City Navigator

[supersam264]

Hi there i have a garmin 60csx. I'm trying to find the best turn by turn software for it. It came with city navigator. I'm not sure what year it is. I have been looking around and i have also seen city navigator NT. What is the difference between the two. Would i be best off selling the regular city navigator and getting the city navigator nt 2010. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Sam

[+Klatch]

Hi there i have a garmin 60csx. I'm trying to find the best turn by turn software for it. It came with city navigator. I'm not sure what year it is. I have been looking around and i have also seen city navigator NT. What is the difference between the two. Would i be best off selling the regular city navigator and getting the city navigator nt 2010. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Sam

NT uses a different compression technology (New Technology) and uses less space on the card. Since yours is the non-NT version, it is almost certainly several generations old. City Navigator NT is still the best for navigation.

[+Chuy!]

Technically, both the NT and non-NT version are identical for navigation purposes, and the space they require on a card (per map square mile) is virtually identical. The difference is the NT map segments download in larger "chucks" of data. In California, for example, two NT map segments cover the state versus approximately 90 non-NT map segments. Non-NT maps are preferable for non-datacard models because some NT map segments are larger than the internal memory of some handheld mapping models. Each segment of California is over 30mb each! In non-NT map segments rarely go over 4mb.

 

CN has been discontinued; so you now can only get NT versions. I'm pretty sure you can get away with getting update maps instead of the the full versions. The Garmin website has a map-update page where you connect your GPS and the site determines what map updates you need.

[supersam264]

Thanks a bunch for the information. The city navigator i have is still new in the package. Do you think it would be best to try and sell it and just buy the new version. The updates you were talking about on the garmin website, are those free downloads, or would i buy the updates. Thanks Sam

 

 

Technically, both the NT and non-NT version are identical for navigation purposes, and the space they require on a card (per map square mile) is virtually identical. The difference is the NT map segments download in larger "chucks" of data. In California, for example, two NT map segments cover the state versus approximately 90 non-NT map segments. Non-NT maps are preferable for non-datacard models because some NT map segments are larger than the internal memory of some handheld mapping models. Each segment of California is over 30mb each! In non-NT map segments rarely go over 4mb.

 

CN has been discontinued; so you now can only get NT versions. I'm pretty sure you can get away with getting update maps instead of the the full versions. The Garmin website has a map-update page where you connect your GPS and the site determines what map updates you need.

[+Chuy!]

Each update costs $$, about $60-70. They come out with upgrades every year, but you don't have to update every year - generally, only when there are significant map changes in your caching/travelling areas. The upgrades can be bought in DVD version from retailers or as a download option from the Garmin website.

 

So, you can imagine the value of each release goes down with time.

 

What I did this year is I waited to just before the 2010 map versions came out and bought a NT 2009 upgrade version for $25 at Wallyworld. Actually, I'm thinking it might have been $15, but a good value either way. At these prices I can afford to update every year!

[seldom_sn]

Thanks a bunch for the information. The city navigator i have is still new in the package. Do you think it would be best to try and sell it and just buy the new version. The updates you were talking about on the garmin website, are those free downloads, or would i buy the updates. Thanks Sam

 

If it's still shrink-wrapped, and you bought it separately from a dealer you might be able to return it. If you installed it, you own it. If you bought it on ebay, somebody else may have already unlocked it. CityNav(not NT) locks to two Garmins, CityNavNT locks to one Garmin only.

[+Klatch]

<snip>...CityNavNT locks to one Garmin only.

After v8.

[Ken in Regina]

Klatch and Chuy! you are both a bit off.

 

1. City Navigator North America non-NT is not "several generations older" than the NT version. Not yet. The last non-NT version is 2009. The currently available NT version is 2010. That makes one year difference. That may not be enough difference to upgrade yet if the original poster can't swap straight across.

 

2. There is a very big difference in the file sizes between the NT and the non-NT versions.

 

CNNA 2009 is 1744.1MB if you select the whole thing.

CNNA 2009NT is 1099.5MB if you select the whole thing.

 

Yes, there is also a difference in the number of tiles: 74 tiles for 2009 NT, 344 tiles for 2009.

 

...ken...

[+Trailbuds]

Each update costs $$, about $60-70. They come out with upgrades every year, but you don't have to update every year - generally, only when there are significant map changes in your caching/travelling areas. The upgrades can be bought in DVD version from retailers or as a download option from the Garmin website.

 

So, you can imagine the value of each release goes down with time.

 

What I did this year is I waited to just before the 2010 map versions came out and bought a NT 2009 upgrade version for $25 at Wallyworld. Actually, I'm thinking it might have been $15, but a good value either way. At these prices I can afford to update every year!

 

I'd buy a NT 2009 for $15 right now. You say you got it at Wallyworld, are you taking about Walmart or where? Did you go to the store or online to buy it?