New Garmin Zumo XT Review - Updated

Shawn K said:
While I agree with you in principle, I think the slippery slope is at the definitions of 'improve" and "primary function".

You may believe that "improve" means "increasing the quality of the execution of pre-existing functions". The R&D department may define it as "increasing the number of included functions that the customer demands, so long as the execution is 'good enough'". So it's a quality vs. quantity debate.

You may define "primary function" as "A to B navigation with zero errors forever". Another person may define it as "self-contained information/ navigation/ entertainment hub that will get you there one way or another".

(I'm not singling you out individually, Steve. I'm just using your words as a point for illustration.)

I don't envy anyone who has to design navigation software. The average consumer demands perfection (defined as "I want it to behave exactly the way I EXPECT it to behave"), but no two customers expect the same thing. So no matter what you do as a manufacturer, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
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Agree to disagree. My 550 and 660 don't have NEARLY the amount of weird routing errors that my 595 has. Again, it would be one thing if the 595 had LESS weird routing than older models. But in my thousands of miles of experience it has MORE! That's a step backwards in the basic functionality of a GPS devices' primary function - to route from A to B.

If you asked 100 people if they thought it was acceptable for a stand alone GPS device to route you from Philadelphia to Baltimore, by way of Harrisburg, not a single person would say yes.
 
If your GPS is routing you from Philly to B-more via Harrisburg your GPS’s problem is bigger than the idiosyncratic routing being discussed here.
 
Sadly, I'm guessing all this is going to be moot before too long. The golden age of consumer GPS is gone as smart phones have taken probably 95% of that market with a free app on a phone you were already paying for. I recently tossed out 2 TomToms that had been riding in the glove boxes of my wife and daughter's cars the last 5 years after having a commanding presence on the dash the previous 5 - and I wasn't even remotely tempted to replace them (they really messed up with that whole date thing).

How manufacturers can continue to design and innovate on such a vastly shrinking market is practically impossible. TomTom will be gone in 5 years. Garmin will be surviving on their watches and may keep making GPSs but that's not where their focus will be. The trucking industry will be driving things and it won't be cheap as they'll move to an "Enterprise" solution - which stands for outrageously expensive software designed for businesses.
 
Factor said:
Sadly, I'm guessing all this is going to be moot before too long. The golden age of consumer GPS is gone as smart phones have taken probably 95% of that market with a free app on a phone you were already paying for.
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For use in a car, yes, I agree. I ditched the two other car-Garmin units I had as Google Maps is so easy to use in a cage. My recent trip though convinced me there is still a place for a GPS on a motorcycle. In fact, the Garmin is better and more functional on a bike that a phone is.

The single feature that leads me to this is how well it works with gloves on. When I was using my phone for bike navigation (which means over the last three 1/2 years), even with smartphone-compatible gloves on, it was always a chore to interact with the screen, even when stopped, as the "buttons" are usually really small. On the Garmin, the "target" you need to hit is much larger and the technology in use (pressure sensing rather than capacitive) doesn't depend on skin contact, so typing out an address, switching to a weather radar overlay, skipping songs, and checking trip-computer type functions are totally doable without having to remove my gloves. I would not do any typing on the move of course, but I could do simple interactions while riding, with my gloves on, without compromising safely (on highways or non-twisty roads with no traffic). With a smartphone? Forget it, that would be a death wish.

Besides, I put huge stock in keeping my cell phone on my person so that if I get, eh, "involuntarily separated" from my bike, I will have my safety line handy. Dragging oneself across the ground with a broken femur I hear is quite painful...
 
Pappy35 said:
On the Garmin, the "target" you need to hit is much larger and the technology in use (pressure sensing rather than capacitive) doesn't depend on skin contact
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That was the case with Garmin's Zumo series until the 396 was dropped in favor of the Zumo XT. For some reason, people had it in their heads that they needed an ultra-high resolution display on their nav units, and the only way for Garmin to achieve that was with capacitive touchscreens (like a cell phone). So the XT was released with a high-res capacitive touchscreen, just like everyone clamored for.

Then, lo and behold, people started complaining about "ghost touches", problems with gloved operation, and problems in the rain. All of which were perfectly predictable by people who had a modicum of understanding of how touchscreen technologies operate in the first place.

So Garmin is damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

The land-based navigation market is small potatoes for them anyway. There's way more money to be made by them in aviation and maritime navigation.

I think half the time, people think they want or "need" something for no other reason than it exists, with no real understanding of what it is they want.
 
problems with gloved operation

Most definitely in my case. Rain drops etc., are not a problem I've had with mine but I have to remove a glove if I intend to make an adjustment on the XT. I can live with that but it does become a bother at times. Since I also run a Nav V, I can make those changes on the Nav and be just fine but it is a nuisance I could ride better without.
 
Shawn K said:
That was the case with Garmin's Zumo series until the 396 was dropped in favor of the Zumo XT. For some reason, people had it in their heads that they needed an ultra-high resolution display on their nav units, and the only way for Garmin to achieve that was with capacitive touchscreens (like a cell phone). So the XT was released with a high-res capacitive touchscreen, just like everyone clamored for.

Then, lo and behold, people started complaining about "ghost touches", problems with gloved operation, and problems in the rain. All of which were perfectly predictable by people who had a modicum of understanding of how touchscreen technologies operate in the first place.

So Garmin is damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

The land-based navigation market is small potatoes for them anyway. There's way more money to be made by them in aviation and maritime navigation.

I think half the time, people think they want or "need" something for no other reason than it exists, with no real understanding of what it is they want.
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I think it's more people wanted a screen we could see in the sunlight and less a high res screen. The screen on the 396/595 are basically garbage.
 
Marc11 said:
I think it's more people wanted a screen we could see in the sunlight and less a high res screen. The screen on the 396/595 are basically garbage.
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You're a much more educated consumer with much more specific, quantifiable needs. For years, I watched various forums where the basic sentiment was, "It's ridiculous that Garmin uses low-res screens when my smartphone has such high resolution!"

I would always shake my head and think "Be careful what you wish for".

Most people, in my opinion, simply want more more more, for no other reason than it's more.

I agree that I wish that the screen was brighter, but angling it downward to the point that it wasn't reflecting the sky behind me made a big difference for me. Give me a few more years, though, and I might feel differently.

I'd hate to be a tech manufacturer like Garmin.
 
Stephen! said:
I think we should go back to raw Lat/Lon data displayed on Nixie Tubes. That would show those kids these days... :p
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Nixie tubes?! Why you kids and your fancy electronics... in my day, we used a sextant and the stars to navigate!
 
Technology is the same in every venue. 6 speed transmissions were all the desired hubub on the FJR. Until they got it and realized none of them wanted what they got. Most people don't know how to vocalize what they really want, and 90% of the time don't need what they are clamoring for and don't understand why they don't need it or want it.

Oh, on topic, how many would rather have buttons on the left side of the box instead of touch screens for their GPS? I don't want gimmicky touch screens on anything. They will probably die out when people start screaming for voice recognition on moto gps units. My nuvi 2589 already has that. No idea if it works or not and likely never will, but time will tell.
 
EricV said:
Technology is the same in every venue. 6 speed transmissions were all the desired hubub on the FJR. Until they got it and realized none of them wanted what they got. Most people don't know how to vocalize what they really want, and 90% of the time don't need what they are clamoring for and don't understand why they don't need it or want it.

Oh, on topic, how many would rather have buttons on the left side of the box instead of touch screens for their GPS? I don't want gimmicky touch screens on anything. They will probably die out when people start screaming for voice recognition on moto gps units. My nuvi 2589 already has that. No idea if it works or not and likely never will, but time will tell.
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I wouldn't mind hard buttons for a couple of actions, especially if they were user/screen definable.
 
You're right, I've heard that before. It's a replica of the lifeboat sextants from the Titanic. It was a gift from a very close friend many years ago. I keep it on my desk as a remembrance of one Mr. Chuck Gosney. And yes, if I need to, I do know how to use it. Probably should start carrying it on the bike... :eek:
 
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