Is City Navigator Na 8 Worth It?

[moonpup]

I was looking at the map viewer for CN8 for my state of Massachusetts and didn't notice a big difference between that and CN7. Does anyone out there who has upgraded from 7 to 8 recommend it or should I save my money for CN9?

[+KandRS]

Judging from the maps found on the website many of the errors from the previous version still exist, though they have been reported.

[Neo_Geo]

I've been getting around just fine with City Select version 5 since February of 2004, and I'm kind of leaning towards waiting until Navigator 9 comes out. Unless your business regularly takes you to the newest residential developments (real estate agents, cable installers, carpet cleaners, etc.), then you can get away with skipping regular updates. The ONLY reason I'm considering possibly buying City Navigator 8 is for the more advanced route calculation data over the City Select. Since you're already using Navigator, then it's just a question of whether or not you need the newer data or not...

[+ejnewman]

According to the other thread the biggest change was smaller sizes for the individual map pieces. It sounds like there weren't as many changes to the roads and POIs, or at least some errors in CN7 are still in CN8.

Edited June 29, 2006 by ejnewman

[+TrailGators]

I've been getting around just fine with City Select version 5 since February of 2004, and I'm kind of leaning towards waiting until Navigator 9 comes out. Unless your business regularly takes you to the newest residential developments (real estate agents, cable installers, carpet cleaners, etc.), then you can get away with skipping regular updates. The ONLY reason I'm considering possibly buying City Navigator 8 is for the more advanced route calculation data over the City Select. Since you're already using Navigator, then it's just a question of whether or not you need the newer data or not...

If it gets you where you need to be then that's all that matters!

[+PhntmArcher]

Are POI's more up to date than CN7 or are they basically the same? The smaller map sizes are not important to me, but updated POI and highways are.

[+ejnewman]

Are POI's more up to date than CN7 or are they basically the same? The smaller map sizes are not important to me, but updated POI and highways are.

 

A few people in the other thread mentioned that the POIs in their towns were as out of date in CN8 as they were in CN7.

Edited June 29, 2006 by ejnewman

[moonpup]

Thanks gang, I think I'll wait for CN9 next year...

[planewood]

Version 8 shows an Exxon station down the street that hasn't been there for at least 7 years.

 

Also does not show a major street nearby that has been completed for 2 years.

[andygriffith]

Version 8 shows an Exxon station down the street that hasn't been there for at least 7 years.

 

Also does not show a major street nearby that has been completed for 2 years.

 

One thing that I have been testing is using another mapping source, like Mapquest. Navteq provides the mapping information to these guys and others like Google Maps, etc. I have noticed that Mapquest has a lot more recent and more accurate maps that what we get from Garmin and the City Select/Navigator maps.

 

I also noticed that Mapquest seems to have more accurate data than Google Maps, so I think that Navteq has accurate data, but that the different companies that use it are the one's that lag far behind in incorporating it into their products.

 

I have been waiting to get some more updated freeway information for my area and after looking at the maps for CN8 I am disappointed to see that I won't get any in this version.

 

Just to make sure that the Garmin website is really giving us CN8 data on their web page, I did locate a fairly new neighborhood that was not in CS7 but is in both Mapquest and the CN8 demo maps on the Garmin website.

 

So, it looks like what you see on the Garmin site for CN8 is what you will get. Now I just need to see what the upgrade price is and see if I think it is worth it.

[+tflight]

so I think that Navteq has accurate data, but that the different companies that use it are the one's that lag far behind in incorporating it into their products.

That is exactly right, and the same goes for Tele Atlas. The mapping companies update their databases with new and corrected information pretty much on a daily basis. The companies who pay for the data then need to convert the data to their own proprietary formats and in the case of products like City Navigator get the physical media produced etc. That process takes time... however I agree it seems to take longer than it perhaps should.