RSSNew Garmin GPS loses its buttons in the wilderness
By Michael Hatamoto | Published July 14, 2008, 6:01 PM
As adventurers head further into the wilderness, GPS maker Garmin launched a new line of handheld GPS devices designed for outdoor, fitness and marine enthusiasts, including one that's both buttonless and waterproof.
The Oregon line is the predecessor successor to the Colorado line of GPS units, with several key improvements added for adventurers. This new waterproof GPS unit has become buttonless -- a major difference between the Oregon line and Colorado line, with Garmin choosing a touch screen interface.
The earlier generation of touch screen, outdoor GPS models was unimpressive. But as the durability of the screens has improved, the ability to use one out in the wilderness has gotten better, even when thinking about sweat, dirt, and other elements explorers encounter. GPS owners have made numerous requests for touch-sensitive screens where they don't have to pound on the screen to make it work, while still having it be durable enough to withstand punishment.
Each GPS in the Oregon line has an integrated compass and altimeter, and can work alongside any Garmin heart rate monitor and cadence sensors. All of the units in the Oregon series are powered by AA batteries. The unit weighs 6.8 ounces and the two AA batteries will provide up to 16 hours of battery life when turned on. A microSD slot also makes it possible to load maps and other saved information directly into the GPS unit, while also providing a location to save information.
The 400t in the Oregon line has topographic maps of the United States and a 3D elevation feature so it'll be easier for hikers to determine what routes they wish to climb. The 400i is designed for boaters, as the GPS features shoreline details, depth contours and boat ramps for all inland lakes and rivers in the US. The 400c has a focus on open ocean water, with coastal regions of the United States, Mexico and the Bahamas featured. The 300 has a worldwide map, altimeter and compass, but does not have the 3D elevation feature.
Any Garmin owners who have a GPS from the Colorado series will be able to easily transfer waypoints, terrain information, descriptions, and other information from the Colorado to an Oregon product.
Customers interested in the Oregon line will, however, pay a premium for the waterproof, buttonless GPS device. The GPS units will be available early this fall with the 200 series sporting a $479.99 price tag, 300 series shipping for $533.32, and the 400 series shipping for $639.99.
Although many mobile phones now have integrated GPS features, stand-alone GPS units offer additional features that simply are not available through a smartphone's built-in GPS. Garmin's biggest competitor to the Oregon line will likely be the DigiWalker line of GPS units from Mio, which have PocketPC, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, among other features.
I work out in some really harsh environments where there is a lot of dust because everything is so dry. Sometimes the temperatures reach 45 plus degrees celsius in the shade - with the sun beating down on you it is well over 50!
I've always been interested in more durable electronic devices that can stand up to these conditions and one of the ways is to get rid of buttons and open places where dust can get inside of the electronics.
It's good to see that someone is working on these types of electronics.
There's a lot more information about GPS devices and how to use them at http://www.sourcegps.com
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sigh
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Garmin GPS units are the best out there. If you do any traveling what so ever, I highly recommend picking one up.
A perfect example is I flew to Long Island via JFK last week and was supposed to leave later that day out of JFK. I ended up trouleshooting software until 5-6 PM so they gave me a new flight to go home later, except out of Laguardia and I had to return the rental there too.
I had maybe an hour to get to the airport and return the car before check in started. I pulled out the Garmin, entered all the new destinations and it was flawless. I'd still be driving around with a regular map.
Not to say any GPS wouldn't have worked, but I really only like Navteq's software and GUI. A lot of other GPS units suck compared to Garmin.
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I guess to get a rapid path from A to B on unknown streets it doesn't need much sophistication given this market is quite mature. It's a bit different once you do serious hiking or boating.
What ticks me off with these new things are the flavors. If I spend >600 on this device why the heck can't it have different modes instead of t/i/c models. Just seems like different maps and memory is cheap these days (esp relative to a $600 unit). Maybe the maps should be more 'intelligent' with meta-data so one can select whatever detail one cares for. Can the different 'modes' at least be loaded thru the micro-SD slot?
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Wouldn't the Oregon line be the *successor* instead of the predecessor?
If it replaces the Colorado line, I think successor would be the term.
Thanks for the article!
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Um...Yea, you got that one right. Thanks for the catch, virtualbry.
-SF3
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