Evaluating Three Top-End Units

Background or base map: All the maps were adequate. They showed main roads and bodies of water. The iFINDER and Meridian Platinum had better lake detail; the GPSMAP 76S had more road information.

Waypoint Storage: The iFINDER stores 1,000 waypoints and 1,000 separate icons called "event markers." The icons or event markers on the iFINDER can be placed on the map independent of waypoints. The GPSMAP 76S and Meridian Platinum store 500 waypoints with icons attached to waypoints.

MAP CDs

Garmin GPSMAP 76S: Garmin offers a variety of MapSource CDs. The GPSMAP 76S can use Garmin's MapSource Metro Guide, Blue Chart, Fishing Hot Spots, and U.S.Topo. The Metro Guide CD contains highway information, city streets restaurants, hotels, and a lot more city information. The Roads and Recreation CD shows cities, towns, rural roads, navaids, and more. Searches for "Points of Information (POI)" can be done. Phone numbers and address of businesses, government buildings, and more are available. City streets can be looked up. The Topo CD shows terrain contour and elevation information along with lake and reservoir shorelines. The Hot Spots Map CD shows contour lines and suggested fishing spots for selected lakes in different parts of the country.

Lowrance iFINDER: The iFINDER uses Lowrance's MapCreate 6. The Map Create 6 program comes with two CDs, U.S. East and U.S. West. The CDs provide detailed information on rural roads, highways, cities, and streets. A marine database provides information about navigation, obstructions, and wrecks. POI searches can be done for street addresses, business, government buildings, and more. Unique features for the MapCreate 6 program include the ability to choose your own POIs to be downloaded to a MMC. In other words, a custom map can be created with only the details of your choosing. The "Corridors" feature allows the traveler to create a 20- to 40-mile corridor along selected highways on a trip. This saves memory space since you're not covering a large "block" of territory. Travel information for the selected route can be displayed.

Magellan Meridian Platinum: Magellan's MapSend series of CD's include MapSend Streets & Destinations, MapSend Topoand BlueNav XL Charts. Streets & Destinations is similar to the MapCreate 6 program and the Metro Streets and Roads and Recreation combination. MapSend Streets & Destination, like the previously mentioned programs, has a huge database of points of interest. Streets, businesses, government buildings, and much more can be searched in the data base and displayed on the screen. The BlueNav Charts provide marine cartography, navigation information, currents, tides and more. A Woodall's Campground Database is included in both Streets & Destinations and Topo. Point of interest information can be turned off or on in the unit so only features of your choosing are displayed on the screen. The Topo program includes a 3-D database, contour lines, and elevation profiles.

(Note: For general comparisons, the databases of the Streets and Destinations program and the MapCreate 6 program appear to be similar to a combination of MetroGuide and Roads and Recreation.)