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Garmin wants $70 for a… map!?

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Jeremy Toeman

Let me open by saying I think my Nuvi 350 is one of my favorite devices.  While there are a few improvements I could point out, for the most part it works very intuitively and reliably.  With the exception of the one time I was trying to find a Dairy Queen (Blizzard? hells yes.) and I ended up outside of someone’s house while hearing “you have arrived.”  And the guy didn’t even have ice cream.  Fail.

Today I received the following email from Garmin:

Garmin is pleased to announce the new Map Update 2009 for North America. For the most up-to-date maps and navigation on your portable Garmin GPS unit, this is the software you want. This $69.99 update offers full coverage for the U.S, Canada and Puerto Rico – making it easy and convenient to update the detailed maps and latest points of interest into your compatible Garmin unit.

The update includes:

  • Over 8 million miles of road coverage
  • Updated, fully routable, detailed maps for the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico
  • Nearly 6 million points of interest
  • Postal code support for Canada

Purchase the Map Update 2009 today!

Now I’m sure Garmin is paying someone (Navteq?) for their maps & data, and have costs to recoup.  I have no problem with paying for an update, if the price is right.  And maybe back 10 years ago $70 was a fair price, but today it isn’t.  The Internet has effectively trashed the value of data to consumers, and price points need to reflect that changed mentality.

As I write this, the Nuvi 350 is $203 on Amazon, meaning new updates are over 1/3 the price of the hardware.  Whereas going to Google Maps is free, always.  Granted, my Nuvi is more convenient than printing maps, and I am willing to pay something.  How about $9.99?  Or maybe $19.99?  Those seem like a “fair” price to pay for a map update.

There’s simply no way in the current market to accept $69.99 as a fair market value for a map update. Especially in context of a certain new phone that’s going to cause even more issues for a slowly failing GPS market.

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5 thoughts on “Garmin wants $70 for a… map!?”

  1. tivoboy says:
    June 16, 2008 at 5:57 am

    Howdy!

    Wow, I hadn’t noticed they had LOWERED it to 69$, from 99$ or 119$ which is where it was a few years ago. I know Garmin is hurtin (stock down about, oh, 70% this year alone) but maybe they need some cash flow.

    that said, FMV and RMV (a tivoboy term) are differant. I think that FAIR MARKET VALUE is reasonably 69$, at least. You’re right, there is a royalty and data fees to NVT, but there is also configuration, integration, software dev, distribution, marketing, etc. You know this as well as anyone. RMV, RELATIVE MARKET VALUE is much lower, since there are alternatives in the marketplace. But, there is NO alternative for THIS SOLUTION (okay, you could hack it and load some alternative OS or warez data) so the FMV value is the only one you can use. Granted, I think one of the clear reasons to keep the price stable for the SW/DATA updates is to drive business to NEW PURCHASES. Which, in this case might seem to be working.

    Reply
  2. Jeremy Toeman says:
    June 16, 2008 at 6:19 am

    Good observation. I guess the way I look at it is that $70 could either go to update my Nuvi, or be 1/3 the price of a new device, which MIGHT NOT be a Nuvi… In subscribing to the “open is beating closed” theory, the argument would be Garmin should find a way to encourage usage of new maps, as opposed to what feels like price-gouging to me…

    Reply
  3. sparky42 says:
    June 16, 2008 at 6:41 am

    Garmin offers one free map update with the nuvi line. Just call them. Complain in a year.

    Reply
  4. Ed Kohler says:
    June 16, 2008 at 7:40 am

    They have to figure out how to make updates close to real-time rather than holding back changes until they have enough to justify $70. A subscription service makes so much more sense.

    Reply
  5. Chris says:
    June 16, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    I just picked up a $150 tomtom this past weekend. They do one free update within 30 days of purchase so that you have the newest maps. After that it is $99 for North America and Canada maps. At that price I figure a year from now I’ll just pickup the upgraded cheap-o model that includes free maps and sell the outdated one I just bought on eBay.

    You can still get good value for a GPS on eBay. I sold a 5 year old Garmin (old school) for $75 last week to put toward the purchase of the $150 tomtom.

    Reply

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Jeremy Toeman is a seasoned Product leader with over 20 years experience in the convergence of digital media, mobile entertainment, social entertainment, smart TV and consumer technology. Prior ventures and projects include CNET, Viggle/Dijit/Nextguide, Sling Media, VUDU, Clicker, DivX, Rovi, Mediabolic, Boxee, and many other consumer technology companies. This blog represents his personal opinion and outlook on things.

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