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For you guys in the US with cheap cell phone rates I get it's cheaper to just use phone data. For me in Canada I would need to add about $500 annually to my cost to get enough data to use my phone. Updating it every five years or so is way cheaper for me. Plus it's more about updating the points of interests (gas, food, hotels) than it is about the maps.
For you guys in the US with cheap cell phone rates I get it's cheaper to just use phone data. For me in Canada I would need to add about $500 annually to my cost to get enough data to use my phone. Updating it every five years or so is way cheaper for me. Plus it's more about updating the points of interests (gas, food, hotels) than it is about the maps.
You are aware you can cache map data locally on your phone via WiFi before you leave and then navigate away....? Cost = $0
If the data is local on your phone, it will use that, not cell data.
Nice to have a satnav built in to the head unit, but Harley in their usual find-the-cheapest-supplier went to this previously unheard of company in Eastern Europe, instead of a reputable firm like Garmin or Tomtom. Maps are always years out of date, and not worth paying for at all. That's why I still use a Garmin Zumo on my bike, maps updated regularly at no cost.
I updated 2 years ago and could see the difference, more POI's, better visuals on the map, definition wasn't any better but I think that's more a head unit thing than a map thing. And it interacts very well with the SiriusXM Travel Plus package, traffic and weather work very good. I too plan to keep my bike forever so down the road I'll update again. I know, $150 but I keep it in perspective, that's the price of a good night out with Mrs. and friends so.....of course, YMMV!
Last edited by IUOE ROB; Jan 12, 2023 at 08:21 AM.
So how does Garmin keep their maps updated? I doubt they're going around every 3-4 weeks checking for new streets and new POI's. I wonder if they're any more current then the HD maps, ever since HD put the navi systems in the '14's they've always been 2 years behind. I remember when my '14 was new it had 2012 maps. How current could any map-maker be, they can't be mapping out the whole United States every couple of months.
So how does Garmin keep their maps updated? I doubt they're going around every 3-4 weeks checking for new streets and new POI's. I wonder if they're any more current then the HD maps, ever since HD put the navi systems in the '14's they've always been 2 years behind. I remember when my '14 was new it had 2012 maps. How current could any map-maker be, they can't be mapping out the whole United States every couple of months.
Not just the US, most of the world! I don't know how they do it, and I think that the maps are probably 6 months or so behind, but they release two updates a year, free of charge, and new stuff does appear on them. It's their business, so I guess they have teams on it full time.
So how does Garmin keep their maps updated? I doubt they're going around every 3-4 weeks checking for new streets and new POI's. I wonder if they're any more current then the HD maps, ever since HD put the navi systems in the '14's they've always been 2 years behind. I remember when my '14 was new it had 2012 maps. How current could any map-maker be, they can't be mapping out the whole United States every couple of months.
At the local watering hole my towns only surveyor hangs out there. I asked him that question a few years ago. He says in my town of 60,000 people there are 7 survey pins that are guaranteed to be exactly where they are supposed to be. The town posts any new streets to a web service and the GPS companies take it from there. Using satellite images and those pin locations they can triangulate the exact location of the new roads. Pretty space age stuff.
On a side note, a couple years ago one of the golf courses we play changed the order in which you play the holes. I sent a note to the company that made my gps range finder and within a couple hours I got a reply saying they had confirmed the changes and they had also noticed some of the tee boxes had been moved since they mapped that course. They gave me the date that next download would be available which I downloaded and now the gps unit follows the holes in the correct order.
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