Mapsource 8 or 9

[plasins]

Excuse me if this post seems odd, but I am not a GPS expert.
I have a 2610 with v 7 mapping. My questions are:
1. Is the most up to date mapping v8?
2. Is it worth updating from v7?
3. Is v9 due to be released soon? If it is, will I be able to use it with the 2610?
Thanks in advance,

Vic P.

 

[PanEuropean]

Hello Vic:

Version 8 is the current shipping version. It's kind of hard to say if it is worthwhile upgrading from 7 to 8. That depends on where you are. If you are in Switzerland, there aren't many changes. If you are in Ireland, coverage has almost doubled.

If you are content with what you have now, it might make economic sense to wait until the next version (8.5 or 9) is released. Most recreational users update every second version, rather than every single version. If you use the GPSR commercially - such as a taxi driver or truck driver does - then it makes sense to upgrade as each version comes out. It's simply a cost issue, nothing more.

Michael

 

[Greg Masters]

Have they built many new roads on the Isle of Wight?



Greg

 

[Taff]

I was in two minds to upgrade to V8 before I went off on my trip through Denmark, Sweden and Germany earlier this year. Due to the cost though (I'd already bought maps of Poland) I decided against it and quite honestly the maps were fine. I think I came across 1 road in Germany that didn't exist according to the 2610, but it soon joined up with one that did. Personally, I'm going to wait for V9, before buying.

 

[DodgyGeeSer]

Hello Vic:
If you are in Ireland, coverage has almost doubled.

Coverage of Ireland is still very poor in V8 (I can't really see where it has doubled), so if you're thinking of upgrading based on a requirement for Irish mapping, I'd hold off until v9, or you may be quite dissapointed..

This mapping website: http://www.uk.map24.com/ uses NavTeq maps, and is hopefully what we'll be able to expect in the V9 mapping from Garmin (NavTeq). Coverage of Ireland is fantastic to say the least (It's probably the results of NavTeq's on efforts to map the Island).

Have a look at the atachments for a direct comparison.

Oh, and just to get on topic (map coverage for the Isle of Wight), comparing the V8 and UKMap24 sites, there isn't a huge amount of difference in the mapping, so potentially the v8 upgrade might make sense for you (as long as you're not visiting Ireland!). For the areas you'll be travelling in / spending time, do a comparison of:
1) Your current V7 mapping
2) V8 (using the Garmin Java viewer)
3) http://www.uk.map24.com/ (which I hope is a preview of the mapping we can expect in V9).

Hope this helps...

 

[plasins]

Thank you for the replies. To answer Gregs question, no, but after this dry summer I expect we will loose a few during the winter.