64 bit Basecamp means Garmin has not totally stop development of Basecamp

With CarPlay in the vehicles, and Apple maps continuing to improve - and actually having better maps than Garmin in a few places, (I know they both use TomTom but for some reason they are not exactly the same), I sometimes wonder why I’m still buying every Nuvi update that Garmin releases. I currently have 10 Garmin GPS’s, but getting too old to use the handhelds much any more. BaseCamp is why I buy Garmin’s GPS’s. The SmartDrive 61 “turns ahead” is a feature worth the update, but only if I can upload a shaped route. Garmin is also duplicating a lot of smart phone services, which I think is a waste of their resources. BaseCamp is the only good solution I have found that lets you shape a route and upload the shaped route to the GPS. I have uploaded shaped routes to a Garmin NuviCam and a SmartDrive 61 side by side. The maps and GPS’s are running the latest update; I get slightly different routes on each GPS because what is being uploaded is only waypoints and preferences, and the GPS is calculating the route. I fear that with time the ability to upload shaped routes and not have them change on the GPS will become a bigger problem. I know Garmin is tweaking their routing algorithm, and I don’t think BaseCamp is being updated.  All in all it is still the best solution at this point in time to shape a route to your preference and get it on a GPS.

I am thankful for the 64 bit update. I downloaded 4.8.4 and have not seen any problems. The reviews have not been good, but I figure most people are like me and usually only post about problems. I hope there are enough bikers and people like me who prefer custom scenic routes for camping to keep Garmin profitable. I would hope Garmin would not try to compete with CarPlay and Google Maps for every day drivers and will instead cater to the group that wants to shape routes. I can’t understand why Garmin has never used BaseCamp to sell GPS’s. I have never seen it mentioned on the product pages.