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Buying and Updating Garmin City Navigator Maps

Numaps Garmin's City Navigator products offer users highly detailed street maps that can provide turn by turn directions and easy navigation to millions of points of interest such as; hotels, restaurants and gas stations. City Navigator maps come pre-loaded in most automotive units, or can be purchased separately in DVD or pre-loaded memory cards for those units that are not already pre-loaded. Knowing how to keep these maps up to date may influence the decision as to how they should be acquired in the first place. This short article should help you understand the update options that are available.

GPS navigators that are pre-loaded, such as Garmin's nuvi and later model StreetPilot units qualify for either of two update products; nuMaps Onetime or nuMaps Lifetime. nuMaps Onetime comes on a DVD and allows you to use your computer to update your unit's maps to the latest version available. Cost is low and the process is fairly quick and easy. nuMaps Lifetime is more costly, but allow you to update your unit up to four times each year for the life of the unit (see product page for specifics.) In our opinion, this is the best value for anyone interested in keeping their units maps current, however maps are installed via download and this may not be a good option for those without a high-speed internet connection.

Many GPS navigators that were not pre-loaded are also compatible with the City Navigator product. For example, many handheld devices provide the same turn-by-turn functionality and POI lookup functions when optional City Navigator maps are loaded. Most of these units accept City Navigator maps in one of two ways; by insertion of a pre-loaded City Navigator memory card, or by transferring the City Navigator maps from a PC or Mac that has the DVD version installed. For those who have devices that can take it either way, it is best to consider which way the original City Navigator maps should be acquired - DVD or pre-loaded memory card. Here are some points to consider:

Installing from DVD allows you to mix different map types into your devices internal memory or user supplied memory card. For example; handheld users can have both TOPO and City Navigator maps on the same card, making it easy to switch display from one to the other. As mentioned earlier, the DVD product is installed on the user's computer, and then the select maps are transferred into a single GPS unit. This DVD product is locked, such that the maps it contains can only be used on a single device. A big advantage of acquiring City Navigator this way is that it can be updated with either nuMaps Onetime or nuMaps Lifetime.

Installing City Navigator maps from Garmin's pre-loaded memory cards has the advantage of plug and play. No PC is required - you simply insert the pre-loaded card and the maps are available immediately. Another advantage, is that unlike the DVD product, the card can be moved from one compatible unit to another. It is not locked to a single unit. However, once purchased, pre-loaded City Navigator cards cannot be updated with either nuMaps Onetime or Lifetime products. When the maps become outdated, the user's only option is to obtain a new, full-version of City Navigator.

We specialize in Garmin GPS navigation and are always available to answer your questions regarding issues like these. Please call us toll-free, weekdays between 9 and 4 Pacific time.

April 20, 2009 in GPS | Permalink | Comments (0)

All Websites are Back Up and Running!

We apologize for the outage. Our move into a new facility forced us to make a change with our internet circuit. Since we host our own servers, the change resulted in our websites being unavailable from Friday Jan 9 through Monday evening Jan 12. The move is now complete and things are running smoothly. Thanks for your patience.

January 12, 2009 in Other | Permalink

Color Aerial Photo Maps Make Great Gifts

Sedona302x321We're happy to announce that you can now create and order beautiful color aerial photo maps that cover most areas within the contiguous U.S. At present, we're lacking coverage in only 12 states and hope to add that soon.

Click the adjacent image to see a full-size reproduction of a sample map covering Sedona Arizona and a section of its famous Oak Creek. Maps like this can be created in sizes from 24 x 24 inches, all the way up to 42 x 60 inch wall maps. Labeled roadways and GPS trail overlays can also be added.

Starting at just $14.95, these maps make great gifts. It's easy to custom-center and set the maps area to cover favorite areas or homes and businesses.  Click here to Get Started Now.

December 13, 2008 in Mapping | Permalink

$50 SPOT Messenger Rebate Coming November 1st

Spot160 The SPOT Messenger saves lives and gives peace of mind to family and friends. It uses satellite technology to notify authorities of its users exact location in case of emergency. It can also be used to check-in with others - letting them know where you are and that everything is Ok. SPOT is offering a $50 rebate for units purchased between November 1 and December 31, 2008. This brings the price of the basic unit to under $90 including free ground shipping within the 48 States! 

October 18, 2008 in Science | Permalink | Comments (0)

Garmin Oregon 400t - Touch-Screen GPS In-Stock Now!

400t

They're here and available with FREE NEXT DAY Shipping. The new Garmin Oregon 400t represents the new state of the art in handheld GPS. Its 3" diagonal screen can be panned simply by dragging your finger. All pages and menu items are accessible via touch. The unit comes pre-loaded with TOPO U.S. 2008 data yet features free memory and a microSD card slot that allows you to load street, bluechart or worldmap data. Its high-sensitivity GPS chipset locks on fast. Up to 20 saved tracks can be displayed on the screen simultaneously. Data can be transferred wirelessly to similar units. Heart rate and cadence information can also be displayed when used with optional accessories. Geocachers will love the paperless geocaching features and direct transfer of geocaching GPX files.

July 15, 2008 in GPS | Permalink

New TOPO 24k Regional Card for Garmin GPS

TOPO U.S. 24k Garmin is just beginning to ship pre-programmed memory cards that feature the most detailed topographic  data ever offered. TOPO U.S. 24k offers significantly more detail than that offered in the extremely popular TOPO U.S. 2008 products. Simply insert the card into a compatible Garmin GPS unit and see detail based on USGS 1:24,000 scale topographic maps. Two regions are now available - Northwest (OR & WA) and West (CA & NV.) Other regions are in development and should be available in the coming months.

Garmin has not announced any plans to make this product available on DVD. This means that you will be unable to view, plan and print the same data using your personal computer. Nor will you be able to easily combine the 24k data with other Garmin maps such as City Navigator on to the same memory card. This means that TOPO U.S. 2008 in DVD form remains highly desirable for those interested in planning, viewing or printing using their home PC.

The image at right is a screen shot of TOPO U.S. 24k map data displayed on a Garmin Colorado. Unlike other currently available Garmin units, the Colorado has the ability to display maps with the terrain shading you see here.

July 02, 2008 in GPS | Permalink

$50 Rebates on Garmin's Rino 520 and 530 HCx

Rino 530HCxAct before September 30, 2008 and receive a $50 rebate back from Garmin after purchasing either color Rino unit. Rinos have become a favorite of sportsman and other outdoor enthusiasts - combining a superb GPS receiver, the versatility of microSD memory and two-way radio functionality. Rinos offer a unique Position Reporting feature. Position Reporting lets you send your exact location to other Rino users in your group so that everyone can see your position on the map page of their GPS display. And, because Rino is a standard FRS/GMRS radio, you can use it to communicate with any other conventional FRS/GMRS radio around.

July 02, 2008 in GPS | Permalink

SPOT MESSENGER - FREE TRACKING OFFER

SPOT is offering 6 months of free tracking on units purchased by 12/31/2008. Simply enter FATHER8 when prompted during activation. Our low price, free shipping and this tracking offer makes this the time to buy to incredible personal protection product. Click here to read more about the SPOT Messenger.

June 11, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Backpacker Magazine Recommends GPXchange/Offroute for Custom Map Prints

JUNE08cover We're very pleased to have Backpacker Magazine recommend us as the source for deluxe map prints. The powerful combination of our custom map print-on-demand service, paired with the power of GPXchange.com, allows anyone to quickly create a custom topographic or aerial photo map that uses overlay trails and waypoints that they create themselves. Now you can own a map that contains the exact same trail and waypoint data that displays on your handheld GPS device. Look at this tutorial to understand exactly how powerful this can be. It takes you through the steps to produce this custom map print along with a corresponding GPX file that can be uploaded to your handheld GPS for the ultimate backcountry navigation experience.

June 04, 2008 in GPXchange | Permalink | Comments (0)

Garmin Mapsource TOPO for the Mac!

Garmin has announced the new Mac version of TOPO 2008. Available on DVD this product provides Mac users with the ability to transfer vector-based topographic maps to their compatible Garmin GPS receivers. Users can also view detailed topographic maps on the Mac computer.

This product should be in stock and ready to ship by April 10, 2008.

April 03, 2008 in GPS | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Recent Posts

  • Buying and Updating Garmin City Navigator Maps
  • All Websites are Back Up and Running!
  • Color Aerial Photo Maps Make Great Gifts
  • $50 SPOT Messenger Rebate Coming November 1st
  • Garmin Oregon 400t - Touch-Screen GPS In-Stock Now!
  • New TOPO 24k Regional Card for Garmin GPS
  • $50 Rebates on Garmin's Rino 520 and 530 HCx
  • SPOT MESSENGER - FREE TRACKING OFFER
  • Backpacker Magazine Recommends GPXchange/Offroute for Custom Map Prints
  • Garmin Mapsource TOPO for the Mac!
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