Garmin iQUE 3600 review by PC Magazine
Garmin, one of the most respected names in the GPS industry, has entered the PDA market with an intriguing convergent device, the Garmin iQUE 3600 ($590 street).
I recently assisted dear friends to get their new iQUE 3600 properly configured. It took four days.
So, OK, there were a number of special circumstances that created problems for us. First, two of the days were over the weekend. And then there is the thing about a prior Garmin device sabotaging us a bit. But no handheld device should ever take four days to configure.
The basic problem is digital rights management (DRM). Garmin has a chain of registration numbers, unlock codes, customer numbers and serial numbers that are needed to initiate the gadget’s GPS features. If anything goes wrong, and there are many things that can go wrong, you are toast.
Garmin closes at 5:00 PM ET and they are closed weekends. If Garmin feels they must build an obstacle course for customers to navigate, they could at least have support waiting on the sidelines for those who fall wounded during the arduous event.
My friends purchased a Garmin GPS unit but were unable to get it working. They returned the device to the retailer and got their money back. That is when I came into the picture. I listened to the sad story and heard the sincere desire that remained for an easy-to-use GPS device. I did a little research and recommended the Garmin iQUE 3600.
A week or so afterwards I got a call from my friends--they had purchased the device and it was now sitting unopened in their den. I heard the dread in my buddy's voice. He was just wondering how busy I happened to be. We coordinated our schedules and I went to his home last Friday at the agreed upon hour.
Everything went well until it came time to register the iQUE and unlock the maps we had installed. I am quite comfortable with these matters, usually. Try as I might I could not figure out the magic word and Garmin was unavailable until Monday.
We got into the process again on Monday afternoon. We were able to use the Garmin Unlock Website to get us one step further along the path, but still the finish line eluded us. By the time we gave up again it was 15 minutes too late to reach Garmin--I hate time zones.
The next morning we reached Garmin technical support. It turned out that my friend's attempt to install the prior GPS device had confused the DRM Wizard and the representative walked us through an involved process to get the problem resolved. I told the efficient young man how much I appreciated his assistance, and then I asked him to pass something on to Garmin management. I doubt he will say it exactly like I said it, but he promised to let someone know what I thought of their DRM fiasco.
My friends are off to New York tomorrow. The iQUE is going with them. We made sure that all of the areas they might need were available for use. We all hugged and felt that bond that comes when warriors are tested in battle. I think my friends will have a lot of fun with their new toy.
