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7/18/2006

My Adventures in GPS

The other day I flew to San Antonio to give a speech. The cabdriver who drove me from the hotel to the airport on my return trip had a GPS device on his dashboard. On the way, he told me all about it as it showed him and told him where to go. When the primary exit to the airport was backed up, it even automatically adjusted the route for him once we passed that exit.

I was intrigued. But not enough to spend the $1200 he told me he spent on his unit.

So I looked around and found a slightly newer version of the unit I saw on eBay. Factory refurbished and with a manufacturer's warranty. For around $400.

So I bought it. A Garmin StreetPilot 2620.

Out of the box, it booted up easily and I had maps and navigation immediately. Except I had 2 year old maps. Ones that didn't have, for example, the Westpark Tollway, which I use several times a week. No biggie, I figured. I'll just buy the newest map program and all be all set. Right?

Hardly.

First, I went to the Garmin web page, which looks straight from the nineties. I couldn't find any reference to the map program on my unit- City Navigator, North America (Version 6). So I called the customer support line (before 5:00 p.m., when it inconveniently closes). A nice lady told me that the new version of that program (Version 8) was not yet available, but that Garmin would send me the DVD in August for free. Then I could buy an "unlock code," via an anti-piracy system that would make both the RIAA and Strat-O-Matic feel inadequate.

The next night I was looking around Amazon, and lo and behold, what did I see, but the not yet available City Navigator, North America (Version 8) for sale and definitely available. My red flags were beginning to flap in the wind, but I took the plunge and bought the DVD for a little over $100. When it came, it had a date of April 2006, so I was excited about having maps that work.

Once I tore the DVD package in frustration over not finding my "unlock code" in the materials and noticed it inside of the cardboard container (not inside the DVD case, but between the front and back of the sealed cardboard container that the DVD case came in (you have to see it to appreciate how uber-Easter Bunny it was placed), I installed the maps on my computer- a required first step to getting them on your GPS unit. Then after watching the first tutorial I have had to watch in a decade or so in order to figure out the highly non-intuitive map program, I selected some maps to download to my unit.

It had been a hard climb, but I was almost there.

Hardly.

First, the unit could not- and still cannot- maintain a connection to my computer. After preparing the maps for download, the connection is always and consistently lost and I get an error message that the application cannot communicate with my device. Like sunrise and sunset, it happens everytime. The exact same way.

That leaves my device displaying its own special version of the BSOD, with a hopeful, but false message: "Transferring Data..." Fraid not.

In sum, it simply does not work. Garmin has created a process that only a confederacy of PhDs could understand merely to install new maps on your GPS unit. It is beyond frustrating, and as soon as business hours roll back around, I'll take time out of my business to give them the business (to quote Wally Cleaver).

One gigantic mistake I made was buying the internal hard drive version, as opposed to the memory card version. 20+ years of computer geekdom tells me it would be much easier to load these freakin' maps on a memory card than to try in vain to keep my unit talking to my computer. Plus, with a memory card you can get more memory to add more maps if you, unlike me, can get the application to actually add the maps you have purchased.

I may change my tune once I call Garmin tomorrow, but so far my verdict on this Garmin GPS is that it is a highly frustrating piece of doo-doo.

It simply shouldn't be this hard to install updated maps on a GPS unit. And the most frustrating thing about it is that, at least to a large extent, it is difficult by design.

Posted by Kent @ 7/18/2006 11:07:00 PM | Permalink

6 Comment(s):

Interesting article - I have used Garmin's software to upload maps to handheld receivers such as the 60CS, and always thought the process was ugly.

If you want to see my bit of fun with a TomTom 500 navigator, check out this entry:

http://tech.am/2006/06/02/tomtoms-hidden-all-terrain-mode/

Regards,

By Mike Puchol, at 7/21/2006 6:52 AM
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I use a Bluetooth GPS mouse paired with my Treo and TomTom's software and found that loading the maps onto even the memory card was miserable. You're not allowed to do a straight copy operation, but rather must install the files, which results in a multi-hour process.

I finally just loaded all of the maps I could onto the card so I would never have to deal with again... until the upgrades come out.

I've never been subject to a major misrouting though - I'm very happy with the product other than the setup.

By adi, at 7/21/2006 7:48 AM
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I couldn't be happier with the GPS units I have had. I don't use them for GeoCasheing, just for getting around and they have yet to let me down. My current GPS unit is built into my Pioneer Z1.

By Andy, at 7/21/2006 10:06 AM
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I have never thought much of the Garmin's. Fugly and limited IMO.
I have been using Copilot for a couple years and found it be pretty good (on old IPAQ). The biggest problem is when the IPAQ piece of shit battery invariable drains all the way you have to get the software to phone home for reactivation or call in manually. It’s a big pain in the ass and the shorter of time and more lost you are the more sure you can be this will happen. I wish copilot would rethink that one. Getting data to the card is pretty easy, just select a bloc. With a 1 gig card I can stick all of CA and a good chunk of Mexico and Nevada.
We also have a nice big screen GPS in our Toyota highlander hybrid, why it doesn’t support Bluetooth like the prius I don't understand but other then that is has been very functional. My wife likes it a lot which in many ways is the ultimate acid test.

I would buy a Tom Tom 910 today but the dam thing won't work with the Treo 650 blue tooth for reasons I do not understand and Tom Tom refused to expand upon. Given that they sell separate software just for the Treo 650 I find this to be pretty ridiculous. The Tom Tom screens are way to small for the cost IMO but I generally feel that way about most of the GPS's on the market. These are limited use fixed/semi mobile devices yet I can get a phone and software with the same size or even bigger screens for less money.
The Pioneer z1 sounds amazing it has almost all the features I could want including the ability to learn from how you go and route along preferred ways, but it's upwards of 2k, which is just nutty, so no go.
I think about slapping a card in my tablet PC and duck taping it to the dash then I can have a big screen and everything else but I would surly die fiddling with it.
At the end of the day I have played with and owned a good number of different GPS's over the years. On long trips or driving around new areas or just finding things they can't be beat if you are in a pinch. I love them but have a real love hate relationship with what you get for the money these days and when they don’t work but should it can be sheer hell. I like to think it's getting better though and pretty soon we can have GPS in everything and tied into muni wifi or whatever for traffic and other types of updates without annoying service fee's and tying up the cel line. Ah well, a boy can dream :)

My biggest irritation is there is no way to submit corrections to the base data. There are only a couple of major data providers and they all seem to share the same mistakes (I’m sure this is from taking from the same county sources). There is never any way to get it fixed. My house is a block off. My families house is two off and around a corner my office doesn’t seem to exist at all and goes into the rang of address hell (the greatest weak area where the wife usually rights it off as a useless toy). Same thing google maps, streets and trips etc. Evyone just seems sure there data is fine instead of pox ridden and won’t let the great user communities fix it, and this has been true for years and years. So in short GPS companies are not very web 2.0 yet.
-Griffon

By Anonymous, at 7/21/2006 4:52 PM
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I have a Garmin Nuvi 350 and I think it is absolutely wonderful. Never tried the unit you had, but I cannot recommend the Nuvi enough!!

By Jeremy Toeman, at 7/26/2006 12:26 AM
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I am going to assume you are using Windows XP. The issue is the power settings on your network card and hard drive. Go to the device manager, either under Administrative Tools or System and take the check mark off of "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". This will fix the problem. This is an inactivity timeout problem and the power is cut to the device, hense breaking the connection. Computer geekdom can sometimes work against you. Let me know how this works for you.

By Todd W Gale, at 2/13/2007 2:53 AM
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