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Garmin Dakota?


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Saw this at : http://www.gpsreview.net/garmin-dakota/

 

garmin-dakota.jpg

 

"There are strong indications that Garmin will soon add a new series to their handheld GPS lineup. Bass Pro Shops was displaying a page for a product called the “Garmin Dakota 20; with an associated screenshot that looked similar to the current Garmin Oregon series. The page has since been pulled from their website. Similarly, GPS City in Canada has a page on their website where the product SKU is listed as “DAKOTA10″.

 

The tiny picture to the right is the only photo we’ve been able to obtain so far… but we’ll keep looking around. Wink These independent sightings would seem to confirm that a Garmin Dakota 10 and a Garmin Dakota 20 are soon to be on their way. Few other details are available, the product description at Bass Pro Shops only said this:

 

High-sensitivity GPS features a 2.6” touch screen. Features: 2.6" touch screen Built-in basemap 850 MB internal memory

 

This is somewhat strange as the Oregon is generally described as having a 3" touch screen. Nonetheless, it looks like the Oregon will soon gain a sibling in the Garmin Dakota."

 

Let's see!

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I hope the Dakota is still a ways off from release. The latest Oregon firmware has been in beta testing for some time and the Colorado hasn't seen any updates in over 6 months. I'm no genius, but get your current products right before releasing new models. Yes, I know Garmin wants to make some money, but pissing off your current customer base is going to leave you with nothing. No customers = No profit. Look at the mess Magellan got itself into.

 

"Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat"

Edited by ryguyMN
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My guess it's an eTrex replacement with all the usual features at all the usual price points and it uses the new Mediatek MT3329 chip
I don't think that they are going to replace the eTrex with it just like they didn't replace the GPSMAP 60CSx with the Colorado. They have recently come out with an updated eTrex Vista H and eTrex Legend H. The Dakota will most likely fill the gap between the eTrex/GPSMAP handhelds and the CO/OR lines, marketed to those that feel that the CO/OR are too pricey.
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My guess it's an eTrex replacement with all the usual features at all the usual price points and it uses the new Mediatek MT3329 chip
I don't think that they are going to replace the eTrex with it just like they didn't replace the GPSMAP 60CSx with the Colorado. They have recently come out with an updated eTrex Vista H and eTrex Legend H. The Dakota will most likely fill the gap between the eTrex/GPSMAP handhelds and the CO/OR lines, marketed to those that feel that the CO/OR are too pricey.

I think you're right. Garmin never ceases to amaze me with the shear number of models, many at stratospheric price points.

 

My conjecture was as much based on the fact the recent models have at last solved the loose rubber band of all eTrex's. In looking at my eTrex's design, I became convinced that glue is/was never the answer. Only a fundamental redesign was ever going to solve the problem. The CO, OR and now the Dakota should never have the loose rubber problem.

 

Also, we see with Nuvi how inexpensively, not to be confused with cheap, a GPS can be manufactured. They often retail for ~$100 w/battery and maps. The only part of a hand held more expensive is the structure to maintain water resistance. Otherwise the manufacturing cost ought to be lower than a Nuvi.

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Also, we see with Nuvi how inexpensively, not to be confused with cheap, a GPS can be manufactured. They often retail for ~$100 w/battery and maps. The only part of a hand held more expensive is the structure to maintain water resistance. Otherwise the manufacturing cost ought to be lower than a Nuvi.

 

Don't forget the economies of scale. There are many, many times as many nuvis sold as there are handhelds.

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Also, we see with Nuvi how inexpensively, not to be confused with cheap, a GPS can be manufactured. They often retail for ~$100 w/battery and maps. The only part of a hand held more expensive is the structure to maintain water resistance. Otherwise the manufacturing cost ought to be lower than a Nuvi.
Don't forget the economies of scale. There are many, many times as many nuvis sold as there are handhelds.
Sure, but can you quantify the economies of scale? I can't.

 

It's my belief that once past a certain minimum number of units the economies drop off. Also, a Nuvi and an Oregon both use the same STM Cartesio, they benefit each other. The lowest cost OR 200 retails for ~$350 whereas the lowest cost Nuvi is ~$100. The OR has no maps, no batteries, no 12V cord, no window mount . . . go figure.

 

To me the difference is competition, not cost. Garmin has essentially no handheld competition whereas Nuvi has Tom Tom and Mio plus a dozen other players.

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I know you asked that question in jest but the answer might be very telling as to whether Garmin has given up on Wherigo.

I was not jesting. The screen shot did not include the Wherigo icon, which made me curious.

At that price, (as compared to the other Wherigo compatable units they sell), it would make a good entry level Wherigo device.

Since they currently have 11 devices which will play Wherigo cartridges, I doubt having this questioned answered will demonstrate Garmin's stance one way or the other.

Edited by Clan Riffster
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I know you asked that question in jest but the answer might be very telling as to whether Garmin has given up on Wherigo.

I was not jesting. The screen shot did not include the Wherigo icon, which made me curious.

At that price, (as compared to the other Wherigo compatable units they sell), it would make a good entry level Wherigo device.

Since they currently have 11 devices which will play Wherigo cartridges, I doubt having this questioned answered will demonstrate Garmin's stance one way or the other.

I see you already noticed the lack of the Wherigo icon. Ignore my comment on the SCGA forum.

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I see you already noticed the lack of the Wherigo icon. Ignore my comment on the SCGA forum.

Yeah, I'm trying to avoid putting too much into my observation. I don't want to jump to any incorrect conclusions.

The Garmin website screen shots from several of the Oregons and Colrados don't include the Wherigo icon either.

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I see you already noticed the lack of the Wherigo icon. Ignore my comment on the SCGA forum.

Yeah, I'm trying to avoid putting too much into my observation. I don't want to jump to any incorrect conclusions.

The Garmin website screen shots from several of the Oregons and Colrados don't include the Wherigo icon either.

 

I can see from that screenshot above there appears to be more "pages" of icons waiting to be scrolled to using those left-right buttons.. Don't rule out Wherigo just yet,, it might just not appear on the primary icon screen.

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I am a big fan of Wherigo's ( I have 15 published and 6 more in the hopper).

 

However, when you look at the total number of Wherigo's in North America, it it pretty small. So it would be easy to understand if Garmin abandoned it. But I sure hope not.

 

I love that idea of an event around building cartridges. Let us know how it goes.

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I know you asked that question in jest but the answer might be very telling as to whether Garmin has given up on Wherigo.

I was not jesting. The screen shot did not include the Wherigo icon, which made me curious.

At that price, (as compared to the other Wherigo compatable units they sell), it would make a good entry level Wherigo device.

Since they currently have 11 devices which will play Wherigo cartridges, I doubt having this questioned answered will demonstrate Garmin's stance one way or the other.

 

The screen shot only shows one page of icons. If you notice the arrows at the bottom you can scroll to other pages with more icons. I believe that each profile on the Oregon can be customized to show only icons you want. I doubt Wherigo will be abandoned.

 

StaticTank

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Chances are the display will be brighter, exactly due to the lower res.

If battery live will be better than the Oregon too (should think so), I think I will have found my Vista Cx replacement. I'm quite reluctant upgrading my Cx by a two years old HCx...

Let's wait and see.

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