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DeLorme TOPO USA 8.0 imminent?

UPDATE: DeLorme is saying that this "time frame is not correct." No indication from them of a ship date though.

I thought this might interest you DeLorme PN-40 users out there. While it hasn’t been announced yet, Cabela’s is showing DeLorme Topo USA 8.0 as backordered but shipping within one week. Perhaps we’ll hear an official DeLorme announcement by early next week, giving us some idea of the forthcoming improvements.

Thanks Chris!

TomTom Map Update Service

TomTom has officially announced the availability of its Map Update Service^TM for U.S. and Canadian consumers, allowing access to one year of quarterly map updates, for a one-time fee as low as $39.80, or $9.95 per map release.

USGS e-topos coming in next few weeks

Electronic topo quads will be available from the USGS map store in the next few weeks (apparently for free), according to All Points Blog. The goal is to produce new topo maps for the entire U.S., with each quad being updated every three years!

The updates are based upon the National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP), which I've covered before. The APB article goes into the merits (demerits?) of this, since it is summertime, "leaf-on" imagery. I'm not sold on the GeoPDF format yet either, but hey, at least USGS is making steps towards a faster update cycle.

Handheld GPS news briefs

It's that time of year, when handheld GPS enthusiasts' thoughts turn to tech toys the outdoors. Yes, spring will be here soon, very soon for some of us, and I've got a few goodies for those of you ready to hit the trail:

More free maps for your Garmin GPS

I don't know who John M. is, but he's my hero du jour, because he's posted a southeastern U.S. map with 20 foot contour intervals at GPS File Depot (image at left). The map installs directly to MapSource. There's also one for New England and much of the southwest. As I perused the site, I also noticed an RSS feed, so you can easily be notified as new maps are posted. This is the best single location I know of for downloading free Garmin-compatible maps for the U.S. Now I just need someone to upload a transparent trails map for the southeast!

Garmin BaseCamp for handheld GPS

Garmin has announced a new desktop application -- BaseCamp -- designed for backcountry GPS enthusiasts. It basically does the same thing MapSource does, adding 3D rendering, photo geotagging, and the ability to rotate to non-north up viewpoints. It will also bring improved printing capabilities, geocaching information display and data management functionality.

Garmin nuMaps Lifetime map update program

Garmin has announced nuMaps Lifetime - a new program that allows customers to download map and POIs updates every quarter for the life of their Garmin device. The program will go live on January 21; it was expected to be available a few months ago, but there were unspecified delays in getting it up and running. Costs are as follows:

• City Navigator® North America NT ($119.99)
• City Navigator Europe NT ($139.99)
• City Navigator Transatlantic ($149.99)

More free topo maps for Garmin receivers

The list of states for which there are free high-resolution, Garmin-compatible topo maps continues to expand. The following are currently available:

• Arizona
• Colorado (sample image above left)
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Mississippi
• Montana
• New Mexico
• Utah
• Wyoming (sample image above right)

Magellan Triton custom maps

There's been a lot of progress recently on making custom maps for the Magellan Triton series. For any of you with these handhelds, here are some resources to check out...

Garmin Lifetime Maps

GpsPasSion is reporting that Garmin will begin offering "Lifetime Maps," effective October 15, at a cost of $119. According to the site, "subscribers will be able to download quarterly updates for their GPS system as long as they own it."