TakeoK

Good to hear. As I say, mine just had one small 6" drop with a bezel impact. I guess the bezel got impacted "just right" so as to crack the digitizer. My luck. At least the LCD was undamaged. On the plus side, since my last posting, Garmin had agreed (after leaping through a few hoops) to make good on the warranty repair. No charge. I am *very* grateful for that. They were very good to deal with actually. I guess they agreed that although this was technically "user error"... the unit should be a little more rugged than to crack from a 6" drop! I have since purchased the silicone slip case for my Dakota. I might get a screen protector while I'm at it too! And I'll be extremely careful about setting my pack down with my GPS attached!!! I had set the pack down carefully and gently on it's back... but the shoulder strap flopped to the side and... *crack*!!!! Ugh

After reading this thread over again... I think I'm going to call Garmin again. Considering that one poster here had the digitizer crack just from normal usage?! (finger pressure) and another had the unit malfunction from a 2 foot drop onto a floor (was it carpet)... I think they should replace my unit. These are only two anecdotes or course (3 counting mine)... but it shows to me that the units are not as rugged as they should be.

My Dakota 20 had a 6 inch "drop" on the weekend and the touch screen digitizer cracked. I put "drop" in quotes because the unit was attached to the shoulder strap of my pack. I carefully set my pack down on a boulder but the shoulder strap flopped to the side and the GPS unit hit the boulder. The screen itself didn't even get a scratch. The bezel got a ding in it right where the crack radiates out. So it was only the bezel that made impact. Not the screen directly. Not even a scratch on the screen. And the LCD is fine. Thankfully. NOT impressed though. It was an accident and I know Garmin doesn't cover accidents... I wouldn't expect them to... but a 6 inch drop with a bezel impact and the digitizer shatters?!?! Not good!!! I called Garmin. They offered a replacement unit for 50% off the regular repair price and I'd have to pay for all shipping. But I'm in Canada and they ship by UPS (which charges ridiculous brokerage fees)... so I'd be looking at over $120. They said it would be cheaper for me to contact their Canadian repair partner. But they are just a repair shop so of course they are not going to give me any kind of deal. So my options now are to call Garmin again and try to convince them to do a 100% free replacement... or pay big bucks. I'm half toying with the idea of just buying a replacement digitizer from Hong Kong and replacing it myself. It does not appear to be glued to the LCD... so it's probably a simple part swap. I'd prefer not to void my warrantee however. I'd prefer that Garmin do the right thing and replace it free of charge. No way should a 6 inch drop with a bezel impact shatter the digitizer. I'd call that poor engineering. Or maybe just freaky bad luck. But I don't think it should have broke. Needless to say... I've already ordered the silicone slipcase for the Dakota.

Ha. Yah. The fact the such a matrix is even necessary speaks for itself. I'm thinking maybe Garmin is a company of Poindexters with Star Wars actions figures on their desk and limited social skills. LOL. Not very customer-focused to be making things so confusing. When an updated model comes out (like the Oregon 450 replacing the 300) they should clear out the channel and immediately discontinue the old model.

I just bought my very first GPS and the number of options from Garmin is just crazy. If you think it's confusing for you guys... imagine how confusing it is for someone buying their first unit who doesn't know the first thing about GPS units! You almost have to hire a full time research assistant for a week. There are what... seven eTrexes, nine Oregons... four Colorados... three 60's. And they're all almost identical. And why... in 2010... does anything come with a black and white screen? Really. I also love how you'll compare two units and find out that the only difference (aside from a $100 jump in price) is an SD card slot and a digital compass. The same unit basically. They just didn't solder on the 25 cent SD card slot and compass chip. And they charge an extra pile of cash. They really need to simplify. Take a page from Apple's book. When you buy an iMac... you have basically two choices... big or bigger. There should be no more than two models in each line. I'd say. By the way... I ended up with a Dakota 20. Love it so far. I chose it over the Oregon for it's small size and weight. I want to use it in as many scenarios as possible so it should be great for that (hiking, biking, running, backpacking and search & rescue). A lot of SAR folks use the 60... but I wanted something small and intuitive that would be lightweight and easy to use for other activities. I would never take a 60 on a 10K run for instance. LOL.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned... I don't know about the Oregon... but I have a Dakota 20 and the beeps are barely audible. The road noise alone (in a Ford Focus) causes a bit of 'competition'. Forget about it if you have the radio on. And there is no way to adjust the volume. I don't understand how such simple and obvious design flaws make it into a released product. But I bought the GPS for hiking, backpacking, running, biking and search & rescue. Road navigation is just a bonus.

I don't know about full sun... but I did a simple side-by-side in the store of an Oregon 300 and Dakota 20 with the backlights off... and just using the store lights... the Dakota was much easier to see. Probably not a very helpful comparison though.