Garmin City Navigator NT vs NTU...

[ST1100Y]

That the corporation launched the "new" format (whilst discontinuing the "old" one) in order to force the consumers to buy new hardware is obvious...

My GF's Zumo 220 works with OSM... flawless routing...
Only the [search address] is crippled...

OK, lets get her an OEM Garmin map...
Tjo, only NTU avail... you end up buying a [download] version... right, Garmin Express doesn't support that for the 220...
You end up buying an(other) SD-card version... guess what? It's also labelled as NTU version (huh?! I explicitly selected an NT version)...
Do you break the packing seal or not?
I did...
Stuck the microSD into the 220 and guess what?
Works like a charm, no issues whatsoever... booting even quicker as with OSM (despite being full-coverage of entire Europe)...
Seeking an address? zip, street, number... bang! within a fraction of a second...

So why is the 220 stigmatized as "not NTU compatible"... beats me...

 

[CYYJ]

To the best of my knowledge, the difference between 'NT' and 'NTU' maps is strictly a technical difference related to how place names are encoded (Unicode for the newer NTU maps, non-Unicode for the NT maps). The change to Unicode format enables certain diacritic and non-Latin characters to be used in place names, which will improve accuracy & legibility in some Eastern Europe and Balkan countries where these characters are commonly used.

The Zumo 220 came out in 2010, which suggests it has probably reached end of support for firmware updates. Garmin is probably being very cautious about specifying which GPS devices support the new Unicode cartography. Evidently you found a (pleasant surprise) work-around that enables you to use the new cartography in your older unit.

The only guess I can make about why the SD card version worked and the downloaded version didn't is that the SD card version didn't have to pass through a third electronic device (your computer) to get to the GPS. In other words, it is possible that the installer, or the MapSource / Basecamp / Map Install application on the computer is not constructed to handle the Unicode data, even though the Zumo 220 can accept it.

Coincidentally, just a few moments ago, I was reading a news article on SwissInfo about changes that the Swiss government are making to enable Swiss passports to accept Eastern European and non-Latin characters in names - here's a link: New character system to recognise Eastern European names. It is possible that this “ISO-8859-1 + Latin A” encoding is a newly released standard, and Garmin is adopting it to stay current with the times.

Michael

 

[ST1100Y]

In other words, it is possible that the installer, or the MapSource / Basecamp / Map Install application on the computer is not constructed to handle the Unicode data, even though the Zumo 220 can accept it.

I'd say it's "instructed" to do so, having the 220 "black-listed" for NTU on their servers...
I can't even download/install the purchased download version onto the computer without an "NTU confirmed" device/avatar being present...
Only after having connected a friend's old Zumo 390 Garmin Express would "permit" me to access the (already paid for!) map data...
No use for me of course, as the new map will then be permanently associated/bound with the 390's serial #...

And: you cannot buy a Garmin Lifetime/nüMaps license anymore... you'll have to buy a new unit with a Lifetime Abo bundle...
Plus: if you for, whatever reasons, miss to update your equipment for a particular periode, will they simply cancel the existing (and paid for) nüMaps/Lifetime registration for this device by tagging it as "end of lifetime"... a violation of their own terms of business...

So like with phones is the device you have bought and fully paid for, actually somehow not your property...