Did I waste my money?

[tesoro]

 
Man am I scratching my head thinking that I am more denser than i thought. Decided to set aside my iphone/ipad with google maps etc and buy a real gps. So I picked up a new Montana 600 and also a handful of chips off the rack - northwest & west & oregon hunt & the nuvi navigator. ( $$$)
I have gone thru this excellent site and see nowhere where it says I can load these maps into internal memory...so I am assuming that everytime I want to access one i have to swap chips?  If so this is crazy and I have to believe that I am missing something.  There is no function on the 600 to import maps from a chip and the data on the chip cant be copied to a large capacity micro sd card which I also bought.
So did i buy the wrong thing? thx for help

[SmugWimp]

You didn't waste any money on the Montana...  But typically Maps purchased on SD are not transferrable to other locations; You'll have to pack the chips you want to use for your trip.

You CAN group several maps into one map file from within BaseCamp or MapSource, but the source for those maps are usually CD Install or Download...

Cheers!

-- Smug

[babj615]

Garmin sells maps three ways:

1: uSD card - Can be swapped from one unit to another, so not locked to any one GPSr.
2: Download - Locked to the device connected when installed.
3: DVD - Locked to a single device of your choosing.

Great choice on the Montana. You should be able to find many useful maps here to use in the Montana internal memory

[Boyd]

I also have a Montana 600 and it's the best GPS I've ever owned (and there have been many  ). So you certainly didn't waste your money there.

But, as Smug said, if by "chips" that means you purchased maps on a microSD card, then you can only use one at a time. That kind of map is permanently locked to its original card. What you were missing, unfortunately, was the knowledge of how Garmin's different map products work. If you had purchased the DVD or download versions, the maps could be installed/combined in either internal memory or your own microSD card.

Check the warranty/return policy of the store you went to. IF they won't refund your money, maybe they will allow you to exchange the cards for the DVD versions. Otherwise, you will have to swap cards to use the different maps. 

[tesoro]

well thanks all for the input...so i was correct..and i didnt mean i wasted money on the 600..its tits...but i wasted about 300 bucks on the garmin micro sd's.  cant return them because i am famous for throwing all packaging away before i have tested my purchases!
I guess I will try to sell them used and go the way i should have so i could load them all on my 16 gig sd card.
seems like garmin has a way to go yet with their programming which is surprising considering they are numero uno in this field..it is actually rather amazing that they are lacking in some simple functions and also puny in internal flash rom. heck even chinese copy pda's have 10x the memory that my 600 dollar montana has. and the camera on the montana?  pretty limp in todays technology!
I wish apple would make a standalone gps! hmm.coming to think of it...i have a 4s that has a gps and there is excellent mapping apps avail and can download pay for view topo maps . I had done that before some months back. and i have a fully waterproof slimline case for it.
SO what does the iphone lack in comparison to the garmins if the phone function is disabled along with all other communication features.

[maps4gps]

You could explain the situation to Garmin - nicely.
Some have reported that Garmin has sent them DVD's after a purchaser found a website download was not really what they wanted/needed. 

Change your throw away practice or live with paying the price.

[Boyd]

seems like garmin has a way to go yet with their programming which is surprising considering they are numero uno in this field.

Seems like you have a long way to go with your procedures if you want to avoid wasting money in the future. It isn't Garmin's fault that you made an impulse purchase without any research and then threw away the packaging.

Handheld recreational GPS devices are very different from cell phones. For one thing, there is an economy of scale with a product like the iPhone where millions of people buy them the first day they are released as opposed to a niche product like the Montana. I also have an iPhone and love it. But it would be a very poor substitute for my Montana. I think the differences are pretty obvious. It's designed to be rugged, the screen is visible in reflected light without a backlight, it can be submerged in water, there are no glass parts, the user interface is designed to be simplistic for use on the go, more robust GPS chips and larger antenna. Different tools for different jobs.

No question that Garmin could improve the Montana, but compare it with any other handheld GPS and it will come out on top. Internal memory is small on all handhelds, 4GB on the Montana is the largest you will find anywhere (8GB on the 650t). Should not be an issue since you can add an inexpensive memory card. Try that on your iPhone. 

Also realize that the Montana is significantly cheaper than an iPhone. The real cost of an iPhone is spread across the 2 year contract that you must sign. If you just want to purchase the phone itself, I believe it costs $600.