DeLorme GPS Products Offer Mapping Solutions

That GPS purchase you are considering will deliver so much convenience that you may not stop to think about the countless hours of image collection and cartography that go into compiling the easy-to-use GPS maps that millions of people benefit from everyday.

“We use a variety of sources,” said Charlie Conley of DeLorme, a Maine, USA-based provider of GPS mapping services and devices, “and that would include federal and state data source, municipal data sources and our own research. We do use a lot of aerial imagery for verification,” he told us, including federal data that includes photos from the United States Geological Survey.

“A Seamless Aerial Image”
“USGS quad maps are unique unto themselves,” Conley added, “and they’re something that people are familiar with because they’ve been the traditional topographic map source.” In addition, DeLorme uses their TopoBird, a proprietary, fully digital 3-D mapping platform that roams the skies using 12,000-pixel linear array sensors to collect GPS data that is compiled into a seamless image that complies with National Mapping Accuracy Standards.

“Everyday (the plane will) have a certain area it’ll fly, down one way, and back the other, down one way, and back the other. When you process the data that’s collected you get a seamless aerial image” that is used by DeLorme or other organizations, including federal agencies that DeLorme may contract with, Conley said.

DeLorme offers GPS navigation devices that are highly popular within the business and government sectors, as well as the RV market; for example GPS handhelds like the brand-new GPS Earthmate PN-20 can be used for navigation in a recreational vehicle or taken out onto trails for hiking. As one might expect, the rugged GPS PN-20 is loaded with tons of GPS maps, including a world base map, Topo USA street and topographic maps, regional routable maps, and free download of the scanned USGS maps Conley added. That GPS purchase you are considering will deliver so much convenience that you may not stop to think about the countless hours of image collection and cartography that go into compiling the easy-to-use GPS maps that millions of people benefit from everyday.

Affordable Yet Powerful GPS Functionality
Despite being competitively priced, the GPS PN-20 includes black-and-white aerial imagery and colorized satellite imagery in addition to the above-mentioned maps, with no additional mapping data or subscription required – just the kind of innovative GPS mapping and navigation solution you’d expect from DeLorme.

The WAAS-enabled PN-20 is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista, features a high-resolution 220 x 176 pixel trans-reflective color screen and an NMEA-compliant receiver and a proprietary Kalman filter for superior reception and signal accuracy. An SD slot and 75 MB of internal memory have the PN-20 poised to lead the pack in the high-performance GPS handheld market.

“DeLorme has been pioneering the mapping software and the GPS field since the 90s,” he told GPSFAQ.com. “The original Earthmate GPS was the first GPS that you could use with a laptop.” DeLorme’s brand-new Earthmate GPS BT-20 features the flexibility of Bluetooth and USB functionality, along with the ability to download and add their data to customized GPS maps, including the use of Excel data.

“You can see the map either from a large screen perspective on your laptop, or on your PDA,” Conley said. The BT-20 is ready to use with PDAs and touch-screen phones running Palm OS, Windows Mobile 5.0 or Pocket PC. Voice commands (on laptops only) and turn-by-turn directions make the BT-20 another DeLorme product that’s sure to take the GPS marketplace by storm.

Affordable Yet Powerful GPS Functionality

Despite being competitively priced, the GPS PN-20 includes black-and-white aerial imagery and colorized satellite imagery in addition to the above-mentioned maps, with no additional mapping data or subscription required – just the kind of innovative GPS mapping and navigation solution you’d expect from DeLorme.