From the Horse's Mouth: Garmin unlock cutbacks!

[+Moosiegirl]

I am posting an email I sent to Garmin, and the Cartography Dept's reply for those of you who are interested in helping change Garmin's mind about their map pricing strategies. If they receive enough letters with specifics on how much we have already invested in their company, maybe they will decide some kind of customer loyalty reward / discount / package price is in order.

 

Candy

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Cartography Mailbox

To: Candy Lind

Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 10:52 AM

Subject: RE: Garmin Maps, unlocking, updates

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin.

 

A new update offering will come soon…they will call this one “2008,” but that is just a semantic difference.

It is the case that marketing removed the second unit unlock and it will be a one unit license with this next one. I personally dislike it, too, and I WILL pass your feedback along.

Thank you again for your interest in Garmin GPS. Have you seen our online Map Viewer? Preview the basic data in many of the MapSource products firsthand.

 

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/

 

Best regards,

Loy

 

mailto:cartography@garmin.com

 

Garmin International

1200 E. 151st Street

Olathe, KS (USA) 66062

http://www.garmin.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2007 4:47 PM

To: Cartography Mailbox

Subject: Garmin Maps, unlocking, updates

 

 

I hear rumors that Garmin, with the upcoming City Navigator release, will limit the use of the software to only 1 GPS unit (as opposed to 2 units on previous keyed releases). We own, at this time, six Garmin GPSr's. We have not upgraded the two oldest units since Metroguide version 5. Two more units are using CN version 6, and two others are using CN version 7. We have not upgraded to have them all using the same version (we would have liked to!) because the cost was prohibitive. To go to one code per package would send us back to paper maps, which would be a real shame!

 

I hope you can refrain from any further restrictions on your software. We had actually hoped that you would come out with some kind of multi-unit license special pricing, or some kind of subscription plan, for those of us who use Garmin exclusively for road, water, and trail. Apparently that was a pipe dream!

 

Regards,

Candy Lind

[Rhialto]

I'm writing them at the moment about this... the more we are, better it is.

 

Anyway, one day they will see sales going down and/or hear about people using hack to get what they need.

[+Knight2000]

I think Magellan is the same way.

[+hogrod]

This is pretty old news, it has been discussed one here in more than one topic over the last couple months. I highly doubt calling/emailing garmin will have any effect on their policy change.

[Vlad]

this may be garmin's doing, but i think navteq is driving this (excuse the pun) from behind the scenes...

[+RRLover]

The "Magellanification" of Garmin!!! DOOM is on the horizon!

Garmin lies about MAC support,

Magellan lies about just about everything,

does anybody else feel like switching to "half empty"

from "half full"? It would, . . . in this day and age,

seem better to look good than to actually 'BE' good!

Gone are those who actually feel good about their

accomplishments on the inside, supplanted by those

who strive to look good to others, whomever they may be;

Managers, Stock holders, Investors being wooed, anybody

BUT us denizens of the deep . . . THE FREAKIN' CUSTOMERS!

Those who actually pony up the $$$.$$ that greases their

machine.

I'm wondering how long 'til DeLorme "Sees the light".

 

Rant over, back to regularly scheduled programming . . .

 

Norm

[+RRLover]

The "Magellanification" of Garmin!!! DOOM is on the horizon!

Garmin lies about MAC support,

Magellan lies about just about everything,

does anybody else feel like switching to "half empty"

from "half full"? It would, . . . in this day and age,

seem better to look good than to actually 'BE' good!

Gone are those who actually feel good about their

accomplishments on the inside, supplanted by those

who strive to look good to others, whomever they may be;

Managers, Stock holders, Investors being wooed, anybody

BUT us denizens of the deep . . . THE FREAKIN' CUSTOMERS!

Those who actually pony up the $$$.$$ that greases their

machine.

I'm wondering how long 'til DeLorme "Sees the light".

 

Rant over, back to regularly scheduled programming . . .

 

Norm

[+RRLover]

The "Magellanification" of Garmin!!! DOOM is on the horizon!

Garmin lies about MAC support,

Magellan lies about just about everything,

does anybody else feel like switching to "half empty"

from "half full"? It would, . . . in this day and age,

seem better to look good than to actually 'BE' good!

Gone are those who actually feel good about their

accomplishments on the inside, supplanted by those

who strive to look good to others, whomever they may be;

Managers, Stock holders, Investors being wooed, anybody

BUT us denizens of the deep . . . THE FREAKIN' CUSTOMERS!

Those who actually pony up the $$$.$$ that greases their

machine.

I'm wondering how long 'til DeLorme "Sees the light".

 

Rant over, back to regularly scheduled programming . . .

 

Norm

[+RRLover]

Wow talk about "flood control" freak out!

"Susie Creamcheese "what's got into you?""

attributed to Frank Zappa.

 

When I tried to post the connection timed out, then when I back-paged I got some flood control message about the server being overloaded,

back-paged again to start re-writing and voila three posts, . . . Weird!

Edited July 27, 2007 by RRLover

[trad444]

Yes sir RRLover, gone are the days of when you and I mattered to a company.

[+GOT GPS?]

Seemed like the problem was not Garmin, but was Maptech's problem. I think that Maptech caused Garmin to drop the 2nd unlocks on the City Navigator maps, due to licencing issues, but I could be wrong. Garmin may have been paying big money to Navtech for the mapping software.

[strumble]

Seemed like the problem was not Garmin, but was Maptech's problem. I think that Maptech caused Garmin to drop the 2nd unlocks on the City Navigator maps, due to licencing issues, but I could be wrong. Garmin may have been paying big money to Navtech for the mapping software.

 

Well, I obtained my 2nd unlock code free yesterday.

So Garmin are keeping their word re the second code bought with a previous unit.

[TPKeller]

Seemed like the problem was not Garmin, but was Maptech's problem. I think that Maptech caused Garmin to drop the 2nd unlocks on the City Navigator maps, due to licencing issues, but I could be wrong. Garmin may have been paying big money to Navtech for the mapping software.

 

Well, I obtained my 2nd unlock code free yesterday.

So Garmin are keeping their word re the second code bought with a previous unit.

For what GPSr and map product and version did you just receive this second unlock code?

 

Then I have a follow on question...

 

 

Theron

[strumble]

CityNavigator Europe v9

 

The unlock codes came with a 2nd Hand iQue [2 year old - Unregistered with CitySelect v5] I unlocked that to v9.

Bought a second Garmin unit and unlocked that with the 2nd code, this week.

[TPKeller]

CityNavigator Europe v9

 

The unlock codes came with a 2nd Hand iQue [2 year old - Unregistered with CitySelect v5] I unlocked that to v9.

Bought a second Garmin unit and unlocked that with the 2nd code, this week.

Interesting... I wonder if the Europe products are under different license terms. I am wanting to do essentially the same thing except with a GPS V currently using City Select (North America) v.6 and a new (yet to be purchased) 76Cx, but upgrading to City Navigator North America 2008 for at least the new unit. Trying to get this done with only one upgrade fee.

 

Still waiting to hear back from Garmin.

 

Theron

[strumble]

The option of the 2nd unlock code was given in the Garmin 'My Account'.

I would have thought that asking them might 'close a loophole'!

Check in seconds for yourself.

[TPKeller]

The option of the 2nd unlock code was given in the Garmin 'My Account'.

I would have thought that asking them might 'close a loophole'!

Check in seconds for yourself.

I have not set up a My Garmin account yet. I sort of assumed you had to have a serial number first before you cold even try the second unlock, but maybe I'll give it a look.

 

The problem is that I am not anxious to spend several hundred dollars on a new hardware product from a company that may have decided after the fact to steal back half the value of a map product I previously purchased. So I want it in writing from someone that they will still honor the product that I already own before they get another dime from me. The only way to do that is to ask for it. I don't really want a loophole, I want a solidly documented policy that is ethical.

 

I am fairly certain that they will allow me to unlock a second unit with my old City Select maps, because they would obviously be be exposed to class action litigation if they actually deny users of previous versions what they have been promised. I'm really wanting to see how the upgrade process plays out, and I want it in writing. They have lost a lot of trust, at least with me.

 

Theron

[strumble]

 

I have not set up a My Garmin account yet. I sort of assumed you had to have a serial number first before you cold even try the second unlock, but maybe I'll give it a look.

 

Theron

 

Did you not set up the account to unlock and register your first unit?

The option for a second unlock was there without the purchase of a second unit!

[Rhialto]

A follow-up, I got the reply from Garmin.

 

If you read, they pass our feedback along so the more they receive, better are our chance. They receive nothing, no chance at all. Yet I know we are two who wrote them.

 

Do it not only for you but for everyone. I don't have a second unit... for now.

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin.

 

The maps can be expensive, but when you get into the GPS market for licensing data the price goes up from the vendors and that shows in end prices. It seems a map would be a map in a lot of ways, but the market matters…routable, vector, load to a GPS, etc. all figure huge.

 

As for the second unit unlock, I personally agree with you. No other GPS manufacturer has anything like that…Garmin was the only one…and I felt it was a nice selling point for some potential customers. However, they did remove that. I’ll pass your feedback along.

 

Thank you again for your interest in Garmin GPS. Have you seen our online Map Viewer? Preview the basic data in many of the MapSource products firsthand.

 

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/

 

Best regards,

 

Loy

 

mailto:cartography@garmin.com

 

Garmin International

1200 E. 151st Street

Olathe, KS (USA) 66062

http://www.garmin.com

[TPKeller]

 

I have not set up a My Garmin account yet. I sort of assumed you had to have a serial number first before you cold even try the second unlock, but maybe I'll give it a look.

 

Theron

 

Did you not set up the account to unlock and register your first unit?

The option for a second unlock was there without the purchase of a second unit!

I bought my unit well before mygarmin.com existed. I did go back in and try to register it, but since I had registered it using their original method (whatever that was, it's been 4 years now!) I had to call them and they gave me instructions on how to get it to show up on mygarmin.com. The directions were beyond unintuitive, there is no way you would know how to do it without their help. I didn't see where the procedure was documented on the site.

 

There does appear to be an option to unlock a second unit with my old map. It also appears that I will be able to upgrade either one of the two units, but the "other" will require a full price purchase.

 

I am awaiting confirmation on that last part.

 

UPDATE: Apparently that last sentence is not true. I just got an e-mail saying that the upgrade would only work on the original unit.

 

Theron

Edited August 1, 2007 by TPKeller

[+Mystery Ink]

Since it is the weekend, and no Garmin to ask..

 

I just purchased NT and they sent me ver 8.0, I understand that 2008 will be 1 package for one unit, but what about 8.0?

 

Is it a function of date of purchase, such as after a specific date all versions of NT will be 1 for 1, or do you think I can load ver 8.0 on two of my units, then get the upgrade when ready?

 

I have been waiting for the full version of 2008, but seems soooooo slow getting it out