Destination Highways Companion GPSs 

If you are on our email notification list, you may have received an email from us referring you to this page, for GPS updates. 
Stay tuned for when you can pre-order (and save $$$)

Aug 20/10
We expect to get our hands on a beta version of the DH NorCal Companion GPS by Sep 1. (See "What's the vision for DH Companion GPS?" below for description and watch for screen shots here.) If all goes as expected, we'll be taking discounted (save-$$$) pre-orders shortly after that, so make sure you'll be notified by giving us your email address at the bottom of this page. 

Jun 17/10
Thanks to the nearly 1000 people who filled out our now-closed GPS survey.  The survey provided a wealth of information for us (which will benefit you). We're pleased to announce that work has started on our first DH GPS product, which will be----drum roll please----a Garmin compatible DH NorCal Companion GPS.

Why Garmin first?
It was clear from our survey respondents that Garmin is (currently) still the 800 pound gorilla in the motorcycle-specific GPS room. That's not to say that our DH NorCal Companion GPS will work on the thousands of Garmin models they seem to have produced and then discontinued over the years. Generally though, Garmin Zumos, Nuvis (and other units) will run it if they can take an SD or microSD card and have sufficient memory. (Ditto for OEM installed units made by Garmin installed on your BMW/Harley etc.) Unfortunately, that means your trusty old Streetpilot won't run our software.  (I know, I know, we liked our old Streetpilots too. They’ve even got a better name. A Zumo sounds like something made by Mazda.) 

What about DH Companion GPS for other platforms?
For Tom Tom, Magellan and other "traditional GPS" platform fans, it will depend on a couple of things:
1) insistent demand from enough riders to make us believe there is a big enough market there and
2) the ease (read $$$) with which our software can be built and produced for these other platforms. Wouldn't hurt for you riders who want DH Companion GPS on other platforms to let these manufacturers know of your desires.

What about DH Companion GPS for hand-held communication devices (and tablets)?
For fans of iEverything (believe me, we hear you iPeople), Crackberry, Android etc, etc, etc, see 1) and 2) above. We anticipate producing DH Companion GPS for hand-held communication devices will actually get easier as time goes on, due to such cross-platform innovations as Ultraviolet coming down the pipe.  (For whichever devices survive, that is.) Believe me, we'd certainly like to be platform agnostic and give you our stuff on whatever device you prefer. As soon as we get the Garmin DH NorCal Companion GPS out, we'll be looking at building  iCrackdroid versions of it, if you want them. Please let us know. 

Why is DH NorCal Companion GPS first, why do BC and WA get boned?
As you might imagine, especially if you live up here in the great northwest and are smart enough to already have DHBC and DHWA, many survey respondents want to get the DHBC and DHWA GPS in one package at the same time,  for the same reason they bought both DHBC and DHWA. That is, they want to ride both jurisdictions in the same trip, to access many of the total 532 DHs and TEs that are linked geographically along the border (many within 200 mi / 320 km either side of it). (see map at the bottom of this page)

Because of this feedback, we want to offer a joint DHBC/DHWA Companion GPS at the same time as we offer the individual DHBC and DHWA Companion GPSs (the latter two for the, ah –how do we put this–"less-engaged" riders). Obviously, this will take a little longer to put together than the DH NorCal Companion GPS. Hence, our decision to start with NorCal and use it as the template (and before you ask, yes we will offer a DH SoCal Companion GPS upgrade to the DH NorCal Companion GPS software, so you won’t have to buy the joint NorCal/SoCal one from scratch when it becomes available). Rest assured, we will produce the BC Companion GPS, WA Companion GPS & joint BC/WA Companion GPS as soon as we can, after the NorCal one. (Of course, buying the DH NorCal Companion GPS will certainly help encourage us to do this ;-)

What's the vision for DH Companion GPS?
Our software will integrate seamlessly with the DH NorCal book/Companion Map but it won't replace what they do, because it can't. A GPS unit can't do what it can't do, and it can neither efficiently deliver all the descriptive information in a 570 page book, nor can it  give you the "big picture" that a fold-out map can (just as a book, limited by page size, can't give you the "big picture" that a map can). What the DH NorCal Companion GPS will do is leverage the navigation advantages of GPS (in much the same way as our Companion Maps leverages the "big picture" and route-planning advantages of a traditional, large-scale, fold-up map.) Your Garmin GPS unit is great for telling you where you are but  not so good at telling you where you should be. With our Companion GPSs on it,  it will do that as well, giving you all the information you need (in conjunction with our books/maps) to quickly and easily "ride like a local" . This guy gets it:
"Having about 35,000 miles on my GPS, I'd suggest that GPS is best as an addition to the existing Destination Highway books/Companion Maps. Because you cannot see the big picture on a GPS unit, the maps  and books are required for planning. The GPS is most useful for executing the plan." Exactly! 

And if you're not a big planner, and you just want to get to the nearest DH or TE, we'll make that easy-peasy too. If you have our books/Companion Maps, you already know that all the information therein is keyed to letting you "ride like a local" whether you've never ridden in an area before, or have ridden there for years (and still miss tons of stuff, because like the two riders below, you don't know what you don't know):
"I'm a 66 year old native from the Seattle area and as such, thought I knew all the roads Washington has to offer. Hah! Yesterday I went about 25 minutes from from my home in Lynnwood and enjoyed the Spring weather on roads I'd never been on before!"

"DH NorCal and its Companion Map gave my son and I the best trip ever last summer, and we thought we already knew the roads in Northern California!"
See more testimonials

The books/maps do this by giving you all the hard information on what the various DHs and TEs offer and showing you how they all fit together, so you can decide which ones you want to ride, depending on what and how you ride.  With the Companion GPSs having the DHs and TEs pre loaded, it'll just be easier to locate/route plan/just ride 'em than it is now using GPS with our books/maps:
"You guys publish the best motorcycle books. Period! Here's how I'm using my DH NorCal book and its Companion Map for my trip. After consulting the book, I am putting all the DH's and some of the TEs on my GPS. Each night, I will decide which roads to ride the next day during my two week trip. The Companion Map is perfect for this. Using this technique I can avoid having to create a route beforehand for the whole trip."

"Just rode down to Portland on all the Washington state back road DHs and TEs. Planned the trip with the DHWA book, created the routes on the GPS and travelled with the DHWA Companion Map, which makes everything come together. Great map, great detail..."

As for specifics, keep watching this page. We’ll be rolling out some screen shots and more specific information on how the DH NorCal Companion GPS will work, as we move forward.  We don’t want you to be in the following situation:
”I am finding that as I investigate GPS, the stores, web and manufacturers ain't betraying no secrets till I actually buy one. Very frustrating, and very much like getting married in the days before premarital sex and living together.”

When can those of you who want to save $$$ and pre-order the DH NorCal Companion GPS do so?
As Destination Highways normally does, as we get closer to the release of the DH NorCal Companion GPS, we’ll offer you the opportunity to pre-order it at a discount. Then, it'll then be in the mail to you as soon as it's released, and you won't have to remember to order it. And you'll save money too. Win-win, no?

If you haven’t already filled out our GPS survey, you can submit your email address below to be emailed GPS news, and maybe win a free copy (duplicate entries will be discarded).

Stay tuned…..