Change to Bing maps disappointing

disappointed...

I live out in the country in the middle of nowhere and I now no longer can see anything on the maps with Bing. I also do a lot of trail running races. It'll be a big disappointment when I won't be able to show my friends the cool routes I've ran. Please bring back Google Maps!

I suspect that this topic is "done".

As a matter of interest, and assuming Garmin do listen to customer feedback, has there been any acknowledgement of these views?

It would be nice to know someone was listening even if there is no going back? Although in an ideal world it would be nice to have the choice of Google or Bing.

Dex.

The main reason I purchased my Garmin was for Google Maps, specifically the terrain feature. I'm very disappointed with the switch to the obviously inferior Bing Maps.

Please switch back to Google Maps.

They respond - but they are not really listening

I suspect that this topic is "done".

As a matter of interest, and assuming Garmin do listen to customer feedback, has there been any acknowledgement of these views?

It would be nice to know someone was listening even if there is no going back? Although in an ideal world it would be nice to have the choice of Google or Bing.

Dex.

Hey Dex,

They are not really listening - when they do respond they simply copy a prepared standard corporate reply that is far from encouraging.

I received this on on 14 December 2010:
Dear Mr. Timlen

Thank you for contacting Garmin International!

I am happy to help you with this.

I was given your contact information and that you are looking into the recent switch from Google mapping to Bing mapping, I was able to find the following information for you below. We are listening to the feedback on this switch and I do apologize if this has caused you any issues. As far as any future changes back to the Google map option I am not aware of anything at this time. If you need anything else please let us know.

Garmin has a rich history of collaborating with industry leaders, and using Bing maps with Garmin Connect provided an opportunity to build upon our existing relationship with Microsoft. Garmin Connect users will continue to enjoy all of the familiar mapping features and functions that bring more than 40 million saved activities to life, and working with Bing will lead to more exciting developments in the future.

Best Regards,
Cecil M.
Outdoor/Fitness Specialist-Day Shift
Garmin International
1200 E 151 St.
Olathe Ks, 66062
1-800-800-1020
www.garmin.com
Fax 1-913-397-8282

Sad.

What happened to the Topo over lays

I am not sure if my frustration lies with the change to Bing but the time frame seems to be the same. For the life of me I can figure out why you would remove the topo-graph overlays. For a company that is all about mapping why would you change to a company or service that does not deliver the most basic of mapping functions. Garmin please change back to Google. Your current mapping functionality is so diminished that I find it no longer useful, this is sad as mapping/location track is suppose to be your core competency and that is certainly no longer the case.

Bing Maps

Really disappointed with the change to Bing - these maps are far inferior to Google in every respect - Why not implement a preference where the user can select their preferred map - the result would be very little usage of Bing!

I don't have it on my maps. Weird, isn't it. Even weirder than moderators not replying to comments on their own posts.

Look here...

Maybe there's not enough 'lumps' to show the terrain. (see I did look :-))

Maybe there's not enough 'lumps' to show the terrain. (see I did look :-))

Which only means that Bing has poor resolution. I mean, really poor. Don't know if you ever ran the Staten Island half, but it really does have hills that aren't insignificant in a half marathon.

So, as a runner, the terrain resolution of Bing is so bad that it's entirely useless.

Therefore, the Garmin officials that say loudly and proudly that Bing has terrain information are simply either clueless as to the uselessness of it, or are just disingenuous. Obviously it's the latter.

We've already been "insulted" by generic email responses (which I hate) so there's no reason to believe they are "honest" about this information.

m

PS. thanks for looking.... even though you "don't care"...

Really disappointed with the change to Bing - these maps are far inferior to Google in every respect - Why not implement a preference where the user can select their preferred map - the result would be very little usage of Bing!

.....and microsoft knows that too thats why in their contract with garmin it was probably stated that options like that are not allowed.

BUMP - Reminder