Yeah, that was a smart move. The Garmin software was pretty feable.
From the motionbased site.
October 03, 2005 Garmin Acquires MotionBased
Yep. It’s true. Garmin just bought MotionBased. The official press release dropped this morning announcing that MotionBased will immediately become a division of Garmin International.
Phew. What a relief to say that in public.
So… before we address the inevitable questions, we wanted to first thank all of our customers who helped MotionBased get to where it is today. We launched our public beta last summer with 100 customers and 900 activities. And in 15 months, we’ve watch MotionBased grow to over 11,000 customers and 150,000 activities. During that time, you’ve amazed us with your support, feedback and participation. Truly inspirational – thank you!!!
Okay… let’s talk more details:
**What does this mean for MotionBased? **
A paycheck. A much needed visit to the dentist. Sleep at night. A pat on the back for our hard work.
But most importantly… the ability to focus our efforts in making MotionBased the best outdoor training and adventure application on the internet. No more worries about keeping the dream alive – we now have the backing to take MotionBased to a higher level.
**Did the MotionBased crew go corporate on us? **
Nope. We’re not the type. MotionBased will be run by the same crew that created it. We live, breathe and dream MotionBased. There is no better group of individuals to take it to the next level. We know what our customers want because you’ve told us. And now… we get to honor those requests.
**Will MotionBased roll-up into the Garmin Training Center? **
Nope. The MotionBased web application will remain independent of the Garmin Training Center client application. That said, we will work closely with the Training Center team to share ideas and, perhaps, resources from time to time.
**Will MotionBased relocate? **
That’s a big NO. We will remain in the San Francisco Bay Area – the perfect playground for combining our interests in technology and the outdoors. We can’t think of a better place to test and use MotionBased.
**Will MotionBased become entirely FREE? **
Ahhhhhhh… no. MotionBased will maintain our two core account types: MotionBased Lite (free) and MotionBased Standard (paid). The business model has not changed. We will always maintain a free aspect of MotionBased giving anyone access to core features of the web application. We believe customers will eventually find enough value in the premium features to sign up for the paid subscription.
Don’t worry… not all of the new features will go to the paid service. We will upgrade both levels of service throughout the life of MotionBased – although some of the goodies will be in the paid version.
Will MotionBased support non-Garmin devices going forward?
Good question. We don’t have a solid answer on this one yet. A lot of it will depend on the other GPS manufacturers. The spirit of MotionBased is to create the largest repository of outdoor activities on the Internet – the MotionBased TrailNetwork – regardless of what GPS device was used. However, we realize that Garmin competitors may not want their customers to send us their data. We hope that’s not the case – but only time will tell.
**Why did MotionBased sell to Garmin? **
We thought about lots of ways to keep MotionBased going, growing, and getting better. We considered continuing to bootstrap the operation, taking venture capital/angel money, or selling the business.
It sure sounded nice to keep it to ourselves. Grow a sound business and maintain control. Be your own boss – yada yada yada. But the reality of keeping this in-house while meeting the expectations of our customers and, mostly, ourselves was too much. We needed a vehicle to make our ideas and vision a reality. And after looking around, it became fairly obvious that Garmin was the perfect fit. Fortunately for us, Garmin felt the same.
We believe that Garmin makes the best consumer GPS devices. We also believe that MotionBased makes the best web-based GPS tracking application. Why not take the best of both worlds to create a better solution – your classic 1+1=3 scenario.
So now what?
Not much. Keep using MotionBased as you always have. If you’re new to MotionBased, check out our demo and see what you’re missing. It’s pretty cool stuff.
We’ll continue to post updates on MBlog. Be sure to subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss a step.
We’ve come a long way in the last two years and the best part is… we’re just beginning.
Thanks for your support.
good post. they seem like good guys
Is MotionBased as US-centric as it was last time I checked? It was useless for mapping anything outside those wacky States.
Any idea how far off the Mac option is?
Dying to use this service, but not buying a pc just for it.
Cheers, and good luck with growing the company.
I am just a user and not part of Motionbased. What I posted was on the opening page of the website.
Dave
That’s awesome. I told those guys that would happen last year at Interbike!
oops, sorry. Should have read that a bit closer.
J.
If I was with motionbased I think I would be out new car and bike shopping right now. 100% private firm purchaced by a large company. Good guys with a good product and now a good payday.
Dave