nulink - is it on its way out?

I don't know if nuLink is on it's way out, but I for one sure don't want to pay extra $ for services on a GPS. The trouble I see with the nuLink-based units is that you cannot even get basic traffic services without paying the nuLink subscription fee. Garmin has conveniently designed these units to NOT be compatible with *any* FM traffic based receiver that Garmin makes. If nuLink goes away, you're stuck with no traffic and not means to upgrade to anything that will supply it to your unit.

And to top that off, Garmin only includes a one year free subscription with the new 1695 whereas the 1690 comes with a two year free subscription.

But then again, there's no guarantee that FM-based traffic will even be around after two years...nothing lasts forever.

"But then again, there's no guarantee that FM-based traffic will even be around after two years...nothing lasts forever."

Right-o. I recall several models built around MSN-Direct, and that's being terminated next year.

I have a 1690 and I have approximately 1 year left. I'll see what happens by then. I will have to way the option of paying for the service or getting a new unit.

the 3790LMT looks like a good one. I'll see what is out a year from now.

The XM and MSN features were external to the navigator and when MSN announced the end of the line it was a siple matter to just get hold of an FM traffic receiver to replace it. Nulink is integrated within the device and the 1695 does not support the traffic receivers.

A birdy has told me that there'll be no more models with Nulink in 'em.

But that doesn't mean they'll shut the service down because, unlike the FM traffic the infrastructure is provided by a carrier; So all you need is the appropriate application software running on a server which is infinitely more cost-effective than renting space on individual FM broadcasting stations and maintaining whatever distribution mechanisnm was required (likely the internet).

I think it's the cost/month (as mentioned above) that kills people. You don't want a bunch of different little items for your car costing you $5-10/month (GPS subscription, Satellite subscription, AAA, etc.).

I don't think the service will just be shut off tomorrow but as these units start to be replaced they'll probably drop the service.

I think FM Traffic will be around for a while. It's more cost effective than cellular service. They seem to be putting it into nearly every receiver (or the capability of it). And, I think perhaps most importantly, they can integrate the cost into the GPS unit or offer you a lifetime subscription so it takes out the 'I don't want to pay for it month-to-month indefinitely'-aspect.

I think the other features for the 1690/1695 were mostly fluff. Traffic is useful. Weather is useful. I have a cellphone for just about everything else (movie listings as an example). I always thought the fuel prices were a bit dubious. Not that the prices would be wrong but, generally speaking, it's not worth it to drive 3-5 miles down the road to save $.05/gal and typically your nearby gas stations are always within a few pennies of each other, anyway.

Besides the features that you mention - the flight information was handy before I received my BlackBerry.

While MSN Direct was based on FM, it was a proprietary protocol supported only by Micro$oft. RDS is an international standard and is supported by two providers here in North America and many more in Europe. While the day may come when FM traffic is shut down, it will probably be a while since both NAVTEQ and Total Traffic would have to both eliminate their services. If either one shuts down there will still be service available.

The bottom line is that we will take all the extras as long as they are free. Companies have seen that the "nickel and diming" of customers was a good business model until the economy tanked. Now they see that customers don't want to slave themselves on recurring paid extras, so they don't want to introduce expensive features no one wants to pay for.

I'm glad people are wising up to this scheme

My question would be, "if it goes away.. then what?"

So you buy a unit that has "Nulink" and several months or a year or so later it becomes no longer. My question would be then: "seeing I bought this particular GPS model for that specific feature (and now that it's no longer a working/viable part of the system unit..) are YOU going to let me return the GPS unit and refund the money it cost me seeing I no longer have the use of that feature?"

I think that's a reasonable question to ask. So what's the answer?

Nuvi1300WTGPS

Garmin may know the answer but as of now, nuLink is still alive and well...

As I mentioned above, at least the models which support FM traffic (pretty much ALL of them now) let you use/fall back onto FM traffic, regardless of if a receiver came in the package or not. The nuLink units don't come with that ability as Garmin has built-in FM traffic incompatibility with those units. Who knows...if nuLink goes away, maybe Garmin may "magically" enable FM traffic on the nuLink models so you could at least get traffic...but likely not. They'd much rather have you purchase another unit.

I have had my 1690 now for 6 months and love the nulink service. Had an 855 with fm traffic and it was only good for use as a power cord. Now there is traffic alerts all over Virginia not just where it picks up fm traffic in Richmond or Norfolk.

will likely take over this function......

I did not use nulink service with my 1690.

I did not use nulink service with my 1690.

yes. not that good anyways

[quote=Thanos_of_MW
Companies have seen that the "nickel and diming" of customers was a good business model until the economy tanked...
...I'm glad people are wising up to this scheme

I hate it when they do it to such an extent that you can't tell what's going on.

Airlines currently do this. You'll see a ticket for something like $130 and think, "Wow - what a deal..." but, wait, you wanted to carry a bag with you on your trip? Oh, that's $15 extra... Wait, you wanted to have the plane land at the airport - there are fees for that.. By the time you're done you're at $200 for a $130 ticket.

I almost expect a line item like:
Not crashing into the ocean fee: $20
... we'll, you don't want to crash into the ocean, do you? This fee covers the costs associated with not crashing into the ocean..

Now, I'd be perfectly OK if the airlines were clear about their 'we charge for bags' policies but the last few times I've flown I was surprised by them. It makes it hard to compare prices if I see a Delta price of $130 (but a hidden bag fee) and then another price like Southwest for $135 (no bag fee).

I think Delta now as a 'first bag free' deal. Like I said, I don't really care but make it easy. Allow me to put on the website: 1 round-trip ticket + estimated 1 piece of luggage: $145.

Even better if they'd just go ahead and include fees and other nonsense in there so you knew that the real price (out of pocket) was going to be something like $195.

Ticketmaster also plays this game.. $10 tickets to a sporting event! That's great. I won't have the best seats but I'll be able to take the family.. Oh, $5 handling fee per ticket... Oh, and a $2.50 fee for printing my own tickets on my own printer... Or, I could pick them up somewhere and pay $1 (or so) for being able to drive to the store to pick them up... So a $40 outing gets cranked up to $65-70 because of all of the nonsense fees. If the ticket price is $20/head, I'm ok with that. Just tell me up front so I don't go planning this stuff only to find the costs are 50%-100% more later.

I've experimented with using Smart Phones instead of my dedicated Garmins for navigation. I must say that my current 1490T is much easier to view and use while driving than a smart phone.

What I'd really like to see is a dedicated 4.3"-5" GPSr with a 3G/4G data link to all of Google's map layers (including real-time traffic, historical traffic, construction zones, and Google Latitude), POI database and street view. The unit should come pre-cached with the map layer for your region, and when 3G/4G data is available the map tiles should automatically update for the vicinity around you, if needed. The normal features we expect on a Garmin should also be present (e.g. lane-assist)

But, as mentioned above, ultimately it is the price/month that will kill this product. I can still dream about such gadgets though.

The Droid X is 4.3" and I can't see wanting a constant carry item much larger than that. For GPS utility, the 5" screen is a real benefit, especially for those of us with older eyes. With smartphones becoming able to act as mobile hotspots, a wi-fi enabled dedicated GPS would be able to incorporate some to the features you mention, while also enabling the GPS to be used as a small, wi-fi tablet device when it's not in a vehicle.

A closed, separate, pay-per-month nulink-type 3G/4G service is of no interest to me. Smartphones, with large and growing feature sets and their ability to provide 3G/4G connectivity to other devices, are a much more open, dynamic option that will kill proprietary one-off services like nulink.

You're right! I wasn't thinking. The phone that's always in my pocket while I'm driving can act as a mobile hotspot. No need for an extra monthly charge for the connection. I really like the idea of the GPSr doing double duty as a WiFi tablet. Maybe there's already the right hardware that can serve this purpose on the market (an Android Tablet? Just needs the right application.

I've also played around with the using my iPhone for XM/GPS in my car (using the XM SkyDock).

It works. It's not convenient, though.

Here are my thoughts on it after nearly 3 months of playing with it:
- iPhone screen is too small for a GPS. When my in-dash GPS/XM I can glance over to it and immediately tell what's going on. Not much time with my eyes off the road. With the iPhone I find that I have to look down at it for just a bit longer to orient myself to the smaller text, etc.
- Conversely, if you get a device (phone) that starts giving you a big enough screen to get past this then I start thinking along the lines of: My GPS is too big to be a phone. I don't want to carry around something that is in between the size of my iPhone and an iPad.
- The XM SkyDock works well and the interface is really nice. If you're going the iPhone as a GPS route I highly recommend you check one of these out. You don't have to subscribe. If you do subscribe you get a really nice interface to XM. I found I had the same problem: the screen is too small. With my in-dash GPS/XM I can glance over and see what's playing OR easily switch the channels without having to spend more time concentrating on it to orient myself to the device again. I wish my in-dash system had the pretty logos for the channels, though - the interface is a little clunky compared to the slickness of the iPhone interface.
- Laziness: If you can get past the screen size issues there's one other issue that kills the iPhone/GPS/XM/SkyDock combination: I don't want to mount my phone in the dock every time I get into the car. If I'm going to the store or across town I really just want to sit down and drive. With my in-dash GPS/XM it all just comes up. Music starts to play. My GPS is active. Nothing to screw with.
- iPhone covers: Many folks have some kind of cover/case on their iPhone. This ends up getting in the way of the iPhone connection on the XM SkyDock. You either have to get a short little adapter or remove the cover (adding to the inconvenience experienced from the Laziness note above).
- The XM SkyDock is really nice, if you can get past the laziness, for hooking your iPhone up to your stereo. If you set it up you can basically dock your iPhone and listen to your music or podcasts. It'll also charge your phone for you.
- Long trips with rented cars: The iPhone/GPS/XM SkyDock is nice for trips in rental cars as you can plug the SkyDock into the Aux-in on the dash (or transmit via FM if it's missing the Aux-in) and you have everything there: iPhone (charging), GPS, XM. No other wires to deal with (well, the antenna for the XM if you've subscribed to it but that's one wire with a magnetic mount - not a huge deal). Compare that to: a GPS with it's wire plus an XM radio with it's wires (power, line-out, antenna), and possibly something to charge you cellphone to keep it all even. The rental car dash starts getting messy and it takes time to plug all of that crap in (and keep the wires out of the way) and unplug it when done. Plus you're presumably going on a long trip so docking your phone in the SkyDock isn't such a huge deal. The iPhone/GPS/XM SkyDock win in this case. You still have the small screen problem.

Ultimately for me: The in-dash GPS/XM radio won out mainly because I didn't want to dock/undock my phone every time I wanted to use the GPS/XM. I usually just keep my iPhone in my pocket unless I specifically need to charge and then I just plug it into a USB port on my dash (actually a wire routed from the in-dash unit).