Before you update or buy that next GPS'r READ THIS!

A friend of ours has a Navigon. Its pretty nice and its almost a simple to use as my Garmin. I hope they have enough of the market to push the bigger names into a scheme like this.

The article states that NAVTEQ updates its maps 600,000 times a day, 150 million times a year! I wonder if anyone verified that hard-to-believe claim. Roads 3 years old that don't show up on the latest maps tend to make me skeptical. If I believed that, I would want to update 4 times a year.

Now that some Garmins are able to receive Google Maps, and I have MSN Direcgt with live.maps.com, I can get almost everything I need without having to buy upgrades so often.

I hope this puts pressure on Garmin and the others to make updates available more often and more affordable. If it's like the cable and cell phone industries, we can count on it!

If the cost of updates are lowered, an incentive to buy a new GPS falls, as well as the income from those who update their maps. They won't bring the price down much if any.

Paul

Everyone talks about the cost of updates for maps, but have you seen what it cost to update computer software now. You cant get one copy of Micosoft office and put it on all your comuputer you have to buy one for each. They don't give them away free either, so why do we expecct garmin to do if for nothing.

This is why competition is good! If this works out, then Garmin and others will have to rethink their map updates. It is inevitable for other companies to become innovative and develop new ways to accomplish things.

If older companies stay in their "tried and true" paradigms they will lose their marketshare (just ask IBM).

You Garmin users should come to the Magellan side,lol.

I love my Magellan. Works good and it's fast.

What I hate, about Magellan:

You are told the map update is in, quarter 2 of 2008. I'm currently on a 2006 map. While most other units, are running th 08 maps. I can't sync with goole maps. I can't use custom logo's, with my custom poi's.

I have no problems paying for a new map. Just give me that option. I've only had this GPS for 2 months,
it should be on fresh maps.

No thanks I have a magellan and don't like it. It is ok for one destinatiomn to another abut cumbersun to use. Not saying all magellan are athe same. My 660 an MSST is much better and easier to use.

If map update prices are lowered it will because supply and demand dictate it and market pressures dictate it.

I think that would only work if there were more players in mapping. I think there are only two now. Even if there were more, it still might not work unless GPS users had a choice about which map company's update to use.

The GPS manufacturers probably don't get much profit from map updates and few GPS buyers consider update costs when they buy GPS's, so there is little reason for the manufacturers to push for lower update costs. I'll probably update by buying a new GPS every 3-4 years, which is what the manufacturers want.

Not positive about this, However I do believe that Navigon owns Navteq or Navteq owns Navigon. And that probably why they are doing the quarterly fresh Map updates. And when on sale you can get a 2100 at $120.00 so thats a heck of a deal.