shosho71

Make this simple:

#1. There website is deceptive, example: Magellan 2500T says you can buy a "most up-to-date map with new points of interest" for 80.00....guess what people...the "uptodate"...its for 2006...they no longer support or make map up dates for the 2500T crossover. BUT they will gladly keep selling what they call "uptodate".

A. They make no mention or disclaimer when u go to buy it that its
only for 2006 and they make no mention that its no longer
supported.
B. Before buying there "uptodates" call them to clarify what the
actual date is of the "update".

#2. Look at this link at discontinued support: Magellan GPS

A. This is a HUGE list of there GPS's they no longer provide updates
or new maps.
B. It is also DECEPTIVE, look at 2500t Crossover: it says it stopped
supporting in 2008....which is FALSE, the last map they fixed was
in 2008 but it was just a mountain dynamics map....NOT an actual
ROAD MAP UPDATE which is BADLY NEEDED and last updated in
2006.

I love my CROSSOVER 2500T but this just SHOCKED me to find that they stopped providing updates to their maps for this item....matter of fact if you look at the GPS's they stop supporting them after about 3 years of producing them.

That is like MICROSOFT selling Windows XP and after 3 years telling people they will no longer provide fixes or updates.......as all of u know that is not the case....they have produced 2 newer versions of windows and STILL provide fixes and updates....THAT is taking care of your customers...MAGELLAN NEEDS TO LEARN A LESSON!!! STOP BUYING FROM THEM!!!!

They discontinued the 2500T and in my eyes they have nothing that compares to it. The 2500T was waterproof and you could take it hiking with topography maps/waypoints etc. Then you could take it on the road and it had voice control.
There big sell is the TRITON.....big deal, flashlight, camera...and at 2mega pixels...pathetic....that is the selling point....no voice control......
In my eyes they downgraded

My opinion.....you want a good GPS find it from GARMIN
my friend bought the 60csx the same time I did and they still support it. I dont think its as nice as mine but at least they are still providing him with map updates.

AGAIN DO NOT BUY FROM MAGELLAN...IT WILL BE OBSOLETE AND USELESS IN LESS THAN 3 YEARS!!!!!!

shosho71

UPDATE:
All I gotta say is talk with Raphel Finelli.....incredible REP for Magellan...went above and beyond customer support and service....all I can say is this man saved the day for Magellan and they should give him a raise. He was down to earth and tried to help me as best as possible.
Prior to that, the customer service people that I spoke with were GENERIC AND SCRIPTED CALLS. Finelli saved the day!!! thank you.
Magellan Upper Management, perhaps U guys need to have this guy train your customer support and services.

spokybob

Thanks for the link. I asked Magellan for an update in August 2008 for my Explorist 600. They said no updates available. And now?? Oh well.
I like it so well that I bought another one on Ebay. The detail Maps I created and saved on my PC, would not work on the new unit. I backed up all the files, then registered the new unit. I created new detail maps.
It seemed like a pain, but it is workable.

shosho71

Yes, yours (explorist 600) is obsolete as of May 2008...they no longer support it.
Do you love how the link is called "legacy products"...kind of deceptive in itself...once u click on it, it then calls it obsolete products lol.
Did u say you made your own map update? If so, how? I would love to try for my 2500T.

spokybob

You may not be familiar with the Explorist and the MapSend DirectRoute software. The details are compressed. On the PC you select an area, usually about 3 or 4 states. That region is then processed into detail maps.The detail maps are no larger than 125kb. I download the detail maps onto my SD card with a reader. I have no idea if that would work with your unit.

shosho71

huh, might have to try that...Iam pretty sure I have a slot for an sd card....thanks for the info

fastnsmooth

shosho,

I understand your frustration, but I think your subject line is too harsh, and, in light of your subsequent post about a successful customer service experience, it could be construed as misleading, although I know that was not your intent.

Like many corporations making consumer products, it appears that Magellan suffers from poor communication. My issue was a manual for my RoadMate 1400 which stated that the SD card slot was on the left side of the unit. Not so; the slot is in the bottom and is hidden by what appears to be a permanent seal, a rubber piece glued to the device. I searched all over the support website, nothing. When I called customer service and reached Michelle, she sounded like a zombie initially, because she was reading from the extremely poorly written script, with the numerous assurances that she was working to resolve the problem and achieve my complete satisfaction. She did listen to me, however, and quickly located the information that the rubber cover is over the SD card slot and is meant to be removed. Note to management: the decision to end every sentence in the script with a repeated assurance that you are working for the customer's complete satisfaction, solution to the problem, etc. is wrong, possibly idiotic. Say it once at the beginning, then let the actions of the service rep prove that you mean it. The way most scripts read is insulting to the customer's intelligence. Shosho71's comment that Ralph and other customer service reps might be asked to give their input to training is a good one. Reduce scripting, train the reps well and turn them loose; a simple change which will improve Magellan's reputation, which would only increase sales. The call to service would not have been necessary, of course, if accurate and more complete information about the card slot location and glued on cover was in the manual and/or in the online support topics. No nasty intent by Magellan, I'm certain, but an example of the poor communications that drive customers to frustration and anger.

Final comments: "legacy products" is a common term for products formerly sold and now receiving limited or no support. Magellan's map updates that I have seen on their website do list the date of release as part of their description. I have decided not to purchase the latest, Spring 2009, as it is already nearly a year old. I'll probably get the next one when it comes out. BTW, Garmin charges $70. for their map updates. A bit less, but not enough to make a difference.

rugerkahr

Actually, on Amazon.com, you can find LIFETIME Garmin map updates for $79. A FAR cry from the $70 per each update they used to charge. Even direct from Garmin, it's $120, which is considerably more, but still a great deal. Just two updates and you're ahead of the game. The lifetime nuMaps are locked to a single GPS unit, but you can update for as long as you have it. They are now releasing four updates a year based on 2009, which was the first full year it was offered.

And, Garmin DOES support their legacy products. My Nüvi and my wife's Street Pilot have been LONG discontinued...as in years ago, but all the newest maps work just fine. In fact, Garmin just released a firmware update for the Nüvi 600 series. Nice to see them still supporting the older units. The same City Navigator auto/road routing maps even work on the Garmin hand helds like my 60CSx.

I have a Magellan SporTrak Pro, which is a hand held, hiking type GPS and it's been a good unit, but very long in the tooth these days. I've never looked into updating anything on it...glad I didn't.

I think I'll stick with Garmin from now on.

shosho71

And that is my exact point about Magellan. They discontinue map updates after a certain period of time. I stick by my analogy in my original thread about comparing it with Windows XP.....a GPS is usless if u cant get map updates.
The fact that Garmin provides this service of lifetime map updates on all legacy GPS's is something Magellan needs to consider. I know a map update can be expesive but sometimes (like me) you find a product that you dont want to give up. My 2500T is perfect for the stuff that I like to do and Magellan doesn't make anything like it as of today. It works, it does a great job....why would I want to throw it away?
I dont know if I mentioned it, but I did also find out that Magellan outsources the map updates...so they are at the mercy of the company that makes the map updates.

rugerkahr

Well, the Garmin map thing is great...for now... There's nothing saying they can't change the proprietary way the maps are encoded so they wouldn't work with older units. They also say it's for only as long as they continue to do business with Navteq. The current City Navigator could become a different format and/or from "someone else" and they very well might not work. The key thing to watch is the very newest Garmin units which ARE still using the City Navigator map format. When that changes? The writing is on the wall...

I completely understand. Both of our car Garmins are older units. They work excellently and I see no reason to upgrade BECAUSE the new map updates are compatible (hope Garmin doesn't see this... ). A LOT of people have had trouble with the Nüvi lineup since the 600 series. I've read that many still consider the 600 series the best (i.e. most reliable) of the lineup. That's precisely the reason when I bought a new hand held GPS this year (Garmin 60CSx), I went with the slightly older technology because it was "tried and true". The Colorado and Oregon units were having all sorts of problems at the time. Again, many still consider the 60/76 series of Garmin handhelds as the "gold standard" to which newer units from all manufacturers are compared. And, it was a lot cheaper!

This goes for all GPS manufacturers. As of date, no GPS manufacturer goes out there and collects the data for roads, POIs, etc. The ALL get it from an outside source and then encode that cartography data into a proprietary map format. The predominant sources are Navteq and TeleAtlas. Garmin and Tom Tom had a thing going where they were both trying to buy TeleAtlas, but that fell through. I think Nokia ended up with it.

shosho71

Rugerkahr..one thing I will say...old school Magellan 2500T has one thing your 60csx doesn't.....voice commands for navigation on the road

rugerkahr

I have a great "old school" Nüvi for that with full text-to-speech...with the LATEST map update.

As a backup, my "old school" 60CSx will also get me where I want to go with that SAME 2010.30 map update. But, I really don't ever use it for road navigation and I do NOT want a talking GPS in the great outdoors...

shosho71

Yes, it speaks street names. It acts just like a regular Road GPS. Then it has waypoints, campsite markers, topography maps, also does sea navigation. I like it especially for the Mountains....they give details for campsites etc....of course had to pay for that one 100.00.
Now if I could just figure out a wayyyy to stop time and stop any more roads from being built....my GPS would be greeeaat

rugerkahr

Lumberg?

shosho71

I told him if he took my stapppler I would burn the building down!

rugerkahr

Gotta love Milton. I figured that's who you were referencing...the boss. "Office Space"...great movie!

rugerkahr

Hey, does your Magellan use "normal" batteries like AAs or does it have an internal non-removable (like my Nüvi) or "swappable" proprietary rechargeable battery pack?

shosho71

internal batteries rechargeable......no problems with as of yet...
6-8 hours of power......and yes, one purchase was a solar recharger that I install on my backpack to recharge.
One thing....it has a feature in which u can shut the screen off and the battery will last even longer....gps still runs but u click a button and you can see distance and where u have been traveling and it records it.

rugerkahr

Can that internal battery be replaced? I ask because the one in my Nüvi is about shot and can't be done by the "normal" user who isn't willing to crack it open. I currently only get about an hour on a charge, but it's no big deal since it's solely a car GPS for my use and on the charger 99% of the time. It's fine for leaving it on during quick gas/bathroom type stops so I don't have to wait for it to start up again, not like that's any big deal, though...

ANY sort of internal or company proprietary battery would be an absolute deal breaker (FOR ME) with any GPS for primary use in the outdoors. Perhaps it was because I was a Navy pilot and flew/operated/deployed around the world, but I always want an easily available, cheap power source I can find ANYWHERE, including the ship's store while at sea. AA batteries fit the bill quite nicely.

I know you said you have a solar charger and that's a really cool solution to keep your Magellan going since 6-8 hours "in the wild" isn't very much at all. I wouldn't mind getting one myself to charge AAs and other types of batteries. But, I don't see myself "getting lost" in the woods for a month or two anymore these days. Too fargin' old...

My 60CSx can run 18+ hours constantly on a set of rechargeable AAs and I've gotten much longer than that. I've seen 23+ hours on a rechargeable 2600 mAh set of batteries. I keep two spare sets of charged AAs (which weigh nothing) in the same case as the GPS. I could get a looooong time of use with my GPS if I watch the battery consumption. It definitely does not have to be on all the time. Just a few minutes every now and then to get a fix, check the map, shoot a bearing if needed (with magnetic compass) and then turn it off. I could probably navigate for months on 3 sets of AAs using it that way and not leaving it on to record a "bread crumb" type trail or anything. If I needed to, I could probably get a week+ of fairly heavy use.