New junction view?

AFAIK you are describing the normal junction view pictures. They have always had the static direction arrow shown on them. It looks like these static views only appear where there is no Dynamic Lane Assist information in the map data but overall there are probably many thousands of these views in the map data for no other reason than not all Nuvi models support the Dynamic Lane Assist feature but do support JV.

Just to be sure, is this picture similar to the one you saw:

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad75/t923347/67740.png

If not the above image, I wonder if you could have seen a Birds Eye Junction View:

From Garmin on the nuvi 2597:

Comprehensive Driving Guidance You See and Hear

Active Lane Guidance with voice prompts prepares you to drive through an exit or interchange with confidence. As you approach, an animated model uses brightly colored arrows to indicate the proper lane needed for your route; a friendly voice offers additional help. Bird’s Eye junction view offers a detailed view of interchanges, looking down as if from overhead. photoReal junction view realistically displays junctions and interchanges along your route, including the surrounding landscape. Brightly colored arrows indicate the proper lane to drive. nüvi 2597LMT also depicts real road signs as they appear along your route.

When I approach an interchange that offers a Birds Eye view with my 3597, my junction view starts with the overhead Birds Eye, then switches to a standard photoreal junction view, and finally disappears and returns to the full-screen map once turned on the interchage. Here's a YouTube example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zstrM3svwrE

Interesting—I've never seen the dynamic lane assist. Either my 3597 doesn't offer it or I haven't come to an interchange with it. Here it is on a 2597 along with one example of a Bird Eye JV and a standard JV if you watch the entire video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF5L3L6oasY

It looks like the 3597 also offers dynamic lane assist so I guess I just haven't come across one of them yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPAfK9TWkic

To me, the static Birds Eye JV will take up much less processor activity than the active assist which is constantly being redrawn. I think from these videos that I prefer the Birds Eye to the Dynamic.

Your could be right that what the OP saw was a Birds Eye view. I may have seen one or 2 of those in the last year.

The Dynamic Lane Assist is marginally useless IMHO. I would much rather see a picture of the interchange instead of a running line and nothing else but lane markers. Lane Assist gives my more useful information than that.

If you want to see a Dynamic Lane Assist, try a simulated route from Phoenix to Tempe. You'll see a JV on I-10 HOV and then a long Dynamic LA shortly after you enter Loop 202, followed by a JV onto 52nd St.

YES! The bird's eye was what I saw!

I personally prefer the dynamic lane assist in most instances. I like it because for quick junctions in succession (which happens a lot where I am), I know which lane to get into and when to change into the next lane. One route I travel quite a bit was initially very confusing because in a span of less than 2 miles, there were 4 lane changes necessary to get to where I wanted to go. There was a way to reduce it to 3, but I never remembered which one to get into so the dynamic lane assist helped.

Then there are the times where the dynamic lane assist was useless. I was in Houston a couple of months ago where I was on I-10 trying to get onto I-610 and then 290. When the dynamic lane assist popped up, I literally laughed out loud. With 10 or 12 lanes at that junction, the dynamic lane assist was useless to me. I felt like I was reading a spreadsheet! It was a high traffic time, and between trying to see how many lanes were to my right or to my left, watching the signs, and making sure I didn't plow into the car in front of me or beside me, there was no way I could match up the moving diagram with my actual situation. I took my best guess of how many lanes over it wanted me to be in (6 from the right, which I miraculously counted correctly) and which lane I was in (I thought I was 6 over, but I was actually 7, there was a semi blocking my view of the last lane) and prayed for the best. Fortunately, the road engineers saw this problem coming from a mile away (literally) and at the 1 or 2 mile out mark, the interstate shields and stat high way numbers were painted onto the actual lanes themselves, so I just followed that through the interchange.

Note to self, next time I decide to drive in Houston during rush hour, bring a partner to sit next to me to count lanes!

Oh man, just what I need ... another reason to buy a new GPS. That Bird's Eye View is really slick. We travel extensively in an RV, alot of times in areas we've never been in Canada and the US ... even though we have lane assist and junction view, it would be sweet to have that "extra" help.

Yes, the videos really do explain these features better than a single image.

One thing to consider before a new purchase. As I've suspected, recent web browsing has confirmed to me that Garmin has stopped production of at least the nuvi 3597 and maybe more devices. The 3597 is still not listed as being officially discontinued, but once the current supply is gone, no more will be made. So if you're looking for a 3597 (or maybe others like the 2597, etc.), buying one sooner rather than later may be smart. On the other hand, it does make one think that new "Advanced" or "Prestige" models may be coming very soon. I wonder what new features a GPS could have—and knowing Garmin, what current features will be lost on the upcoming new models.