Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

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Thomas M
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Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by Thomas M » March 18th, 2017, 1:21 pm

I haven't look at the support websites for some time. I use a Delorme PN-60. I have been aware that Garmin had purchased Delorme. So they have totally wiped out any support for the old Delorme units. Very cut-throat business practice IMO. I'm not surprised and in fact I chose Delorme because I thought it was a "freindlier" company customer service-wise.

I'm experienced enough with my GPSr so that it's not that big of a deal. However, it would still be nice to contact a users group that supports the Delorme units. After searching the net, I get the feeling that Garmin has used its copyright privilege to not allow usage of any of the Delorme names on any websites except its own. So no one can say that they are a "Delorme" group or use the names of any of the old Delorme products without infringing on copyright. That's just my guess.

Does anyone have any information on any Delorme support groups??? Any contact information with members of the Delorme community might be helpful. Thanks.

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RobFromRedland
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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by RobFromRedland » March 19th, 2017, 6:57 am

Wow - I had heard that Garmin bought Delorme but didn't realize they were really erasing the Delorme brand from existence. I have been interested in their 2 way communicator (but never bought it due to cost). Looks like Garmin has now appropriated that and the Delorme models are now discontinued. You can buy any remaining stock and I would assume they would still work, but the old ones are gone.

Anyway, I did a bit of searching and found this post on the garmin site about the "transition":

https://forums.garmin.com/archive/index ... 66822.html

Which sounds a lot like what you found, however there was a reference to this personal wiki:

http://www.gps-wiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

Not sure if that helps a lot or not, but.... I just find it sad that Garmin is really the only game in town now for GPSs. Maybe the GPS capabilities on phones will keep them honest. Lack of competition is never a good thing for consumers.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a ride! - Hunter S. Thompson

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retired jerry
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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by retired jerry » March 19th, 2017, 8:35 am

Smartphones are almost as good GPS. Plus, they have phone, camera, FM radio, MP3 player, better display,... and weigh less - 1/2 pound. The individual boxes for all those functions weigh maybe 2 pounds?

Garmin has a business model that's doomed.

Car GPSes are probably a better product and a bigger market so Garmin won't die.

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Thomas M
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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by Thomas M » March 19th, 2017, 1:28 pm

retired jerry wrote:Garmin has a business model that's doomed.
Couldn't happen to a nicer company. The corporate creeps !!!

There was a huge knowledge base in the Delorme community forums. Garmin destroyed all of that.
You know they could have phased it out over a longer period giving due warning to Delorme users.
And, yes, maybe they will just dump the GPS business as a losing market for them. Then what will happen in "Garmin country"??

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forester
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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by forester » March 19th, 2017, 4:37 pm

retired jerry wrote:Smartphones are almost as good GPS. Plus, they have phone, camera, FM radio, MP3 player, better display,... and weigh less - 1/2 pound. The individual boxes for all those functions weigh maybe 2 pounds?

Garmin has a business model that's doomed.

Car GPSes are probably a better product and a bigger market so Garmin won't die.
I think the opposite is true. Smartphones also burn through their batteries really fast while tracking GPS tracks last I tried. I can't imagine a cell phone battery would last long while tracking, navigating, and taking pictures.

Car GPS, on the other hand, is a doomed market. Google Maps is a good product for free, and it's usable on your phone while it's plugged in. There is no chance I'll ever buy a car GPS again.

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RobFromRedland
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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by RobFromRedland » March 19th, 2017, 6:22 pm

forester wrote: I think the opposite is true. Smartphones also burn through their batteries really fast while tracking GPS tracks last I tried. I can't imagine a cell phone battery would last long while tracking, navigating, and taking pictures.

Car GPS, on the other hand, is a doomed market. Google Maps is a good product for free, and it's usable on your phone while it's plugged in. There is no chance I'll ever buy a car GPS again.
I do it all the time. I bring along an external battery to charge my phone. I've successfully done this for 5 day backpacking trips, while using my phone for GPS and taking photos (and sometimes video). At this point, I'm not going to spend $400 or more on a dedicated GPS unit when my phone works sufficiently well and is multi purpose. The external battery resolves that issue for me.

I agree about the car GPS, though. Maybe Garmin will keep alive in the other markets they do (marine and aircraft?)
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a ride! - Hunter S. Thompson

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Guy
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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by Guy » March 19th, 2017, 8:20 pm

forester wrote: I think the opposite is true. Smartphones also burn through their batteries really fast while tracking GPS tracks last I tried. I can't imagine a cell phone battery would last long while tracking, navigating, and taking pictures.
Hey forester just in case you are not aware of this if you put your phone in airplane mode the GPS still works and you can download maps. I can finish a long day hike with my Galaxy 7 with only 30% of power used.

That being said I still use my Garmin most of the time but if it breaks I'm not sure I'll replace it.
hiking log & photos.
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adamschneider
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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by adamschneider » March 19th, 2017, 8:46 pm

GPS units will always have an audience, because they do their job better than smartphones do. (I've done comparisons of phone GPS tracks with "real" GPS tracks, and there's no contest, especially in the woods.) The same is true of cameras. Some people will choose to have one device that does everything (and it really makes sense for, say, ultralight backpackers), but I prefer purpose-built tools.

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RobFromRedland
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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by RobFromRedland » March 20th, 2017, 5:06 am

adamschneider wrote:GPS units will always have an audience, because they do their job better than smartphones do. (I've done comparisons of phone GPS tracks with "real" GPS tracks, and there's no contest, especially in the woods.)
This is interesting, because I also have compared tracks from my phone to my Garmin 60csx, and found them to be comparable. Maybe I'm not as particular. What I did see was variations in places, but what I believe were small variations in different places (the phone was correct in one spot, the GPS in another). Most of the tracks matched up very well. And these were tracks in heavy cover and/or canyons. It was at that point I quit using my 60csx most of the time to save space and weight.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a ride! - Hunter S. Thompson

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Re: Delorme Support Websites Pulled by Garmin??

Post by Lurch » March 20th, 2017, 7:32 am

We're a long ways off before you'll see an actual rejection on handheld GPS units and replacement with cellphones. They can certainly work in a pinch, or a budget, but putting all your eggs in a digital swiss army knife rarely works out as planned when you need it to.

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