Garmin Topo 2008

[+WestWind]

Does anyone have the Garmin 2008 Topo that upgraded from the old 3.x version? If so, what do you think? Is it worh the upgrade? I know they have a rebate and all, but i was curious how the maps have changed, if at all. Are there any new features that this release has that the old one did not? I am in the NE and not near any national parks.

Thanks!

westwind

[+hogrod]

I have both, Topo 2008 has quite a few improvements. first off it installs fully, and comes on one DVD(so your PC needs a DVD player). it does take up Much more space of the hardrive than the previous version, if you were able to figure out how to install the old verison fully it took up a little over 1gb, topo 2008 is over 3gb.

 

1. All streets are now named, and a bit more current.

2. Some areas have much more terrain detail than before.

3. It has a POI database.

 

Garmin does have a online map viewer for topo 2008, go to the link below and in the upper right of page click topo 2008 under mapsource map viewer.

 

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/topous.jsp

[DonpK]

Hogrod,

 

Would you say the Gamin online Map Viewer gives a pretty good representation of what the maps actually look like when loaded into a GPS receiver? Obviously screen size is different. I'm thinking of buying the MapSource City Navigator North America NT for use with my eTrex Vista Hcx

 

Don

[Glenn W]

Pros:

 

(1) Terrain shading when viewing on the computer screen makes it very easy to distinguish ridges from valleys at a quick glance.

 

(2) Even minor roads are now named which makes street navigation possible, although autorouting is not supported.

 

(3) Generally smoother contours

 

(4) All maps are loaded to your hard drive from a single DVD. The older version required a little hacking to load the map to the HD.

 

Cons:

 

(1) Still only 1:100,000 scale

 

(2) The roads (even in very old neighborhoods) are sometimes not accurately located. The older version is generally more accurate, though the streets are mostly unnamed.

 

Overall, I feel the Pros outweigh the Cons.