Colorado, Software Ver. 2.80 - A joke?

[Backpacking All Day]

Well..., if you look at the changelog of the latest software version - the 2.80 - it would be a good guess to say that Garmin doesn't plan to add ANY (of the missing) functionality to their Colorado unit. I guess the complaints of the people are not enough. They should have been written in bold and in CAPS!

 

Let me explain. If I was a big company and my flagship product is loaded with errors and lacks obvious funcionality (like remembering the bloody backlight setting across a power cycle) I would at least try to fix the obvious bugs. Well, Garmin apparently is NOT one of those companies. Adjusting the backlight setting is probably the MOST ANNOYING thing to do on EVERY startup and adding the functionality is probably the EASIEST thing to do. All that needs to happen is for the software to write the backlight setting to a text file (like it does with all other settings) and to read this value on startup. But Garmin just refuses to fix it!

 

Well Garmin let me remind you that the Colorado is a 10 month old product and you cannot just quit supporting it. Let me also remind you that your software was BETA until 3 months ago!! I paid a lot for a flagship product and I want the support that I deserve my money!!!

 

*An angry and bitterly dissapointed Garmin customer

Edited November 18, 2008 by Backpacking All Day

[+splashy]

See my opinion AND the angry reactions, lots of unhappy people, but don't say it aloud.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=206710&hl=

Edited November 18, 2008 by splashy

[Backpacking All Day]

Hmm, I see what you mean. Actually looking at the forum index gives an interesting picture - posts are mostly about Garmin products. True - Garmin sells more products than other companies, but this might change given the negative feedback they receive.

 

See my opinion AND the angry reactions, lots of unhappy people, but don't say it aloud.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=206710&hl=

 

Why not say it aloud? I expect people to reply - pro or con - eventually someone might listen, because no company in the world wants unhappy customers and the bad publicity that flows from it.

 

In the end what's important to me is where I stand as a customer. As I already said - I paid a lot of money, and I'm not happy with a half baked product.

[+Tequila]

If you go to Garmin's home page, there is a picture of an Oregon, not a Colorado.

 

I don't think the CO is their "flagship" product.

 

Sadly, it appears they are abandoning the CO and those who got stuck with it.

[Backpacking All Day]

If you go to Garmin's home page, there is a picture of an Oregon, not a Colorado.

 

I don't think the CO is their "flagship" product.

 

Sadly, it appears they are abandoning the CO and those who got stuck with it.

 

I'm afraid you're right. It was replaced so fast, even before the CO software got out of Beta. That's the reason I'm writing here. I feel "stuck" with it. And I want continuing support, not cheap tricks.

[+Tequila]

I had 3 defective CO's and eventually Garmin gave me a OR. You might want to see if you can convince them to do that for you.

[+Timpat]

I've been a faithful Garmin user for years. I hate to admit they seem to be NOT listening to us Colorado owners. I have emailed, sent tech support forms, and phoned them numerous times since I first got my 300 back in Jan. They reply with the same old "we're working on it", or "we'll pass this on to our software engineers". I do love my 300 for all it can do, and for geocaching it really can't be beat. Wherigo is pretty cool, too.

 

I'm still hoping and waiting for the two main features that are standard on every mapping grade GPSr I ever bought from Garmin;

1) Waypoint Averaging, and

2) A Functional Track Manager.

 

What really irks me is that the Oregon came with a Track Manager right out of the box! Garmin, what's up with that!? Wake up Garmin and listen to your faithful clientele!

[+RonFisk]

I'm on my fifth Colorado 400t now and what really irks me is that this last one has lots of the same problems that the rest of them did. I was told that the backlight problem would be fixed. It hasn't. I was told that there was a Track Manager coming. Where is it? How about being able to edit the coordinates on the cache page? What's the story with that one? Actually, my biggest gripe is that no one at Garmin seems to monitor this forum, or any forum for that matter. Customer service is not a priority with Garmin, advertising and sales are their priorities.

[yogazoo]

Just my opinion but I do alot of hiking and backcountry hunting trips. I use my GPS constantly to monitor the terrain and keep tracks of where I've been. I have to say after using bothe the Colorado and Oregon on such outings I tend to like the Colorado more. Screen visibility in sunlight and use with gloves on are the biggest reasons. Both units work fine but I found myself being more efficient with the Colorado interface while moving. My point is that I think they are sister units geared toward different users who prefer different interfaces.

 

I'm very dissapointed with the latest software update but I don't think the story is over for the Colorado line just yet. Maybe I'm being too much of an optimist.

[+StarBrand]

...

I'm very dissapointed with the latest software update but I don't think the story is over for the Colorado line just yet. Maybe I'm being too much of an optimist.

Agreed. I am not certain what has happened to some of these Colorado owners but my unit has been very reliable. Especially with all the upgrades.

 

I wish some would understand the difference between requesting an addtional feature and an actual bug in the system.

[laser2]

...

I'm very dissapointed with the latest software update but I don't think the story is over for the Colorado line just yet. Maybe I'm being too much of an optimist.

Agreed. I am not certain what has happened to some of these Colorado owners but my unit has been very reliable. Especially with all the upgrades.

 

I wish some would understand the difference between requesting an addtional feature and an actual bug in the system.

 

To my biggest surprize Garmin have fixed a really annoying bug with misplacing of spindle/spar buoys in BlueChart! But they did not mentioned it in the Change History list! Are they so ashamed about that bug and that it took only 6 months to fix it?

But there are still some things to fix to make it useful with BlueChart, I still get distances to marked points i kilometers instead of nautical miles, the BlueChart symbols are still way too big, they have much better sizes in my old 60CS that has a smaller screen with lower resolution!

[laser2]

...

I'm very dissapointed with the latest software update but I don't think the story is over for the Colorado line just yet. Maybe I'm being too much of an optimist.

Agreed. I am not certain what has happened to some of these Colorado owners but my unit has been very reliable. Especially with all the upgrades.

 

I wish some would understand the difference between requesting an addtional feature and an actual bug in the system.

 

To my biggest surprize Garmin have fixed a really annoying bug with misplacing of spindle/spar buoys in BlueChart! But they did not mentioned it in the Change History list! Are they so ashamed about that bug and that it took only 6 months to fix it?

But there are still some things to fix to make it useful with BlueChart, I still get distances to marked points i kilometers instead of nautical miles, the BlueChart symbols are still way too big, they have much better sizes in my old 60CS that has a smaller screen with lower resolution!

[+Paul_Aris]

I really like the rolling menus with the rock and roller of the colorado. I am very suprised they were so quick to introduce something different. My unit has worked better than any etrex I've owned and used.

[cleo43]

There are so many innovations on the car front (Reality View, Lane Guidance, IQ Routes, Real Time Traffic ...),

they cannot spread their programmers thin supporting handheld GPS, where the competition is weak (Magellan, Delorme). They cannot afford to lose the car navigation battlefront.

Their big mistake is releasing so many models that they cannot support them adequately.

Edited November 19, 2008 by cleo43

[gallet]

I wish some would understand the difference between requesting an addtional feature and an actual bug in the system.

 

Well basically a bug in the (Garmin) system, (like green monkey fever for example) will cause the software engineers to leave out the most basic of basic functionality features. Really simple stuff like having 'stop navigation' in the 'option' menu on a map page rather than needing to dig for it elsewhere.

 

Then there are the complete non functionality issues like having no, (no as is 'none' or not at all') graphic page to display the Tide Tables, as you would find even on an early model Venture Cx, even though we have a super duper screen on the Colorado, all we get for Tide Tables are the raw numbers, which ironically can be selected as an option on the Venture Cx if you don't like the graphic.

[+CelticDave]

Just because I can't leave well enough alone. Having owned a total of four Colorados before we gave up on them, we now own an Oregon (which is hands down a better than the Colorado) and a 60csx. I am asking Santa for a PN-40. Only time will if I am considered naughty or nice for all of the bad (but true) things I have said about the Colorado. I hope all of the wonderful things I have said about REI are taken into account. Their return policy is the only reason we are not still complaining about owning the Colorado. Just the fact that Garmin is replacing a defective Colorardo with an Oregon is IMHO pretty telling as to where the future is headed. So write those Christmas wish lists for Santa and write to Garmin for those Colorado fixes and see where you have the most luck. My bets are on Santa

[savant9]

I find it odd that the upgrade is 2.8 from 2.7 and not something smaller like 2.71 as it only contains a couple minor bug fixes.

The listed changes do not really justify such a large version number change, but I guess since there are no set rules for these things.....

A version 2.71 would have made me feel better about the Colorado's future, like this is just a minor update to tide people over untill the next feature added release. Time will tell.....perhaps they are gonna hit us all with something great in a Ver 3.0 release soon............

[GParrini]

I've been a faithful Garmin user for years. I hate to admit they seem to be NOT listening to us Colorado owners. I have emailed, sent tech support forms, and phoned them numerous times since I first got my 300 back in Jan. They reply with the same old "we're working on it", or "we'll pass this on to our software engineers". I do love my 300 for all it can do, and for geocaching it really can't be beat. Wherigo is pretty cool, too.

 

I'm still hoping and waiting for the two main features that are standard on every mapping grade GPSr I ever bought from Garmin;

1) Waypoint Averaging, and

2) A Functional Track Manager.

 

What really irks me is that the Oregon came with a Track Manager right out of the box! Garmin, what's up with that!? Wake up Garmin and listen to your faithful clientele!

 

I agree with every word. That doesn't sound like the two most difficult implementations ever... especially because there are other products with those features. Colorado has the potential to be the new 60CSx, people are talking about Averaging and Track Manager for ages, since the launch and Garmin is playing deaf. I am used to this new release process when hardware is shipped way before the software layer is ready, when I bought my Colorado I believed in it's potential but it seems that Garmin is abandoning the project halfway. Hope there is more and more competitors soon...

[+RonFisk]

I find it odd that the upgrade is 2.8 from 2.7 and not something smaller like 2.71 as it only contains a couple minor bug fixes.

The listed changes do not really justify such a large version number change, but I guess since there are no set rules for these things.....

A version 2.71 would have made me feel better about the Colorado's future, like this is just a minor update to tide people over untill the next feature added release. Time will tell.....perhaps they are gonna hit us all with something great in a Ver 3.0 release soon............

I sure hope you're right, but I'm not holding my breath....

[Backpacking All Day]

There are so many innovations on the car front (Reality View, Lane Guidance, IQ Routes, Real Time Traffic ...),

they cannot spread their programmers thin supporting handheld GPS, where the competition is weak (Magellan, Delorme). They cannot afford to lose the car navigation battlefront.

Their big mistake is releasing so many models that they cannot support them adequately.

 

I'm sure that's the main the reason for what they do, but they're missing the point IMHO.

 

There are hundreds of topics across the Internet discussing the Colorado. By now, everyone knows that it lacks features and is sometimes defective as well. They must be thinking: the CO battle is lost. Let's turn our attention to the OR.

 

On the other hand, adding the 3 most discussed features shouldn't be anything too complex and will probably shut everybodys mouth. I'm sure there is a chunk of code somewhere that can be implemented in no time. After all these are existing features on other models. So why do nothing?

 

I don't know what's the story with their car navigation GPS's but as far as I'm concerned, I'll try a different brand next time. I don't hear anyone complaining about them. So basically they're losing customers trust and damaging their own reputation.

[SergZak]

I don't know what's the story with their car navigation GPS's but as far as I'm concerned, I'll try a different brand next time. I don't hear anyone complaining about them. So basically they're losing customers trust and damaging their own reputation.

See this thread.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=206710

 

There are long-standing issues with the nuvi series that Garmin simply ignores...one example is current units not being able to display when the internal battery has completed charging. This simple ability worked just fine on the nuvi 3xx/6xx series but has been broken ever since. Brand new models released (the 7x5 series) still cannot accomplish this simple task that has worked just fine in the past.

Edited November 20, 2008 by SergZak

[+scubajt41]

i have to add.. i dont like how i can not default my marked waypoints to 001. everytime i add more than one waypoint the number keeps going up.. ill then delete the waypoints but the number always starts where it left off..

 

be nice if we could just start back where we were

[+g-o-cashers]

If you "delete all waypoints" you'll start over again at 001.

 

GO$Rs

[4x4van]

Wow, can anyone say "deja vu"? Garmin better wake up and open their eyes, or I see them going down the same path that Magellan went down.

 

5 years ago, Magellan was on top of their game. Their units were top notch, their support couldn't be beat. Phoning Magellan was an easy, pleasant experience that actually resulted in problems being solved. Firmware updates were frequent and resulted in bugs being solved and additional features being added. They listened to what their customers were asking for. Sending a unit in for repair if needed was easy, had a fast turn-around time, and almost always resulted in additional goodies (case, car cord, mounts, etc) being included for free in the return package as well. Magellan's customer service had Garmin's beat by a mile, there was no comparison.

Then Magellan changed (including their ownership). Customer service went into the toilet, support disappeared, and their market share collapsed. Garmin now seems to be heading down that same path. Go back through this whole thread (and others) and replace "Garmin" with "Magellan", and these threads could have been written 4 years ago. Garmin seems to have forgotten the things that allowed them to gain such a strong share of the market in the first place. Perhaps Delorme will take advantage of Garmin's blindness to their customers, and they will be the new frontrunner.

 

How does that saying go? Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it?

[+Timpat]

Well said!

[+rpestes]

Hmm, I see what you mean. Actually looking at the forum index gives an interesting picture - posts are mostly about Garmin products. True - Garmin sells more products than other companies, but this might change given the negative feedback they receive.

 

The reason there are more posts about Garmin is because several months ago most to the Magellan owners got tired of being bashed by so many Garmin owners so we started our own forum. (See tritonforum.com)

See my opinion AND the angry reactions, lots of unhappy people, but don't say it aloud.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=206710&hl=

 

Why not say it aloud? I expect people to reply - pro or con - eventually someone might listen, because no company in the world wants unhappy customers and the bad publicity that flows from it.

 

In the end what's important to me is where I stand as a customer. As I already said - I paid a lot of money, and I'm not happy with a half baked product.

[+rpestes]

Hmm, I see what you mean. Actually looking at the forum index gives an interesting picture - posts are mostly about Garmin products. True - Garmin sells more products than other companies, but this might change given the negative feedback they receive.

The reason you see so many Garmin posts is because so many Garmin owners bashed the Magellan owners several months ago. It was not helping at all so we started our own forum call tritonforum.com. Everybody there is polite while listing their problems and we help each other work through our difficulties. No GPS is perfect.

 

See my opinion AND the angry reactions, lots of unhappy people, but don't say it aloud.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=206710&hl=

 

Why not say it aloud? I expect people to reply - pro or con - eventually someone might listen, because no company in the world wants unhappy customers and the bad publicity that flows from it.

 

In the end what's important to me is where I stand as a customer. As I already said - I paid a lot of money, and I'm not happy with a half baked product.