Where is the onboard update, Garmin?

hancox

Very annoying. The entire Streetpilot app set has gotten fairly major upgrades this year, but nothing for the onboard apps. Lack of ipod music control is particularly annoying.

Just venting, but does anyone have a guess as to when we might see something?

Tim

The trend seems to be away from the navigation apps that have onboard mapping and more towards those using off-board maps and hybrid mapping solutions. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Garmin eventually abandon that app.

(I'm not saying I think they will, nor am I saying it is a good idea.)

But they may see that they can make more money off subscription apps and subscription services.

hancox

Respectfully disagree, as more and more emphasis is put on tiered data plans. Why would i spend limited bandwidth on map data that i can have on my device?

Tim

• People don't want the long download times and install times for a 1.5GB+ application.

• The GPS companies also want to capture more "impulse buys" where someone can download the app over a cellular connection rather than requiring Wifi.

• Getting maps on the fly also means you will have the latest maps.

• The hybrid solution being adopted by Navigon, TeleNav, and others tries to provide the best of both worlds. You purchase/download a slim app with no maps. Then if you want you can be ready to go, getting maps over the air. If you want to download the maps then you can select small areas at a time to download to your device.

A couple of years ago, before the hybrid concept was reality, I wrote this: On-Board VS Cloud Maps for Apps. Some of that is now outdated, but the general principles and reasons are valid.

I think we will see more and more companies adopting offline and hybrid apps. I'm not saying this is what I think they should offer, just a prediction of what I think will happen.

hancox

...and the new update comes, and Garmin still fails to add functionality to the onboard app. Ridiculous.

At least the maps got updated!