Delorme Topo North America 9.0

[dzzz]

This new version has been out for a week or two. I received mine yesterday. $80 retail for the program plus five regional dvds. Then an optional $30/year for for unlimited downloads of :

- High-Resolution U.S. color aerial imagery
- USGS 1:24,000 topographic quads
- 1:50,000 Natural Resources Canada topographic map sheets
- NOAA nautical charts

So tons of data for explorers. I like other programs better for regular street navigation -like Garmin's PC program.

[gahi]

where did you buy it from? it came with the regional dvds?

[dzzz]

Sorry, the version for the PN handhelds has the disks. I don't know what comes in the box for Windows only.
There's a bundle of topo 9.0 and the PN40 for about $220, which is a good deal.
I think the windows only version comes with some credits to download more detailed topos and photos. As usual with delorme it's a bit confusing.

[85CUCV]

I'm starting to feel techno impaired. I just received my PN60wse yesterday. I'm currently trying to unravel Delorme North America Topo 9. Looks like it will do alot. Big jump from my Garmin GPSV.

[crusader]

Is 9.0 more user-friendly than 8.0? Almost NOTHING is intuitive on 8.0.

[sds]

I just bought 9.0 software only (no PN) and it does include the regional disks. $40 download credit was included as well. Google shopped for the lowest current price and found it for $79.99 w/ free shipping.

Currently using it on a Win 7 Asus T91MT touchscreen netbook with a Globasat BU-353 usb receiver.

I'm not an expert user and I have no experience with previous versions so I'll not attempt a real review. But here are some of my noob thoughts...

So far I like it. I haven't finished the vehicle mount for the netbook so no serious trail time yet. I have had it out on a couple of short runs just to start the learning curve.

I found it a bit clunky at first until I learned which tabs and menus I could live without in order to get the most from the little 8.9" screen. I wish it had a 'full screen' mode that would eliminate all tabs, menus and frames. It does have a 'netbook' mode that allows you to hide the lower tabs but I find it easier to just minimize the tabs by dragging the little divider to the bottom of the screen.

I've downloaded some of the USGS quads and used them to draw in some roads/trails that do not appear on the Delorme maps. Drawing in navigable roads seems easy enough, although I have not used other software packages for comparison. I prefer the Delorme maps over the USGS quads for driving as the quads are not as clean and clear. It is handy to have the quad available for reference and drawing in missing data, though.

I have not found a quick way to drop a waypoint yet. I'd love to have a one touch solution for that to mark things on the fly. It would be doubly good to have a voice command for that, too. The voice command seems to work well so far, but the only really useful ones for me so far are zoom and pan.

Well there's my first two cents. I look forward to hearing and learning more from more experienced users here.


Later all,

Dave

[Mamontof]

Is 9.0 more user-friendly than 8.0? Almost NOTHING is intuitive on 8.0.

My question the same , where a difference between them ?

I use 8.0 , work really good