

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Probably has something to do with the fact that the gpsr's need  rf oscillator/demodulator circuits to receive the satellites signals.

Yes, certainly. But if I want more memory I have to also purchase other non-standard options along with it.

 

We're not taking about what things are required to make a gps a gps. Don't tell me that a $400 gps takes an extra $250 to get 4 GB worth of memory.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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I have no idea why GPSs are so far behind the curve with internal memory but I have a theory on Garmin's reluctance to use removable memory.....

 

Garmin is almost psychotic about their proprietary formats and maps. Just look at the effort that went into decrypting the Garmin output format and the hoops one jumps through to register software.

 

I think they're afraid using removable memory will loosen their control. They hate to think we might stick a memory card in a reader and hack the software. I'm sure they visualize us swapping loaded cards between ourselves and them not getting paid an extra dime for it.

 

<sarcasm> Maybe they could raise their prices on hardware and software to offset any revenue lost by users swapping cards. </sarcasm>

B

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I find it so odd that even the lastest high end GPS's come with so little built in memory storage (e.g.,  like Garmin C-60)  I know the Meridian and Exmplorist series has the option to add SD cards, but that is still extra money.

 

The technology exist to have huge amounts of memory.  Look at the iPods.  Even the iPod Nano has 2 GB. 

 

For the amount of money you pay for these high end GPS's, you would think having at least 2 or 3 GB of memory would be standard.

For the average GPSr user, 8 MB or 24 MB are all they need.

 

How many people travel frequently from coast-to-coast where they need loads of memory?

 

I think people would rather have a reasonably-priced, works-for-me GPSr than one with more features/memory than they need and a higher price tag.

8mb or 24mb is enough memory ? I don't follow that logic. I have a 60CS and I can't load all of City Select New York. Not to mention the three bordering states Ct, Pa, and NJ. If you wanted topo loaded at the same time, you really run short of memory. Maybe it depends on where you live...if your anywhere near a big city, the memory gets chewed up fast. In practical terms, if I drew a 4 hr driving circle around my home, I couldn't come close to fitting City Select alone in the unit.

 

I like the 60cs, but the 76CS with the added memory would at least cover a std. weekend drive in any direction. It's not a big deal to "load-up" for a weekend trip, but it's a heck of a lot more convenient to have all your weekend trips "in-the-unit".

 

Maybe you can work around 24 MG, but 8...I wouldn't even purchase City Select or Topo if my memory was that limited.

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Garmin is almost psychotic about their proprietary formats and maps. Just look at the effort that went into decrypting the Garmin output format and the hoops one jumps through to register software.

 

I think they're afraid using removable memory will loosen their control. They hate to think we might stick a memory card in a reader and hack the software. I'm sure they visualize us swapping loaded cards between ourselves and them not getting paid an extra dime for it.

 

I don't have any magellan or lowerance software, don't they have locks on any their maps??

 

Again, garmin does have some removeable memory units. Either as garmin specific card (like the old emap) or as the usual SD or CF ( in $900 streetpilots).

To find a unit thats 'reasonably' priced and lets you used standard cards you have to go to another brand like magellan, lowerance, whistler :( .

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I have no idea why GPSs are so far behind the curve with internal memory but I have a theory on Garmin's reluctance to use removable memory.....

 

Garmin is almost psychotic about their proprietary formats and maps. Just look at the effort that went into decrypting the Garmin output format and the hoops one jumps through to register software.

 

I think they're afraid using removable memory will loosen their control. They hate to think we might stick a memory card in a reader and hack the software. I'm sure they visualize us swapping loaded cards between ourselves and them not getting paid an extra dime for it.

 

<sarcasm> Maybe they could raise their prices on hardware and software to offset any revenue lost by users swapping cards. </sarcasm>

B

The internal lock code for a unti pretty well takes care of that issue, and that's fine by me.

 

I think that geocachers cover the buying habits of the population pretty well. How often do you think somebody decides to upgrade?

 

Well, you got a few extra bucks saved up. hmmm not enough for that bucky car model that hold all the maps, so buy the next step up. Another year or so. ' Hey! That new model just about covers everything I need!. Whoa they can do what now? okay, a few more bucks. Next year......

 

Rinse and repeat.

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I think they're afraid using removable memory will loosen their control. They hate to think we might stick a memory card in a reader and hack the software. I'm sure they visualize us swapping loaded cards between ourselves and them not getting paid an extra dime for it.

Their software has already been hacked. People have been making their own maps for over a year now, so that shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps they're in denial over that issue. :(

Edited by Neo_Geo
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I agree with BlueDeuce that it's because of the marketing strategy.

As the market leader, Garmin can do best by offering products today with just enough memory to satisfy consumers current demands given the memory requirements of today's maps. That will allow them to continue to have sales opportunities for improved products with more memory and features as the maps become more detailed and memory hungry.

 

The strategy has worked so far since they've been able to stay ahead in other features, but I expect they'll eventually lose enough sales to competitors that support memory expansion in handhelds that they'll have to do so as well.

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I have a 60CS and have not felt the need yet for more memory. I have westen NY, NW Pa, south parts of Mich., north Ind., and part of Va.(no NYC) both with topo and city select loaded. If need be it doesn't take long to load new ones. I have not needed to change any of the maps for almost a year.

Having said that I would most likey buy a new Garmin that has lots more memory when they come out with one that has the features that my 60CS has. The 76's don't have enought more memory for me to want one of them.

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I have a 60CS and have not felt the need yet for more memory. I have westen NY, NW Pa, south parts of Mich., north Ind., and part of Va.(no NYC) both with topo and city select loaded.

Have you tried loading maps for a route from Manhattan to Washington, DC? After you select the maps around that route, and then add segments where the route comes dangerously close to a map segment border, there's not much room left for more. I'd like to load the whole eastern seaboard (about 400MB) and then add Topo and other maps too. 500MB would make me pretty comfortable. And if they could make that happen with a CF or SD card, then all the more merrier!

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Lowrance has put security measures into Mapcreate 6.3. There is a limit on your SD cards, you are allowed to register 5 cards with the program. BUT, I believe you can get around this by simply uninstall and reinstall Mapcreate, thus 5 more cards....

 

This is fine with me, I got 512MB, That's enough for over four states. (Depends on states.) Another point is Mapcreate does not have road routing info, so that isn't as much data to transfer. But considering my 1 SD card has more memory than a stack of garmins , you'd think they could come up with something better.

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At least (for the 60CS) there should be a way to add maps without having to carry a computer with you - like from USB flash drive or a Palm or Win Mobile pda. 56 megs is wildly small if you go on a road trip. I live near DC and I can't load DC, MD, VA at once. This is really a weakness, in my view. The 60CS is great, but I'd dump it in a minute if Garman offered either SD access or the sorts of memory enhancing interfaces I've just mentioned.

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I want gobs of memory, native. No SD cards, no muss, no fuss, load the maps once and never ever worry about it again for 99% of my work, play and caching.

 

That's possible now, they just don't do it. But then they haven't yet tempted me with an upgrade either.

 

The only draback to memory is that maybe it takes more power to access it and if it did it would drain batteries faster.

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I agree with BlueDeuce that it's because of the marketing strategy.

As the market leader, Garmin can do best by offering products today with just enough memory to satisfy consumers current demands given the memory requirements of today's maps.  That will allow them to continue to have sales opportunities for improved products with more memory and features as the maps become more detailed and memory hungry.

 

The strategy has worked so far since they've been able to stay ahead in other features, but I expect they'll eventually lose enough sales to competitors that support memory expansion in handhelds that they'll have to do so as well.

Peter has the best idea of what drives Garmin, They want to maximize there profits, I do not have a problem with a company doing this. But Garmin takes it to the extreme with the way they deal will retailers. When a dealer stocks the garmin line they also have to stock more accesories then they do with the Magellan. When stocking Garmin products the retailers need to carry more itemes. With Garmin the cables from the differant model groups are not interchangable, it other words the Data and power cables for the e-trex line and the GPS 12XL thru the GPS v are not the same, there is no real reason for this other than to get ore money out of the retailer, even the old Garmin 12 did not use the same cable as the other 12s in the line. OF course with the newer model with USB interfaces this is more understandable. As far as memory cards, the old Garmin e-map had and expandable memory chip, but it was propritary and the price was about 4 times the price of an SD card. Garmin even required the purchase of a pre burned mamory card to the first street pilot at a very high price, the San francisco bay area ran about $150, Sacramento $100.00 and LA was about $150.00. Both the e-map and the pre loaded chips were failures in the market place, then Garmin started selling the Metro Guide CDs which became a great success.

 

With Magellan all the Sport Traks and Meridians use the same cables which makes it a lot easier on the retailers. Magellan never tried to sell pre loaded chips for the meridains, just the CD with no locks on it. I understand with the explorist XL there will be a lock on the CD, but the CD is being shipped with the GPS which make sense, the dealers do not have to tie money up on inventory they may not sell and if the purchaser of the XL want to use the CD they can just pay Magellen to unlock it. The down side looking for deals on the CD will not be there. But I guess gives Magellan a way to protect their software fro pirates which I am all for. Software pirates are just a bunch of theives.

 

Edit to add:

As long as Garmin keeps selling large numbers of GPSr they really do not have a reason to offer and SD card slots or a Triaxial compass. Why would they want to?

Unless Lowrance and Magellan start taking large portions of the market Garmin will not see a need for adding these features. Rumor has it that they will have a model with an SD card next summer, a Garmin rep told me they would have on out in 6 months-but that was three years ago. He must of had a calander that has 180 days in each month :(

Edited by JohnnyVegas
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Lowrance is primarily a sonar company recently expanding into the outdoor, hiking, camping, hunting, geocaching type units. They have also expanded into the aviation field, with my AirMap 500, and then introduced the 1000 and 2000c. I heard in here they were not going to sell color screen handhelds, get the cabela's catalog and what do I see, the new I-Finder Hunt C, in color. I see the company trying to expand to more customers.

 

The reason they use SD cards for memory is because of the transfer rate, apparently it is a lot quicker to load a huge map file to an SD card than through a serial port.

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Lowrance is primarily a sonar company recently expanding into the outdoor, hiking, camping, hunting, geocaching type units. They have also expanded into the aviation field, with my AirMap 500, and then introduced the 1000 and 2000c. I heard in here they were not going to sell color screen handhelds, get the cabela's catalog and what do I see, the new I-Finder Hunt C, in color. I see the company trying to expand to more customers.

 

The reason they use SD cards for memory is because of the transfer rate, apparently it is a lot quicker to load a huge map file to an SD card than through a serial port.

Lowrance had some hand held GPS models in the early days of GPS. But at that time GPS technology was so new not many people new what it was. They sold there early products under two names Lowrance and Eagle, the Eagle breanded products were the same but were sold to large chain stores that tended to discount products. They got out of the handheld GPS market after just a few years way before geocaching was around.

 

back then a GPS that did no more that a Yellow e-trex would sell for around $400.

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My forcast for the whole GPSr market is that Garmin will sit on their dominant market share until next summer or later. The we will see a whole new line of units. The new units will have more built in memory and also SD slots. Different models with different screens (sizes, color resolutions) and also with and without the compass and altimiter and barometer. Right now the option available are OK with the garmin handhelds as you can have 8 or 24 MB in a B+W display, or 24 56 or 115MB for the color units. I would bet that the "next generation" garmins will have 256 and 512 for B+W and then 512mb and 1gb in their color units, and then they will have the SD as an option. Remember they already have the iQue series which you can upgrade the memory on, so they can't be to worried about the mapping formats... they just need to see a need to give it to us in inexpensive models... I would love an iQue except you can't drop them or get them wet. For me, I don't even care about color, but I would love enough memory for all of Topo USA (maybe on several SD cards) and Metorguide all loaded at once, because I do go on long raod trips (whole east coast, or east coast -> west coast -> east coast) and I do not want to drag along a laptop... (Although eventually I'm going to need to anyway to DL my pictures... but now I have a photo wallet....

 

Also why no CF card love? It's a bit slower data rate than the SD cards, but not a low... they also come A LOT bigger due to the big digital cameras using them...

 

So in short I see the new models with:

B+W with 256 ~ 512 onboard

color with 512 ~ 1g onboard

SD card support (maybe dual card support for CF)

USB on all models (firewire/usb 2.0 on high end)

Bigger Screens

Smaller Units

Good Built in Batteries (30+ hours) with an external AA battery pack

(I know we are all against this, but it's a good way for them to make $$$. We'd want to buy a second battery, and also the add on a battery pack for AAs)

 

We can dream right... That's why I'm buying a powerball ticket nonight afterall. :o

Ben

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Lowrance is primarily a sonar company recently expanding into the outdoor, hiking, camping, hunting, geocaching type units. They have also expanded into the aviation field, with my AirMap 500, and then introduced the 1000 and 2000c. I heard in here they were not going to sell color screen handhelds,  get the cabela's catalog and what do I see, the new I-Finder Hunt C, in color. I see the company trying to expand to more customers.

 

The reason they use SD cards for memory is because of the transfer rate, apparently it is a lot quicker to load a huge map file to an SD card than through a serial port.

Not if that serial port is USB. I think most if not all of the newer units come with USB now. The only reason to have an RS-232 port is if you want to connect to map display hardware perhaps.

 

You used to be able to connect to a PDA via the RS-232 port, but most of the new ones only have USB. Too bad they haven't quite gotten USB ON THE GO figured out. That would put us back to the GPS connected PDA point.

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I heard in here they were not going to sell color screen handhelds,  get the cabela's catalog and what do I see, the new I-Finder Hunt C, in color.

Perhaps this is the topic being referred to about Lowrance color units, particularly the iFinder PhD C. I don't see anything on Lowrance's website about an iFinder Hunt C. I wonder if Lowrance pulled the Hunt C after the Cabela's catalog went to press.

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The Quest 2 is one example of a recent Garmin unit with a lot more memory. Since it can take a full City Select product, and hopefully has some reserve for future versions being more complete, the map memory must be more than 2 GB. There's also some room for your own maps.

 

One reason Garmin has claimed for not using memory cards in units like the 60CS, is that they don't want to compromize the water resistance capability of the receiver. Perhaps it's just blue shades, but that's what they said.

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One reason Garmin has claimed for not using memory cards in units like the 60CS, is that they don't want to compromize the water resistance capability of the receiver. Perhaps it's just blue shades, but that's what they said.

 

Sounds more like a company line of bird dropings they give to retailers. Though not GPS related, the Soloman ski company had a habit of bad mouthing Look ski Bindings back in the 70's. The Soloman claim was that the Look products were not designed properly claiming single pivot toes units were not safe. Once the Look patent expired Solomans entire line changed to single pivot toes.

 

When any manufacture claims a competitors product is poorly designed I ignore their claims.

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One reason Garmin has claimed for not using memory cards in units like the 60CS, is that they don't want to compromize the water resistance capability of the receiver. Perhaps it's just blue shades, but that's what they said.

In this case the claim is especially questionable since Garmin makes models like the SP III and 26x0 that do take memory cards and also have the same IPX7 waterproof rating as the 60cs.

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One reason Garmin has claimed for not using memory cards in units like the 60CS, is that they don't want to compromize the water resistance capability of the receiver. Perhaps it's just blue shades, but that's what they said.

In this case the claim is especially questionable since Garmin makes models like the SP III and 26x0 that do take memory cards and also have the same IPX7 waterproof rating as the 60cs.

Yes, but I wouldn't dare treat one of those units the way I handle my etrex or 60.

 

Also, as to the cables,

 

With Garmin the cables from the differant model groups are not interchangable, it other words the Data and power cables for the e-trex line and the GPS 12XL thru the GPS v are not the same, there is no real reason for this other than to get ore money out of the retailer, even the old Garmin 12 did not use the same cable as the other 12s in the line.

 

All of the eTrex units use the same power/data cables. All of the 12 series units and the GPS V, as well as the 76/60(for serial and power) series units use the same power/data cable, except 1, the GPS 12. The GPS 12 was the first of any of those, and wasn't designed with an internal voltage regulator for use with external power, for this reason the power cable had to be different(the plug has the step down convertor), or the unit would get zapped with overvoltage. If you ask me, that seems like a fairly reasonable cable cross usage ratio(16 of these units use the same cigarette lighter plug and serial connection cable).

Edited by yeeoldcacher
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In this case the claim is especially questionable since Garmin makes models like the SP III and 26x0 that do take memory cards and also have the same IPX7 waterproof rating as the 60cs.

Yes, but I wouldn't dare treat one of those units the way I handle my etrex or 60.

One of the applications of those models was for sale with BMW motorcycles where they'd be in an environment subject to considerable rain (incl. wind-driven) and vibration & shock. If Garmin can design a memory card slot and still maintain waterproofness in that environment then I don't see why it should be that hard for them to do so for their handhelds. Nor do I think their physical designers are less competent than those at Lowrance and Magellan who seem to have solved the problem and make models that are just as waterproof as Garmin's handhelds.

 

I do agree with you on the cables. The original plug design on the 45/II/III/12/etc. models takes up considerable room inside the case and isn't as suitable for the physically smaller eTrex/eMap/Geko models. If anything, Garmin has gone out of their way to maintain cable interchangeability. The following models all use the eTrex-style connector: eMap, Garmin eTrex, eTrex Camo, eTrex Legend, eTrex Mariner, eTrex Summit, eTrex Venture, eTrex Vista, Geko 201, Geko 301 and GolfLogix Golf GPS while the original round plug is used by the: GPS II, GPS II+, GPS III, GPS III+, GPS III Pilot, GPS V, GPS V Deluxe, GPS 12CX, GPS 12MAP, GPS 12XL, GPS 45, GPS 45XL, GPS 48, GPSMAP 60C, GPSMAP 60CS, GPS 72, GPS 76, GPSMAP 76, GPSMAP 76C, GPSMAP 76CS, GPSMAP 76S, GPS 89, GPS 90, GPS 92, GPSMAP 176, GPSMAP 176C, GPSMAP 196, GPSMAP 295, StreetPilot GPS, StreetPilot GPS ColorMap, StreetPilot III, StreetPilot III Deluxe (of these, the 12, 38, and 40 use a slightly modified version for power cables due to the lack of an internal voltage regulator). That doesn't strike me as a company that's trying to arbitrarily increase the number of cable types.

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They're HANDHELDS fer God's sake ! I hate to say it, but we're the "bottom-feeders" of GPS users... High-end users ( commercial aviation, marine, civil engineering and military), get all the bells and whistles. They also pay through the nose for it. EG; local ferry service gets a new C-Map chip (not cheap) every year for every one of their $10,000 Raytheon GPS / Chartplotter. I'd imagine there is a similar situation for aviation.

Considering it's a 10 year old market, I think they work just peachy! My 1998 GPS 48 works great, but I buy new marine charts every year. I also shell out 10 whole bucks a year for a new Rand McNally highway atlas, get free city maps from AAA and have yet to get lost. Then again, I don't remember my cell-phone number. :o

 

To quote every marine chart: "WARNING The prudent mariner will not rely solely on any single aid to navigation, particularly on floating aids" . Replace floating aids with road construction etc., and you're on land.

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I agree with BlueDeuce that it's because of the marketing strategy.

As the market leader, Garmin can do best by offering products today with just enough memory to satisfy consumers current demands given the memory requirements of today's maps.  That will allow them to continue to have sales opportunities for improved products with more memory and features as the maps become more detailed and memory hungry.

 

The strategy has worked so far since they've been able to stay ahead in other features, but I expect they'll eventually lose enough sales to competitors that support memory expansion in handhelds that they'll have to do so as well.

I think your logic follows mine most closely in this discussion.

 

After getting a Rino 110, I broke it a year later. Replaced with a Rino 130 (more memory!) Also got a 60CS (more memory!) for autonav. Sent an email to Garmin saying "Er, hey, how about a Rino/60CS combination?)

 

A short while ago, they announced what I asked for - Rino 530. More memory? Nope. 56MB, same as the 60CS.

 

My follow-up email to them was "I'm not buying another Garmin unit until you come up with a Rino 530 with SD cards and a 60CS with SD cards."

 

I travel a lot on business, and I'm constantly loading different maps in the 60CS so's I know how to get to my customers, not to mention my home area of North Georgia. Don't get me started on the 500 waypoints in the Rino 130 and it's 20(?)MB of storage. More please.

 

As you said, they're staying *just* enough ahead of the curve, but at what risk? I love their products, but not enough to buy another one - not unless they update the technology/give me what I'm asking for.

Edited by Cymbaline
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One reason Garmin has claimed for not using memory cards in units like the 60CS, is that they don't want to compromize the water resistance capability of the receiver. Perhaps it's just blue shades, but that's what they said.

I've seen similarly-phrased comments from Garmin, but I'm not buying it.

 

Magelleans meet the IPX7 specifcation just fine - why can't Garmin?

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One reason Garmin has claimed for not using memory cards in units like the 60CS, is that they don't want to compromize the water resistance capability of the receiver. Perhaps it's just blue shades, but that's what they said.

In this case the claim is especially questionable since Garmin makes models like the SP III and 26x0 that do take memory cards and also have the same IPX7 waterproof rating as the 60cs.

Now don't you be coming up with reasons that might make garmin look stupid :o .

 

Could you find loopholes in the other reasons I've heard garmin supposedly has said, such as "putting a card slot under the battery door is patented by another company", and "we've done market polling and theres not much interest in that ability so we're not R/Ding it" ??

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Polls can be riged to reflect what ever the person who writes the polls would like to see for an outcome.

 

I have not hancled a Garmin e-map for a long time so I an not sure if the memort card was uhder the battery door or not, But it was on the market before the Magellan Meridians. If one of the Lowarnce users reads this thread maybe they can fill un in on were the Memory card is on the lowrance line, I really do not think it is a pattent issue.

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They're HANDHELDS fer God's sake ! I hate to say it, but we're the "bottom-feeders" of GPS users... High-end users ( commercial aviation, marine, civil engineering and military), get all the bells and whistles. They also pay through the nose for it.

My AirMap has some bells and whisles, but the thing ain't worth a darn when it comes to rugged. It is in no way waterproof, shockproof, or any other proof. It came with a waterproof pouch, which is a pain to use and I rarely put the unit in. You can tell it wasn't designed for outdoor activites. The unit itself is very versitile, I'd just like to see it in a better frame.

 

Now the Garmn GPSMAP 96C Avaition unit is pretty rugged, and versitile, but no SD card. (Or large memory space)

 

I like my SD card, but I haven't used a USB type unit that connects to a computer. One advantage not mentioned about SD cards is the fact you can pre-program at home, and then use the cards away from the computer. With a USB hookup unit, to have full memory and need more maps for the rest of your trip you'd need a computer, with a card, just slip it in and your good to go again.

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If one of the Lowarnce users reads this thread maybe they can fill un in on were the Memory card is on the lowrance line

 

Your post came up while I was writing the one above.

 

The SD slot is under the battery cover, you remove the batteries, and slide the card toward the top of the unit above the batteries.

Edited by Airmapper
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One reason Garmin has claimed for not using memory cards in units like the 60CS, is that they don't want to compromize the water resistance capability of the receiver. Perhaps it's just blue shades, but that's what they said.

I've seen similarly-phrased comments from Garmin, but I'm not buying it.

 

Magelleans meet the IPX7 specifcation just fine - why can't Garmin?

I agree. My Magellan Merigold has the SD card inside the battery compartment. I am not crazy about the latching mechanism, but I have tested it submerged in water and no leaks. Regardless, they all have a battery cover. If you can replace the batteries without compromising the seal, why not the SD card???

 

With USB ports having such higher speeds than RS-232, you don't even need to remove the card all the time anyway. You can just plug it in and leave it until you run out of space and need to upgrade it or you need it to plug into your camera for one more picture! ;)

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Could you find loopholes in the other reasons I've heard garmin supposedly has said, such as "putting a card slot under the battery door is patented by another company"

Is this true??? I am very surprised that such a simple thing could be patented. There is an "non-obvious" requirement to getting a patent.

Its one of the reasons that past threads in these forums have given for why garmin doesn't have expansion slots in their handhelds (remember this is 'i heard from my friend, who knows A, who knows B, who knows a guy that works at garmin and they said' type stuff so it may not be true).

Even if it is I don't see the 'we couldn't put it in the battery compartment and we can't possiably find another place for it' reasoning. They could claim its to reduce the number of waterproof plugs and seals needed in the unit, but then why aren't the data transfer ports under the battery compartment doors too? Are the people that take laptops with them doing waypoint transfers in the rain or what? ;)

Then of course garmin (and other companies) already have units that have slots, either they got an ok from the patent holder, or they found a suitable way around it.

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Isn't it just a software problem? My USB flash drive has 1 GB on it. The 60CS has a USB port. I know there is this issue of master/slave, but is that not just software? Why can't I put map data from my flash drive (it would take a mapsource change to get it there) to my 60CS?

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I heard in here they were not going to sell color screen handhelds,  get the cabela's catalog and what do I see, the new I-Finder Hunt C, in color.

Perhaps this is the topic being referred to about Lowrance color units, particularly the iFinder PhD C. I don't see anything on Lowrance's website about an iFinder Hunt C. I wonder if Lowrance pulled the Hunt C after the Cabela's catalog went to press.

[/slightly off topic]

 

That's a really surprising discovery for me,, I wasn't aware of a color iFinder Hunt even on the drawing board, only the PhDc & iWay 200C..

 

Yes perhaps Cabela's paper catalogue went to press *before* Lowrance pulled the plug on their color GPSr line, but surprising their online catalogue => here <= shows the iFinder Hunt C as currently BACKORDERED a couple weeks, not DISCONTINUED as I thought would be the case..

 

So I'm hopeful the Lowrance Colur GPSr's make it to market after all!

 

[/back to topic]

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I also shell out 10 whole bucks a year for a new Rand McNally highway atlas, get free city maps from AAA and have yet to get lost. Then again, I don't remember my cell-phone number. <_<

 

To quote every marine chart: "WARNING The prudent mariner will not rely solely on any single aid to navigation, particularly on floating aids" . Replace floating aids with road construction etc., and you're on land.

Last month I looked at the section of Magellan and Garmin's websites where you can browse the map data for CitySelect and DirectRoute. I was disappointed in both because my 5-yr-old subdivision is not depicted on either's maps. I'm admittedly a data snob; I pride myself in producing accurate and up-to-date maps. Having lots of memory in a GPSr is nice, but I'd much rather have up-to-date maps. Pretty sad when printed maps are more up-to-date than those sold by the GPS companies. I sent my resume to Garmin last month for one of their cartographer positions. So apparently Garmin doesn't just regurgitate Navteq or TeleAtlas data. Garmin and Magellan, I'm available to update your maps if you want me!

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Isn't it just a software problem? My USB flash drive has 1 GB on it.  The 60CS has a USB port.  I know there is this issue of master/slave, but is that not just software?  Why can't I put map data from my flash drive (it would take a mapsource change to get it there) to my 60CS?

No, the master and slave hardware is different. There is a standard for peer to peer comms on USB called USB on the GO. It came about by the need to connect cameras to printers via USB. So far it has not done very well, but it is still young. Partly this is because each device you want to connect must be known and understood by the unit that plays the "master" role. So general comms is not very practical still. The GPS needs to know how to talk to the thing it is connected to. But USB memory shouldn't be a problem. But again it is more of a form factor issue. Why use a USB flash drive when you can use a much smaller SD Card?

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I heard in here they were not going to sell color screen handhelds,  get the cabela's catalog and what do I see, the new I-Finder Hunt C, in color.

Perhaps this is the topic being referred to about Lowrance color units, particularly the iFinder PhD C. I don't see anything on Lowrance's website about an iFinder Hunt C. I wonder if Lowrance pulled the Hunt C after the Cabela's catalog went to press.

[/slightly off topic]

 

That's a really surprising discovery for me,, I wasn't aware of a color iFinder Hunt even on the drawing board, only the PhDc & iWay 200C..

 

Yes perhaps Cabela's paper catalogue went to press *before* Lowrance pulled the plug on their color GPSr line, but surprising their online catalogue => here <= shows the iFinder Hunt C as currently BACKORDERED a couple weeks, not DISCONTINUED as I thought would be the case..

 

So I'm hopeful the Lowrance Colur GPSr's make it to market after all!

 

[/back to topic]

Not only does it show at Cabela's web site but a google search shows it at some 5 or so vendors, all out of stock of course. I guess it is not quite out yet, but I don't think it has been canned. Why would they do that?

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geoqnerd,

 

The USGS topo map of my area doesn't have my neighborhood on it. About 25 years old. A bit of chartography and I know where I live... Maps / charts etc. are works in progress. As soon as one is made, it's out-dated. Kinda like computers, you know the old joke? "At the end of the checkout line, there should be a recycling bin".

 

Everyone else:

Some old stuff works, I was using an off shore chart (Cape Sable to Cape Hatteras #13003) WAY after it was out dated, it has Nantucket Lightship on it and Loran A markings. Also a ton of scribbling from Loran C and GPS. It is diplayed proudly on a wall now. I have a new chart #13003 and charts for where I go. I use Loran C and GPS, I also use a sextant and compass depending on the boat I move.

 

Long story short: learn to use technology, don't depend upon it... But you might have missed that while you were on your cell-phone.

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