Jump to content

Magellan GPSr in New Zealand


BigNick

Recommended Posts

Today I stopped in at the Boat Expo here in Christchurch to have a look at the GPSr gear that they had on sale and ended up having a very interesting chat with John from Electronic Navigation Ltd (he is based in Nelson, but it is an Auckland company) and he showed me a very nice Magellan SporTrak GPSr unit but much more interesting was the Magellan Meridian Platinum GPSr, the reason that it was so interesting (apart from the great features and fantastic user interface - better than my basic eTrex) was the fact they they are about to do a big push in New Zealand of their land based products (Electronic Navigation Ltd is primarily involved in boat navigation) because their R&D division are just finishing up a New Zealand base map for the Magellan mapping range of GPS units - he has seen a beta version that was Auckland only and said that it went all the way down to street level, the full NZ coverage version is due out soon (initially ENL were hoping for an October release, but some delays have pushed this to the New Year (though I would imagine that they would be trying to get it out in time for Xmas purchases) so that should be something to look forward to if you are planning on upgrading your GPSr.

 

It will be interesting to see if this prompts Polymedia and Integrated Mapping to release Magellan compatible upgrades to NZMapped and TopoMapPro as currently I don't think either support the upload and download of waypoints from any GPSr other than Garmin (I guess because Magellan is pretty unknown here in NZ)(hopefully they do, as the Magellan interface protocol is easier than Garmins from the look I have had at the SDK)

Cheers

Nick

Link to comment

I have some more information from Warren at ENL:

1) The maps will be available on both SD card and CD (the SD card will be writable so you can store WP/Tracks as well)

2) There will be maps for both sea (for boats - available end of year) and land (streets and topos - still in development 6-8 months away icon_frown.gif)

3) Price has not been yet been fixed

Cheers

Nick.

Link to comment

I have some more information from Warren at ENL:

1) The maps will be available on both SD card and CD (the SD card will be writable so you can store WP/Tracks as well)

2) There will be maps for both sea (for boats - available end of year) and land (streets and topos - still in development 6-8 months away icon_frown.gif)

3) Price has not been yet been fixed

Cheers

Nick.

Link to comment

Please permit someone from England their small addition to this thread. Although I'm not familiar with NZ mapping (although I hope to make use of some in the next year or two!) I am familiar with the Magellan Platinum. I've had one for a couple of months having previously had a Garmin e-Trex Summit for a year or so. Both are good but the Magellan wins hands down for both its mapping ability and perhaps more importantly it much superior reception, particularly under tree cover.

 

It's true that Garmin units are much more widely supported by software vendors but there's no problem importing/exporting waypoints using EasyGPS which has the added benefit of being free.

 

Hope this helps your decision, Peter

 

_________________________________________________________

 

It is better to regret something you did, rather than to regret something you didn't do.

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by BigNick:

quote:
Originally posted by brentc:

Get a Garmin Mapping GPS icon_biggrin.gif

I really like my 76S


Yes, the 76S is very nice, built I much prefer the price of the Meridian Platinum ($253USD vrs $449USD) for very similar features (except option for external antenna)

Cheers

Nick.


 

icon_cool.gif Plus the NZ$500 to NZ$600 for NZ Maps icon_frown.gif for the Meridian when they become available - paid US$375 for the 76S.

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by BigNick:

quote:
Originally posted by brentc:

Get a Garmin Mapping GPS icon_biggrin.gif

I really like my 76S


Yes, the 76S is very nice, built I much prefer the price of the Meridian Platinum ($253USD vrs $449USD) for very similar features (except option for external antenna)

Cheers

Nick.


 

icon_cool.gif Plus the NZ$500 to NZ$600 for NZ Maps icon_frown.gif for the Meridian when they become available - paid US$375 for the 76S.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...