The 2011 Navionics Gold and Platinum+ and HotMaps cards do indeed have the advantage that you can just plug them into your computer's card reader and then get the latest chart corrections / additions as a download from Navionics. And in the first year after you've purchased the card and then done your first Freshest Data update, those downloads are free. Only in later years would there be a fee of some sort depending on the card.

If you have any questions about Navionics cards (how to read them on computer, what chart plotters are compatible with a given card, etc.) drop a line to my company at [email protected] ... we can either help you directly or point you to the resource that could help you.