Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => GPS => Topic started by: woollypigs on 07 July, 2008, 07:43:26 pm
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GPS: New Garmin Line Leaked (http://gizmodo.com/5022618/new-garmin-line-leaked)
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The picture is of a Colorado, which has been out for a few months in the US, and for a short while in the UK. The reception is mixed to say the least - 'new' GPS users like it but old hands find it rather dumbed-down, or maybe just too 'different'. In particular battery life seems to be a problem (big screen and lots of processing power), and also the way it handles stored tracks. The actual GPS chipset is the same as the HCx series I think.
But I note the leaked Oregon is not the same beastie (smaller - that's good), so maybe it'll all come right ...
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A Colorado with touch screen. Yuk.
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Looks like they're positioning the eTrex -> Colorado -> Oregon series more clearly as the handheld/trekking/very occasional use on the bike series and the x05 into the dedicated designed-for-bikes series...
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http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/ (http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/)
and
http://www8.garmin.com/buzz/oregon/ (http://www8.garmin.com/buzz/oregon/)
The 'Screens Gallery' on the latter link shows that the paging buttons and the zoom buttons in particular, might be a bit small for my fat fingers. (And I'd have to cut my nails.) I can see that page navigation generally would be better though - less of that flipping through the page sequence to get back to where you started.
You can put your own choice of bitmap as the backdrop on these screens (instead of the pebbles) - lots of people have used something dark and moody and then complained the screen is too dim - a nice pale 20% plain grey would work better, I think ...
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I've had a Garmin Colorado 300 for about 6 months now. I love it. Battery life is good.
Just a problems with loose batteries but this should be fixed by a little padding in the battery compartment.
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Looks like they're positioning the eTrex -> Colorado -> Oregon series more clearly as the handheld/trekking/very occasional use on the bike series and the x05 into the dedicated designed-for-bikes series...
Looks to me as though Garmin are going every which way - or maybe just slinging a lot of mud at the wall to see if some of it sticks.
Now there's the Nuvi 500 (and 550) - a ruggedised version of yer typical in-car satnav -
"nüvi 500 features driving, walking, bicycling and boating modes which customize your nüvi specifically for your method of travel. ... large, color display found in automotive units with the durability of an outdoor handheld. Sleek and slim, you can slip nüvi 500 into your pocket or backpack."
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=13424# (https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=13424#)
battery is li-ion.
I've had a Garmin Colorado 300 for about 6 months now. I love it. Battery life is good.
That's the most positive reaction to the Colorado I've read for a long time - good-oh!
... touchscreen which is interesting. I wonder how well that will work in the rain, or if you're wearing gloves etc. And it could get scratched.
Oregon touchscreen is pressure-sensitive, so it works with gloves, or using tyre lever as stylus - but the downside is that it ends up dimmer/more reflective compared with the Colorado, and yes, may be vulnerable to damage.
(http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/IMG_0857.jpg)
[ lifted from Scott's Oregon 1st Impressions' page
http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/ (http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/)