Garmin GPS - 2720 POI is a POS

Author

2720 POI is a POS

Rather Play Pinball

2005-09-25, 5:48 pm

Well, I've about had enough of this poorly devised product. Wish I hadn't
sold my 2620 so fast. More bugs abound.

Sent in 3 bugs to Garmin. They acted surprised. Upgraded to v2.60 software
just now. Still has bugs. For example: if you're in the "normal" 3D mode,
you can touch the right hand side of the screen to instantly switch to the
trip computer screen. If you switch to "thin" or "wide" view, touching the
right hand side does nothing... hello! Ever hear of consistency?

Don't get me stared on Points of Interest. I have followed their help file,
checked, rechecked, and fricking rechecked a million times on my
coordinates. Have gone to popular GPS web conversion sites to convert my
GPS coordinates to the required decimal coordinates. All web sites repeat
the same values. Upload the POIs with the Garmin loader. Set the 2720 to
alert proximity if you get within 3000' of the POI. Does the little XXXXX
say a thing when I get near the POI? Hell no.

Garmin, please, don't let high-school co-ops do your programming! Please
get REAL programmers to do the coding. You pay $800 for this POS and it is
a step backwards from prior products.

Okay, rant done.

<growl> <piss> <moan>

Howard

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

OK, your problems were a little more esoteric than mine. Half the time when
I turned on my 2720, it refused to lock on to satellites. When it did, it
sent me on poorly designed trips. It would have me go an hour for a half
hour trip. If I hadn't previously had a 2610, which was wonderful, I would
probably swear off GPS technology. I got rid of my old one too.

I called up Garmin. I said "what's the deal." They did not seem overly
surprised. Apparently there is some kind of Operating System problem on
some units. I'm guessing the problem is on some of the first ones made.
Probably some kind of race condition in the control logic. The upgrade to
v2.60 did not help. (I used to write Operating Systems.)

They said "send it in, we'll send you a knew one. You'll have it within a
week of when we receive yours." I have to admit, I've become addicted to
the GPS. It's nice never getting lost. I can deal with a little
inconsistency in controls. At this point, I'm waiting, I'll post what
happens. I'm looking forward to a GPS that works, albeit, with a little
inconsistency.

I ran into a number of issues with my 2720 that concerned me. They were all
overtaken by events once I realized that it didn't route me properly. I
tried the 3D mode a number of times and finally decided it doesn't give you
a good picture of where you are relative to your surroundings. You can
still touch the right hand side of the screen to instantly switch to the
trip computer screen which is cool. I haven't tried the "thin" or "wide"
view. I never noticed them on the menus. I keep my GPS below the level of
the dash board which receives less light than it would on top. It receives
satellites down there even better than my 2610 did. As a result of being
down low, the screen gets brighter and dimmer depending on how the sun hits
my car. The 2610 permitted me to bias the display a little brighter so it
never got so dim I could not see it. Not so with the 2720. Either it is
auto i.e., no human control, or manual.

I do like the new display though. Some features are more difficult, and
some are easier. For example, if you run into traffic on the road, it is
quicker and easier to set up a detour. I expect that with the POIs,
somebody will find out how they work (if they work) and they will be
available as a download for each area on the web. I get the impression,
Garmin doesn't want to be in the map making business -- just the map selling
business.

Howard

"Rather Play Pinball" <abc@def.net> wrote in message
news:qwxZe.14468$L45.9714@fe07.lga...
>
> Well, I've about had enough of this poorly devised product. Wish I hadn't
> sold my 2620 so fast. More bugs abound.
>
> Sent in 3 bugs to Garmin. They acted surprised. Upgraded to v2.60
> software
> just now. Still has bugs. For example: if you're in the "normal" 3D
> mode,
> you can touch the right hand side of the screen to instantly switch to the
> trip computer screen. If you switch to "thin" or "wide" view, touching
> the
> right hand side does nothing... hello! Ever hear of consistency?
>
> Don't get me stared on Points of Interest. I have followed their help
> file,
> checked, rechecked, and fricking rechecked a million times on my
> coordinates. Have gone to popular GPS web conversion sites to convert my
> GPS coordinates to the required decimal coordinates. All web sites repeat
> the same values. Upload the POIs with the Garmin loader. Set the 2720 to
> alert proximity if you get within 3000' of the POI. Does the little XXXXX
> say a thing when I get near the POI? Hell no.
>
> Garmin, please, don't let high-school co-ops do your programming! Please
> get REAL programmers to do the coding. You pay $800 for this POS and it
> is
> a step backwards from prior products.
>
> Okay, rant done.
>
> <growl> <piss> <moan>
>
>
>

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