Garmin NUVi 760 + many more are going to get "Hotfix" capability according to Garmin

 

Saw this posted on another website and I believe the 800 series already got it with the last 3.0 firmware update, Garmin HotFix capability will automatically calculate and store satellite locations so that you will be able to turn the unit on and go a lot faster greatly reducing satellite acquisition time.:

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

Hotfix is available on the newer units (20) but will not be a software
update for older units.

Hot fix models,
205,205w,255,255w,265T,265WT,275T,500,550,750,760,
770,780,755t,765t,775t,785t,850,880.5000
these are all Nuvi's.

With Best Regards,

Christopher L
Product Support Specialist
Automotive Team
Garmin International
913-397-8200
800-800-1020
913-397-8282 (fax) Att: Christopher L"

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Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

Bummer

What a bummer its not available for my Nuvi 350. Must be related to the new SirfIII chips.

oh well...

Looks like my son may inherit the 660 for Christmas...

--
Nuvi 2460, 680, DATUM Tymserve 2100, Trimble Thunderbolt, Ham radio, Macintosh, Linux, Windows

What is the real impact?

Since I now have my first dedicated GPS, the Nuvi 880, I am not familiar with pre-Hotfix performance. I took my 880 out of the box, loaded 3.0, and then a week later loaded 3.1.

What is the tangible impact of the "Hotfix" capability on time to satellite fix?

Is this considered an important announcement?

I guess I should be happy my 880 has it.

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Nuvi 3490

When are the updates going

When are the updates going to be released?

?

Mailyfesux wrote:

When are the updates going to be released?

I was under the impression that the 7xx series already had it...

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

Not yet according to 7xx firmware release notes

Hornbyp wrote:
Mailyfesux wrote:

When are the updates going to be released?

I was under the impression that the 7xx series already had it...

It does not show as being added in the 7xx series firmware release update notes through the 4.0 release but it did show up in the 8xx series 3.0 release notes as being added.

--
Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

.

rjrsw wrote:

It does not show as being added in the 7xx series firmware release update notes through the 4.0 release

By 'already had it', I meant as in from day-1, not the last update. I can't remember where I saw this though ... perhaps it was in an "About..." screen, or somewhere like that...

...I'll see if I can find it...

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

He used the verb is

Hornbyp wrote:
rjrsw wrote:

It does not show as being added in the 7xx series firmware release update notes through the 4.0 release

By 'already had it', I meant as in from day-1, not the last update. I can't remember where I saw this though ... perhaps it was in an "About..." screen, or somewhere like that...

...I'll see if I can find it...

The tech said Hotfix 'is' available not will be available....

--
It is terrible to speak well and be wrong. -Sophocles snɥɔnıɥdoɐ aka ʎɹɐƃ

so by "is" available we

so by "is" available we should be able to download it right? I cant seem to find it on the site

--
nuvi 760 lover/adopt a greyhound/ change is the only constant

If you read what the tech said...

cosmo4u wrote:

so by "is" available we should be able to download it right? I cant seem to find it on the site

I would take it to mean the listed units already have i.e. they were 'built' including that feature... It will not be available as a software update...

Edit: I think "Garmin NUVi 760 + many more are going to get "Hotfix" capability according to Garmin" is incorrect....

--
It is terrible to speak well and be wrong. -Sophocles snɥɔnıɥdoɐ aka ʎɹɐƃ

.

aophiuchus wrote:
cosmo4u wrote:

so by "is" available we should be able to download it right? I cant seem to find it on the site

I would take it to mean the listed units already have i.e. they were 'built' including that feature... It will not be available as a software update...

Edit: I think "Garmin NUVi 760 + many more are going to get "Hotfix" capability according to Garmin" is incorrect....

It was just added in the 8xx series last month as one of the new added features listed in the 3.00 firmware update notes. I have not seen it as added in any of the 7xx series update notes up to including 4.00.

I think what he was referring to here "It will not be available as a software update" is the other series not listed such as the 3xx and 6xx series will not be able to get it. The listed ones will have it with the new model releases and the rest will get it through firmware updates like the 8xx series just had.

The following are the 3.00 update notes for the 8xx series from last month. Look at the second item listed.

"Changes made from version 2.80 to 3.00:
Added Language Guide support
Added HotFix support
Improved 'Find near' searches
Improved performance on spell searches
Improved route calculation time
Improved suspend/resume
Improved time zone support for Venezuela and Australia
Improved route recalculation when switching from pedestrian to automobile mode with a route active
Improved 'Stop' and 'Detour' icon appearance time on the main page when a route was active
Improved safety camera alerts to display red or gray banner depending on speed
Improved display of elevation info to use proper unit of measure based on locale settings
Improved TourGuide to better handle large pictures
Improved custom POI review page
Improved handling of some GPI files
Improved calculator to work better with percentages
Improved alarm clock to better handle time zone changes
Improved trip computer Moving and Total times when greater than 24 hours
Improved arrival phrases
Improved adding bookmarks in Audible player when using speech recognition
Improved spell city search keyboard to include the 'Done' button even if search field is blank
Corrected issue where TTS prompt would attempt to speak postal codes rather than spelling it out
Improved Back button on Panoramio photo detail page to jump only one page back
Improved Music Player
Added speech recognition shortcut 'find postal code' for supported maps
Added speech recognition support for supplemental map data
Added additional voice support
Improved Panoramio photo detail page to include the name/title of the picture being viewed
Improved dial keypad to display symbols during a call
Improved phone book and call history spell search when paired with a phone
Improved Location Messages
Improved non-English translations
Other minor corrections and improvements"

--
Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

Hotfix ... or InstantFix ?

Hornbyp wrote:

...I'll see if I can find it...

It's "InstantFix" I'm thinking of. Are they the same?
("Instant" sounds better than "Hot" smile )

EDIT - to answer my own question: Isn't 'Garmin Hotfix' for units that don't use the SiRF chipset?

I don't have the 760 in front of me ... but the firmware image (GUPDATE.GCD) contains the phrase:

Powered by SiRF InstantFix II Copyright SiRF Technology, Inc.

This is present in the two versions I checked (2.60 + 4.00)

Mind you, it's all a bit academic, if it takes the thing 5 minutes to boot...

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

Hardware needs additional software to reach it's potential!

The hardware SiRF InstantFix II Copyright SiRF Technology chip is capable but just needs the firmware to set it free so it can work.

I think the 760 has the Sirf III chipset in it.

I'm sure there are other things that the current units are capable of but that doesn't mean that they are available for our use with the current firmware.

Just look at all the things that were added to the 8xx series in just one firmware upgrade that I listed earlier. The hardware capability already existed but just needed the firmware or software to set it free.

--
Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

Help me out, what does this

Help me out, what does this "hot fix" supposed to do in laymens terms?

--
Chevrolet, an American Revolution.

.

rjrsw wrote:

Just look at all the things that were added to the 8xx series in just one firmware upgrade that I listed earlier. The hardware capability already existed but just needed the firmware or software to set it free.

I think that list's more an indication of the way that Garmin work. Rather than porting their existing software to new units, they seem to set an entirely different team loose, re-inventing the wheel.

Maybe I'm just a cynic - but I see a product that was released to market, before they'd finished building it sad

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

It appears that the 6XX and

It appears that the 6XX and 3XX series' were excluded from the "hotfix". I'm assuming from what I've read in the comments above that these models don't have the SiRF II chip. Does this mean that my 660 will be forever doomed to slower acquisition speeds, etc, or does this mean that my 660 was already above the curve; the "hotfix" just helps the other units catch up? I'm kinda betting my 660 is doomed.

How does the hitfix help me?

How does the hotfix help me?

--
Chevrolet, an American Revolution.

Good question

Everyone seems to talk about it but no details about the real world application.

--
Nuvi 3490

Hotfix = Faster Satellite Acquisition

rpm4 wrote:

How does the hotfix help me?

A quick Google search indicates that the Garmin Hotfix capability automatically calculates and stores satellite information to provide faster satellite acquisition.

More detail

After a little looking I found this press release regarding the technology.

Some believe that "HotFix" is just the rebranded SiRF technology with a few modifications. I would have no idea but it sounds plausible.

FULL RELEASE:

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=...

Portion of PRESS RELEASE:
SiRF's InstantFixII GPS Technology Eliminates PND Start-Up Wait

Mobile Navigation Devices Can Have Start-Up Times As Low As 5 Seconds
Without Requiring Any Network Connectivity

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SiRF Technology
Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIRF), a leading provider of GPS-powered location platforms, today introduced SiRFInstantFixII, an autonomous version of
SiRF's original SiRFInstantFix technology that is designed to significantly improve the start-up times of portable navigation devices (PNDs) and other mobile navigation devices without needing any network connectivity for assistance or updates. Available now for both SiRFstarIII GPS receivers and
SiRFatlas and SiRFtitan multifunction SoC navigation processors, SiRFInstantFixII achieves GPS start-ups in as little as five seconds so
that mainstream consumers can begin navigating as soon as they're ready to drive.

"Our groundbreaking SiRFInstantFixII technology makes the frequent start-up waits for PNDs a thing of the past," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF Technology. "By not requiring any network connectivity or downloads, it significantly improves the daily navigation experience for consumers of mobile navigation devices..."

--
Nuvi 3490

Too bad for my Nuvi 360

I guess I need to buy me a new toy.

Before a GPS receiver can

Before a GPS receiver can begin using a satellite for navigation, it needs precise orbit data for that satellite called ephermis. Each satellite sends its own ephermis data along with rough orbital data for all the GSP satellites (almanac). The ephermis (precise) takes 12 sec to transmit and is repeated every 30 sec but it can take much longer to receive if the satellite is periodically obstructed as is common if you begin moving.

The ephermis data is valid for at least 2 hours but may be used up to 6 hours in some cases according to the spec.

The SIRF "Hotfix" basically attempts to predict changes in the ephermis (precise orbital data) for up to 3 days from the last time it has received an ephermis transmission for a satellite and uses this prediction to start using the satellite for navigation before receiving the current ephermis transmission.

I hope that helps...

BTW, I think I remember reading that SIRF has been sued by another company for it's implementation.

Thanks

Thanks Mike for the additional detail. I think the longer version of the press release above goes into deeper detail also.

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Nuvi 3490