Garmin GPS update $119 WTF?!

[Raizinman]

I purchased a Garmin Nuvi 650 (Mid Grade) GPS 2 years ago for about $149 on sale. Being that its been 2 years now and many roads have changed, I checked with Garmin and they want $69 for a one time map update, and $119 for a lifetime update. With the prices of GPS's coming down all the time, it might just be better to pay a bit more and change brands from Garmin to something else. Do all the GPS companies charge this type of update fee? What is a good mid grade GPS?

 

[Gibson486]

electronics are now disposable products.

 

[Numenorean]

What the hell do you need a map update for?

 

[mfenn]

All of the GPS manufacturers map update costs are pretty similar. If you don't want to pay the $70, just get a new GPS. IMHO, Garmin is still the best unit.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Then there's the Google Maps app... free and it's always up to date (for the most part).

 

[Miramonti]

This is commonly known as the 'Lexmark scam.'

 

[exdeath]

Then there's the Google Maps app... free and it's always up to date (for the most part).

This. Droid ftw! Though they do need to add an option to download and cache maps in your area. Never cool to have google maps lag when you lose signal for a second while driving.

 

[SunnyD]

What the hell do you need a map update for?

With as fast as new communities are popping up, the GPS I bought my wife this past Christmas is now horribly out of date - just for example. Of course I've seen some of your other posts, so I wouldn't have guessed you'd have made that cognitive leap in the first place.

 

[jmgonzalez]

Have you registered the Garmin on their web site?

The first update is usually free.

I registered a GPS which I had for over a year and the site allowed me to download the latest maps update.

 

[tatteredpotato]

This. Droid ftw! Though they do need to add an option to download and cache maps on your area. Never cook to have google maps lag when you lose signal for a second while driving.

Would really help out battery life when using it too. They should let you cache states at a time or something like that.

 

[basslover1]

This. Droid ftw! Though they do need to add an option to download and cache maps in your area. Never cool to have google maps lag when you lose signal for a second while driving.

From what I can tell it will only cache a route you have predetermined to navigate. So if you get a phone call (Verizon) or lose cell signal, it'll still know the route you've chosen. However, if you lose signal and deviate from that route, good luck.

I too wish it would cache more than just that. If I'm constantly loading the Maps application, and it automatically jumps to the 'locate me' feature, which happens to be my house every single time, why does it have to reload that area, every single time?

 

[rh71]

car built-in uses navteq (and now a new company) and it's always been $99 every year if you want it... or you can "find" them. You know what though? Some stores and directions are still wrong.

 

[Synomenon]

Have you registered the Garmin on their web site?

The first update is usually free.

I registered a GPS which I had for over a year and the site allowed me to download the latest maps update.

^
This.

Also, the lifetime map update subscription can be purchased for as low as $70.

 

[Numenorean]

With as fast as new communities are popping up, the GPS I bought my wife this past Christmas is now horribly out of date - just for example. Of course I've seen some of your other posts, so I wouldn't have guessed you'd have made that cognitive leap in the first place.

I guess I just forget that most people are too stupid to know how to drive without a little box telling their tiny little minds where to go.

 

[Synomenon]

You're the stupid one. Went to San Francisco for the first time last year and would have been lost without our Garmin. A paper map wouldn't have been good enough to navigate that maze of a city in the short time were given to be there.

 

[tatteredpotato]

I was in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. I guess they just switched a bunch of roads to 1-way and Google didn't get the memo. Made for a few "oh-shit!" moments when the driver almost didn't see the 1 way road signs. It's a lesson to keep your eyes open when navigating with a GPS because stuff will change.

 

[Numenorean]

You're the stupid one. Went to San Francisco for the first time last year and would have been lost without our Garmin. A paper map wouldn't have been good enough to navigate that maze of a city in the short time were given to be there.

Odd since I've been to San Francisco many times and managed to find my way around without a GPS. Didn't even use a map in the car after looking at where I needed to go either from home or at the hotel.

 

[Synomenon]

Like I said, first time there and had only one day to get to a number of places in the city.

Seattle was another place the Garmin came in handy.

 

[QueBert]

Odd since I've been to San Francisco many times and managed to find my way around without a GPS. Didn't even use a map in the car after looking at where I needed to go either from home or at the hotel.

He said his 1st time in SF, no way in hell without constantly looking at a map you could have navigated around SF by simply looking at a map at the hotel before you left your 1st time there. And in those instances a GPS >>>>> a map book. Of course since you've been there many times and know your way around the city, the dude who posted he needed a GPS is dumb right?

 

[Numenorean]

He said his 1st time in SF, no way in hell without constantly looking at a map you could have navigated around SF by simply looking at a map at the hotel before you left your 1st time there. And in those instances a GPS >>>>> a map book. Of course since you've been there many times and know your way around the city, the dude who posted he needed a GPS there is dumb right?

Been there many times. There was also a first time. I didn't need a GPS or a bunch of maps then either. It's not hard to navigate around that city once you get an idea of where and how the main roads go.

 

[Synomenon]

Also, what's wrong with buying a GPS unit if you have the disposable income for it?

They just make things easier and more convenient. I don't miss the times I've had to pull over to fold a map open looking for the right route / directions to where I needed to go.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Then there's the Google Maps app... free and it's always up to date (for the most part).

Last year I could have pointed to the way Google Maps are based on the same basic maps as most GPS systems, the ones provided by Navteq and TeleAtlas (which, BTW, were expensive to license AND extremely inaccurate). But Google has now ditched both of them and is beating their own path.

About time I say. There's a "new" highway overpass near my work that didn't show up for over a year on any of the online mapping sites, but now that Google is doing its own maps, it's there. Still not visible in aerial photos, but it's on the street maps.

Google also took several months to correctly mark the 35W bridge in Minneapolis as reopened. Again, this was back in the Navteq days.

 

[exdeath]

From what I can tell it will only cache a route you have predetermined to navigate. So if you get a phone call (Verizon) or lose cell signal, it'll still know the route you've chosen. However, if you lose signal and deviate from that route, good luck.

I too wish it would cache more than just that. If I'm constantly loading the Maps application, and it automatically jumps to the 'locate me' feature, which happens to be my house every single time, why does it have to reload that area, every single time?

What I mean is I'll have it centered on My Location following the route on the map driving for miles at 55+ mph, and when I get a weak signal, the screen will scroll but it will just be empty grey. While live streaming maps is nice and resolves the problem of having to update all the time or having incorrect data, it can be problematic too on the fringes of your wireless signal. Wish you could just preload a medium street view of a city.

 

[QueBert]

Been there many times. There was also a first time. I didn't need a GPS or a bunch of maps then either. It's not hard to navigate around that city once you get an idea of where and how the main roads go.

So you're saying the dude who needed a GPS is dumb because he should have been able to figure out where a street was based off having an idea of where and how the main roads are? That makes total sense to me. I'd agree with you if we were talking about people who live there are drive around. But somebody visiting who's never been there is going to need a map or a GPS.

 

[notposting]

I picked up NavDroyd for a small fee in the Android Market to cover my ass when out of reception, or out of the country. GPS will still work fine in Airplane mode that way, could be very handy some day. Maverick will work also, but you have to do a bit of tinkering on your own to get the maps of the areas you want.