Garmin to acquire DeLorme

[txstateends]

http://bangordailynews.com/2016/02/11/business/gps-firm-garmin-to-buy-iconic-maine-mapmaker-delorme/?ref=relatedBoxApps
http://bangordailynews.com/2016/02/18/outdoors/bdn-readers-arent-willing-to-part-with-their-well-worn-delorme-maps/

Looks like we may be losing another source of paper maps and atlases.

[triplemultiplex]

Damn, I've always loved the Delorme atlases.  I still keep one in my vehicle for Wisconsin; one of the oldish ones where all the roads are different thicknesses of red lines.  Very editable with fine tip pens and white out.
I like that they are adapted from 1:100,000 series USGS maps

I have every expectation Garmin will end production on them regardless of what they said in the article.  Because Garmin don't do print.

[paulthemapguy]

Quote from the article itself:

"Sales of the company's printed maps had dropped through the early 2000s, Stiver said, but have leveled off in recent years as "people are discovering the utility of using a paper map in conjunction with technology."

This is what I hoped would happen!  GPS/electronic devices won't replace paper maps, per se, but paper maps will assist people in more in-situ applications.  Like, when you're already on the trip and you're in a rural area where 3g/4g internet coverage is garbage.  Paper maps are also a fail-safe you can keep in your care, kind of like a first-aid kit to back you up when electronic devices are broken or dysfunctional.

With that said, I hope that Garmin recognizes the continuing, but lesser, need for paper maps.  Imo it would be foolish to phase them out entirely.  Especially with DeLorme's amazing attention to detail when it comes to contours/topography.  Google maps ain't got sh*t when it comes to elevations and contours.  I've always loved DeLorme's red-covered topo maps. I've got like 4-5 of them (i.e. representing 4-5 states).