CES 2019

 

Anyone going to CES next month? I will be going and I'm anxiously awaiting beating up on the sales rep at the Garmin booth. He said last year there would be new automotive releases last spring and of course nothing was released. If anything, they dropped a few models (DriveLuxe for example). Anyway, curious to see others impressions if they go to the booth.

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Garmin: GPSIII / StreetPilot / StreetPilot Color Map / StreetPilot III / StreetPilot 2610 / GPSMAP 60CSx / Nuvi 770 / Nuvi 765T / Nuvi 3490LMT / Drivesmart 55 / GPSMAP 66st * Pioneer: AVIC-80 / N3 / X950BH / W8600NEX

Apps.

I would be interested in knowing if Garmin has any plans for a Garmin navigation app (other than Smartphone Link of course), especially something that might be supported in Android Auto and Apple Car Play.

Enjoy your CES event. I look forward to your report.

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Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

Ditto

alandb wrote:

I would be interested in knowing if Garmin has any plans for a Garmin navigation app (other than Smartphone Link of course), especially something that might be supported in Android Auto and Apple Car Play.

Enjoy your CES event. I look forward to your report.

Garmin has a prominent presence in built-in GPSRs for autos. An Android-Auto interface for a (wishful-thinking) revived Viago would be quite nice.

CES 2019

Preroll wrote:

Anyone going to CES next month?...

No, I have never been there, but I will be in Las Vegas soon.

Are there some specific features you would like to see them add or are you just hoping that anything new will be released?

I used to think a Garmin auto GPS that could be removed from its powered mount and then work as an Android tablet would be slick. They have, or at least had them in some non-US countries, but it never made it here in the states.

I suppose the flip side is, what Android tablets have the absolute best mounts available for them these days? Maybe running a good 5 inch Android tablet, with Google maps, is simpler.

For that matter, what larger smartphones (phablets) have really great auto mounts available for them?

bu.. but.. but..

Pillowcase wrote:
alandb wrote:

I would be interested in knowing if Garmin has any plans for a Garmin navigation app (other than Smartphone Link of course), especially something that might be supported in Android Auto and Apple Car Play.

Enjoy your CES event. I look forward to your report.

Garmin has a prominent presence in built-in GPSRs for autos. An Android-Auto interface for a (wishful-thinking) revived Viago would be quite nice.

If I understand it correctly ( and I may not) I beleive garmin licences the hardware spec's to an auto company and its upto the au to dealer to decide how to build the xevic. I'm not sure how much control garmin has abou the builnd.

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Never argue with a pig. It makes you look foolish and it anoys the hell out of the pig!

Yes an Android Auto app

Please ask about that and if there will be downloads of the full maps to the phone instead of using data to run the mapping app? With cell phone RAM these days a full download of the mapping data should be no problem. Leave out the POI if they have to, that can be easily looked up on the phone at any time, or even integrate a search feature into the app. Wishful thinking?

I miss going to CES

It was very enjoyable going to all the CES shows when I lived in Las Vegas, but haven't been to it for the last couple of years. Please keep us posted if there's anything newsworthy. Have fun!

I am not sure. Still need to

I am not sure. Still need to check

Sorry to say this is the

Sorry to say this is the first year that I will miss going to Las Vegas for CES and and visiting the Garmin Booth

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NickJr Nuvi 3597LMT

Map app

There's a few offline map apps out there and Google maps can be downloaded for out of local data areas. I use MAPS.ME, it's not quite as dense as Google maps and the routing engine is not quite as excellent as Garmin, but it's pretty good overall. The real shame is my cheap handset that has a crappy GPS and loses signal in the weirdest places.

not holding my breath

not holding my breath

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Garmin DriveLuxe 51 LTM-S

.'

Be interesting to see what Garmin Does.

CES 2019

I don't need any new Garmin automobile GPS devices. I have a Garmin Nuvi 3597 and a Garmin DriveLuxe 51. However, if they were to offer some additional features, at a reasonable price, I might consider it.

For example, if they had a 6 or 7 inch gps that becomes an Android tablet, I might consider it. Yes, I realize it is unlikely, but I am just throwing it out there for discussion.

Also,, if they were to offer a built in two way radio, in an automobile GPS, I might consider it. The RINOs have FRS/GMRS in them, so I suppose that would be the likely frequency range, if they ever did it. Think how handy that would be when you are caravanning with others to be able to see each others location on a screen.

Or, take it one step further, have a two way radio feature built in that uses cell data, connected via Bluetooth, that would allow you to see friends locations when they sign in. You could have a "meet halfway feature", too. With a cell phone walkie-talkie app, you could have a push to talk feature integrated into the GPS. It could sort of be a mobile or dashboard version of the Garmin RINO.

Or, replicate the Garmin Monterra, but update it with the most current Android OS. A mobile/dashboard version of a Garmin Monterra, with a larger screen, could be quite handy, too.

For folks that have to stay in touch, have an option InReach feature that allows satellite communication. Sort of a mobile/dashboard version of the current InReach.

I really think that the price has to be reasonable, though, or people are going to look elsewhere.

CES 2019

The 3597 has been out for a pretty long time.

I hope Garmin comes out with a new updated unit with all the bells and whistles to replace it.

They did ...

pratzert wrote:

The 3597 has been out for a pretty long time.

I hope Garmin comes out with a new updated unit with all the bells and whistles to replace it.

Garmin did come out with a replacement for the 3597 … the DriveLuxe series (50 and 51 models). They discontinued and sold out the newest DriveLuxe 51 model very early in its lifespan with no replacement unit. So I think it is unlikely that Garmin will introduce a new high-end automotive device.

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Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

All I Could Find Out

So I went to CES and had a pretty dismal experience at the Garmin booth. The rep I know at the booth was in a hurry to catch his flight out and so I didn’t get a chance to chat with him. I tracked down two other reps to find out that both were pretty clueless to their own products. I knew more about Garmin auto navigators then they did. For example, when asking a question regarding traffic, the guy said that all traffic is now built into the unit. I looked at him and said really? Why does it include a traffic cable then? He looked and said, oh. Then he ran away to catch his flight without a response. Somebody like that should not be representing the company.

So, long story longer, I spent a little time investigating the three units and found that the 5.5” (for me) would be the one to go with. The resolution was great (1200x720). The edge to edge display was appealing as well. As for powered mounts, they are gone. The second rep who had a little more knowledge than the first confirmed it. I also asked about lifetime maps. He said even though the model numbers don’t include LMT anymore, they are still supporting lifetime map updates. The next question I had was regarding updates and of course you can update via Wi-Fi or the old way by hooking up to a PC via USB. I was also curious to find out about Garmin POI’s and the rep knew little about them but said POI Loader should still work (I think more users here would know the answer better than he or I did). I also was curious to see if any weather info came from the traffic cable since I read that someplace and he said app only. Anybody here know for sure?

The last big question from me was regarding switching from MTP to Mass Storage Mode. The rep knew nothing about it. I tried the usual steps to get to the config page and it still works like in the past with the exception that MTP mode is under another sub menu (comparing against my old 3490). Only difference I noticed is that it no longer says Mass Storage Mode. It says USB Ethernet. Since he was no help, am I to assume that is Mass Storage Mode?

They really need to generate a comparison chart for these three units since when you click on their website, the options change. For example click the dash cam option and it will un-highlight from the 5.5” model. Click something else and it will change the other options. It can be confusing when trying to select a model.

OK, wish I had more but without getting any real assistance from knowledgeable people, it was a challenge.

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Garmin: GPSIII / StreetPilot / StreetPilot Color Map / StreetPilot III / StreetPilot 2610 / GPSMAP 60CSx / Nuvi 770 / Nuvi 765T / Nuvi 3490LMT / Drivesmart 55 / GPSMAP 66st * Pioneer: AVIC-80 / N3 / X950BH / W8600NEX

I'm pretty underwhelmed by

I'm pretty underwhelmed by the new units. I have a drive Assist 50, and the only reason to upgrade to the 51 would be for the wifi updates. There's really no other difference otherwise!

It looks like their new line doesn't even have something comparable to the drive assist. I'd have to get a dash cam separate from the GPS (although the price also appears to be much cheaper and the price of a dedicated dashcam + new GPS is about the same as the price of the drive assist).

sad

Garmin showing their wares with inexperienced uninterested representatives what better way to ruin a company that's already having problems in this very competitive field !

@Preroll

Thanks for your experience while visiting the Garmin booth at the CES 2019 show.

Indeed this was quite disappointing from the Garmin staff they chose to represent them. Having such little knowledge about their newest products will certainly not be profitable for Garmin if intend to increase their sales numbers regarding automotive units.

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Nuvi 2460LMT 2 Units

Business decision.

I suspect Garmin is staffing their CES booth with people that are knowledgeable in their watches and fitness products. That choice reflects where customer interest is these days. There are probably not many people attending CES any more whose primary interest is GPS road navigation.

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Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

Yep

alandb wrote:

I suspect Garmin is staffing their CES booth with people that are knowledgeable in their watches and fitness products. That choice reflects where customer interest is these days. There are probably not many people attending CES any more whose primary interest is GPS road navigation.

That's about right. They knew the watches and fitness items quite well and that was right out in front of the booth. The auto navigators were off to the side.

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Garmin: GPSIII / StreetPilot / StreetPilot Color Map / StreetPilot III / StreetPilot 2610 / GPSMAP 60CSx / Nuvi 770 / Nuvi 765T / Nuvi 3490LMT / Drivesmart 55 / GPSMAP 66st * Pioneer: AVIC-80 / N3 / X950BH / W8600NEX

Fitness products

Every day few more people stop using stand alone GPS.

And...

dtran1 wrote:

Every day few more people stop using stand alone GPS.

And.. in few more days recognize the deficiencies in the alternatives and come back.

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Lives in Edmonton AB A volunteer driver for Drive Happiness.ca and now (since June 20 2021) uses a DS65 to find his clients.

obsolete electronics

Seems like consumer car GPS is rather not very important for Garmin. They probably will phase out them in a few years. Why? Because profits are not as they use to be. I would guess that they will rather concentrate on devices built-in into cars. There is stable profit and highly predictable. And you don't need to create whole bunch of different devices. One is all you need.

Ralph6410 wrote:
dtran1 wrote:

Every day few more people stop using stand alone GPS.

And.. in few more days recognize the deficiencies in the alternatives and come back.

Somehow they didn't get back to Walkmans and Discmans. Unless you see them somewhere? And how often you can see people with portable music players? Because generally all of them are using phones as players.

Once you will have GPS built into all new cars as standard, stand-alone GPS will fade to history, as many other devices. How many people are buying car stereos this days for new car? Beside hobbyists?

Something to think about

Other than the fact the the car manufacturers couldn't gouge you for the map update, I would go for an In Dash unit if Garmin, or whoever, would add a wifi chip to the GPS.

I can sit in my driveway and connect to my wifi with my DS61 and install a software update. Before I thought of it, I had already updated the map when it arrived at the house.

Car makers are adding a cellular hot spot to a lot of their vehicles, it surely would be easy to add wifi to the Dash unit.

I certainly wouldn't try to connect the Dash unit to the cellular wifi for a map update. Too much data.

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Frank DriveSmart55 37.322760, -79.511267

Not really surprised

Not really surprised. My experience over the many yrs with garmin is a perceived lack of customer responsiveness.

Garmin 55/65

I've seen some Garmin 55/65 units showing up on Spamazon, does this forum regularly review new units? I want to update and can't decide between getting a 51 with DriveSmart or holding off for the 55. My only real desire is that it works with Basecamp.

At The Show Too

Makinja wrote:

Not really surprised. My experience over the many yrs with garmin is a perceived lack of customer responsiveness.

Sure...they were pretty lacking at the booth too. I remember bringing up an issue years ago whereby I sent the developers screenshots and questions with questions about trying to clear the history instead of needing to go in and wipe out SQL Tables. They gave me their info to reach out and so I did with as much detail as possible. Then ... no response. When I went to the booth again the following year, the rep said how impressed they were with the email but still didn't bother to respond. As competition grows, I can't see how they are going to stay competitive in the future.

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Garmin: GPSIII / StreetPilot / StreetPilot Color Map / StreetPilot III / StreetPilot 2610 / GPSMAP 60CSx / Nuvi 770 / Nuvi 765T / Nuvi 3490LMT / Drivesmart 55 / GPSMAP 66st * Pioneer: AVIC-80 / N3 / X950BH / W8600NEX

Garmin 55

Anyone know if you can turn off 3-D buildings and terrain on the new Garmin 55? I'm not a big fan of it at all.

3D terrain and buildings.

jackrabbit000 wrote:

Anyone know if you can turn off 3-D buildings and terrain on the new Garmin 55? I'm not a big fan of it at all.

I don't have a DriveSmart 55, but if it works like the older nuvi devices that had these features, you should be able to access the device in mass storage mode and disable the two map files gmap3d.img and gmapdem.img by renaming them (to something like gmpa3d.savimg and gmapdem.savimg). You should find these files in the /.system folder. That should effectively disable these features until you do a map update. Before doing a map update, you should rename these files back to their original names, so Garmin Express can correctly handle the deleting/replacing of the files during the update.

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Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

So the new line is call the

So the new line is call the 55? They went from 50 to 51 to 55?

New Line

WuLabsWuTecH wrote:

So the new line is call the 55? They went from 50 to 51 to 55?

Kinda…

they are the Drive 52 w/wo Traffic, Drivesmart 55 & Traffic and Drivesmart 65 & Traffic

Thanks alandb

alandb wrote:
jackrabbit000 wrote:

Anyone know if you can turn off 3-D buildings and terrain on the new Garmin 55? I'm not a big fan of it at all.

I don't have a DriveSmart 55, but if it works like the older nuvi devices that had these features, you should be able to access the device in mass storage mode and disable the two map files gmap3d.img and gmapdem.img by renaming them (to something like gmpa3d.savimg and gmapdem.savimg). You should find these files in the /.system folder. That should effectively disable these features until you do a map update. Before doing a map update, you should rename these files back to their original names, so Garmin Express can correctly handle the deleting/replacing of the files during the update.

Thanks for the info. Good to know and will try it if there is no option in the map or map layering menus to turn it off. Might be awhile, the 55 is still not available in Canada.

Wishful thinking...

I wish I could go. But no luck.

No

I wish.