The GPS Times

This question has come up quite a few times in conversation recently and I suppose the obvious answer would be that it depends on the price. But, one should also try and find out why the GPS model was discontinued and who discontinued it. In other words, did the manufacturers stop making the unit because they have replaced it with something else or did the local distributors simply stop importing them because they weren’t selling well?

Very often it is simply the local distributor who decides to stop importing a specific GPS model, or even a whole range, due to a variety of factors. For example, a particular GPS model may well be popular in another country but it just does not seem to sell well to the market in your country. Sometimes, and this is also the reason why some models are never imported into South Africa at all, the infrastructure of a particular country might also limit the usage of certain features that are available on a specific model and although model “x” may have more features than model “y“, the only features of both model that are actually usable in that country would be the same ones (i.e. there would be no practical difference between the two GPS models capabilities). It then makes sense to only import/keep importing the GPS model with the cheapest pricing point.

Of course it must also be remembered that we are dealing with a product where new technology seems to be released on an almost monthly basis and often the rate at which new GPS models are brought onto the market outstrips the rate at which older models are being discontinued. This can cause great confusion amongst customers when there are so many different models on the market that all seem to be doing exactly the same thing (and when sometimes the only difference between two models might be a newer GPS chipset or a slightly updated operating system with a faster screen refresh rate).

In cases where the local distributor stops importing a particular model into their country, they would also stop importing the accessories for that model. Given the levels of stock that they usually carry, this would mean that within about 4-6 months those accessories would no longer be available in that country either. Since most models within the same range/series use the same accessories (i.e. the GPS 60 series includes the GPSMAP 60Cx and GPSMAP 60CSx and the Nuvi 2xx series includes the Nuvi 200, Nuvi 200W, Nuvi 205, Nuvi 205W and the Nuvi 250) this is generally not a problem if only one model out of the whole range/series has been discontinued. However, in cases where the whole range has been discontinued - Beware, some of the accessories (particularly the mounts) are not compatible between ranges/series.

Purchasing a discontinued model will have no effect on your 1 year warranty period for the unit (as long as the unit is purchased from an authorised dealer) as the distributors do tend to keep some stock one side specifically for warranty replacements and repairs of these units.

In summary, I would recommend doing a bit of homework before you purchase a discontinued model (and especially if you come across a dealer that is selling a particular model at a “bargain price” - they may simply have excess stock of a discontinued or even a “soon to be discontinued” model). Find out if there are any other models in the same range that are also being discontinued and why.

I would really like to get some feedback on this and I would value any opinions you may have. Please leave your comments in the box below.

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Yes, the Garmin Nuvi 860 with Speech Recognition has finally hit South African shores!

This really is a very nice looking unit but I don’t want to delve too much into the aesthetics or even the standard functionality of this unit in this post. The Nuvi 860 is obviously a top of the range unit similar to the Garmin Nuvi 760 and as such has all the usual bells and whistles of the other Nuvi’s in its class. What does make the Nuvi 860 truly unique however, is the speech recognition capability.

Since being able to “speak” to the device and give it voice commands is this units’ biggest selling point, I would like to concentrate on this particular feature. As with all highly advanced technology, there are often features or functions that depend on a variety of factors to work correctly (or even to work at all). We have often seen devices released in South Africa where, due to a lack of infrastructure, available mapsets, radio frequency licensing problems and other issues outside of our control, some of the features were unavailable or were severely limited. We are also warned on the Nuvi 860 Product Presentation and in the Product Description that “some speech recognition functionality is dependent on the capabilities of the mapping in use“.

So, what works on the Nuvi 860 in South Africa and how well does it work?
These are the menu, screen selections and features that are accessible via voice command. [Read the rest of this entry...]

It always amuses me when people get all excited by the Text-to-Speech functionality on some of our GPS units. Being a South African I am quite used to the sometimes odd (mis)pronunciation of some of our road names (especially some of the newer names) by many of our own citizens but believe me when I say that the Brits, Yanks and Aussies are ten times worse.

Take any of the Garmin Nuvi units with the Text-to-Speech feature for example. The voice directions for turning off Lynnwood Road onto the N1 freeway-South (the Danie Joubert freeway) would give you:

• “Turn left on ramp to daynee jew-bert freeway-N-one” when using the British English voice and
• “Turn left on ramp to daynee jobbert freeway-N-one” when using the American or Australian English voices.

Now I don’t know about you but I can only take so many “mangled” street names before I want to throw the witch out of the window. And this is only with the Afrikaans street names, you should hear what they do with some of our more “ethnic” names. [Read the rest of this entry...]

I have been chatting to quite a few people lately about the eagerly awaited 3G iPhone which is soon to be released in South Africa (if you haven’t heard about it yet, you must be hiding under a seriously large rock my friend). One of the topics being hotly debated (apart from the obvious pricing issue of course) is that of the A-GPS (assisted GPS) navigation functionality on the new iPhone.

Touted as the latest in GPS technology, A-GPS is quite simply the addition of cellphone tower and Wi-Fi hotspot triangulation calculations, to the standard GPS signal. Whilst this is not really new technology, it is a first for it to be included in a device like this in this country. There is, of course, no information on this particular feature of the phone on the Vodacom.co.za website (where you can pre-order the iPhone in South Africa) and I have my reservations about the relevance of the information, as provided on the Apple.com website, regarding the 3G iPhone’s GPS navigation functionality for South African users. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Most of the email that I receive is from people asking the same questions over and over again and, a lot of the time, those queries are concerning basic information that is not adequately covered in the unit manual. Or, if it is covered, is explained in such a technical/convoluted way as to make even my eyes water (I mean really, do the people who create these manuals think that we all have post graduate degree’s in physics or something?). Anyway, I thought I’d start a series of shorter “Tips and Tricks” type of posts to try and demystify these wonderful gadgets of ours. [Read the rest of this entry...]

I have recently noticed an overwhelming number of people coming to this blog who are searching for information on the  Garmin Nuvi 200 units (or 2xx series which, in South Africa, includes the 200, 200W, 200 Pink and the 250W). Searches are being done for everything from map updates, firmware updates, settings, how to use the units, loading POI’s and speed traps on to the units all the way down to the occasional person with a problem with a Nuvi 2xx series unit.

I have therefore decide to run a series of (short) posts covering specifically the Nuvi 200 units. In this first post I would like to talk about the Nuvi 200 update process (which is something that I have previously written about but, since the information is continually changing, this post can be regarded as an update to my earlier post).

Generally, the Garmin Nuvi update process is very simple and at the moment (remember that this could change again at any time), Garmin have decided to only use one method of updating the firmware on the Nuvi 2xx series units and that is by using the WebUpdater program.

All other Garmin units, including the rest of the Nuvi range, can either be updated by using the WebUpdater option or by manually downloading the update file from the “Updates and Downloads” section on the Garmin.com website. [Read the rest of this entry...]

I often get asked what the difference is between an electronic map, usually loaded onto a PC, laptop or PDA; and a GPS map which is typically used on, or in conjunction with, a GPS receiver. Most people seem to think that they are one and the same thing and are also usually shocked when they learn of the price difference between the two. Here then is my (rather simplistic) explanation…

Electronic Map

This is simply an electronic version of a paper map with varying degrees of complexity, from a basic static image (which, when zoomed in, shows the same level of detail - just in a bigger size), to a map consisting of multiple overlaid images showing different levels of detail at different zoom levels. A basic electronic map can even be scanned from a paper map and then “geo-corrected” (a process of accurately fixing a coordinate grid to the electronic map). [Read the rest of this entry...]

How do I update the Southern Africa maps on my Garmin GPS unit?

If you want to update your present Southern Africa maps on your Garmin unit or, you already have the latest maps on your unit but would like them loaded onto your PC as well, please read the info below before watching the video.

First of all, you need to get your hands on the latest Garmap Africa Series 2008 DVD. Then please take note of the following:

• Depending on your present mapset, you will be charged an unlocking fee when loading and unlocking the maps on your PC - Note: if you purchased your unit after the 1st January 2008 or you already have the latest maps (i.e. 2008) on your unit and simply want to load them to your PC, then this unlock is Free. For more info on the various unlocking fees please go to this page and then click on the “Unlock Code Pricing” link for each individual mapset listed on the DVD.
• When you load and unlock the maps onto your PC, you will be transferring your map license from your preloaded memory card to your PC (this is known as changing from a “Plug & Play” user to a “MapSource” or PC user). This process will also invalidate the preloaded maps on your SD card so, once you have completed this process you must either upload the maps from your PC on to the internal memory of your unit and format the SD card, or upload the maps from your PC back onto the card (thus overwriting the invalidated maps). This process is explained in the video.
• You can load your unlocked and registered maps onto as many PC’s or laptops as you want, but the process in the video must be followed every time (there is a slightly shorter way of doing this for the more “PC literate” amongst us but this will be covered in separate video a bit later on).

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Well what can I say, first the Garmin Nuvi 710 was on promotion at Gismap GPS Shop for a mere R 5,699 with a small extra or two thrown in for good measure. Now, thanks to Garmin SA who have really came to the table and slashed their prices on the most popular units in SA at the moment, the price has fallen through the floorboards to an incredibly low special offer of only… … … R 4,496 (Incl.VAT).

Nobody knows how long this special will last but with a battling R/$ exchange rate (and a new pricelist to be effective as from April 2008 with strong rumours of price increases), we don’t think this special offer will last for too long. I would strongly suggest getting yourself over to Gismap GPS Shop and placing your order as soon as possible.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

A common question asked by all Garmin owners is “How do I update my GPS unit?”

Well, first of all we need to remember that there are two parts to any GPS. The GPS unit itself and the operating system of that unit, also called the firmware (in the USA this is also called the ‘unit software’), and then there is the detailed map software that is loaded either onto the unit or onto a memory card inserted into the unit. [Read the rest of this entry...]

It has now been confirmed by the Garmin SA technical folk, that recent changes to the Garmin WebUpdater program has made the program safe to use for South African Garmin Nuvi owners.

[WebUpdater: WebUpdater is a free application that lets you update your GPS unit operating system from home. Download it on to your PC once, and then you can check for and install software updates without using your Internet web browser. Simply connect your Garmin unit to your PC, run the WebUpdater from your computer, and it will do all of the work for you.] [Read the rest of this entry...]

Okay, so I have now made, what some people have described as, the worst business decision of my career. I have changed the way that my company handles our customer and tech support services. We have gone from providing a free Garmin support service to all and sundry, to now only providing the Free service for our own customers. And we have implemented a Paid service for everyone else. Oh, Shock and Horror… [Read the rest of this entry...]

Damn, this thing takes a long time to acquire satellites when you start it up from a new destination – and that’s the only complaint I have about this unit!

The Garmin Nuvi 200 - Ready to use straight out of the box with a plug-in map chip, there’s not much more you could ask for in an entry-level unit. In fact, I would be quite happy with this unit all the way past intermediate level! Unless you really wanted some fancy extras, this is all you’re ever gonna need.

The power button slides across the top of the unit. You need to slide and release for it to turn on or off. Of course, it took a couple of goes, with me switching it on, then off, then on again while I worked out that it doesn’t slide and stay! No, I’m not blonde, don’t be rude! As mentioned, it can take a while to find its position, but the signal is very strong and even indoors it seems to have no trouble finding satellites.

Simplicity seems to be the manufacturing goal here and this receiver is small, lightweight, and very basic. There’s a power/USB jack, the card slot for the map SD – and nothing else. No movable parts to break, no odd “holes” that need to be identified, no extras to confuse you. I really liked the straightforwardness of it all. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Here’s another video, this time showing some of the differences between the Garmin City Navigator SA v6 maps and our own, locally produced, Garmap Southern Africa Streetmaps v1.5

I get asked at least once a day why we (South Africans), don’t sell the Garmin City Navigator SA maps in our own country (‘detailed’ maps of South Africa produced by an American company? …. hmmmm, I wonder why not?). I am also often asked whether the Garmin version 6 maps not more recent/updated than the version 1.5 maps from Garmap? Another question is, are the Garmap maps legal and will they work on my “xyz” Garmin unit? [Read the rest of this entry...]

For some reason I keep getting asked for my opinion on the best cellphone GPS system in South Africa. Now, apart from the fact that I tend to “specialise” in handheld/mobile (stand alone) GPS systems in general and Garmin GPS systems in particular, the cellphone handset market is an absolute nightmare to try and keep abreast of. What with continual industry changes and all the new handsets that appear on the market on an almost daily basis, I really pity those that actually have to try and keep up. So I hope you will all understand if I simply refer you instead, to your local cellphone dealer with your cellphone/GPS related queries. [Read the rest of this entry...]

OK, Here’s the first in a new series of training videos that I am going to be doing. This one is a step-by-step tutorial on “How to load Garmap maps to your PC… and to your Garmin GPS unit“. I hope you find it useful. This is my first attempt at making videos so please be gentle with the criticism. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Garmin have released a firmware update for the Nuvi 200 and… Can you believe it?

Changes made from version 2.90 to 3.10:

• Fixed a bug that caused off route recalculations to be delayed in beginning the recalculation.
• Added support for Afrikaans text translations.
• Added new time zone for the Middle East.
• Fixed a bug that could cause the wrong help file to be displayed for the Language setup help.
• Added support for the following new voices: Luxembourgish, Arabic, Catalan, Afrikaans, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Cantonese, and Taiwanese.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

OK, so you’ve decided that you want to buy a GPS. You’ve also been able to figure that you need a “city navigator” autorouting type of unit (mainly for city/urban use and local or international traveling). Now you look at the available options and find 10 different units to choose from… What now?

The easiest way to categorize the units is as follows:

[Please Note: We categorize "Outdoor" use as hiking, biking, geocaching, hunting, fishing and other off-road & handheld use. "City/Urban" use is vehicle and road based use.] [Read the rest of this entry...]

Navigation:
When navigating to a destination on a non-autorouting GPS unit, the unit will simply point you in the right direction using an on screen arrow and tell you how far you have to go to get there (i.e. 6.2Km with a compass arrow pointing North). Imagine now that you are (on a road) traveling North to get to your destination when you come to a T-junction where, if you turn left you will head West and if you turn right you head East. Your GPS is telling you to carry on 5.4Km’s Northwards. Which way do you turn?

Obviously, this again depends on your application. If you were walking in the middle of the African bushveld with no fences, roads or rivers in the way, you would have no problem. Driving around the farming districts in the Freestate and Northern Province may however, get you a complimentary load of buckshot in your butt for crossing private property without permission.

An autorouting unit, on the other hand, will direct you via the most optimal route (according to your settings), selecting the correct roads and then giving you turn-by-turn directions on how to get there. The ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) feature on these units will also take into account the speed limits of the roads when working out your traveling and arrival times. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Base Maps vs. Detailed Maps:
The first thing to understand is what people are talking about when they talk about ‘Base Maps’ and ‘Detailed Maps’. A ‘Base Map’ is the mapset that is loaded to the GPS units’ internal memory at factory level and as such cannot be altered or even deleted. Basemaps come in three regional versions, ‘US’ basemaps covering the continental United States (these GPS units get shipped directly to the US from the Garmin factory in Taiwan), ‘Atlantic’ basemaps covering Europe and Africa (these GPS units get shipped directly to the UK) and the ‘Pacific’ basemaps covering Asia and Australasia (these GPS units get shipped directly to Australia).

South Africa is covered under the ‘Atlantic’ basemap.

It must be remembered that Garmin units only have a limited amount of internal memory to use for these basemaps. It is no wonder then that the basemaps (especially of South Africa - a relatively small market for Garmin) are so sparse, with very little detail, and are also very inaccurate.

‘Detailed Maps’ on the other hand are highly accurate maps, which drill down to residential street level details of the major towns and cities around the country.

Detailed Southern Africa Streetmaps are included with every map enabled Garmin GPS unit sold by an authorized dealer in South Africa. [Read the rest of this entry...]