What Would You Ask Magellan

[+JohnnyVegas]

Seems only fare we had a Magellan version of this question.

 

I would ask them what were they think when they put out the explorist 100, 200 and 300 with data ports, maybe the 100, but why all three.

[tubemonkey]

Why manufacturers can't include the features that true hobbyists want in their devices has always been a puzzle to me. There's either a disconnect on their part or it's a deliberate attempt to force the consumer to upgrade with each new feature change.

 

My biggest pet peeve in regards to GPS units is lack of memory. In this day and age of MP3 players sporting 512 MB for $100 and 1 GB for $150, I fail to see why high end units like the Garmin 60/76 and eXplorist 500/600 aren't being sold with at least 1 GB of built-in memory; in addition to a memory expansion slot. It's certainly economically feasible and wouldn't add that much to the overall cost.

 

Kudos to Magellan for adding SD to their Meridian and eXplorist 400/500/600 series, but where's the large internal memory?

 

It would seem that GPS is the bastard child of the high tech revolution. They're always lagging behind in terms of technology. The year is now 2005 and Magellan is just now adding USB support for the very first time to their latest handhelds. What's with that? The rest of their line is still using antiquated serial connections.

 

And what's with Magellan using 16-color TFT when Garmin is using 256-color TFT? But then, both are lagging severely behind when compared to the displays being used in cheap cell phones. Unbelievable!

 

I swear, if new technology hits the market in a consumer device, expect the GPS industry to adopt it 5 years down the road.

[+bradandangela.com]

I would like the ability to toggle waypoints on and off on my map screen. With 500 waypoints in a 20 mile radius it can be hard to see the map due to all of the waypoints, until you zoom in quite a bit.

 

If this is something that can already be done, just slap me and point me in the right direction.

[+Jake2687]

I would ask them when they will have Macintosh compatability out of the box.

[robertlipe]

I would thank them for publishing specifications for their comm protocols and Mapsend formats, making the implementation match those specs, and keeping it consistent over time and across products.

 

I'd ask them if they'd be interested in talking to developers about ways to keep that compatibility, yet allowing the line to evolve more than we've seen in recent years. For example, I have a feeling that '200 waypoints with comments" thing is there for backward compatibility, but it really needs to go. I'm carrying a unit with a half gig of memory. What do you mean I can only have 200 waypoints at a time with comments?

 

I'm intrigued by the [456]00's, but since I haven't seen them yet, I won't go there yet.

 

My big one it that I'd ask what's up with the release process. There should be a loop between customer feedback, support, development/maintenance, and the customer and that loop seems to be broken at every step. Two users can report the same problem on the same day to the same tech and he swears nobody else has ever reported it. Widely reported problems remain for years. (I'm sorry, but the backlight, the crashes, the compass pointing south sometimes, the clock drifting, and so on have been around too long to be amusing.) Once development does change something, there's no beta program with the customer and apparently no regression testing as we've seen recent versions that work worse in very obvious ways, yet that version gets released as the official one.

 

There's a group of technically proficient enthusiasts jumping at the chance to talk to someone about these products and we can't get the attention of the "right folks" to get anything changed.

 

Oh, and I'd ask why "upgrade" prices for software direct from the manufacturer are 30% higher than streen prices for full versions where there are middlemen involved.

[+Team Dougherty]

I would like the ability to toggle waypoints on and off on my map screen. With 500 waypoints in a 20 mile radius it can be hard to see the map due to all of the waypoints, until you zoom in quite a bit.

 

If this is something that can already be done, just slap me and point me in the right direction.

Goto the MAP Screen

Menu

map setup

display

uncheck waypoints

 

Paul

[+Greymane]

Why manufacturers can't include the features that true hobbyists want in their devices has always been a puzzle to me. There's either a disconnect on their part or it's a deliberate attempt to force the consumer to upgrade with each new feature change.

 

My biggest pet peeve in regards to GPS units is lack of memory. In this day and age of MP3 players sporting 512 MB for $100 and 1 GB for $150, I fail to see why high end units like the Garmin 60/76 and eXplorist 500/600 aren't being sold with at least 1 GB of built-in memory; in addition to a memory expansion slot. It's certainly economically feasible and wouldn't add that much to the overall cost.

 

Kudos to Magellan for adding SD to their Meridian and eXplorist 400/500/600 series, but where's the large internal memory?

 

It would seem that GPS is the bastard child of the high tech revolution. They're always lagging behind in terms of technology. The year is now 2005 and Magellan is just now adding USB support for the very first time to their latest handhelds. What's with that? The rest of their line is still using antiquated serial connections.

 

And what's with Magellan using 16-color TFT when Garmin is using 256-color TFT? But then, both are lagging severely behind when compared to the displays being used in cheap cell phones. Unbelievable!

 

I swear, if new technology hits the market in a consumer device, expect the GPS industry to adopt it 5 years down the road.

I can add some insight in this area. Notice how the post snowballs from one feature to another? Everyone wants everything in todays devices. Let's look at one feature at a time:

 

More memory - Not much problem here. Readily available and CHEAP!

 

Additional ports - USB is a needed addition. How about Firewire? (Let's put one more hole in the case.)

 

Better screens - As mentioned before, cell phones have them, and so do PDAs. Lets put VGA screens on these babies!

 

Oh, but now we need faster processors to run all this stuff. Adds a little more bulk, but not a real problem. Unit is no longer water resistant, either. The screens are a little more sensitive, but we can live with that.

 

So, we have a GPS with VGA capability, 1 GB of memory, USB AND Firewire and even has cellular capability!!!

 

Only one problem, battery life is now 30 minutes MAX!

 

Everything comes with a price and remember ... "You can please most of the people most of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can please all of the people all of the time."

[Dale_Lynn]

And....

 

Maybe add a strong tab to case for lanyard anchor.

 

Wonder why they brought out a toy GPSr (100-200-300) after seeing one, the screen is to small, button are to small, no comm port... (didn't spend more than 30 seconds evaluating it to decide its a dud! - not worth second look)

 

Just wish they had not dropped my Meridian GPS from the firmware upgrade list....

 

Dale

[tubemonkey]

I can add some insight in this area. Notice how the post snowballs from one feature to another? Everyone wants everything in todays devices.

What's wrong with wanting the following in a high end GPSr?

 

-- 1 GB built-in memory

-- memory expansion slot (SD or xD)

-- high speed connectivity (USB or Firewire)

-- AA power supply

-- faster processor

-- TFT color display

 

Your criticisms about battery life, bulk, and loss of a water-tight seal are totally unwarranted in light of the existence of the Garmin 60CS. Not only did Garmin upgrade to modern technology, but they did so with an increase in battery life. Where I fault Garmin is their lack of memory. If they would've just added an SD slot to the 60CS, I'd already own one. As is, I've been waiting to see what Magellan was going to do to counter Garmin.

 

When Magellan finally releases the eXplorist 500/600, we'll be able to compare them with the 60C/60CS and see which company has the better product. Since they haven't been too forthcoming with details, speculation abounds as to whether or not AA's can be used in the new eXplorist's and how long they'll last.

 

All things being somewhat equal, I'd readily get the 600 over the 60CS just because of the SD slot alone; but the 600 must have the ability to use AA batteries or I'll write it off just as I did the 60CS for it's lack of an SD slot.

 

These are not pie-in-the-sky wishes. They're reasonable features that are easily accomplished without sending prices through the roof or sacrificing size, battery life, and waterproofness.

 

Why be an apologist for an industry that always seems to lag behind the rest of the consumer electronics industry by several years?

[+Greymane]

Why be an apologist for an industry that always seems to lag behind the rest of the consumer electronics industry by several years?

I am not making excuses for the industry, just trying to explain some of the thought processes in the development area.

 

Standard GPS units will not (in the near future) be as visually exciting and flexible as PDAs (in a reasonable price range). PDAs will not (in the near future) be as durable and battery-conscious as GPS units (in a reasonable price range). Both are possible. Both would be nice for the consumer. So would a Chevy Suburban that gets 100 miles per gallon. (Certainly technologically feasible, but do you see any on the road?)

 

There are certianly hybrid products out there that offer a bit of both worlds, but each has some compromise.

 

Ultimately, YOU decide what they produce. If you don't buy what they offer, they will redesign the product.

[4x4van]

I would ask about the "rubber-band" effect. Why is it there, and what is it actually doing? How does the averaging actually work?

 

I would also yell that it would be nice if their firmware updates actually came with a txt file (or PDF) telling what the new firmware actually does, and how to use any new features enabled by it.

 

And I would scream that they need to let me make the decision as to when I want my backlight to come on!

[+geobc]

Better screens - As mentioned before, cell phones have them, and so do PDAs.  Lets put VGA screens on these babies!

 

On top of what you have already mentioned, another problem with hi-res, hi-colour screens is that it is tough to make them usable in direct sunlight. Sure, my T3's screen has 320x480 pixels and can display thousands of colours...but it is ridiculously difficult to see in bright daylight. This isn't a big problem for me since I rarely use my PDA in direct sunlight, but it would be a problem if my GPS display were the same way.

 

Fortunately, Garmin uses a 256-colour display that works beautifully in both daylight and darkness.

 

IMO 256 colours at the current resolution is just fine for maps use. It's not like we're displaying photographs on them.

 

GeoBC

[+Marky]

• My biggest beef with the latest firmware (post DirectRoute) is that it is constantly resetting my user preferences (the backlight complaint falls into this category). This is really annoying, and is the reason that I never use DirectRoute anymore (only because I bought something with WAY better routing).
  
• The 200 waypoints with comments thing has always been annoying.
  
• Topo maps with major park trails. The trails.com POIs are a joke and totally useless in the field (on a computer, they are marginally useful). The old MapSend Topo has some fire roads. The new MapSend Topo 3D doesn't even have these.