Comments on: UK to get raster maps for Garmin Oregon

By: Rich Owings

Rich Owings — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:05:01 +0000

@Leszek – Yep, it is pricey. Still, the full Garmin package is an out of the box solution that’s easier to use than the PN-40 + xMap. That would give it broader appeal even at a higher price point.
@Steve E – You are too funny!

By: Steve E

Steve E — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:41:41 +0000

Has Garmin yet done anything about the appallingly dull Oregon screen?
The versions I’ve seen so far are almost unusable outdoors in bright light!
Thus, while it will be great to have UK OS maps on board (they’re simply superb maps), Its a little pointless if you have to go into some dingy moorland pub just to read the them.

By: Leszek Pawlowicz

Leszek Pawlowicz — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:40:17 +0000

I’d be happier about this if:
- The maps weren’t so expensive: 129 pounds ($250) for just the National Parks in Great Britain. These cover about 14,000 square km, which sounds big, but is less than the size of Connecticut. Only two US states (DE and RI) are smaller than that. At this cost, covering USGS topos for a large state like CA or TX would be absurdly expensive.
- Like Garmins 1:24K vector maps, they’ll only be available on microSD cards. So you won’t be able to put maps on more than one unit at a time, or combine them with other mapsets.
For the list price of an Oregon unit, you’ll be able to get a PN-40 and a copy of xMap, which will let you upload any raster image (maps, aerials, satellite) to the GPS unit. I wish the display were larger, but other than that, it’s the better choice.