Garmin North American 2016.10 Map Update

Yes, but it wouldn't make sense to skip 2015.10. If there are only going to be 3 releases for 2016, it would make sense to skip 2016.40.

I decided to email him back and ask him why this one took so long. Here was his response:

Good afternoon,

Not a problem!

We found in issue in the last North American release, so we had to review the data before releasing it. I apologize for the wait on the release.
Currently our North American product is at version 2015.40. Your maps are up to date.

Garmin will now offer three map updates a year because of a decrease in demand in past cycles. We did a review, and saw that nearly all customers update their maps three times or less per year.

Thanks,
Brandon
Cartography Administration
1200 E. 151st Street
Olathe, KS 66062

Thanks for sharing that with us

P.S. For those who are speculating, I just called Garmin support in Canada & was also told that from now on there will be 3 map updates per year. He didn't want to say when the upcoming release would be but confirmed that Map Updater will still be functional along with Garmin Express.

Three for now, we shall see for the future...

3 times a year makes sense. Even just 2 times or just once a year makes sense.

Very few people with built-in GPS units in their cars ever update more than once every 3 years.

Just go it.

I don't like the 3 times a year at all, but I understand the decision if the demand wasn't there. I blame everyone who didn't update their maps every update

Thank you very much for the research Garmin2597Guy

Is there a prize for getting the page number right

No problem. Some people just aren't GPS freaks like us.

Yes, but when does Garmin make sense?

I suppose if they are going to 3 updates per year for both NA and Europe, it may make sense to get on a staggered schedule so the EU and NA releases are ~60 days apart. To me that seems a more likely explanation than "We found an issue in the last North American release" ... just my suspicious nature showing thru I guess.

OK, that's a confirmation of the first report so I'm ready to believe we're now going to get three map updates a year. I'm OK with that. Once every roughly four months isn't that different from roughly once every three months and it'll save 25% of the download/install map update issues over a year.

I remain very surprised that Garmin has told us this. I wonder if any other site has reported this or if we have an exclusive scoop. This is pretty big news. It may be worth one of our two discoverers starting a new thread with a Subject that will attract attention and be easy for us to find in a search down the road. We may have two co-COWS next week.

As far as I can find POI-Factory is the only site with this information about 2016.10 and future release timing. I have updated the 2016.10 thread on 2 other sites and will report here is anyone else comments/confirms these details.

I just don't understand why people aren't committed to frequently updating their GPS navigation units whether it's portable or factory navigation built in. What good is that option (typically a thousand or more built in) if it's not current and up to date? It's not just the maps that change, but the numerous POIs throughout the country. Are people really content / satisfied to have obsolete info? I'm certainly not and I find that absolutely baffling. I suppose one could rely upon a smartphone but it's just not the same as a large built in unit integrated with the audio system, voice recognition, etc.

One hopes they will have the new speed limits for Wisconsin roads that are now in effect.

I noticed that last week.... I43 was posted at 70 though GPS thought it was 65!

I agree about having new and current POIs, but what I don't like to see are all of the businesses in residential neighborhoods where the owners live.

For me it's because of the expense. I have a 2007 Ford product with factory NAV. Excellent unit but when I last checked in 2009, an update CD was $100+. Yeah... no thank you!

Eight years later it still gets me to any destination with no issues so I still have no plans to shell out any money for a map update.

Whuuuuuut? How's this any different than the Yellow Pages?

I just wish they would release 2015 maps in 2015 and 2016 maps in 2016 and two updates a year in a six month time period there aren't that many changes in roads ! be nice to see them define release dates as jan 1st and july 1st each year, it would make customers happier with garmin and restore confidence is them .

There are enough changes in a daily basis we should get updates daily!

Simple fix

I wonder if Here/Navteq will still release updates on a quarterly basis. Or are they going to 3 releases also? If they stay with 4 updates a year and Garmin goes to 3, the data on a new Garmin release could get to be 5 or more months behind the Here release.

Two times a year is plenty... once a year even makes more sense.

Funny -- I have a 2014 Avalon that has a built in Nav system. Toyota wanted to charge me $160 to send me a map update CD. I asked them if that is the only update on the CD (i.e., does it contain firmware for the radio, other updates, etc.). Toyota said that the map update is the only item on the CD. They then said it is "market" to charge this fee, as a pass on charge. I then asked, if this is "market", why I would pay $160 for something that comes "free" with standalone units. Toyota advised they had never heard of a navigation company including free lifetime maps. I pointed them to Garmin. I haven't heard back.

Honda offered me an update for $99.
That is not bad but my husband said to wait and buy it ever other year. That way it will only be around $50 each year. I still want it each year but am still overruled.

4 was better but I'll take what they give me.

Mary, you have become a bona-fide incurable "tech nerd" like many of the rest of us. Congratulations!

Lets start figuring out when this thread will hit page 12 since we know what date the update is queued to come out into the wild

That's unusual. most of the men I know, tell me their wives do all the driving......they just hold the wheel.

My first computer was a TI-99. (which I still have in the original box) along with some of the programs I wrote on cassette tapes, and all the paperwork and some programs are also there. (Makes me want to dig it out and see if it still works.)
I love technology and ever 3 or 4 years I talk my husband into a new one. I always have a good excuse for needing a new one..

I hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot by updating to Windows 10. He might think that takes the place of a new unit.

I just tell Jill and the in-dash unit what to say and let them tell him how to drive.

Is it here yet? LOL

You know, so much time went by since the last Map upgrade, that I retired!!!

A few weeks ago there was a story about someone who put an Apple I into a recycle bin...estimated value something like 200,000...

Maybe your TI-99, because you have all the original stuff as well as the packaging might be worth about $0,52

It's going to take a while for next update

It's looking like August 5th for this next one. I posted the email I got from Garmin about it in the updates thread. Unless you're talking about the one after this. That one may not be until December if they are indeed going to 3 a year now. But, I guess we'll worry about this one first before we get to that one.

Nope, Ebay made rare items cheap. Now that you can see what is available all over the world items are not as rare as we had once thought.

That is SO true!!

But you are the first one to agree with me. Thanks!!!

Thanks for letting us know about the update change. With so many people now using cell phones for navigation, I can understand why Garmin is trying to reduce costs on the smaller customer base of standalone GPS devices.

I agree with you that Garmin has a much reduced number of customers for GPS devices than years ago. It's a certainty that Garmin's sales of GPS devices have drastically slowed in the last half-dozen years. Stand alone GPS devices are going the way of DVDs, VHSs, FAX machines, phone booths and metal keys for cars. In fact, sales of stand alone GPS devices have steadily declined 15-20% a year since 2008. So, the notice that Garmin will have fewer map updates doesn't surprise me at all. To even see a vehicle with a GPS suction-cupped to the windshield nowadays is somewhat rare - and it's usually an old, worn-out, dilapidated vehicle.

More and more people are buying vehicles with built-in navigation systems anyway, and many vehicles come standard with navigation systems as part of the infotainment system. Every time a new smartphone rings, a portable GPS dies. Throw in tens of millions of people with Apple phone devices with navigation apps and it's easy to see why people buying old school electronic devices that suction cup to their windshields is about as outdated as using a 20lb 1990s bag cell phone.

http://nikolasschiller.com/images/old_skool_gps.jpg

http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a608/ursa901/NewClassicC...

OMG.. I had and used one of those for my job way back when!!

So Cool when I walked into Kmart with this thing.. lol

When I first got a Garmin back in 2008, it was clear the maps were woefully incomplete. Plus with a lot of construction going on in areas I travel, updates were needed frequently yet they only updated once a year. I definitely found the four updates a year useful as short as about three years ago but lately, in my area and travels, things have been static and the maps have become quite accurate. The fact that an update has gone from about 780MB in size in 2008 to over 2GB now speaks volumes of the detail that has been added.

How much $$$ does it cost Garmin to do an update? My guess is more to do with saving money since most units now come with lifetime updates. Honestly if they spend a little more time on each update I'd be happy.

I'm really surprised Garmin hasn't reduced the number of updates long ago to save money, especially with the hugely declining sales of stand-alone GPS devices in the last 5-6 years, which at one time accounted for 50% of their revenue. Analysts fully expect sharply continuing declines in this particular business.

I look for the number of updates to eventually drop to only 1 or 2 a year sometime soon as Garmin's automotive stand-alone GPS devices continue to be negatively affected by other substitutes (iphones, built-in systems, etc.). Give it a few more years and I'll bet seeing a GPS device suctioned-cupped to the inside of a windshield will be as odd as seeing a telescopic radio antenna on the fender of a car.

When you consider how many people own Garmin GPS and are on this or other forums you get the idea that WE are in the minority of GPS owners.

I would bet 85% never update instead buy new units or get a new unit for Christmas.

For many updating is a time consuming complicated process not worth the effort.

For me I may never update since the large JCV file is no longer being offered.

I hate to say it, but I've slowly been transitioning over to Google Navigation on my Galaxy S4 rather than using my 1300. I have had construction going on near my house for two years now as the state tore down a 1960s-era viaduct to replace it with surface roads. Part of the construction involves replacing the ramps to get to the highway, which affects my travel time as I have to head to the next exit down to get to the highway.

Simply through its connected nature, Google navigation gets updated more quickly and it can compensate for traffic flow changes more effectively than the GPS can. It's not perfect, and not by a long shot. Google navigation is naturally very basic, in that it doesn't have POI support like we're used to, and doesn't have some of the nice features Garmin has, like Junction View. But it works, and it's updated quickly, which is why you find people using it.

I don't see myself purchasing another standalone GPS device again, though I will continue to keep my 1300 maps up to date. However, these days I tend to use the 1300 mainly for custom POIs, as Google doesn't have proximity alerts like the rest area and red light/speed camera files, and the version of Garmin Streetpilot I'm running on my device doesn't work properly with my existing POIs. Now if only I could get motivated to update Historic Ships.

Sorry for rambling, but does it make sense that talking about this makes the tech geek in me kind of sad?

Page 11on the way

I update my unit each update and buy a new garmin every year or two and sell my used one to someone else. I like the new features that comes with the top of line units

Android "Maps" application is OK, when it works, if all you need is a single point to point navigator. But the sensitivity of my Galaxy S4 leaves a lot to be desired. When it loses a good lock on the GPS signal, you're stuck without navigation, even if all you're doing is going to a new restaurant in unfamiliar territory. Plan a cross country ride and the cellphone is a joke. You can't read the screen in sunlight, controls for route information are poor while driving and outright dangerous on a motorcycle. With my Garmin, I can change screens while riding my Harley at 80mph, safely, without looking at the screen, then look for the desired route info in a quick glance.

Cellphones are not the all in one solution for many travelers.

Car built-in navigation is great until you get one of two "small" snags. One, when you find cost of your map update and second when you go somewhere without your car. I often rented cars when traveling cross country. And navigation is hardly a good reason to take car instead airplane when you have 3 thousand or so miles to travel. With may old Garmin I just plug it into rental and was ready to go. Even if you can rent gps from car company I still prefer one that I know than whatever they bought in car rental place. Especially if there is no guarantee that this gps will have up to date maps installed.

In the age of instant map updates, reducing the number of updates to three per year is the beginning of the end for Garmin.

Waze had our new major local highway up three hours after it opened. It took 7 months for Garmin to add it. When it comes to navigation, not being timely is unacceptable. They should be increasing updates to weekly/monthly to stay competitive, not reducing them.

For the record, I've had Garmin units since the software was built into the Palm Pilot. This is a bad decision. I predict the end of Garmin by 2019.

Enjoy the three updates per year - soon we'll be getting none.

You do realize that the majority of Garmin's profits come from other than their automotive GPS division?