Purchased Lifetime Maps through Garmin

With all the construction going on the past years, even with this economic downturn, I am amazed that anyone can keep up as well as these maps do keep up. I know in my area of Iowa many new subs get mapped in within a very few years of being built. How do these map makers even know they're there. I realize we all have our special areas of interest, but the big picture seems overwhelming. Personally, I feel they do a great job. As far as POI's are concerned, get them here. They are kept up to date by all kinds of people. Again how could the map makers keep all these business closures up to date? Just down load current information here and don't worry about the included ones.

Have you reported the errors to Navteq and Garmin?

The POI database is something Navteq purchases so they have very little control over the raw content but I believe if you report an error they will attempt to get it corrected.

As far as getting new areas mapped, one way they get the information is to ask the 9-1-1 centers for their street name and location databases.

I remember purchasing the Thomas Guide (street atlas) for Los Angeles/Orange County many years ago well before there were such things mapping GPS units and these were a bargain, even at ~$25 per atlas. And they didn't include any POIs either. I wonder how much I would spend and how much room all of these Thomas Guides would take up if I had them for the entire USA/Canada/Alaska/Hawaii...

Now we can fit the whole US/Canada/Alaska/Hawaii into the palm of our hands...and it's updated (if you have nuMaps Lifetime) up to four times per year.

I'm in the same situation. I am wording if it's worth purchasing the lifetime option. However, since purchasing one map is half the price of the lifetime, it make sense. I'm figuring I would download a new map at least twice within the life of the garmin.

I'm a little surprised too at how much wasn't updated with my new map update. Where I live there is also a lot of growth and new development. There are places that I expected to see updated on my map update because they have been fully built for about a year-and-a-half that weren't (for example, one of my doctor's offices and a new shopping center). There are also businesses that have been closed for at least 2-years that still show up on my Garmin after I updated my map. There's also a restaraunt chain in my area that was new a little over a year ago that now has about 15 locations here, and only 2 show up on my Garmin. Almost all of the stores went up around the same time, so I'm not sure why these 2 are the only 2 that do show up. One of them even went up a little later than some of the others. I can understand that a lot of businesses are going out of business, that there is still a lot of growth in some areas, etc., but programs like Google Maps, Mapquest, Yahoo Maps, etc. all have these locations and new streets in their databases. It seems like with these online services the changes are made very quickly. I know that these services are different than what Garmin does, and that Garmin only offers so many new versions of each map, but when they do have an update I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be accurate as of the date of creation.

When I first moved to my new neighborhood, it wasn't on the Garmin maps. I sent several corrections to Navtec and the next update had the corrections in it. So if you have concerns about accuracy you can always send in corrections.

What about the maps being used by cell phone companies, on GPS enabled phones? Are they any more accurate? Has anyone done a comparison while at a particular location?

I've had my troubles with my Garmin but these thing ARE amazing. People too easily forget the magic of the technology & how much you get for the price.

I have been pleased with the Garmin/Navteq quarterly updates. New roads, speed limit changes, etc. seem to be showing up in a reasonable time. Even the POI's have been acceptable, although I rely on POI Factory for the most important POI's.

My only complaint is that I am finding no evidence of increased coverage on lane assist and junction view. I often find interchanges on interstates where the lane assist is needed but not there. I hope new instances of lane assist are being added in some regions, but I have never found a new one comparing my 2010.30 maps to the original 2009 maps that my son still has on his 755T. Has anyone found any new instances of lane assist in the 2010.30 maps?

How much do those (Thomas Bros maps) cost these days? I'm guessing around $20-$30 and that only covers 2-3 counties. GPS maps are so cheap compared to paper maps.

I wonder how they stay in business knowing that GPS devices are so affordable these days. Who still buys paper maps? Older generations (like myself) normally have difficulty reading small prints. Younger ones use their cell and/or GPS.

Dual county guides such as LA & OC are about $35
See the link for pricing: http://store.randmcnally.com/category/thomas+guide/californi...

There are likely still many people who still use the Thomas Guide because they are not used to the technology and/or are just used to using the Thomas Guide. I have a large lumber/hardware retailer across the street from my work that I occasionally go to and frequently see Thomas Guides on the dash of many of the customer's (construction workers) vehicles in the parking lot. Many construction workers do seem to favor the Thomas Guide.

Wow, they're expensive. I guess the good thing about paper maps is we don't have to take them with us or hide them when leaving the car. No one wants to steal them.

I cannot bring myself to trust the GPS 100% when traveling. I will only let it guide me so far in getting lost. Twice I have used a GPS to go from Chicago to North Carolina.

With the 2008 maps it told me to turn left to get on the highway I was already on, and when I was close to my destination following the GPS and signs. The GPS had me in the middle of a large field. I was on a major 8 lane highway. On the way back it brought me into Cleavland, OH and wanted me to turn right to get on a highway. I could see the highway in front of me, except the only problem was I was in the parking lot (where it brought me) by the side of a river. I couldn't make the jump so I went and found my own directions to the highway.

With the 2010 maps I went back to NC. It got me there just fine, no problems. But for some odd reason it brought me back a different way than the 2008 maps. I followed it to the letter (even though I knew better) for the trip home. I was guided to follow a highway (RT 25 I think) but I would suppose they built a new one to replace the old one. Instead of following the signs I followed the GPS down the old 25. Well it came to an end, so I turned left to see if I can get to the new 25 (like the sign said to turn to back 50 miles ago) I did, it was only about 1 mile south of where I was. But it was weird because I went from NC, Virginia, WV, OH, KY, IN then to IL. Going to KY from Ohio made be go south almost 100 miles, I kind of thought that was weird, because my final destination was a lot farther up north.

So from now on, I keep a road map of all the states to and from where I want to go. It did get me there and home both times, but personally I think it brought me farther out of the way. I guess it doesn't believe that the shortest route from point A to point B is a straight line. (Of course I probably had it set for quickest time and not shortest)

The value of a subscription depends on where you live and your travel destinations. One of my friends just returned from Phoenix. His nuvi was almost useless because he didn't update his maps.

I bought a subscription and find the current versions more expansive, although there is a definite bias in favor of urban areas. The focus on getting new city streets mapped means little time remains for country roads, particularly dirt roads like those in Colorado ranch country, where I make my home.

If I have one complaint about these map subscriptions, it's based on rumor. I've been led to understand that Garmin uses the term "lifetime" loosely; that they relegate their GPS units to an obsolete category after 4 or 5 years. That means they are no longer supported. And that lack of support means that sooner than you expect there wont be any maps available for your faithful nuvi whether or not you paid for a "lifetime" subscription.

265WT, Mac Pro & LaCie 324

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that all Nuvi's take the same map. Since it's 1+ gigs installed on the GPS, it's really a question of there being enough room on the GPS device.

Of course, using Mapsource, one can install just the sections of the U.S. needed. My 660 has 1.87 Gigs of memory (no card) and currently 1.17 Gigs are being used. All sections of the current map are installed and it uses 1.15 gigs for the map. It will probably be quite a while before I run out of room.

Is it worth the price?

As opposed to a single update, yes. Two or more, and it's paid for itself.

I bought my Garmin 255w in the spring of 2009. In July I drove from the Toronto area to Halifax Nova Scotia. Driving through New Brunswick major potions of the Trans Canada Highway. were not programed into the unit. On my return home I loaded my one free map update from the Garmin web page. I was disappointed to find out that the Trans Canada Highway had still not be updated. It would be better if we knew in advance what additions have been added to the map update. Usually when upgrading software there is a listing of upgrades and fixes.

It is a fairly thing to list the changes made to a software program between one version and the next. Not so easy with a map update where the changes could well be in the 'thousands'. For example on a TomTom GPS purchased 2 days ago and updated to the newest release of the maps which have been available for less than 30 days, the Mapshare facility has made a further 350+ updates to the brand new maps in the last 24 hours.

Further more it not just the additions that would need to be listed but also the roads and POIs that had been eliminated, changed, or moved.

Garmin does provide a facility to see what the coverage is for their map releases through their website. Also Navteq.com, the map supplier provides a much easier facility to review map coverage.

I've been pleased with my lifetime update. It's reassuring to know that whenever I travel to an unfamiliar area, I have the most current map info.

How much does it cost for lifetime updates? Does that just follow the unit or can that be transferred to a new device?

Does Google use Navteq maps? it seems like Google's Maps are almost always spot on. How can they get such great updated information?

I totally agree!

The updates might appear to be minimal, but think of the vast coverage. They can't cover everything; everywhere. At least with the lifetime updates, you can keep trying as many times as you want.

Lifetime maps are about $120 from Garmin but you can also buy them from Amazon and other places. They are good ONLY for the unit you buy them for and are not transferable.

Google use Navteq and TeleAltas I believe but the one thing you have to remember is that Garmin's newest maps are at least one calendar quarter behind the newest Navteq maps that are available, so it's possible that a street showing on Google may not appear on your Garmin device for a few months.

Does it make sense to buy a lifetime map when you might as well buy a new GPS for the same $120 in a couple years with newer features?

Well you may not find a GPS from Garmin, or any of the major player, for $120. At least not one with all the features on it you'd want.

If you have a GPS that does everything you want it to do, want to keep the maps updated, and plan to use it for a year or more then paying $120 for lifetime maps makes a great deal of sense,IMHO, since paying for 2 individual updates is more than the $120 you'd pay for up to 4 under the lifetime plan.

I bought my lifetime maps through Amazon for $89 delivered and then got a $30 discount for using my Amazon Visa Card so it ended up costing me $59 total. I have now updated maps on that unit 4 times already so seems like a pretty good deal to me.

I plan on using the 885T for quite a while so well worth it over the long pull. I have not found any roads that are not shown in the latest updates in the Tucson area. POI's can be missing or dated but that's why we are on this site anyway.

That's a steal.

I think I'll have to check that out!

I purchased a lifetime subscription for my Garmin and have updated the map twice now. The first update (August) incorporated relatively new roads and subdivisions in Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton, Alberta and I had no problems driving down to and around in Las Vegas - thanks in large part to the files I downloaded from the POI Factory! I did the second install last weekend and really haven't had a chance to explore.

But overall I am quite pleased with the subscription and already feel like I am playing on Garmin's money. The subscription was worth the investment, but I still depend on the POI files from this site.

Thanks for the info. Currently, on Amazon it's $94.07.

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-n%C3%BCMaps-Lifetime-America-Up...

Good price. I bought my lifetime numaps from them, too. Since I hope to keep my 750 a good long while, the lifetime maps are great for me. I've also found significant improvements in the areas I care about with the each of the last three map updates.

PS--I see it's $93.16 right now!

I think it's worth it.

In a couple of years, I will have updated my maps about 8 times.

I have been driving in a field to get to my house everyday for more than five years. The wierd part is the area I live in was not developed until after the area that shows as a field!

In other words I have to drive through fields to get to my house and it is absolutely surrounded by fields with no roads in or out!

LOL

I purchased one update prior to knowing about lifetime, and I still feel that the lifetime update (That I didn't purchase until after the Nuvi 660 was declared Obsolete by Garmin) Is well work the $ I spent with Amazon (The cheapest price I could find!!)
.......

I've updated my maps three times now --- Twice on the lifetime plan... and between the lifetime maps, and the fine POI's Here..... I'm more than happy with my old - Obsolete - Nuvi 660!!!

I have Lifetime maps and it's great to have the latest update with new road changes, etc. The biggest problem I see for the user & Garmin is you are locked in to your current GPS. I've looked at newer units but won't buy as I lose the Lifetime map updates. Garmin has lost a sale! Now if they just changed the Lifetime to include any new upgrade unit, then I think it would would be a Win Win for user & Garmin.

Janj,

I love my obsolete Nuvi 660 as well with its lifetime maps.

Me too! Perfectly happy with this combo for the way I use a GPS.

Amazon has the DVD version of the lifetime maps for $79.99 w/free shipping. If you choose to purchase the electronic (download) version it's $95.00...

Why more for the media version w/free shipping???

I've been using mine about a year now, I'd say garmin is doing a good job. I like it so far.

anyone had any memory problems downloading updates for the 255 or the 260 model garmins?

I think you may be wrong about the DVD version. The Amazon page for the lifetime maps at $79.99 that I looked at is for a 'card' that you get that allows you to download the maps for life. There is no DVD involved. I'm looking at http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-n%C3%BCMaps-Lifetime-America-Up...

Shipping Method: Two-Day Shipping
Shipping Preference: I want my items faster. Ship them as they become available.
Subtotal of Items: $79.99
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
------
Total for this Order: $79.99

Delivery estimate: December 18, 2009
1 "Garmin nüMaps Lifetime North America Map Updates"
DVD-ROM; $79.99

From what I read on the Amazon site is you get the card. Not a DVD....Don't know where you see DVD-ROM.

Although I suspect the listing of a DVD is probably an error, it still doesn't matter as the DVD at best will only contain one update. After that you'll be downloading the updates anyway as Garmin or Amazon aren't going to be sending you a DVD up to 4 times a year.

The $95.99 thing on Amazon appears to be some kind of a download facility run by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. that is differen/separate from the regular nuMaps product offered by Garmin. Obviously you'd end up with the same maps but it would be interesting to know if using this service would be faster than the hassles we go through with the Garmin servers whenever a new map update is released.

This might be a newbie kind of question, but I have a Nuvi 350 and I was wondering if I bought the Lifetime maps if it would fit on my Nuvi? I forgot the amount of internal state memory in the Nuvi and wanted to confirm that it would fit before I bought the lifetime maps... thanks!

Are they worthwhile to purchase? I've got a Nuvi 750 and I'm thinking it would be better to purchase a new one with more features than pay for an update.

The order will be delivered today. And Farrisr, the shipping notice from Amazon clearly states a DVD is being shipped, once you get into the order screens and pays da money it also states DVD.

You need to connect your 350 to your PC and check to see how much free space there is now and what version map is currently installed. A lot depends on what map version you are coming from, how many custom POIs you have loaded and if you have loaded any additional voices or vehicles.

Below, is a post I made after each upgrade I did on my 660, because I am tracking the same thing. I had plenty of room without the necessity of deleting any "un-needed" files to make room.