So the rep told me that in 2009 there was less detail. Their contracts ended with some of the vendors who supplied them with bottom contour and structure detail on certain lakes. In 2009 they lost some of the data rights. My other hummingbird 797 C2 SI (side imaging) was $999 and that still does not work with Platinum cards. Hotmaps Platinum only work in certain units that can show their 3D and aerial views on some lakes. Hotmaps and Hotmaps Premium work in most Navionics compatible units. They MSRP at $149 and can be found for around $125 online. When it says 2010 premium you are buying the latest version with more HD surveys. So for example, the 2010 Hotmaps card for the East region is actually just the 2009 card.
Navionics gold card full#
I spoke with a Navionics rep last week because I read threads on the Texas fishing forums that some members had purchased the Navionics Hotmaps for their area and the latest cards in 2009 had less detail (under water structure) then their older cards! They were complaining their 2009 lake maps only showed the outline of some lakes where the year before 2008 of the the same lake had full detail.
So a 2008 Hotmaps card is actually the card that came out in 2007. (premium denotes that years latest maps and features) Hotmaps alone means last years maps. Here is what I found out on how the various years are price out there and the difference between them. I figured I'd snag another one off Ebay and get one a year or two newer. So I gave my Hotmaps Premium SD card to my Daughter to use in her new Humminbird 587 CI combo fishfinder / GPS.