Whether to add Weather?
Posted 07-10-2009 at 6:36 PM by Max
Having just returned from a roughly 1800 mile journey on my Motorcycle around the continental United States using some of the best GPS's Garmin has to offer, I still wonder what causes people to make the decisions they do when developing a product.
I actually have 1 question for Garmin regarding the Zumo:
When you made the Zumo 660 series MSN direct compatible...why would you not allow it to have live doppler radar as some of your other newly released units have. I mean it's such a really well put together feature set on the unit, having doppler would only further that awesomeness.
Riding a motorcycle for many is a purist activity. No ceiling or cage around you means no encumberances of your traditional electronic devices. Some consider it a travesty that I have 1 GPS on my bike, let alone 3 and a SPOT messenger.
For those that do have a GPS, ok...we're somewhat techie and we've embraced what technology can do for us. Adding an interactive service like MSN direct is embracing that a good amount more since it means data arriving to the rider that goes beyond only what he sees or hears around him/her.
However, such a service could certainly be more of a feature for many if you had a way to show the people that they simply need this technology option.
Let me explain why I'm perplexed by this, I'll break it down by some of the features.
Send to GPS - Awesome feature, right out of live.com or maps.google.com , you can shoot a waypoint (wirelessly via the internet and MSN direct antennae) onto the GPS. Great feature for when I want to add something and the GPS is not sitting in front of me.
Movie Listings - The likelyhood of me going to a movie on a bike, not so much. I dress for the crash, not the ride...so that means gearing up and down or sitting in a movie theater with my stuff in a seat next to me. Generally, I just avoid doing this.
Stock quotes - Your job may differ, but I can't watch the news or most forms of media without being barraged by these numbers already. I tend to try and unplug from that front while on my bike.
Traffic - Sitting in traffic on a bike is horrible, there is no worse torture. Though many times I try to ride in areas free of traffic and where there are seldom cars...sometimes it cannot be avoided. For those times - it's awesome.
Weather - Cool, I will know the temp where I am and where I am going if I have a destination, but I likely already know at least 1/2 of that information because I am sitting on a motorcycle - in that weather. Clouds on the horizon tell me rain, clouds behind me tell me to speed up.
As you can see...we're about 50/50 here with really useful features. The one I mentioned above is doppler radar. It's not on the list because the enhanced MSN direct feed (which the Zumo does receive as it gets stocks and news info) does not support Doppler Radar on the Zumo 660.
If there were one thing that would get me to crack my wallet open and drop another 200$ or so on a receiver and livetime subscription - it would be the ability to glance at my GPS and see the exact doppler weather pattern for my area. That option however, isn't available.
Just seems weird to me...weird enough that over the past 1800 miles I sat there thinking "why?". Even though I'm not going to ask them, I figure I'll ask those who may happen to read upon this...I'd be interested in feedback.
until next time...keep the expensive side up.
-Max
I actually have 1 question for Garmin regarding the Zumo:
When you made the Zumo 660 series MSN direct compatible...why would you not allow it to have live doppler radar as some of your other newly released units have. I mean it's such a really well put together feature set on the unit, having doppler would only further that awesomeness.
Riding a motorcycle for many is a purist activity. No ceiling or cage around you means no encumberances of your traditional electronic devices. Some consider it a travesty that I have 1 GPS on my bike, let alone 3 and a SPOT messenger.
For those that do have a GPS, ok...we're somewhat techie and we've embraced what technology can do for us. Adding an interactive service like MSN direct is embracing that a good amount more since it means data arriving to the rider that goes beyond only what he sees or hears around him/her.
However, such a service could certainly be more of a feature for many if you had a way to show the people that they simply need this technology option.
Let me explain why I'm perplexed by this, I'll break it down by some of the features.
Send to GPS - Awesome feature, right out of live.com or maps.google.com , you can shoot a waypoint (wirelessly via the internet and MSN direct antennae) onto the GPS. Great feature for when I want to add something and the GPS is not sitting in front of me.
Movie Listings - The likelyhood of me going to a movie on a bike, not so much. I dress for the crash, not the ride...so that means gearing up and down or sitting in a movie theater with my stuff in a seat next to me. Generally, I just avoid doing this.
Stock quotes - Your job may differ, but I can't watch the news or most forms of media without being barraged by these numbers already. I tend to try and unplug from that front while on my bike.
Traffic - Sitting in traffic on a bike is horrible, there is no worse torture. Though many times I try to ride in areas free of traffic and where there are seldom cars...sometimes it cannot be avoided. For those times - it's awesome.
Weather - Cool, I will know the temp where I am and where I am going if I have a destination, but I likely already know at least 1/2 of that information because I am sitting on a motorcycle - in that weather. Clouds on the horizon tell me rain, clouds behind me tell me to speed up.
As you can see...we're about 50/50 here with really useful features. The one I mentioned above is doppler radar. It's not on the list because the enhanced MSN direct feed (which the Zumo does receive as it gets stocks and news info) does not support Doppler Radar on the Zumo 660.
If there were one thing that would get me to crack my wallet open and drop another 200$ or so on a receiver and livetime subscription - it would be the ability to glance at my GPS and see the exact doppler weather pattern for my area. That option however, isn't available.
Just seems weird to me...weird enough that over the past 1800 miles I sat there thinking "why?". Even though I'm not going to ask them, I figure I'll ask those who may happen to read upon this...I'd be interested in feedback.
until next time...keep the expensive side up.
-Max
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