Jump to content

Garmin Maps... grrrr


Recommended Posts

I've been geocaching for 4 years and always used my smartphone. I finally bought myself a Garmin GPSMAP62. It was a bundled deal at REI, so I got a free 1:24k topo map for my region ($100 value!). Yesterday at the REI Used Gear sale I scored an Etrex Legend Cx for $40. W00t!!! I figured that I'd go ahead and load up my regional topo on to my new Etrex and life would be AWESOME!!! Wrong, wrong, wrong!

 

<rant>

Are you KIDDING ME, Garmin?!?!?! You charge $100 for a map and I can only use it on ONE device?!?!? Even Microsoft lets you install Office on your laptop AND your desktop. The RIAA's got NOTHIN' on you hosers! When I buy an MP3, I can listen to it on ALL my devices.

 

</rant>

Link to comment

I didn't do anything wrong, but it may be that it was a download and not a disk. When I got my GPS, I got a code to get a free 24k map. It's all managed through MyGarmin.com, my unit didn't even come with software. The web app says that my 24k map is associated with my GPSMAP62 and can't be downloaded to my Etrex.

 

I'm downloading an open source Topo which should be fine since I'm basically setting this unit up for the kids, but that's not really the point. If the map cost $20 or something I could maybe see making the licence device-specific. But since the map is $100, its a little ridiculous to make a user buy multiple copies.

 

Sorry if this is "old news", not everyone who Geocaches has owned a GPS since forever.

Edited by nericksx
Link to comment

I didn't do anything wrong, but it may be that it was a download and not a disk. When I got my GPS, I got a code to get a free 24k map. It's all managed through MyGarmin.com, my unit didn't even come with software. The web app says that my 24k map is associated with my GPSMAP62 and can't be downloaded to my Etrex.

 

I'm downloading an open source Topo which should be fine since I'm basically setting this unit up for the kids, but that's not really the point. If the map cost $20 or something I could maybe see making the licence device-specific. But since the map is $100, its a little ridiculous to make a user buy multiple copies.

 

Sorry if this is "old news", not everyone who Geocaches has owned a GPS since forever.

 

Okay, I took a look at the Garmin site. If you go the download route the download is locked to a single device, i.e., the SD card you downloaded it to. You can take this card out and move it around I presume.

 

The SD card option obviously is only on the card, which can be moved around.

 

The DVD installs on your computer. I don't see anything the limits the number of units you can install the maps on.

 

I see the best long term option as the DVD route.

Link to comment

Are people absolutely certain the 24K topo DVD isn't locked to one device? I was under the impression they too were device specific like the download. I am annoyed with having to switch the SD card between my Oregon and Montana, and one of these days I feel like I'll break one of the units, or drop and lose the mini card. I tried copying the map file from one micro SD to the other and it failed (must be copy protected). But if I know the DVD works for multiple devices I'll be able to sell the micro SD for about even money and I'll just buy the DVD. Thoughts?

Link to comment

Are people absolutely certain the 24K topo DVD isn't locked to one device? I was under the impression they too were device specific like the download. I am annoyed with having to switch the SD card between my Oregon and Montana, and one of these days I feel like I'll break one of the units, or drop and lose the mini card. I tried copying the map file from one micro SD to the other and it failed (must be copy protected). But if I know the DVD works for multiple devices I'll be able to sell the micro SD for about even money and I'll just buy the DVD. Thoughts?

 

As has been clarified many times the answer no no no no no no no no they are not

 

The sd card issue is why for topos always buy the DVD.

Edited by Walts Hunting
Link to comment

 

As has been clarified many times the answer no no no no no no no no they are not

 

The sd card issue is why for topos always buy the DVD.

 

Well that certainly explains why the "free" map that I got with my device was a download. No such thing as a free lunch, right?

 

My map from openstreetmap.org just finished downloading, I'll be curious to see how it looks.

Link to comment

True, but the good (sort of) thing is that once you buy a map, it's good for a few years. If you happen to live in an area where new subdivisions pop up frequently, it could be a problem, but for the most part, I find it isn't. All the major main and side roads are there and aren't likely going to change.

Link to comment

True, but the good (sort of) thing is that once you buy a map, it's good for a few years. If you happen to live in an area where new subdivisions pop up frequently, it could be a problem, but for the most part, I find it isn't. All the major main and side roads are there and aren't likely going to change.

 

I wouldn't bank on that. I've found that with Garmin's paid-for maps they don't update very often and on both occasions I've bought paid-for maps I've found them to be out of date in ways that I discovered when they caused me great inconvenience pretty much from the moment I got them home.

 

The routing algorithms are better on Garmin's maps than the OSM maps but even then when cycling they kept telling me to do stupid stuff like turning right across the traffic so I could use a parallel road for half a mile before having to turn right across the traffic again. I also found the UK Topo maps showed a path that was little more than a worn strip across the grass in some areas, and in other areas omitted a track that was wide enough to take two cars and led to a large car park.

 

If I'm going to have such variability in coverage I'd rather take the free maps.

Link to comment

BTW, good deal on the Legend Cx. That was my first unit for caching, and even though I've upgraded to a Dakota 20, I still use the Cx for biking, and even some caching. It's a nice unit.

 

Thanks! I couldn't believe my luck. There it was, the last thing left in a bin in a ziplock bag with the manual, software, USB cable, car charger and windshield mount. All the tag said was that it had been owned for 6 years, but nothing wrong. $300 when it was new. I think people at the sale just didn't realize what it was, all tossed into a ziplock bag and all. I think the owners returned it because they used it like 3 times and decided $300 was a lot for a gadget they rarely used. I was super duper jazzed because now we have a 2nd GPS that the kids can start learning to use.

 

On the topic of maps....

The open source map I downloaded is not topo, which I prefer. The topo map from GPS File Depot is topo, but only puts elevation lines every 500ft and puts address ranges on every block (cluttered). The topos from Garmin are definitely more attractive.

 

Like I said before, for as expensive as the Garmin maps are its ridiculous that license is device specific. Thats one of the reasons I cached for so long with a smartphone. Add $100 to the price of any GPS for maps. I made gorgeous atlases for my smartphone for free. The reasons I finally went with a GPS were for battery life and durability. (Although I'm finding that 2 AA last me one weekend. Not so great.)

Link to comment
The reasons I finally went with a GPS were for battery life and durability. (Although I'm finding that 2 AA last me one weekend. Not so great.)

 

Use good rechargeable batteries like Sanyo Eneloops and rotate sets. Problem solved. Even my 60CSx, which is known for long battery life, will die after 20 hours or so, which is only two good days in the field for me...or what you'd call a weekend...

Link to comment

Use good rechargeable batteries like Sanyo Eneloops and rotate sets. Problem solved. Even my 60CSx, which is known for long battery life, will die after 20 hours or so, which is only two good days in the field for me...or what you'd call a weekend...

 

Thanks for the reccomendation on the rechargables. I use Eneloops in our Wii controllers, but have been using Fujifilms from a defunct digital camera after I realized alkalines don't last long. I'm flying a 62s which is also supposed to be good on battery life. I think it helps to set the setting to NiMh in the Settings. I forgot to do that the first time and left it set to alkaline.

Link to comment

Use good rechargeable batteries like Sanyo Eneloops and rotate sets. Problem solved. Even my 60CSx, which is known for long battery life, will die after 20 hours or so, which is only two good days in the field for me...or what you'd call a weekend...

 

Thanks for the reccomendation on the rechargables. I use Eneloops in our Wii controllers, but have been using Fujifilms from a defunct digital camera after I realized alkalines don't last long. I'm flying a 62s which is also supposed to be good on battery life. I think it helps to set the setting to NiMh in the Settings. I forgot to do that the first time and left it set to alkaline.

The only way changing the settings helps battery life is by getting the unit to use the right discharge curve. Otherwise the battery life is the same.

Link to comment
I think it helps to set the setting to NiMh in the Settings. I forgot to do that the first time and left it set to alkaline.

 

Yes, absolutely! You need to have the correct battery type set so the charge indicator with display properly. I just went through this with my brand new Montana 600 I just received yesterday. I switched back and forth between the Eneloops (Ni-Mh) and the included battery pack (lithium). The charge indicator was WAY off with the fully charged Eneloops because I forgot to switch the battery type back to Ni-Mh. :laughing:

Link to comment

Are people absolutely certain the 24K topo DVD isn't locked to one device? I was under the impression they too were device specific like the download. I am annoyed with having to switch the SD card between my Oregon and Montana, and one of these days I feel like I'll break one of the units, or drop and lose the mini card. I tried copying the map file from one micro SD to the other and it failed (must be copy protected). But if I know the DVD works for multiple devices I'll be able to sell the micro SD for about even money and I'll just buy the DVD. Thoughts?

 

As has been clarified many times the answer no no no no no no no no they are not

 

The sd card issue is why for topos always buy the DVD.

 

It seems like the microSD card can be copied since there are so many of them being sold on ebay. I think that is the city navigator card I have seen the copies of and not the topo.

 

I also am a bit ticked off at the CN maps. The dvd was misplaced and garmin doesn't sell replacements. The best they could tell me is that if I could make a copy of someone's dvd that had the exact same version as mine that the unlock code I have should be good for me to make more maps. I don't understand why they don't sell replacements since the code is locked to one unit.

Edited by LadyBee4T
Link to comment
The topo map from GPS File Depot is topo, but only puts elevation lines every 500ft and puts address ranges on every block (cluttered). The topos from Garmin are definitely more attractive.

Without knowing which mapset you are refering to, I would say you are zoomed way out and seeing the index contours (500'). As you zoom-in the intermediate contours at 100' should display. At around the 800 +- display zoom level

the 20' contours should display - assuming you have the display level set to normal.

Also remember that: 1. what can be created for Garmin GPSrs was reverse engineered and learned by trial and error.

2. The same feature may display differently on different models (including Garmin's own mapsets).

and 3. Different users are interested in including and displaying features differently (what makes a mapset for one user may break it for another user).

Link to comment

 

Like I said before, for as expensive as the Garmin maps are its ridiculous that license is device specific. Thats one of the reasons I cached for so long with a smartphone. Add $100 to the price of any GPS for maps. I made gorgeous atlases for my smartphone for free. The reasons I finally went with a GPS were for battery life and durability. (Although I'm finding that 2 AA last me one weekend. Not so great.)

 

Oh yes. Even worse is that when the device breaks, there goes your license with it! There is no way to deauthorize a used code. This is partially why cracked/pirated Garmin maps are so popular.

 

I never understood the big appeal for in device maps though unless one has a really huge screen. When hiking I always carry a printed papermap with good grid lines, it provides an oversight no QVGA screen ever will and theres plenty of time to rip it up from the back pocket and have a minute of looking. When on a vehicle it's another thing entirely - but for most western countries there seems to be good free map options for vehicle use, something I cant say for topos.

Link to comment
The topo map from GPS File Depot is topo, but only puts elevation lines every 500ft and puts address ranges on every block (cluttered). The topos from Garmin are definitely more attractive.

Without knowing which mapset you are refering to, I would say you are zoomed way out and seeing the index contours (500'). As you zoom-in the intermediate contours at 100' should display. At around the 800 +- display zoom level

the 20' contours should display - assuming you have the display level set to normal.

Also remember that: 1. what can be created for Garmin GPSrs was reverse engineered and learned by trial and error.

2. The same feature may display differently on different models (including Garmin's own mapsets).

and 3. Different users are interested in including and displaying features differently (what makes a mapset for one user may break it for another user).

 

The map I got is a topo for Oregon, developed on a Garmin Oregon. Even zoomed in, the topo lines are only at 500'. It's ok, because like I said, the kids are using this device and I still have my 62s with really good maps.

 

I agree about the big screen, which is why I have a printed map as well as a tablet using Backcountry Navigator. Of course, using a tablet geocaching is just silly, but it's great in the car and at basecamp. Having good in-device maps for a GPS (despite the screen size) is a pretty big deal when you're caching along a hiking trail as we most often do. The kids like to know how much more elevation change to the next cache, so they can decide how much they need to whine about it ;)

Link to comment

The map I got is a topo for Oregon, developed on a Garmin Oregon. Even zoomed in, the topo lines are only at 500'. It's ok, because like I said, the kids are using this device and I still have my 62s with really good maps.

 

Will those maps on the 62s not work on the Oregon?

Link to comment
The map I got is a topo for Oregon, developed on a Garmin Oregon. Even zoomed in, the topo lines are only at 500'.

Can you be specific, as exact mapset and location (coordinages)?

 

If it is the mapset I think you are refering to 'developed on a Garmin Oregon' is from the mapset's webpage which states 'uses custom type styles developed on an Oregon 300 with shaded relief set to 'do not show''.

I just looked at that mapset in MapSource and I see contours at 1000' intervals when zoomed out, then those at 200', and the contours at 40' when zoomed-in to .2 miles or more.

I do not see any contour lines at 500' or 500' intervals, but would not expect to as 500/40 is 12.5.

Link to comment
The map I got is a topo for Oregon, developed on a Garmin Oregon. Even zoomed in, the topo lines are only at 500'.

Can you be specific, as exact mapset and location (coordinages)?

 

If it is the mapset I think you are refering to 'developed on a Garmin Oregon' is from the mapset's webpage which states 'uses custom type styles developed on an Oregon 300 with shaded relief set to 'do not show''.

I just looked at that mapset in MapSource and I see contours at 1000' intervals when zoomed out, then those at 200', and the contours at 40' when zoomed-in to .2 miles or more.

I do not see any contour lines at 500' or 500' intervals, but would not expect to as 500/40 is 12.5.

 

This is such an odd line of questioning. I did not have both GPSes side by side to make detailed and specific comparisons when I noted my opinion above. What I noticed is that the free one has different data. The free one's elevation lines are different. The addresses look weird. It's also yellow for some reason. I took a guess that the lines were set every 500'. I didn't take a magnifying glass to the thing. Bottom line: I think it's ugly. That's ok. I can think it's ugly. I can even think it's ugly for reasons that turn out to be incorrect. I didn't really expect someone to come along and double-check my work, since I was expressing an opinion. Let me rephrase:

 

The free map doesn't look like the Garmin map. I'm not sure what all is different and I don't care to spend a bunch of time figuring it out. It's just.... weird. I like the Garmin map better. I wish I didn't have to own two copies for two devices.

Link to comment

What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?

Sometimes getting the right information is like pulling teeth. Sometimes it takes thumbscrews. As I said above, there are 8 maps that fit your original description. They are probably all compiled by different map authors, so knowing which map is important.

Link to comment
... I don't care to spend a bunch of time figuring it out.

Neither do those who are trying to assist you.

If your display is not close to the screen shot on the mapset's webpage there may be an issue with the GPSr's settings. As you feel we are not allowed to ask for further information, nor expect what you say is accurate, I can not see why anyone should spend further time on this. Enjoy the Garmin mapset.

Link to comment
... I don't care to spend a bunch of time figuring it out.

Neither do those who are trying to assist you.

If your display is not close to the screen shot on the mapset's webpage there may be an issue with the GPSr's settings. As you feel we are not allowed to ask for further information, nor expect what you say is accurate, I can not see why anyone should spend further time on this. Enjoy the Garmin mapset.

 

Well, that was just the thing. I didn't ask for help. I know where to find free maps, I know how to make my own maps. If I want help with making and using free maps, I will post a specific question with all the relevant info in the correct thread. I appreciate you are trying to help, but I didn't ask for any. The topic of this thread is Garmin map licensing.

Link to comment

If ypir device break and is replaced by garmin the maps are transferred. Garmin had said in the past that those rules come from the map supplier not them.

 

Wherever the rules come from they annoy customers to the point that, as someone already stated, it makes hacked and cracked maps an appealing option for many.

 

I'd have thought Garmin were a large enough company that they could apply some considerable pressure to the people who produce maps for their devices, even if only to allow installation on a future device for a heavily discounted fee. For all it might result in people registering a friend's device as if it were their own it's surely better to lose a little bit of money from the odd fraudulent "second installation" than to lose a lot of money when people are annoyed enough to hack the maps and distribute them for free.

Link to comment

Fully agree with the previous poster - I don't really understand what the map creators are so afraid of if that's where the shoe doesn't fit; a paper map or files with geodetic data can be copied and replicated until death.

 

There are many sites dealing with Garmin's unwieldy unlock procedures; certainly quite a few are annoyed by them. Not surprising, the appaling solution when you just can't get it to work is understandably to just crack the map and be done with it, not sit a couple of hours in a phone queue, possibly send the map back for a refund, etc. etc.

Link to comment

And, this goes along with automotive nav units, too. Many people don't really like their Garmins, but have a purchased lifetime map update subscription. If Garmin would let them transfer that to a new unit then, just maybe, they'd be heavily influenced to purchase another Garmin. But, if they can't take their maps with them? There's no incentive to buy another Garmin.

Link to comment

If ypir device break and is replaced by garmin the maps are transferred. Garmin had said in the past that those rules come from the map supplier not them.

 

Wherever the rules come from they annoy customers to the point that, as someone already stated, it makes hacked and cracked maps an appealing option for many.

 

I'd have thought Garmin were a large enough company that they could apply some considerable pressure to the people who produce maps for their devices, even if only to allow installation on a future device for a heavily discounted fee. For all it might result in people registering a friend's device as if it were their own it's surely better to lose a little bit of money from the odd fraudulent "second installation" than to lose a lot of money when people are annoyed enough to hack the maps and distribute them for free.

 

Exactly. It's not as if Garmin ever tried that . . . like allowing installation on a second GPSr for free.

Link to comment

Exactly. It's not as if Garmin ever tried that . . . like allowing installation on a second GPSr for free.

Actually, you could load the old Non-NT version of CNNANT onto two devices.

 

Likewise the UK Topo maps could be unlocked on two devices. I guess this whole tongue-in-cheek thing doesn't come across well online ;)

Link to comment

I've been geocaching for 4 years and always used my smartphone. I finally bought myself a Garmin GPSMAP62. It was a bundled deal at REI, so I got a free 1:24k topo map for my region ($100 value!). Yesterday at the REI Used Gear sale I scored an Etrex Legend Cx for $40. W00t!!! I figured that I'd go ahead and load up my regional topo on to my new Etrex and life would be AWESOME!!! Wrong, wrong, wrong!

 

Are you KIDDING ME, Garmin?!?!?! You charge $100 for a map and I can only use it on ONE device?!?!? Even Microsoft lets you install Office on your laptop AND your desktop. The RIAA's got NOTHIN' on you hosers! When I buy an MP3, I can listen to it on ALL my devices.

 

As pointed out already, this is not Garmin but a NAVTEQ licensing issue here in the states.

 

I understand your frustration. When I got my last car, they refused to transfer the extended warranty from the old car to the new one. They even refused to transfer the oil, gas, windshield fluid, air and oil filter, trans fluid, anti-freeze and the new shocks I had just purchased 6 months before. Wrong, wrong wrong!

Link to comment

I've been geocaching for 4 years and always used my smartphone. I finally bought myself a Garmin GPSMAP62. It was a bundled deal at REI, so I got a free 1:24k topo map for my region ($100 value!). Yesterday at the REI Used Gear sale I scored an Etrex Legend Cx for $40. W00t!!! I figured that I'd go ahead and load up my regional topo on to my new Etrex and life would be AWESOME!!! Wrong, wrong, wrong!

 

Are you KIDDING ME, Garmin?!?!?! You charge $100 for a map and I can only use it on ONE device?!?!? Even Microsoft lets you install Office on your laptop AND your desktop. The RIAA's got NOTHIN' on you hosers! When I buy an MP3, I can listen to it on ALL my devices.

 

As pointed out already, this is not Garmin but a NAVTEQ licensing issue here in the states.

 

I understand your frustration. When I got my last car, they refused to transfer the extended warranty from the old car to the new one. They even refused to transfer the oil, gas, windshield fluid, air and oil filter, trans fluid, anti-freeze and the new shocks I had just purchased 6 months before. Wrong, wrong wrong!

 

Baloo, I see the point you are trying to make, but I think the metaphor is misguided. You are referencing expendable commodities, (time, labor, oil, gas, etc) which of course should not be "bottomless." However, I'm not lamenting over the fact that I can't buy a map once and get endless free updates for life. I'm disgruntled by the fact that I can't reuse a piece of software that I legally obtained and, considering the price, ought to be able use and re-use on legally obtained devices from that manufacturer. Again, see my references to other software licensing arrangements. They could even go with an iTunes model where you activate some number of devices and can de-activate devices you no longer own. OR, they could charge less for the maps. If they were only $10 I could see charging for each device, but at $100 a user should have much greater licensing rights. Basically, you need to add $100 to the cost of any Garmin product, and this arrangement discourages users from owning more than one device.

 

Of course this is just an opinion, but I think $100 is a lot for single-device-license and I wish I understood the logic behind it. Are they really going to loose money letting people put maps they buy on multiple GPSrs? From what I've gathered here, no. People just go open-source, for the most part. Would they MAKE money by loosening the licensing? I think so. I think people would be more inclined to own multiple devices if the maps weren't so spendy. Heck, I think people shy away from buying a GPS in the first place because of the "price" of the maps. You're either go to pay with money, or you're going to pay with your time trying to muck around in open-source-land. I know that is what kept me away from the units for so long. It wasn't until there was a bundled map deal that I finally purchased a GPSr.

Link to comment

Consider a movie you liked and bought on Video Cassette to watch from your Sony VHS, you didn't get free upgrades to watch it from your Sony DVD or Sony Blu-Ray players when you upgraded. You would have to purchase it again if you wanted to watch it on those alternate devices. Same thing with the Garmin Maps.

 

Jon.

Link to comment
Baloo, I see the point you are trying to make, but I think the metaphor is misguided. You are referencing expendable commodities, (time, labor, oil, gas, etc) which of course should not be "bottomless." However, I'm not lamenting over the fact that I can't buy a map once and get endless free updates for life. I'm disgruntled by the fact that I can't reuse a piece of software that I legally obtained and, considering the price, ought to be able use and re-use on legally obtained devices from that manufacturer. Again, see my references to other software licensing arrangements. They could even go with an iTunes model where you activate some number of devices and can de-activate devices you no longer own. OR, they could charge less for the maps. If they were only $10 I could see charging for each device, but at $100 a user should have much greater licensing rights. Basically, you need to add $100 to the cost of any Garmin product, and this arrangement discourages users from owning more than one device.

 

Of course this is just an opinion, but I think $100 is a lot for single-device-license and I wish I understood the logic behind it. Are they really going to loose money letting people put maps they buy on multiple GPSrs? From what I've gathered here, no. People just go open-source, for the most part. Would they MAKE money by loosening the licensing? I think so. I think people would be more inclined to own multiple devices if the maps weren't so spendy. Heck, I think people shy away from buying a GPS in the first place because of the "price" of the maps. You're either go to pay with money, or you're going to pay with your time trying to muck around in open-source-land. I know that is what kept me away from the units for so long. It wasn't until there was a bundled map deal that I finally purchased a GPSr.

 

I think this pretty well sums it up. When I used a 60CSx and was looking with some interest at the 62s I spoke to a man at Garmin about transferring my maps and he said it couldn't be done, that I'd have to buy new maps and pay full price for them. No transfer, no discount, nothing. So at a stroke the cost of the 62s I was rather liking increased by nearly 50% by the time I'd factored in the maps, and as I said to the man at Garmin he just gave me a very good reason not to buy their product.

 

Subsequently I discovered the OSM maps which are good for finding my way around locally but the routing on them is so hit-and-miss that functionality is all but unusable. Sometimes it gives me the most direct route, sometimes it suggests a tortuous route that's anything up to six times as long as it needs to be.

 

I'm not entirely convinced people would be buying multiple units that aren't trivial in terms of cost just because of maps, but making maps transferable (even if the unit were coded to generate a code once the maps were deleted, which would update it to prevent reusing the maps) or offering a chance to buy another copy of the map with the new unit (if necessary requiring the purchase to be made at the same time as the unit) at a heavy discount would make a lot of difference.

 

As I said before, it's not like Garmin is some tiny company that nobody really knows and doesn't have any clout. If Garmin took a stand and simply refused to license the maps I can imagine it making a sufficient dent in the figures for the companies that produce the maps they might just pay attention.

Link to comment

Exactly. It's not as if Garmin ever tried that . . . like allowing installation on a second GPSr for free.

Actually, you could load the old Non-NT version of CNNANT onto two devices.

Up to, and including, CN NT v8 there were two unlock codes available. The maps on the second unlocked unit could not be updated, however. I found that out the hard way.

Link to comment

Consider a movie you liked and bought on Video Cassette to watch from your Sony VHS, you didn't get free upgrades to watch it from your Sony DVD or Sony Blu-Ray players when you upgraded. You would have to purchase it again if you wanted to watch it on those alternate devices. Same thing with the Garmin Maps.

 

Jon.

 

Absolutely not true. You are allowed to transfer it from VHS to DVD for YOUR personal use. Same as if you bought a music album on cassette and made a copy for your car, office, etc.

Link to comment

Consider a movie you liked and bought on Video Cassette to watch from your Sony VHS, you didn't get free upgrades to watch it from your Sony DVD or Sony Blu-Ray players when you upgraded. You would have to purchase it again if you wanted to watch it on those alternate devices. Same thing with the Garmin Maps.

 

Jon.

 

Absolutely not true. You are allowed to transfer it from VHS to DVD for YOUR personal use. Same as if you bought a music album on cassette and made a copy for your car, office, etc.

If you have the appropriate equipment.

Link to comment

Consider a movie you liked and bought on Video Cassette to watch from your Sony VHS, you didn't get free upgrades to watch it from your Sony DVD or Sony Blu-Ray players when you upgraded. You would have to purchase it again if you wanted to watch it on those alternate devices. Same thing with the Garmin Maps.

 

Jon.

 

Absolutely not true. You are allowed to transfer it from VHS to DVD for YOUR personal use. Same as if you bought a music album on cassette and made a copy for your car, office, etc.

If you have the appropriate equipment.

 

Hardware wasn't the issue. :rolleyes:

 

Personally, I'd just download it and burn to DVD if I already had purchased a personal VHS copy. No new equipment needed.

Edited by sviking
Link to comment
Baloo, I see the point you are trying to make, but I think the metaphor is misguided. You are referencing expendable commodities, (time, labor, oil, gas, etc) which of course should not be "bottomless." However, I'm not lamenting over the fact that I can't buy a map once and get endless free updates for life. I'm disgruntled by the fact that I can't reuse a piece of software that I legally obtained and, considering the price, ought to be able use and re-use on legally obtained devices from that manufacturer. Again, see my references to other software licensing arrangements. They could even go with an iTunes model where you activate some number of devices and can de-activate devices you no longer own. OR, they could charge less for the maps. If they were only $10 I could see charging for each device, but at $100 a user should have much greater licensing rights. Basically, you need to add $100 to the cost of any Garmin product, and this arrangement discourages users from owning more than one device.

 

Of course this is just an opinion, but I think $100 is a lot for single-device-license and I wish I understood the logic behind it. Are they really going to loose money letting people put maps they buy on multiple GPSrs? From what I've gathered here, no. People just go open-source, for the most part. Would they MAKE money by loosening the licensing? I think so. I think people would be more inclined to own multiple devices if the maps weren't so spendy. Heck, I think people shy away from buying a GPS in the first place because of the "price" of the maps. You're either go to pay with money, or you're going to pay with your time trying to muck around in open-source-land. I know that is what kept me away from the units for so long. It wasn't until there was a bundled map deal that I finally purchased a GPSr.

 

I think this pretty well sums it up. When I used a 60CSx and was looking with some interest at the 62s I spoke to a man at Garmin about transferring my maps and he said it couldn't be done, that I'd have to buy new maps and pay full price for them. No transfer, no discount, nothing. So at a stroke the cost of the 62s I was rather liking increased by nearly 50% by the time I'd factored in the maps, and as I said to the man at Garmin he just gave me a very good reason not to buy their product.

 

Subsequently I discovered the OSM maps which are good for finding my way around locally but the routing on them is so hit-and-miss that functionality is all but unusable. Sometimes it gives me the most direct route, sometimes it suggests a tortuous route that's anything up to six times as long as it needs to be.

 

I'm not entirely convinced people would be buying multiple units that aren't trivial in terms of cost just because of maps, but making maps transferable (even if the unit were coded to generate a code once the maps were deleted, which would update it to prevent reusing the maps) or offering a chance to buy another copy of the map with the new unit (if necessary requiring the purchase to be made at the same time as the unit) at a heavy discount would make a lot of difference.

 

As I said before, it's not like Garmin is some tiny company that nobody really knows and doesn't have any clout. If Garmin took a stand and simply refused to license the maps I can imagine it making a sufficient dent in the figures for the companies that produce the maps they might just pay attention.

 

The REI bundle, at least on the web, makes it clear it is a download map your getting. The Garmin site clearly, and without any special code words or other games, states it can only be downloaded to one SD card only. They also give you information for the size you need. So it should have been no surprise that you could not make another card for your etrex. Think about it for a minute. If Garmin allowed unlimited, or at least a large number, of downloads to SD cards everybody and there brother would be selling these cards on ebay. No one would buy a download, everyone would buy the $10 cards on ebay. And that would make a dent in the figures for the company producing maps.

 

Sometimes it pays to read the fine print.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...