tubemonkey

Garmin eTrex Legend and an eTrex Yellow for backup. I'd upgrade to the newer color units, except for the fact that Garmin and Magellan are still stuck in retro mode. Out of all of the various electronic devices I own, the GPS industry is always lagging years behind in technology. Cutting edge is definitely not in their vocabulary. My gawd, they just discovered USB for their handhelds; and how long has that been around? With mapping software that consumes memory in the GB range, I find it incredibly stupid that they make devices capable of only loading it in the sub-100 MB range. Flash memory is cheap. High end handhelds should come with 1-2 GB on board and low end units with 512 MB; and all units should have memory expansion slots. So until the industry gets its act together, I'm not about to waste hundreds of dollars on a device designed with a retro mindset.

Uh .... like there aren't any USB ports out in the woods. I know, 'cause I looked. I was thinking about dropping the Forest Service a note suggesting that they start installing powered USB ports in their forests, but somehow, I don't think they'll take me seriously.

Agreed!

I have a Samsung digital camera and I just love the power options I have: Disposable -- 2x AA Alkaline -- 2x AA Lithium -- 1x CR-V3 Li-Ion Rechargeable -- 2x AA NiMH -- 1x RCR-V3 Li-Ion I wish all of my AA devices were as versatile. Hats off to Kodak, Samsung, and company for being so forward thinking.

Still not a viable option. My flashlight, digital camera, and two-way radio all take AA batteries. My GPSr must take the same batteries or I won't even consider it. BTW, does anyone know how long a set of AAA's would last?

If I just used my GPSr for geocaching or car navigation, then I wouldn't mind using Li-Lion's. I use one in my cell phone and don't have any problems with that. BUT ..... I primarily use my GPSr for hiking, and charging is not an option out on the trail. So, I'll never buy a GPSr that relies on a Li-Ion battery. BTW, sealed batteries are a deal breaker. My son wanted a micro drive MP3 player and after looking at the options available, it became quite clear that there was only one option -- Zen Micro. It has a user replaceable Li-Ion, while everyone else uses a sealed battery. Personally, I think the industry has gone mad. What's with sealing a battery inside anyway? It's not like it has to be done that way in order to make these devices small. After all Creative managed to do it ..... what's Apple's problem?

I'm waiting for a Legend C w/ 1 GB of memory and an SD slot. But, I suspect hell will freeze over before Garmin and Magellan discover the existence of low cost, high capacity flash memory.

With the cost of flash memory so cheap and the size of maps so large, I'm literally amazed that these companies persist in placing so little memory in their GPSrs. Is it really asking too much to place 1-2 GB of memory in high end units and 512 MB in low end units? But there just may be hope. Since Garmin and Magellan just discovered that USB exists, maybe some bright young engineers on their staffs will introduce them to low cost, high capacity flash memory. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Did you notice how long the canoe trip was in the launch post? Unless one is prepared to do the charging bit out in the field, a 9-day trip means buying 8 more LiI batteries. That's a bit spendy, wouldn't you say?

Agreed. I was going to get one, but the battery was a deal breaker. The hassle of having to lug around a charger and cable is bad enough, but what if you forget to charge the battery at night? As far as I'm concerned, any GPSr used for trips away from civilization must use AA batteries. Now, if only Garmin would add SD capability to the Legend C, I'd be one happy camper.

There's always a trade off no matter which unit you get. I'm still patiently waiting for a Legend C with SD capability or an eXplorist 500 with a AA power supply. Until then, I'll keep plugging away with my antiquated Legend. If the MP3 community adopted technology at the same rate as the GPS community, a current iPod would be the size of an old Walkman, have 256MB of memory, and connect with an RS-232 interface.

Don't hold your breath. Magellan and Garmin tend to be years behind when it comes to implementing newer technology in their GPSrs. Look how long it took them to add USB capability and how long has USB been around? Even then, I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) they're only using USB 1.1 and not the faster 2.0 Check out Garmin; the 60C/CS and 76C/CS have it, and there may be other models too: GPSMAP 60C

Check Target out. Some stores have the Garmin GPS V Auto Pack on clearance for $210. I just picked one up tonight. The kit contains the following: GPS V -- City Select NA v6 -- PC cable -- car mount -- 12VDC cable -- video Garmin GPS V Note: this GPSr is older technology and does have a few drawbacks -- serial interface, monochrome display, and only 19mb of internal memory.

Check Target out. Some stores have the Garmin GPS V Auto Pack on clearance for $210. I just picked one up tonight. The kit contains the following: GPS V -- City Select NA v6 -- PC cable -- car mount -- 12VDC cable -- video

Legend & Yellow

That certainly explains the price drops for the Quest. Costco went from $475 to $370. Another example in the field of consumer electronics just happened a few weeks ago. XM Radio had a program offering a free XM Roady2 ($100 value) if you bought any XM satellite radio and signed up for 3 months of their family plan. The rebate ended Jul 2nd and right after the rebate ended, they dropped the price of the Roady2 to $50. Hmmm ..... You never can tell what they're up to, but I really start to get suspicious when prices drop or when Costco starts to carry an item. Chances are, a newer model is about to be released. So I wait a bit .....

The reason for the price drop is because there is now a Quest 2 MSRP is ~$750 and keep in mind that both the Quest and the Quest 2 use sealed LiI batteries. For those interested, Costco.com is selling the Quest for $370. While thats $23 more than the price listed in the launch post, Costco is well know for its excellent customer service and very generous return policy. You have one year to return defective merchandise.

Keep in mind that these states are sparsely populated. If you base your memory needs on these states and then attempt to use your GPS for trips to more populated states and cities, you'll be in for a rude awakening. You need to first decide what your primary use is -- biking, boating, geocaching, hiking, travel, etc -- then go from there. The memory needs for each of these activities varies greatly. Hiking and geocaching don't require much memory at all, since you'll be on foot. Whereas boating and car trips will need quite a bit more. I wanted one GPS to handle both hiking and cross-country car trips. Unfortunately, neither Garmin nor Magellan have any models that will fit my needs -- USB connectivity, TFT color display, AA power supply, and SD memory slot. Garmin's 60C or Legend C would easily fulfill my hiking requirements, but without a memory slot, they'd be worthless on long distance trips. On the other hand, Magellan's eXplorist 500 would fit my travel needs, but since it relies on a rechargeable battery, it's worthless for hiking. Since hiking is my primary use for a GPS, I decided to get the Garmin Legend. It's older technology with a cheap price tag ($100), a gray scale display, and only 8mb of memory, which is more than adequate for hiking. To satisfy my long distance travel needs, I'll just continue to use old-fashioned paper maps from AAA. I'm not about to waste a lot of money on a new color unit that will only satisfy some of my needs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that either Garmin or Magellan will come out with a handheld GPS that will meet all of my needs -- AA, SD, TFT, USB. Good luck.

I'm still waiting to see what Magellan will do in response to the 60C/CS and 76C/CS series. The eXplorists are better compared to the eTrex color units (Legend C & Vista C) -- small size, patch antennas, no provision for external antennas, no serial connection, etc.

Check your local Costco. Some of them still have the SporTrak Color for $200.

Costco will be selling the Magellan RoadMate for $749.99 ($849.99 - $100.00 coupon) starting next week -- Mon Jun 13th thru Sun Jun 19th. This is a supplemental coupon found near the entrance to the store. The coupon is NOT inside the Summer 2005 Passport sent to members in the mail.

It depends on what your primary and secondary uses are -- geocaching, backpacking, cycling, boating, car navigation, etc. Give us a bit more info so we can better answer your question. Also, do already own any other GPSr's and mapping software? If so, let us know that too.

Of course not; but they could've upgraded the Meridians and SporTraks with faster processors and TFT color displays. It seems that Magellan made a conscious decision to compete with only with the Legend Cs & Vista Cs. To date, they have yet to offer competition for the 60C/CS & 76C/CS series. I doubt it, since it would've been easier to include this compatibility from the get-go.

Well, here's another strike against the new eXplorist's -- they can't be used for boating. A check on Magellan's website reveals compatibility with only the following MapSend titles: MapSend DirectRoute NA v2.00f MapSend Topo 3D US v1.00 MapSend Worldwide Basemap v1.10a MapSend Lakes - North (eXplorist) MapSend Lakes - South (eXplorist) MapSend Lakes - West (eXplorist) Outside of a few European titles, that's it. No compatibility with older titles -- BlueNav, Streets & Destinations, Topo for the US, etc. It sucks that new hardware is incompatible with old software. What gives? It's usually the other way around, where older hardware is incompatible with newer software. Couple the lack of BlueNav compatibility with a much smaller display (3.85 sq in vs 2.38 sq in), it would seem your best decision is to rule out the eXplorist.

I was referring to the lack of SD capability, not the battery. For car navigation, SD is essential for my needs, and the battery used is pretty much irrelevant. But for backpacking, it's the other way around: AA capability is a must, and memory is irrelevant. If I'm going to shell out big bucks for one of these newer GPSr's, then it had better meet my needs -- car navigation (SD) and backpacking (AA). Since neither Garmin nor Magellan saw fit to so equip any of their newer units with both of these features; I'll wait. I'm not about to compromise my needs for the sake of expediency.