Has Garmin upped their game? Zumo 660 software updates.

[NLC]

As the riding season approached I plugged in my 660 and noticed that:

- Basecamp in now version 3.30. Previous versions of Basecamp looked like it was the unloved child in the Garmin world finished by a summer intern. Buggy. Multiple crashes. Given the market cap of Apple it looks like they have finally put some effort into this. Training videos, menus look cleared. Fingers crossed.

- I stumped up and paid £75 for the map updates. Driving through France last year a lot of the motorways were offroad given some of the changes in the Piege. It now looks like the have a new program call Lifetime Mapupdater which checks if there is a new version and it also downloads it automatically to the computer first. Previous updates were complicated to install with the unlocking.

- Firmware for unit is now 4.50. Previous version of the operating system would turn itself off midways through a route. On long routes with waypoints it would also crash.

Anyone had any pleasant surprises to the updates or I am being too optimistic?

 

[ghiribizzo]

I'm not convinced yet.
Every time an update comes up it says you don't have xyz updater or whatever and you need to download it again. Those versions just build up in the downloads as .1, .2 etc.
Well, updated.
Maps were updated a while back on mine but as always in the UK the fuel stations are still mixed in with convenience stores. Nice they are putting effort into that, not.
You'll find that the updater icon will disappear if the Mac is restarted. Then, of course, it'll need to be re-installed...
I'd like to see someone from Garmin actually deal with this crap on a normal machine like we do. Seems to be a real lack of understanding of what happens in the real world.
I'm still unconvinced why the f... we'd use base Camp or Road Trip. I tend to just send points of interest from google maps into the unit and make up stuff when in that foreign country.

 

[ebbo]

Me and Garmin go back a long way, it was good at first, now I don't think Garmin give a fig really.

 

[ghiribizzo]

Ebbo - I have to agree. Had a GPSIII, Quest, Fortrex, have a Zumo and in the car a Nuvi.
Why is it that the same maps have to be downloaded twice - once for each unit?
But I guess TomTom would need to come up with a head up display or summat radical to make me switch at the moment.

 

[stolzy]

I sincerely hope this is true, however, Garmin products generally seem to be made to the minimum spec they can get away from to get past the warranty.

Seems to me an are where a bit of serious completion wouldn't be amiss

 

[casperghst42]

I still miss my 2610 which actually worked, since then a Zumo 500, 600... the 500 was fairly ok, didn't do much, but at least it would send me to silly places. The 600 is a whole new adventure, it got a mind by it self. It will send me through a town instead of using the ring road... madness...

Garmin could do something with the software, it hardly can't get worse

Casper

 

[cookie]

Me and Garmin go back a long way, it was good at first, now I don't think Garmin give a fig really.

I agree. I was only thinking this morning, I'd now be very happy to switch away from the half arsed garmin crap we get nowadays.
Never thought I'd say that.

 

[ghiribizzo]

Good point Casper - so many times using the same mapping in the car with the Nuvi; it perhaps shows a route I feel is not the best and when it has recalculated the 'new' route it shows an eta of maybe 2-3 minutes less than the route it previously selected.

 

[Bumpkin]

so many times using the same mapping in the car with the Nuvi; it perhaps shows a route I feel is not the best and when it has recalculated the 'new' route it shows an eta of maybe 2-3 minutes less than the route it previously selected.

To be fair I don't think that any sat nav can come up with the ideal route as there are just too many considerations to take into account, it has a good stab at it though and over unfamiliar ground what difference does a couple of minutes make. Local knowledge is almost always invariably better.

Does your Nuvi have traffic? That might explain the ETA reduction Again, it can't consider every conceivable route to a destination considering the limited processing power, a change in location, even a slight one, may bring up other possibilities. I think you're expecting too much of the technology.

 

[throbbing gristle]

zumo 660 virgin needs help

hi fellow tossers,just purchased the zumo 660,doing europe in june with fellow tosser wideparting &our wives.but in april of next year,wideparting &i,are doing morocco.will the 660 suffice enough to cover our morocco trip,or will i have to down load the map,& if so.what is the best method.cheers.the 660 virgin.

 

[ghiribizzo]

@Bumpkin - yes, both the Nuvi and Zumo have traffic but that is only a joy to see working in Holland... Rural Fife? Nah - it never lights up. Expecting too much? I dunno. I thought it was cutting edge!

 

[casperghst42]

I still miss my 2610 which actually worked, since then a Zumo 500, 600... the 500 was fairly ok, didn't do much, but at least it would send me to silly places. The 600 is a whole new adventure, it got a mind by it self. It will send me through a town instead of using the ring road... madness...

Garmin could do something with the software, it hardly can't get worse

Casper

Another thing with the "routing"... I noticed once again passing Paris.. the bloody GPS wants to take me through Paris not around... Saw it the 500 also, but never with the 2610. Luckily there are signs with "Lille", otherwise it could cause some interesting moments.

Casper