Update on MotionBased Transition to Garmin Connect

UPDATE 5 March 2009: We have posted an update to the Garmin Connect Status Page. We are very sorry that we missed this latest deadline and we hesitate to give further updates with promises of release dates. We realize that we have not handled the updates properly and we are sorry for missed release dates and sloppy updates. You the customer deserve better. We do hope to provide better with the migration and release planned for mid-April.  Thank you for bearing with us, and we hope you accept our apologies.

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As you may know, we've been working on building Garmin Connect to replace MotionBased.  We're making strides in improving performance and fixing bugs that we hope will enhance your experience.  You've been a great customer and we wanted to thank you for making MotionBased the community that it is.   

Unfortunately, our anticipated date to complete the migration of MotionBased to Garmin Connect is delayed until December 2008.  We're making sure that Garmin Connect is faster,  more stable, and provides an even better user experience than MotionBased.  As we ramp up toward migrating over 4 million activities that you've contributed to the Trail Network, we are making fixes and new improvements to Garmin Connect every 4 weeks.  In the meantime, out of respect for your patronage and in recognition of your patience, we've decided to grant additional privileges to paid MotionBased subscribers.

For those of you who have purchased an annual MotionBased Standard subscription before September 30, 2008, you will continue to have access to MotionBased Standard and be granted free access into Garmin Connect Plus for 2 years starting from your original expiration date.  Afterwards, you will no longer receive any subscription charges from MotionBased and your account at Garmin Connect Plus will not auto-renew at the end of the free access period.  Again, we apologize for the delays and thank you for your support.

Comments

When was the first planned release date? It has been postponed about half a year, right?

[Hugh]

I know it's a major project. Thanks for keeping us updated. I hope the new site allows users to track shoes while running so we know when the mileage is geting too high.

[Gergey Pasztor]

Come on guys... what's the deal?

[Gergey Pasztor]

Sorry to double post. But i just wanted to say how disappointed I am. Really! You give no updates, and then every few months you say the deadline is moved back. I have not faith that you will deliver in December. In the meantime, could you improve offline software for mac? Tracking my runs is what I like the most. I keep a blog, tell my friends how I'm doing. But frankly, I use the "Runner's World" training log more than I use your site.

My Garmin Forerunner 305: A+
My offline software experience: D
My online software experience: D-

[Jay]

Suggested reading for your project manager: The Mythical Man Month.

[Dan Baxter]

Gergey, May I suggest SportTracks from Zone Five Software. It's a far better application than GTC. http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks Unfortunately, there is not currently a Mac version, but it may run under Parallels in a Windows VM.

[Eric]

If you are looking for an offline software solution for mac, you may want to give SportTracks another try. This thread details how to install SportTracks to run on OSX and linux:

http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=4109

[Alan]

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by"
Douglas Adams

Your interface is way to slow for me.

Your interface is way to slow for me.

[Bob]

I can not believe the tardiness of this. When I signed onto MB I was told they would increase their Mac support. That not been the case. Next they say they are coming out with Connect. Only to be followed up by a reduction in the number of activities I'm capable of uploading in in an hour on MB. I've pretty much given up on using MB. The regular Garmin software offline for Mac is half of what they offer for PC also. It seems that they make a great unit but forget to follow up with software.

[N-Garcia]

Hello there!

Make the GC usefull for training, I mean make possible download tracks, share tracks, analize all the data.

One important feature is make the HUD quickly because i see in not very speedy with only 3 rides uploaded when have 300 rides uploaded it will be too slow.

Another important feature is MULTI-UPLOAD tracks funcions!
If i only uplaod data to my computer once a week like most of the garmin users we would like to have a option to upload a lot of *.tcx files with just one click.

Best Regards

Nelson -

You guys have nice products, make software too! I know you guys can make much better software.

[Mathias]

Hi!
I am using the MB software since last year and I was quite happy with it.
Actually the use of MB is a drama, the upload Time takes far too long, even the time to connect to MB is a big problem.
I am using MB from germany, I was happy most of the time, but now with this slow performance it does not make any fun.

Regards
Mathias

[William Hathaway]

When will connect.garmin.com offer RSS feeds? I purchased a 405 a few weeks ago and I find it cumbersome to share the data with my friends compared to MotionBased (where my 305 data gets uploaded). Also, will the MB Gravity feature be added to Connect? The 405 appears to be much less accurate with regards to elevation data than my 305, and since it can't get corrected, the elevation data is essentially worthless.

[Bill]

I've been using both MB and GC for a couple of days. Will GC be getting weather info like on MB?

[Bill]

Okay, now that I've worked w/both a little bit more, I'm not in a hurry to make the leap to GC. While I can live w/o the dot-racing maps, I sure hope GC gets the ability to combine activities into one, add weather data, and include a thumbnail map in emails. I also haven't found a TrailNetwork equivalent there yet; even though my activities are marked "public" I haven't yet stumbled on a way to see all the public events others have shared. What am I missing?

[David]

I hope they do something soon. Motionbased is becoming unusable. Hopefully they will improve Mac support.

[Kathryn Krieger]

Hi Bill,

All that you see at MB will be available with Garmin Connect. We have been releasing in stages. If you don't see a feature at GC, trust that it will be available with a release in the near future.

kk

[Kathryn Krieger]

Hi William,

RSS feeds and elevation correction are in the pipe line, and will be released sometime in the future.

kk

[Gergey Pasztor]

After reading the next post on mac support, I am ready to bet a whole lot of money that the transition will not take place before 2009, and that when it does we will not see any advantages to MB. My gut feeling is Garmin Connect will remain a Windows kind of program. Resource intensive, unintuitive, and lacking the basic functionality a runner wants...

Thumbs way way down to the whole team...

[Chris Hammond]

So what's the word? It's December now, almost halfway through the month.

[Kevin Gwin]

Sad.. very sad...

[ironman2007]

I have a 305. It's been over a year since Garmin has promised support. The complete lack of accountability and transparency on the program is really staggering. Who keeps a job under this fact pattern and where's the Chairperson and Board of Directors from a governance perspective? The March "apology" is about 12 months too late and the "hesitancy" to provide a new deadline nicely extends a proud track record of mediocrity as a stretch goal.

[aidan]

i have a corrupt tcx file from my edge 705 how can i get it fixed as the data is important to me