Garmin eTrex Vista HCX Review
Garmin eTrex Vista HCX
Garmin eTrex Vista Handheld GPS
Neither tall trees nor deep canyons phase the rugged eTrex Vista HCx. Its high-sensitivity receiver holds a GPS signal in the toughest environments. Similar to the Vista Cx, this handheld navigator also has a bright color screen, barometric altimeter, electronic compass, microSD card slot and automatic routing for wherever adventure takes you.With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, eTrex Vista HCx locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. Whether youre in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, you can count on Vista HCx to help you find your way when you need it the most.The Vista HCx has a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even while you’re standing still, and its barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.
Garmin Colorado 400t Review
Garmin Colorado 400t
Garmin Colorado 400t Product Description:
This rugged, advanced handheld is packed with detailed topographic maps for all your hiking adventures not to mention 3-D map view, a high-sensitivity receiver, barometric altimeter, electronic compass, SD card slot, picture viewer and color display. Exchange tracks, waypoints, routes and geocaches wirelessly between similar units. Slim, lightweight and waterproof, Colorado is the perfect companion for all your outdoor pursuits.
Take on the trails with Colorado 400t. This rugged, advanced handheld is packed with detailed topographic maps for all your hiking adventures not to mention 3-D map view, a high-sensitivity receiver, barometric altimeter, electronic compass, SD™ card slot, picture viewer and color display. Exchange tracks, waypoints, routes and geocaches wirelessly between similar units. When the going gets tough, Colorado leads the way.
Explore Backcountry in 3-D
Colorado’s preloaded U.S. topographic maps, 3-D map view and a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief give you all the tools for serious climbing or hiking. Map detail includes national, state and local parks and forests, along with terrain contours, elevation information, trails, rivers, lakes and points of interest. Just in case you’re wondering how steep that hill really is, Colorado’s 3-D map view helps you visualize your surroundings — giving you a better perspective of the elevation.
Share Wirelessly
With Colorado 400t you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other Colorado users. Now you can send your favorite hike to your buddy to enjoy or the location of a cache to find. Sharing data is easy. Just select “send” to transfer your information to other Colorado units.
Rock on. Find Fun
Intuitive and fun, Colorado features a Rock ‘n Roller input wheel for easy one-handed operation and supports Geocaching.com GPX files for downloading geocaches and detail straight to your unit. Customize Colorado’s interface based on your favorite activity. Even show off photos of your excursions with its picture viewer. Slim, lightweight and waterproof, Colorado is the perfect companion for all your outdoor pursuits.
Keep Your Fix
With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, Colorado 400t locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear — whether you’re in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, you can count on Colorado to help you find your way when you need it the most.
Get Your Bearings
Colorado 400t has a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even while you’re standing still, and its barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.
Plug in and Go
Conveniently plug in optional preloaded SD cards for all your outdoor activities on land or water (see maps tab for compatible maps). Just insert a MapSource card with detailed street maps, and Colorado provides turn-by-turn directions to your destination. Add detailed trail information by purchasing additional TOPO maps for national parks and more. The card slot is located inside the waterproof battery compartment, so you don’t have to worry about getting it wet.
Colorado 400t: For adventure in any direction.
Product Features:
- High Sensitivity, WAAS-Enabled GPS Receiver
- Features A 2.55-InchH X 1.53-InchW, Transflective Color Tft Display With 240 X 400 Pixel Resolution
- Features Built-In Worldwide Basemap With Shaded Relief
- Wireless Sharing Of User Tracks, Waypoints, Routes & Geocaches Between Units
- 5 User Profiles – Automotive, Marine, Recreation, Fitness Or Geocache
Technical Details
- Brand Name: Garmin
- Model: 010-00622-45
- Receiver Description: 12 channel
- Connectivity Technology: USB
- Display Size: 3 inches
- Native Resolution: 240×400
- Battery Average Life: 15 Hours
- MP3 player: Y
Well, that’s lots of marketing stuff, but how well does it really work?
Size: 1.4 x 2.4 x 5.5 inches, weight 7.3 oz. This is pretty light for a unit that has a 1.4×2.5 display. Certainly portable for any use except perhaps jogging/running. 4/5
Battery Life: The unit is rated at 15 hours. The unit uses 2xAA batteries, so this will vary with the quality of batteries, but easily extendable with replacement batteries for any situation. 5/5
Maps: The Garmin Colorado 400t comes preloaded with a US Topographical Map. You can download and add maps through its sim card. The maps can (and really should be) backed up to a PC, but not viewed. 4/5
Features/Usage/Price: This is a pretty feature packed little GPS. For hiking and outdoors, it has almost everything a hiking enthusiast could want, including geocaching. Custom points of interest, and unit to unit transfers are nice additions to the Garmin Colorado 400t. The price…. Well, its not cheap, currently selling for around $400. (msrp $599) 4/5
Other comments:
Lots of owners have complained about the accuracy for driving. At approx 40-80’ accuracy, its good for hiking, but not perfect if your on the road. Hopefully Garmin will address the accuracy in future versions. Setup is complicated. Expect to spend a couple hours setting the Garmin Colorado 400t up properly. The screen is pretty good for a hiking GPS, and has a nice clean display; pretty awesome once you’ve spent that 3 hours setting the shortcuts up for your usage.
If your looking for a truly nice hiking/climbing/outdoors GPS, this could be your answer. It has tons of features, works pretty well, and is really slick once set up properly. Overall Rating…. 4/5. Catch it on sale for under $375 and make that 5/5.
Garmin StreetPilot 7200 Review
Garmin StreetPilot 7200 Review
The Garmin StreetPilot 7200 is a large (7″) screen automobile GPS device with radio and text to speach capability. It is on the pricier end of devices, with most stores selling at around $590.
Garmin StreetPilot 7200 7-Inch Portable GPS Navigator at Amazon.com
Some of the features include:
* High-end automotive GPS navigator with 480-by-234-pixel 7-inch color TFT touch-screen display
* Text-to-speech technology announces the names of streets and delivers turn-by-turn directions
* Integrated XM radio receiver delivers real-time traffic info, weather, and entertainment; built-in MP3 player
* Includes MapSource City Navigator NT North America software with maps of U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico
* Built-in A/V input for connecting portable DVD player; 7.5 x 4.5 x 2.2 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty
Product Description
The StreetPilot 7200’s huge 7-inch touch-screen display means you’ll always see where you’re going, from anywhere in the vehicle. Designed for larger vehicles such as RVs, semi-trucks, and buses, it is a premium automotive unit that comes preloaded with City Navigator NT detailed maps of North America. With the purchase of an optional sensor (not included), the unit notifies the driver of accidents, road construction and weather-related traffic delays before they are encountered (requires subscription, traffic service only for select cities where coverage exists). Either of two optional purchase sensors can provide these features, the GTM 10 FM TMC traffic sensor or the GXM 30 Smart Antenna (separate purchase required). In addition to traffic data, the GXM 30 provides real-time satellite weather information. The 7200 model features all of Garmin’s well-known GPS functions, including intuitive navigation and automatic route calculation; voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions; 2D or 3D map view; and automatic rerouting if a motorist strays off course. With its POI Loader software, users can load custom points-of-interest such as school zones or safety cameras. The StreetPilot 7200 also includes entertainment options, including an internal MP3 player, XM radio, and playback of audio books. The built-in MP3 player lets users browse music by artist, album, song, or genre. The XM Radio (with the optional GXM 30 Smart Antenna and XM Satellite Radio subscription – not included) features 150-plus channels of commercial-free entertainment. The StreetPilot 7200 is also compatible with www.audible.com, a subscription-based audio book service. The face of the StreetPilot 7200 only has one button, an on/off switch. Using simplicity to manage complexity is a hallmark of the quality from Garmin, the premier maker of GPS products.
Our Opinion:
Beautiful large screen, and Garmin quality. We like this device.
Some cons:
No street names on the map.
Large size, tight fit in small autos, maybe more suitable for SUV or larger.
Hefty price tag.
Garmin Sat Nav Devices – Perfect Accessories for Frequent Travelers
One could take the example of the Garmin Nuvi 310 for instance. This sat nav device comes with sophisticated capabilities for route allocation between a number of destinations. Consequently, it is ideal for frequent travelers and globe-trotters. This device can be installed in cars. On quite a few instances, this device goes a long way in ensuring a safe journey for many people.
Generally speaking, many of the Garmin 310 sat nav devices come with wide screens, one touch controls, FM modulators, Bluetooth connectivity, pre-installed speed cameras and street level maps of different places. FM modulators are great for channelling audio through the speakers of the cars in which the sat nav devices are installed. A user can use these gadgets to navigate efficiently to exact addresses. In addition, one could also find recently visited destinations, towns, cities, and special POIs (points of interest) – quite easily and without any hassles.
The text to speech option in many of these Garmin sat nav devices is equally amazing.. The instructions are detailed and come with a personal touch. The confusion in finding junctions and roads in busy cities and small towns can now be done away with.
The best part is that most of these innovative gadgets are easy to use. One need not be tech-savvy to make the most of many of the features and functionalities that are on offer.
Garmin Mobile PC (PC Magazine)
Garmin Mobile PC turns your laptop into a GPS device for under $100.
