Garmin BlueChart Americas Saltwater Map CD-ROM (Windows) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Although the packaging offers coverage of the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, and South America on this expensive CD, you can only unlock a very limited "region" with your original purchase. Says Garmin tech support, "When you purchase BlueChart, you're entitled to one free region, and then additional regions can be purchased for $116.65." The word "free" here reflects Garmin's generally abysmal use of language found on their Web site, a labyrinth of obfuscation tangled in their arcane and ultra-paranoid "unlocking" technology and hidden prices. Unlike their Topo and City Navigator CDs where you get a lot of maps for your money, BlueChart gave me a limited sliver of southwest Florida for my purchase price. When I went to load Cape Cod, I discovered I would need to pony up another $116 for this small region. To unlock everything on this CD would costs many, many thousands of dollars, and nowhere is this clear to the unwary consumer.
What is especially grating in all this is that Garmin relies on U.S. government maps and GPS satellites that we taxpapers have already paid for. I find the marketing of Blue Chart really deceptive, especially given the important public safety implications of nautical mapping.
I would add that boat-towing travelers and nautical siteseers will need shoreside mapping and road info, for which these charts are useless, so you'll need additional map products and memory cards to show roads, parks, dining, and local amenities. Buyer beware.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin BlueChart Americas Saltwater Map CD-ROM (Windows)

Garmin's exclusive line of BlueChart marine cartography products is designed to provide interactive viewing of detailed nautical chart data. These detailed electronic nautical charts look just like paper charts when displayed on your Garmin chart plotter. Descriptive details for features typically found on nautical charts can easily be viewed with a simple key press. Cursor movements over the chart provide descriptions for contour depths, chart number, navaid name, and much more.
BlueChart data includes shaded depth contours, intertidal zones, spot soundings, wrecks, navaids, port plans, restricted areas, cable areas, anchorages, and more. Additionally, BlueCharts include information from the paper chart used in the digitization process, such as chart number, name, scale, revision date, and Notice-to-Mariners date.
Three MapSource BlueChart CD-ROMs are available: Americas, Atlantic, and Pacific. The Atlantic CD-ROM covers Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. One CD-ROM contains BlueChart data for an entire region. MapSource BlueChart is a Microsoft Windows-based program that uses Garmin Unlock technology, allowing you to use one coverage area from the CD-ROM when initially purchased and to purchase additional coverage areas. Internet access is recommended for the unlock process.
Compatible products include these Garmin marine chart plotters: GPSMAP 176, GPSMAP 176C, GPSMAP 182, GPSMAP 188 Sounder, GPSMAP 232, GPSMAP 238 Sounder, GPSMAP 2006, and the GPSMAP 2010. BlueChart CD-ROMs are also compatible with Garmin GPS receivers that accept map data, including the GPSMAP 76, eTrex Vista, and eTrex Legend.

Click here for more information about Garmin BlueChart Americas Saltwater Map CD-ROM (Windows)