Garmin City Navigator North America for Detailed Maps of the United State, Canada and Mexico (DVD)
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin City Navigator North America for Detailed Maps of the United State, Canada and Mexico (DVD)
Customer Review: Bob,TN
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to learn how to use it, to get the most out of itCustomer Review: Received version 2010
Summary: 4 Stars
I based my purchase on the part number as it matched Garmin's part number for City Navigator North America NT 2010. The Amazon image associated with this item did not match what I received, thankfully. The received package exactly matched the current Garmin website product. Installation was simple and painless. Activation however, as mentioned in many other reviews, did require association with one of the Garmin GPSr's that are compatible with this map release. My Garmin eTrex Vista is NOT compatible, but my Garmin Oregon 450 is. Garmin has everything pretty tied to their website now, so I recommend creation of a myGarmin account before doing the installation. Caveat: I did already have MapSource loaded with maps for my eTrex Vista so I don't know if there are complications with the install due to MapSource. Looked at the map for the new streets in my area and they were there. Noticed some of the POI's are outdated by at least 3 years though. After installation, myGarmin, showed that there was an available map update which did correct come of the outdated or missing POI's in my area.
I have the National Geographic Weekend Explorer 3D and compared to this Garmin product it is flat out horrible. This Garmin map is light years better...if you have a compatible Garmin GPSr. 4 stars rather than 5 because software requires a Garmin GPSr to activate.
Customer Review: What Garmin GPS Units SHOULD Ship With
Summary: 4 Stars
If Garmin sold their GPS systems & advertised that they did not come with software, & that software to make the GPS unit functional would cost you an additional $100.00, they probably wouldn't be in business very long. Thus, when you buy a Garmin handheld GPS unit they provide you with "base maps"... which are utterly useless for anything other than nagivating your way across North America on interstates. To make your Garmin handheld GPS functional, you really do need to purchase this $100 add-on.
Once you get it installed, your GPS unit is fairly functional. But getting there can be a bit of a challenge for those of us who are not rocket scientists (I only have a Ph.D.). But a phone call to Garmin tech support resulted in a very friendly, very knowledgeable individual who was able to step me through the process of getting the maps loaded properly onto my GPS. The call-wait time was under a minute, which pleasantly shocked me.
The documentation provided is, as is typical of the industry, somewhat sparse, and so you will need to commit a few hours of playing around and exploring your system to become proficient with it. Once you add this software & get it all working, you'll be pleased with the quality of the Garmin handheld.
Customer Review: Steep learning curve, but a lot in there
Summary: 4 Stars
My big test for this software was a trip to New York City (375 miles each way) a week after I bought the package. I made a few mistakes (like pressing the wrong button) but on my Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS it navigated me into and out of the center of New York City - something I wasn't looking forward to. Brilliant!
I loved the ability to find a nearby petrol station and get instant directions straight there, ditto food, ditto supermarkets. What would normally involve a wild goose chase off the interstate turned into a few button pushes and then straight-forward directions to the door.
It's not perfect, I had one "T" junction where the software didn't indicate a preference, but as it was telling me to head north at the time, I followed my car's compass and it all worked out. The software also didn't read my wife's mind and take us a different route so she could stop off at a shop on the way home - but at least I could blame the gps!
I look forward to exploring all the other features and (when I've saved up the money) buying the topo map and leaving the car behind.
Customer Review: Overall a Very Good Product
Summary: 4 Stars
Bought this map for my Colorado 300. Installation was relatively easy - hardest part was getting the computer to recognize the GPS and the SD card (treats as two separate drives). Once there, downloading into the GPS was easy although it took almost two hours to load the entire map (1.09GB), which amounted to about a tranfer rate of about 165 kB/s; not good at all for USB. However, once downloaded into the GPS and powering it up, the map came up a soon as the GPS got the location; no adjustments were needed.
Map is very well detailed and has most of the key points of interest (food, gas, shopping, parks, etc.). Is very easy to use. Does a reasonbly good job of getting you from point A to B, but if you want to avoid a route(s) or add in-between stops, plan to the route on the computer first using MapSource (must buy the DVD version to get this), then download into the GPS.
You will not need to buy this product (North America City Navigator) if you have a Nuvi.
In spite of minor glitches (few missing POIs and very few outdated names), I have no regrets buying the product. POIs (waypoints) can be added into the GPS and MapSource.