Garmin buys ActiveCaptain

[Tom.B]

Why would that be? I would argue Garmin would not have bought it unless they had a vision of integrating it into their products and making it significantly better. It definitely will give them a competitive advantage.

Perhaps you aren't completely familiar with capitalism or the way big business works. They buy the database, incorporate certain aspects of ac into their own, already set to roll out, service, and it's bye-bye ac.

 

[Tom.B]

Greetings,
OK, how many users will Garmin ban?

You sir... win the internet for the day!

 

[Bigsfish]

One of the big problems facing our country is all the negativity. Everybody is looking for the worse, whether it's Obama or Trump everything is bad and getting worse. Sad.

 

[CPseudonym]

One of the big problems facing our country is all the negativity. Everybody is looking for the worse, whether it's Obama or Trump everything is bad and getting worse. Sad.

Try not to judge fellow TF'ers too harshly on this one particular matter. There's over 8 years of context missing in this thread.

 

[Bigsfish]

Craig

Thanks but I'm familiar with the problems some have with Jeffery and his personality but this is business and I don't think members have a real problem with Garmin. Give it a chance before you pass judgement. Just my SSO.

 

[Hawgwash]

Hm.... and I would have thought that Jeffrey's dogs would have been vegan?

No meat on a Maltese.

 

[Besslb]

Greetings,
OK, how many users will Garmin ban?

Yay! I have a Garmin account! Maybe I'll be able to access the AC data again!

 

[twistedtree]

I think there is every opportunity for Garmin to make good use of AC, and just as much opportunity to drive it the rest of the way into the ground. Hopefully they will do the former, and as a starter, no longer insult their core customers at every opportunity, and deny service to people who disagree with them. That would be a good start.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Hm.... and I would have thought that Jeffrey's dogs would have been vegan?

 

[Steve]

Congratulations JefferyS! Hope you made a bundle.

I couldn't agree more!
Like they say about building a better mouse trap!

 

[FlyWright]

Remember when Garmin bought Interphase, known for its forward looking sonar technology? They eventually got integrated into their product line, but...at least at my low level of involvement...there's not a whole lot of info on them. Makes me wonder about their commitment.

Now they have AC. If they keep it off the competition, they might initially gain market share in system sales. Eventually, that exclusive access would cost in crowd resources. Fewer contributions and a smaller audience could kill the platform.

On the other hand, what advantages would they gain in making AC available to other chartplotter and charting software competitors?

 

[GFC]

I've had great luck with both Garmin and AC and I'm positive thinking that this deal will make both products better.


Time will tell but in the meanwhile, my good wishes go out to Jeff and Karen.

 

[dhays]

Now they have AC. If they keep it off the competition, they might initially gain market share in system sales. Eventually, that exclusive access would cost in crowd resources. Fewer contributions and a smaller audience could kill the platform.

I agree completely.

 

[BandB]

Well, his beloved facebook group that he said was real boaters, not like TF, is wondering why no comments from him regarding the sale.

Now, all the rest of this is just what I think, but no concrete information.

Now, I think this could be very positive. I think you'll see integration with Garmin's plotter and navigation equipment but I don't think you'll see a reduction in the computer and tablet applications that offer Active Captain integration. They're different markets. I also think there is the possibility of an increase in participants and in reviews and other information.

Now, I'd be surprised if Garmin worked with Furuno and others to integrate it with their equipment but that's not taking away anything we have now. No one has done that.

I believe initially there will be a lot of upset and worried Active Captain customers while everything is running just as it always has. Just reaction to fears not to anything yet happening.

I do think we'll see eboatcards fade away.

I have friends who manage online businesses not dissimilar in the workload to Active Captain and it's a very time intensive life with no time really off. He and his wife have been it. That gets tough at some point, especially as you grow the business and as you're looking at other things you want to do as well. I'm sure Jeff had mixed feelings in selling his creation but at some point you either have to do so or you have to hire staff. Garmin has a lot of staff and support. I'm sure there are other things Jeff and his wife look forward to as opposed to being 24/7/365 employees of Active Captain. Eventually being a one man or one man and one woman show curtails the growth as well. I'm sure both Jeff and Garmin have ideas on how to grow it and expand it and shared them in negotiations.

If this is typical we'll see no change for a while and then suddenly Garmin will have it integrated with all their plotters. I don't think we'll see any reduction of function nor any charge for using the basic product.

 

[AusCan]

Integrating AC with all Garmin plotters may give it the international push it needs to expand outside the US. There is certainly plenty of growth opportunity.

 

[Drake]

On the other hand, what advantages would they gain in making AC available to other chartplotter and charting software competitors?

That one's easy. Revenue.

If I were Garmin, I'd do everything I could to enhance AC even further. Then I'd put it on my machines (at no cost to me) and I'd license it to others for as much license fee as the market would bear. That makes my product more competitvely priced, plus I have a new revenue source from license fees. Best of all, the value of my investment in AC would go up as I take a proven product and improve it.

Win/win if you ask me.

Paul

 

[FF]

If Garmin does not understand what they purchased , and kill it off , competition will fill any void.

Perhaps Skipper Bob will be the cruisers "bible" again.
Skipper Bob Publications - Skipper Bob Cruising Guides

Skipper Bob Cruising Guides


The Skipper Bob Series of cruising guides consists of 8 titles featuring the waterways of The Great Loop, The Gulf Coast and The Bahamas and 2 titles featuring ...

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. FF. I agree, Skipper Bob's guides ARE a most valuable resource but in print form they are prone to being outdated even in a year's time. The benefit of an on-line reference is the most recent and newest information it provides. With the untimely demise of Bob, it remains to be seen if his successor will be able to provide a modernized and continuously updated (on line) version of his information. As has been noted, IF Garmin mismanages the AC resource, someone will move to fill the void maybe even "his nibs" again.

 

[Wxx3]

Congratulations, Jeff and Karen.
Thank you for a job well done.

I for one will miss your hand's on touch that made Active Captain so great.
Ignore the negativos here, it's not personal, it's just who they are.

 

[seasalt007]

No meat on a Maltese.

True but they can be crunchy if you like plastic water guns with a little cigar ash for flavor.

This is Billy, who fears no big dog because he is really a Maltweiler. Also recall the thread on what does one carry on the boat for self defense? Billy.

 

[Bruce B]

Having just equipmed our new boat with a full Garmin suite of electronics, I say this is great!
Bruce

 

[TONTOROSS]

Garmin needs to subscribe to this forum.

 

[bayview]

The history of large companies acquiring small is not good. Even at the lower levels the larger company people assume superiority in any interaction. I cant imagine how Germans lawyers will respond to the now deep pockets presumed responsibility of unknown user data issues.

At some point Garman will decide some parts of AC met their objectives and remove the rest. The integration is not likely to be smooth.

 

[sunchaser]

Judging by the hits on this thread it is obvious Jeff created a product that filled a need for many. In 2015 I replaced an older Nobeltec with Trident. Jeff had worked with several Trident systems at that point and waxed eloquent in some private musings. It will be interesting to see if Garmin will carry on with Jeff's prior support of AC for those of us who prefer laptops for charting vs hard wired plotters.

Honestly though for me, I was more into AC because of the novelty, Jeff the character and boating boredom. When I'm actively cruising there are too many other real boating world distractions to be concerned with. I'm not a Garmin user and overnight have found I could care less about where all of this is headed. I'm a Furuno and laptop guy, always will be. Life goes on, it is just an App.

 

[Bigsfish]

We all have different wants when it comes to AC, I agree with BandB the eboat cards are a waste, never used that but I'm registered. I do use AC for checking out a marina, anchorage, ect and that is where I think AC shines. Now if Garmin can intregrate it on my Garmin plotter so much the better, I think it would be a real advantage to have the plotter zoomed in and the anchorage would show when turned on. It would save reverting back to the iPad.

 

[Baker]

Y'all keep echoing that the web based side of things will fall by the wayside. How will AC be updated if that is the case??? You can't very well type a review thru your chartplotter....even if it had a connection. There will have to be a way to keep AC "active" and the only way I see that is thru the internet.

 

[Bigsfish]

Agreed, but having that info on the plotter would be a huge plus.

Who has the Carmalitas? ��

 

[Larry M]

Garmin has integrated Active Captain with their Garmin Blue Charts so the two have some history.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Defender who has an affiliation with AC.

And what will happen with Karen's marina sponsoring business, 1st Choice? I have to believe it has been a good revenue source for them.

https://activecaptain.com/sponsors/programs.php

 

[jazure]

I will have to check it out. I worked for a software company acquired by Garmin 4 years ago - besides being asked to move to KC, it was pretty good.

 

[ranger58sb]

First: Congratulations to Jeff and Karen!

One of the whole reasons why people don't have to pay $10,000 for Garmin system is because of things like AC.

In several respects AC competes directly with Garmin.

I think you maybe don't yet understand the difference between navigation hardware/software and a cruising guide.

Users who can make do using a stand-alone or web version of AC as if it were a nav app... can still make do -- whether AC exists or not -- using any number of other inexpensive apps, many of which are really nav apps and better than AC for the nav process anyway.

Users who are inclined to spend big bucks on decent nav equipment will continue to do so, without regard to AC as a stand-alone web-based product. AC integration might well influence a buyer toward one brand or other... but maybe only slightly. If Garmin doesn't continue to license AC for integration into competitive products, that may slightly influence future buyers toward Garmin... but it may also have the exact opposite effect for an equal number of future buyers. if Garmin kills off AC altogether, that probably won't drive new buyers to Garmin equipment.

And if Garmin kills of AC altogether, any number of other cruising guides will bubble to the top.

-Chris