No new garmins?

Well, I expect that's the final nail in the coffin. I do hope that Garmin continues to support map (and software) updates for their vehicular devices well into the future and will be very surprised if any On The Road Garmin devices become available.

Also potentially affected in a bad way by this decision would be the Garmin Smartlink app, The POI Factory, it's POIs, and the support into the future offered by its members to others.

One interesting stat in that report is the growth in the "Outdoor" devices. Yet, Garmin has abandoned BaseCamp development and support, and has only recently introduced a new handheld device after a long dry spell (http://www.poi-factory.com/node/48812).

I think the only hope for continued availability of map updates and Smartphone Link for automotive devices is if Garmin somehow decides to take an interest in paid subscripton smartphone apps. And their recent history of discontinuing all their road navigation apps doesn't look promising.

I would definitely be willing to pay reasonable annual subscription fee to get map updates and access to Smartphone Link, but I suspect not many users would.

You can always buy a watch.

Maybe with Waze and other nav utilities, Garmin might be thinking that in a few years in might not be viable without major changes?

... emphasis on reasonable. I use my DriveSmart 61 every day at work in a 12 year old dump truck. SOOOOOO much better than using a folding map to get around and when paving quick need to 'see' the surrounding area so I don't drive over fresh asphalt.

I went from a 5" screen to a nearly 7" screen with my DS 61 so I can see the map without the need for glasses. I don't need glasses for driving, just reading. No way a watch would work for me.

I believe they will come out with new models next year for sure. Everyone believe that phones are replacing stand alone units but that it not correct. Phone GPS apps work well for short distances but not for long distances. I tried Waze on my iphone on a 6 hour trip, my iphone got so hot that I saw thermometer sigh first time. I had to turn of phone to cool it down. if you don't charge phone while navigating then battery dies but if you keep charging it then it heats up.
So I still my my my Garmin on long trips..

I've had Waze stall at computing trips over 500 miles. Sometimes you get a server not responding error.

We can provide all the believable (and mostly true) justification we want about how dedicated navigation devices are better than phone apps. But it doesn't matter. The only things that matter to Garmin and other companies are sales and profit. And the numbers just aren't there any longer.

What is most important to me is the user interface for navigation, and Garmin is just better than anything else IMO. That is why I wish Garmin could come up with a sustainable business model for a smartphone app. I had great hopes with their old Viago app. They only needed to add a couple of features to make it comparable to the nuvi, but sadly it was apparently not profitable so they killed it.

I hope the party isn't almost over. While, yes I predominantly use my smartphone, I do like occasionally using the nuvi.

This is just sad. Can we keep the Garmin map updated by using the OPENSTREETMAP alternative?

Look at Microsoft Streets & Trips which ended with the 2013 version. Once the market is saturated there is no path forward for viable sales market, so the product dies for updates.

This is a great question.

It looks no. What they can improve GPS ? big question

Thanks for this thread. The trend is troublesome.

I have a smart phone but I don't use data - I don't hardly use the phone. I have an in-dash nav that sucks - Toyota Rav4 rated dead last.

Hello Garmin = even the voice response works 100x better than the Toy.

Please don't stop, I still have a few more good years to enjoy it.

I never upgraded past the 1300LM I own because there was no point in doing so. Sure, I would get some new feature that couldn't be found on my 1300LM, even after modding it. But new features simply weren't a compelling enough reason for me to upgrade. In fact, my 1300LM sits unused in its case, right next to my unused Sony 16GB MP3 player.

Both devices have become a backup to specific functions of the main device, my Pixel 2 XL. Why this is boils down to one single word: convergence. I don't have to carry separate devices to do the work of one, even if individually they have more features than the convergence device.

In-car media centers with built-in navigation, smartphones with media players and navigation systems; in the end both have spelled the death knell for high quality dedicated GPS receivers, just as they have killed the mp3 player. Garmin knows this, and has known it for some time. Garmin will stop making new receivers, and in time they will completely exit the auto navigation space. When that happens, Magellan and Tom Tom will soon follow. And all because of convergence in technology.

After the major players leave the field, all that will remain for dedicated auto GPS receivers are the cheap Chinese knock-offs running Windows Mobile and a copy of Phillips Route 66. This site will likely survive for some time; there are millions of Garmin devices out there of all ages and designs. But eventually even it will go dark.

It will be a sad day when that happens.

Wish for this also if they exit the business... A BaseCamp like desktop computer application for planning the more extensive routes/trips and selectable routes predefined by the user is what is missing from todays smartphones AND....

The ability of the smartphone GPS/maps to continue operating when venturing into areas where there is no cellphone service. Perhaps the having a user specify or app automatically downloading maps when a particular route is selected (and while still in cellphone coverage area).

Downloaded extensive amount of maps for a recent trip into some of the more remote areas in Canada, but my smartphone with with appropriate location settings still had some problems when in areas with no cellphone service.

I'll keep my Nuvi 3597 as long as it continues to work and considering if I should buy one of the current high end Garmin models as another fallback, while they are still available.

Garmin should be in the business with phone app.

With the proliferation of built-in nav systems and navigation on smartphones, there is massive competition in the automotive navigation space. I used to use a dedicated GPS for automotive navigation before navigation was available on the smartphones. I migrated to smartphone navigation, leave the GPS home and only use the GPS for outdoor activities and hiking. A dedicated navigation device is redundant in a car. The majority of consumers won't bother.

Garmin is also terminating the navigation apps for smartphones.

Looks like Garmin is getting out, or severely reducing, the degree of participation in the automotive navigation market.

I, too, like the GPS for many of the same reasons ... but I also just fundamentally distrust these huge internet companies like Google and Apple ... they harvest WAY too much data without our consent and God only knows what they do with it ... my trusty 2590 doesn't phone home with my location (or speed or hamburger joint searches) ... and I like it that way.

CC

Apple does not sell your data. They use usage data to refine their products. With Google, you and how you use their apps, is Google's raw material that then gets sold as market/consumer data to companies selling stuff. Don't fear Apple. I don't use Google, deleted all the Google apps.

I have built in Sat Nav in my 2017 Ford Escape but I still take my Garmin with me on long trips. The Ford system is slow to give voice directions and is ridiculously expensive to update. Once you have input a destination the only way you can change it is either by voice commands, which is a real pain in the you know what, or pull up and put the car in park and then change your route. Even if you have a co-pilot you cant change anything.
With the Garmin you can, with the aid of your co-pilot, change routes, destinations or just look for your favorite eatery along your route. No, I wont be getting rid of my Garmin just yet

I also have incar nav and it is a pain, I'll take my Garmin anytime.

The party will definitely be over!

Well, if Garmin pulls out of the road navigation market, maybe it will give TomTom a boost. They are still offering their smartphone app as well as the dedicated devices.

Folk seem to think a smart phone is the answer to everything.. and one sees them texting / reading / browsing while driving all the time. Reading a map on a smart phone while driving is a hazard in itself. For someone who is continuously driving in an unknown area of a city having a decent sized Garmin showing where one is.. and.. what is ahead.. priceless and safer by far

To each their own, but I would find it very cumbersome moving a smart phone to a cradle on the dash, then taking it off every time I got out of my vehicle and then.. repeat 15.. 20 times a day.

People do text all the time, but with smartphones having digital assistants that can transcribe speech into text messages, instances of physically tapping buttons to text while driving have decreased. Reading and browsing I've not seen too often, although I'm sure they occur. However, some smartphone users like myself do realize that the smartphone isn't the answer for everything.

I use my smartphone for three things in the car: playing music, navigation, and communication. The only reason I made the switch to a smartphone is convenience. Using one device to combine the functions of three separate items and still be able to do all three at the same time if necessary outweighs the benefits using the separate devices have. That said, while smartphone navigation is not as feature-rich as a dedicated Garmin receiver, both devices will show you where you are and where you are supposed to be going. Sure, the Garmin can do far more than the basics, but as your post illustrates, everybody's use cases are different.

From personal experience, placing the smartphone in the cradle and removing it multiple times per day is not as cumbersome as you might think. Especially if you have the right mount. For example, I use a Koomus CD-Eco mount in my car. I can have my Pixel 2 XL in and out of that mount in 5 seconds, and I don't find it cumbersome at all. However, regardless of whether it is cumbersome or not I have no choice but to use it. The state I work in has a hands free cell phone requirement.

As I said earlier, everyone's use cases are different. The features you find invaluable, the features ancillary to the basic functions of a navigation device, are apparently not of value to the overwhelming majority either using their smartphones for navigation or using the built-in navigation devices in their cars. To think Garmin hasn't noticed this trend is naïve, and a lack of new devices is testament to this.

Heres why..still a big market. Big as other Garmin made products? maybe not but still a market and I believe Garmin will adjust as they always have and make these units for that market and make a profit still the same.
You guys have been screeming the demise of the Garmin Auto GPS etc for years.. and they came out with the Drivesmart 61S lmt which is a great unit. I have 2 of them. Got me all over the usa with 7900 miles on the clock last month.. across empty wastelands thru deserts and big cities. Custom maps made right in the truck as I needed and loaded to the DS. Lets see a cell do that.

I suspect you're right. Would be nice if the next improvement allowed more routing choices, so you could force routes to stay on major highways for example.

Talked to Garmin this week and the customer service rep told me that she had heard nothing of Garmin stopping making new Automotive Products in the future.

I agree..but then that opens a can of worms on that end.. Best to try stop and make sure you may want to take that route or road when in doubt. Or take out the state series maps I have Ha.. used it this last tour of USA this fall. Out West you can get into some weird country fast.

Garmin still sells crap load of Auto units. Being tech is cheaper they can still sell fewer units of quality vs years gone by ones and still turn a profit I believe.

You must remember the 2610's have one still as well as a 2620. They did that I thought.. being I've not use one for a while not sure.

Garmin is building some very impressive glass cockpit avionics...

Given what these systems cost, R & D, regulatory certification cycle, I'm sure Garmin sees this as a major part of their future..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-JM4Nezy2c

that would be very sad.

For anyone like me who hasn't upgraded their Garmin auto unit in a long time, this thread has much good info on what recent models are popular in the last few years.

Thanks for all the input.

Talked to a Garmin customer rep the other day and she didn’t think they were not going to make new units.

Been with Tracfone for 8 years. Always good signal (using Verizon's towers) and have a good selection of compatible phones. This year saw HSN (and QVC) had a fantastic deal of Samsung Sky Pro 7 with a year of service and minutes, text and data included. However, you usually get the previous OS. This phone has an excellent battery and works great with DriveSmart. I have a landline and keep my wi-fi on at home so I'm not a power user. For those who use the cell phone exclusively as their main phone, Tracfone might not be cost effective. This year Tracfone now supports iPhone fans.

I know one of the sales reps at the booth for CES. I will ask about this come January. Last year he said the auto navigator updates for 2018 was delayed until the second quarter of this year. Well that didn't happen so I'm curious to see his response this year.

I agree with absolutely everything you've written.

One thing that I finally tried but was fearful to do in case something went wrong was to by a used unlocked cell phone and a Tracfone BYOP SIM card. It worked great after a few days of anxiety and effort, even transferring my cell # and its unused service_days/minutes/GB/texts to the new unlocked phone/SIM. The advantage to buying a Tracfone BYOP SIM and an unlocked cell phone is that OS upgrades are possible. I bought a used Samsung Galaxy S7 at a great price and found that the phone's Android 7 was eventually offered an update to 8 (sorry, I've forgotten the candy names for each) which I think wouldn't be offered if I had bought the phone straight from Tracfone.

And regarding GPS use, yes the new cell phone works great with the Garmin Smartphone Link app and connects well with my Garmin device via Bluetooth.

well i have a new phone, but not much data

Is there another big electronics show coming up?

Maybe there will announce something new at the next show?

like it so far. Traffic using app, and not special traffic charging cable was a surprise. Updated firmware, so I could use maps

I have a new phone also, Samsung S8, but no data.

At first, I thought that people were saying that the Nuvi type products were going away ... but then it sounded like it is the built-in units that are dying off ... is it the latter?

Thanks,
CC

In Las Vegas, Jan. 8-11. Garmin is booth # 30342 if you go.

I think this thread is predicting the demise of the dedicated standalone navigation devices like Garmin nuvi and Drive.

It's been predicted for years. The big demand dropped about 5 years ago as indicated by the price drops and makers disappearing. Auto manufacturers are building in GPS units as almost standard equipment now so there is little call for the stand alones, hence the dearth of new models and features. As for myself, I have a new car on order and it comes with built-in GPS as part of its 11 inch info/entertainment center. Unlike many offerings, this one is high up on the dash where it is very easy to monitor without distracting from the road.

You'll soon find your standalone GPS device will be used as a [so-called] backup to your new car's built-in navigation system, and then it will be like a favorite old but outdated sweater that you really hate to get rid of, then you'll consider donating it to someone that will use it, but you'll find that no one wants...

Enjoy your new car's built-in navigation system!

My wife's new car built in system isn't anywhere close to being as good as my Garmin GPS so I'll be hanging on to mine

My 2013 Jeep Wrangler has a Garmin based in dash nav unit. While it is sufficient it pales in comparison to my DriveSmart 61 as to features. Another HUGE drawback is to update the maps they want $150 EACH update, which is only once a year and seemingly outdated, no thanks, until they offer timely updates my stand alone is much better.

That said, one huge plus to an in dash is that it's always set up and ready to go. This is great if you run into an unexpected detour on a familiar route, you'll be able to "see" you way around it with the push of a button.

Please remember...

Be friendly and polite. We will not tolerate personal attacks, insults, rudeness, or inflammatory posts.

~Angela