Guest mode?

Rental companies probably are generally interested in cheaper units for renting than the 1030.

It seems like the Explore models are offered, in part, to sell to rental companies (this was also the case with the ancient Touring).

Adding features is expensive. So Garmin probably won't add it to the 1030 since not many rental companies would want to spend that much.

Since it's not really a feature that is useful outside of renting, there's no point in adding it.

As a rental company, how should I have known that? Do they expect me to check all features from each different model? I took it for granted that a flagship model would have all features from inferior ones, and then some.

I offer high end road bikes with basic computers included (I considered the Edge 100, but then settled to a cheaper Bryton Rider 100E); I will rent the Edge 1030 on request at an extra fee, hence why I choose the top model, to justify charging more and offer more value, including navigation features on the larger screen.

Anyway, I didn't buy the unit hoping to find a guest mode, but I find it frustrating now knowing a cheaper one has an extra feature that would be so useful to me.

I'm a programmer myself. I have no idea what's the internal workflow at Garmin like, but I assume all models in the same line share same or similar OS and porting over an already developed feature wouldn't be such a great deal or expensive feat as developing it from scratch would.

But I understand I'm just one small voice, don't expect to be heard (unless there's ways to officially request features?).

It wouldn't be just for tour companies, but an useful feature to lend/share the unit with friends or family members.

It seems likely that people would only spend more for the 1030 if they already owned/used one. But they could also use the one they owned rather than spending more. Keep in mind that a guest mode wouldn't have performance history their personal units do. Plus, why go through the hassle of pairing a rented unit when it would be easy to bring your own?

Does the 100 have the guest feature? It's an odd feature. if you knew about it and it was important to you, why wouldn't you verify that any unit you were buying had it? It's checking one feature (not all of them). 

These are very low-spec'ed computers with limited RAM. It's not clear they use a separate OS at all. If you read other posts here, you might see that Garmin has issues adding/fixing issues without breaking other stuff. That suggests that programming these is harder than you are assuming.

The guest feature was/is only available on the the Touring/Explorer models (units more focused on navigation). It could be something that tour companies asked for (I suspect Garmin consulted Trek/etc about the features they wanted to see).

The Touring (and Explore) units had navigation features that the more-expensive units lacked. So, these units where never just missing the features of more-expensive units (they had additional features too).

It costs money to add features. It doesn't make too much sense to add features that not many people would use (and which doesn't really help to sell the unit to the people who would mostly be buying it).

Quite sure they are not programming every single feature for every single model. They must have a shared environment to some extent, then add more features for higher models or disable/remove them on cheaper ones.

We're talking about the same Edge lineup, not different products altogether. Now, I have no idea whether porting over the guest mode would be an easy task, or it is too much embedded with the custom OS of that specific model. It is a possibility that it can be ported very easily, but they just haven't had requests/didn't think of doing it so far.

If adding a feature breaks other stuff, it might be because of bad programming on that stuff.

It seems more likely that Garmin knows more about how to program the units than you (or I) do.

The code base for these appears very old. 

If it’s possible to port stuff easily, it’s also possible that it’s hard. 

The units appear to have limited memory. It would not make sense to add a feature that most people don’t want in the 1030 that took space for features they’d prefer.

Very few people would rent a 1030 over using the 1030 (or similar) they already own. The only people renting the Explore would be those needing navigation. 

Now come on, I appreciate your replies, but you're reaching. Saying they wouldn't want guest mode on the 1030 because of storage or memory issues is ridiculous, how much could it even use? I agree that, in case porting over the feature is complicated in this instance, it's not worth due to the lack of requests. But, as said, there's also a chance it wouldn't be that hard of a work at all, hence my original request hoping to do any noise.

I haven't said customers specifically request a 1030 or top tier computer, it's me wanting to offer the best quality to justify the extra cost. People would choose to rent it mostly for the navigational features (which are also improved by the larger display), over the basic cycling metrics on the cheaper computers I already provide for free.

“Saying they wouldn't want guest mode on the 1030 because of storage or memory issues is ridiculous, how much could it even use?”

You certainly don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s not worth the memory or the effort code and testing. For a feature very few people would use in the 1030. 

I suspect it’s much more work than you think. You keep thinking it has to be easy. 

“I haven't said customers specifically request a 1030 or top tier computer, it's me wanting to offer the best quality to justify the extra cost. People would choose to rent it mostly for the navigational features (which are also improved by the larger display), over the basic cycling metrics on the cheaper computers I already provide for free.”

No one would really want to pay extra for the 1030.

 
The same navigational features and screen are provided by the much cheaper Explore ($250 rather than $600).

People who would want to use a 1030 would not want to use the guest mode. 

I keep thinking, and saying, it could be easy or it could be hard. In case it's easy, I'd like them to consider it. It's a minor feature, useful for few, but very useful for those who need it. Kind of things a flagship device should be stuffed with (let's be honest now, how many features are in there that very few people use?).

I agree on testing, that might involve some costs despite how challenging porting the feature is.

People would pay extra for navigation, not for 1030. And my intention is to offer the best value for that extra, hence me choosing the 1030. 1030's display is the largest in the lineup, not significantly over the Explore, but definitely noticeable.

The whole point is that Garmin decided to market the cheap Exprlose device for rental companies, and for most it is a better fit anyway. The Explore has no training features, just basic navigation, and it is much cheaper if it get lost or broken.. A knowledgeable Garmin dealer could have told you that. The 1030 is for a different market and a totally different sales price. Sure it is just software and they could add it to the 1030 but they won't for non-technical reasons. You may not like it but that is what it is. It is Garmin's right to choose how they market their product.

It's not like a guest mode is a rental only feature, or that its presence would bother other users, is it?

Alternatively, an useful function for all models would be allowing different accounts (besides guest) and switching quickly, so that an unit could be shared with family members. Unless there's something like this already, I'm still learning how to use it.

That, of course, would be a bigger request and harder to achieve, but likely appreciated by more users.