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Magellan Triton series


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One of my current concerns, after reading some of the maggie propoganda, and then looking at the NG topo maps, is the price we would pay for these new maps. $99 for a 2-3 state region is way beyond my taste. It's kind of nice that I have nearly the entire US in detailed maps and topo sitting on my eX600 right now, and it cost me less than $200.

 

hopes - my current topo and DR maps will work on the triton

dreams - support, upgraded buffer cache size, support, 'better' routing, support, better cabling, support.

 

is it just me, or does the triton look like a meridian with a hole punched in the top?

Topo coverage depends on the state, The Ca. set only cover Ca. the $99.00 for me is not much of an issue,

I have been using Topo Ca, for several years. As far as Magellans Map send topo vs. the NG topo,

Magellans Map send Topo cannot hold a candle to NG topo as far as detail or features.

That being said, a topo map on a screen as small as a GPS screen is not all the usefull. When you zoom in to get more detail you see a very small map area. When you zoom out, you get very little detail.

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For those that are interested http://www.tigergps.com/now has listed prices for the Tritons

Thanks for posting the link, Johnny. I just took a look at the Triton 400, which is the one that is most appealing to me. If you view the 400's page at TigerGPS and click "Package Includes," there is no mention of the data cable. Just like on the brochure PDFs that were posted (which is probably where Tiger got their info). This is concerning. If you go to the Accessories tab, the USB cable is shown for $34.99. So one has to either spend another $35 on a cable, or take the SD card out and stick it into a reader, which for some people is another purchase that will have to be made. That's bogus. It wouldn't surprise me if this cable used a proprietary connector. I'm sure PCMobile and some eBay sellers will have a cheaper alternative cable at some point if this turns out to be the case.
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I do not trust myself with cables, I keep triping over them and breaking them over the year I have triped over and broke 5 Magellan cables for my Meridian gold and two for my explorist. Now I just use a card reader so that I do not have to buy cables anymore. I am down to one working cable for my meridian.

I am leaning in the directon of the Triton 400, I like the idea of the larger screen on the 1500, but at another $200.00 for features I do not want (I would not mind touch screen) but I do not need an LED flashlight and Voice recorder.

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Anyone notice the prices that TigerGPS lists?

They show a Retail Price, that is struckout, then "Our Price" below that....

Hmmm...Funny how the prices listed in all the reviews seem to suggest that Magellan's MSRP is the same as the TigerGPS "Our Price"....

If thats true, I think thats pretty low and dishonest of TigerGPS to pull.

It misleads people into thinking they are getting a big discount off MSRP, when in actuality, it IS MSRP they are paying.

 

I couldnt find anything on Maggies website stating the MSRP on the Tritons.

 

Actually, I just checked the price on the Crossover GPS, and Magellan shows MSRP as $399.99 on their website.

TigerGPS shows MSRP at $549.99..."Our Price" is $369.98...a whopping $30 off ACTUAL MSRP, NOT $180 less than MSRP...

This seems very dishonest to me....Arent there laws against this?

Edited by Blue_stone
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...This seems very dishonest to me....Arent there laws against this?

 

Against selling things for less than retail even if it's not by much? Not generally.

 

TigerGPS is like most re-sellers. Sometimes they get stuck with an agreement in order to carry the product. Agreements sometimes detail what they can advertise the price as, and if it's too low they can't advertise the price and have to use a "add to shopping cart" or "click here to see our price" method to show the price.

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Sounds like the cable situation is a mystery. I would think that they would include one. If it is a standard type USB cable, I have many of them.

 

Regarding the prices, they seem very good to me. The Triton 400 at $200 is comparable in features to the eXplorist 500 which was over $300 when introduced 2.5 years ago.

 

Another unknown is the power. I would like to see the Li-ion battery again, and going back to AAs seems like a step backward. I like dropping my eXplorist in the mount and it charges (whether it is on or off), stops when done, with no removing of batteries.

Edited by EScout
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Anyone notice the prices that TigerGPS lists?

They show a Retail Price, that is struckout, then "Our Price" below that....

Hmmm...Funny how the prices listed in all the reviews seem to suggest that Magellan's MSRP is the same as the TigerGPS "Our Price"....

If thats true, I think thats pretty low and dishonest of TigerGPS to pull.

No it is not, it is right there for you to read, how is it dishonest

It misleads people into thinking they are getting a big discount off MSRP, when in actuality, it IS MSRP they are paying.

 

I couldnt find anything on Maggies website stating the MSRP on the Tritons.

So, your point is

 

Actually, I just checked the price on the Crossover GPS, and Magellan shows MSRP as $399.99 on their website.

TigerGPS shows MSRP at $549.99..."Our Price" is $369.98...a whopping $30 off ACTUAL MSRP, NOT $180 less than MSRP...

This seems very dishonest to me....Arent there laws against this?

 

 

As far as a huge discount, there is very little profit in electronics. The profit margin on a $200.00 GPS may only be about $40.00, and that is before expenses such as employee saleries, shipping, rent, just to name a few.

No, it is called a free market economy, a retailer is alway going the charge as much as they think they can get.

 

Magellan is not charging anything, you can not buy a GPS from Magellan. From the Magellan website

 

 

We're Sorry

 

THis is the real world of GPS

 

To provide you with better options and service in the future, we are making upgrades to our ecommerce infrastructure and cannot process purchases at this time. Please use our dealer locator to find Magellan products at a store near you, or we will be happy to process your purchase request on August 15th, when our upgrades are complete.

 

 

When you see the retail price crossed out, that is the MAP retail price. what a company calls the Minimum Advertised Price or MAP. When a dealer sets up an account with a manufacture they sign an contract not to advertise and item below MAP, unless the item is discontinued. This is a policy of Magellan and Garmin as well as many outher companies in the outdoor recreation industry.

For some reason an online dealer can have someone click to get the below Minimum advertised price, but if a brick and morter store should list the same price there account will be closed by the manufacture. I few years ago I got into a beef with Garmin regarding there policy when I was a buyer for a large GPS retailer. Garmin told me to bad. A brick and mortar store can have the lower price displayed in the store but not in an addvertisement.

That is why when you look at an online price ther is the Map and the real price.

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Anyone notice the prices that TigerGPS lists?

They show a Retail Price, that is struckout, then "Our Price" below that....

Hmmm...Funny how the prices listed in all the reviews seem to suggest that Magellan's MSRP is the same as the TigerGPS "Our Price"....

If thats true, I think thats pretty low and dishonest of TigerGPS to pull.

No it is not, it is right there for you to read, how is it dishonest

It misleads people into thinking they are getting a big discount off MSRP, when in actuality, it IS MSRP they are paying.

 

I couldnt find anything on Maggies website stating the MSRP on the Tritons.

So, your point is

 

Actually, I just checked the price on the Crossover GPS, and Magellan shows MSRP as $399.99 on their website.

TigerGPS shows MSRP at $549.99..."Our Price" is $369.98...a whopping $30 off ACTUAL MSRP, NOT $180 less than MSRP...

This seems very dishonest to me....Arent there laws against this?

 

 

As far as a huge discount, there is very little profit in electronics. The profit margin on a $200.00 GPS may only be about $40.00, and that is before expenses such as employee saleries, shipping, rent, just to name a few.

No, it is called a free market economy, a retailer is alway going the charge as much as they think they can get.

 

Magellan is not charging anything, you can not buy a GPS from Magellan. From the Magellan website

 

 

We're Sorry

 

THis is the real world of GPS

 

To provide you with better options and service in the future, we are making upgrades to our ecommerce infrastructure and cannot process purchases at this time. Please use our dealer locator to find Magellan products at a store near you, or we will be happy to process your purchase request on August 15th, when our upgrades are complete.

 

 

When you see the retail price crossed out, that is the MAP retail price. what a company calls the Minimum Advertised Price or MAP. When a dealer sets up an account with a manufacture they sign an contract not to advertise and item below MAP, unless the item is discontinued. This is a policy of Magellan and Garmin as well as many outher companies in the outdoor recreation industry.

For some reason an online dealer can have someone click to get the below Minimum advertised price, but if a brick and morter store should list the same price there account will be closed by the manufacture. I few years ago I got into a beef with Garmin regarding there policy when I was a buyer for a large GPS retailer. Garmin told me to bad. A brick and mortar store can have the lower price displayed in the store but not in an addvertisement.

That is why when you look at an online price ther is the Map and the real price.

 

In the European Union it's illegal for manufacturers to decide which prices a reseller can and can't have. You decide what your price is to the reseller and if the reseller want's to lose money and give them away it's his choice. It's called a free market.

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A retailer can sell at a lose in the US also. However the manufacture can set a Minimum advertised price, which is not the same as setting a minimum price that an item can be sold at.

I have sold many GPSrs people from the EU when they were in the USA on vacation. I had one person by 5 Garmin GPS Vs from me to take back to France. He told me at the time the price in the EU was about four times higher than in the USA. Partly because of import duties and partly because the dealers in the EU had a higher profit margin. I guess they do not discount as much there.

Edited by JohnnyVegas
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If you click on the more information tab for the triton 2000, you will see the following:

Stolen from the maggie web site.

"Triton is designed for precision navigation, offering the fastest GPS positioning acquisition in the industry with the SiRFstarIII™ chipset. An integrated high-sensitivity antenna provides reliable signal reception even in heavy cloud cover, canyons or deep woods. Built-in signal augmentation reception (WAAS/EGNOS) provides 3-meter accuracy."

 

 

Whoever wrote this doesn't know what the "H" they are talking about! Any GPS works just fine in heavy cloud cover!

Edited by EraSeek
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even in heavy cloud cover,

 

Whoever wrote this doesn't know what the "H" they are talking about!

 

Oh they know what they are talking about. You can bet that line is aimed an some one that does know anything about GPS technology. A large number of consumers in the US are not technicly up top speed. If they see that on a box or in and add they will think unless the box says the GPS works in heavy cloud cover it will not.

 

It remends me of when Thalse bought Magellan. At that time on the box they added that there was not monthly fee required to use the GPS system

 

Us being experianced GPS owners and user know better. You average consumer does not.

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I find this interesting in the Magellan press release re Vantage point

 

In addition to Triton, VantagePoint is compatible with the Magellan eXplorist™ 210, 400, 500, and 600 outdoor GPS devices.

 

My guess is that this may enable the Vista OS to work with the Explorist.

 

AND . . . what about the XL, . . . is it included w/out mention?

 

Just like a lot of the advertised POIs and parks and such which were advertised (for the XL) didn't

show up (excluded w/out mention)?

 

I've noticed some of the menu items on the XL seem to have useless scroll bars on the sides, almost like they were already ramping up the firmware in the XL's onboard brain. Maybe they won't use

Windows Mobile, . . . who knows?

 

In light of useless scroll bars, care to make an updated supposition Robert?

(I don't think the XL uses WM)

 

Thank-You

Norm

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I do not trust myself with cables, I keep triping over them and breaking them over the year I have triped over and broke 5 Magellan cables for my Meridian gold and two for my explorist. Now I just use a card reader so that I do not have to buy cables anymore. I am down to one working cable for my meridian.

I am leaning in the directon of the Triton 400, I like the idea of the larger screen on the 1500, but at another $200.00 for features I do not want (I would not mind touch screen) but I do not need an LED flashlight and Voice recorder.

 

I think I read that they'd accept 4 gig. cards and still use USB 1, now that seems wrong, hypothetically

how long would it take to transfer 4 gig.s at USB 1's data rate, or worse w/ the serial cable?

 

Norm

Edited by RRLover
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I do not trust myself with cables, I keep triping over them and breaking them over the year I have triped over and broke 5 Magellan cables for my Meridian gold and two for my explorist. Now I just use a card reader so that I do not have to buy cables anymore. I am down to one working cable for my meridian.

I am leaning in the directon of the Triton 400, I like the idea of the larger screen on the 1500, but at another $200.00 for features I do not want (I would not mind touch screen) but I do not need an LED flashlight and Voice recorder.

 

I think I read that they'd accept 4 gig. cards and still use USB 1 now that seems wrong, hypothetically

how long would it take to transfer 4 gig.s at USB 1's data rate, or worse w/ the serial cable?

 

Norm

It would take a long time but luckily you only have to upload the maps once. You could use a USB 2.0 card reader to transfer the data to the card too.
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I do not trust myself with cables, I keep triping over them and breaking them over the year I have triped over and broke 5 Magellan cables for my Meridian gold and two for my explorist. Now I just use a card reader so that I do not have to buy cables anymore. I am down to one working cable for my meridian.

I am leaning in the directon of the Triton 400, I like the idea of the larger screen on the 1500, but at another $200.00 for features I do not want (I would not mind touch screen) but I do not need an LED flashlight and Voice recorder.

 

I think I read that they'd accept 4 gig. cards and still use USB 1 now that seems wrong, hypothetically

how long would it take to transfer 4 gig.s at USB 1's data rate, or worse w/ the serial cable?

 

Norm

It would take a long time but luckily you only have to upload the maps once. You could use a USB 2.0 card reader to transfer the data to the card too.

 

Yes, that's understood, what I find quizzical is . . . if they're going to rewrite code to make use of bigger

cards, why stick w/the old USB protocol? Almost seems they went out of their way to make it so.

 

Norm

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And w/the ability to "load other app.s" and such, by proxy through an card reader would be counter to the

'New and simpler interface", or so it would seem.

 

Even w/ the external card access (which I think I spied in the large pictures that a member linked to),

using an external reader/writer seems a burdensome extra step. I have an XL and saw a (flap with the)

SD Logo just like mine in the same general location.

 

Norm

Edited by RRLover
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I do not trust myself with cables, I keep triping over them and breaking them over the year I have triped over and broke 5 Magellan cables for my Meridian gold and two for my explorist. Now I just use a card reader so that I do not have to buy cables anymore. I am down to one working cable for my meridian.

I am leaning in the directon of the Triton 400, I like the idea of the larger screen on the 1500, but at another $200.00 for features I do not want (I would not mind touch screen) but I do not need an LED flashlight and Voice recorder.

 

I think I read that they'd accept 4 gig. cards and still use USB 1 now that seems wrong, hypothetically

how long would it take to transfer 4 gig.s at USB 1's data rate, or worse w/ the serial cable?

 

Norm

It would take a long time but luckily you only have to upload the maps once. You could use a USB 2.0 card reader to transfer the data to the card too.

 

Yes, that's understood, what I find quizzical is . . . if they're going to rewrite code to make use of bigger

cards, why stick w/the old USB protocol? Almost seems they went out of their way to make it so.

 

Norm

It must have been a cost issue. Most consumer electronic companies push to save every last penny. When you think about it, it really wouldn't be a deal breaker for buying one. Maybe that's what they figured.
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I do not trust myself with cables, I keep triping over them and breaking them over the year I have triped over and broke 5 Magellan cables for my Meridian gold and two for my explorist. Now I just use a card reader so that I do not have to buy cables anymore. I am down to one working cable for my meridian.

I am leaning in the directon of the Triton 400, I like the idea of the larger screen on the 1500, but at another $200.00 for features I do not want (I would not mind touch screen) but I do not need an LED flashlight and Voice recorder.

 

I think I read that they'd accept 4 gig. cards and still use USB 1 now that seems wrong, hypothetically

how long would it take to transfer 4 gig.s at USB 1's data rate, or worse w/ the serial cable?

 

Norm

It would take a long time but luckily you only have to upload the maps once. You could use a USB 2.0 card reader to transfer the data to the card too.

 

Yes, that's understood, what I find quizzical is . . . if they're going to rewrite code to make use of bigger

cards, why stick w/the old USB protocol? Almost seems they went out of their way to make it so.

 

Norm

It must have been a cost issue. Most consumer electronic companies push to save every last penny. When you think about it, it really wouldn't be a deal breaker for buying one. Maybe that's what they figured.

 

I'm sorry I can't subscribe to, or abide by the new mindset . . . "Never do any more than you

absolutely have to, to keep from getting fired" or "Sometimes just good enough really is!". It's counter

to my up-bringing.

 

Norm

Edited by RRLover
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I have a 1GB card in my explorist 500 right now. I have one Topo map loaded that covers almost all and Ca and NV, that map takes up 132MB. With caches and a few smaller maps I have stored on the SD card I am only using 15% of the space on the card. I do not see myself ever needing a larger card. My computer is older and only has USB1 so there is not much I can do about speeding up the down load of another map. Besides, if I am going to be going to and area that is not on my current map I will have plenty of time to load another map onto the card. I then to plan my travels 6 months to a year ahead of time.

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I have a 1GB card in my explorist 500 right now. I have one Topo map loaded that covers almost all and Ca and NV, that map takes up 132MB. With caches and a few smaller maps I have stored on the SD card I am only using 15% of the space on the card. I do not see myself ever needing a larger card. My computer is older and only has USB1 so there is not much I can do about speeding up the down load of another map. Besides, if I am going to be going to and area that is not on my current map I will have plenty of time to load another map onto the card. I then to plan my travels 6 months to a year ahead of time.

 

These newer 'Tritons' will (it seems) have the ability to use rastor maps, they can be huge, comparatively

speaking. Add MP3s, & photos, and what ever other whiz-bang crap they want you to transfer to/from the

device, it just seems USB 1 was an un-thinking (non)move, or vice versa.

 

Norm

Edited by RRLover
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That may be the case, but then again. How much map does anyone need for a day or two of geocaching. Depending on were some one lives they may never need a large map. The last time a check which was a few months ago, there were over 8,000 caches with 100 miles of my home coordinate, and in that area in some months we get almost 100 new caches. B)

 

By the time I get those done we should be see GPSrs with 4TB cards B)

 

When will the insanity end :D

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That may be the case, but then again. How much map does anyone need for a day or two of geocaching. Depending on were some one lives they may never need a large map. The last time a check which was a few months ago, there were over 8,000 caches with 100 miles of my home coordinate, and in that area in some months we get almost 100 new caches. B)

 

By the time I get those done we should be see GPSrs with 4TB cards B)

 

When will the insanity end :D

Good points, well taken. Myself, I grab some caches when we travel to AKC events (dog shows & field

trials), these can cover a tri-state area and beyond, almost on a weekly basis. With all the prep. that's

sometimes needed every step-saver is precious.

 

Norm

 

P.S. : 0500 comes early, off to bed!

Edited by RRLover
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This question may have been brought up on another topic but I was wondering if anyone knows if the existing NG Topo! series is usable with the new Triton. I have NG Topo! for MO and would love not to have to buy another mapping program to get these maps into the new Triton. Magellans website talks about 2 new programs that look identical to my Topo! If the NG Topo! isn't compatible I'll stick with my Explorist 210 for a while longer. Triton looks great though. NG Maps are extremely nice.

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Yes, that's understood, what I find quizzical is . . . if they're going to rewrite code to make use of bigger

cards, why stick w/the old USB protocol? Almost seems they went out of their way to make it so.

 

Norm

It must have been a cost issue. Most consumer electronic companies push to save every last penny. When you think about it, it really wouldn't be a deal breaker for buying one. Maybe that's what they figured.

 

I'm sorry I can't subscribe to, or abide by the new mindset . . . "Never do any more than you

absolutely have to, to keep from getting fired" or "Sometimes just good enough really is!". It's counter

to my up-bringing.

 

Norm

 

I hope I got the quotes right, no one was trimming and it got rather long...

 

First, this may be a nit, but I want to clarify the meaning of USB 1.1 vs 2.0. USB 1.1 includes low speed and full speed operation. USB 2.0 is a superset of 1.1 and is designed to be fully interoperable. Either type of device can be plugged into either type of host and still operate. That said, USB 2.0 does have some features that USB 1.1 does not, including optional high speed operation. So saying USB 2.0 is not synonymous with high speed operation which is what I think is really being discussed here.

 

To the real issue, why they didn't provide high speed operation, I can tell you that it is definitely more expensive to add high speed operation to most designs. There are many CPUs which include both the PHY and the logic for a full speed USB interface. But I have not seen one (to my recollection which is not so good these days) that includes the high speed PHY. This part consumes a lot more power and would add some $20 or more to the final product cost. So it is definitely a product cost issue. While you can buy a card reader for $10 or less and many computers now include them as standard features, a $20 price difference would have cost a significant number of sales to the competition. This is also why they don't include the USB cable. There is very much a demand curve with sales falling off very quickly with rising price.

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Is it just me or does anyone else think a 2.2" screen is a bit small? My current Merigold is 2.7 inches or so and I would like to have it larger! The units with touch screens have screens about that size, but considering the high resolution (QVGA) it seems too small still.

 

Is it just me and my aging eyes?

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This question may have been brought up on another topic but I was wondering if anyone knows if the existing NG Topo! series is usable with the new Triton. I have NG Topo! for MO and would love not to have to buy another mapping program to get these maps into the new Triton. Magellans website talks about 2 new programs that look identical to my Topo! If the NG Topo! isn't compatible I'll stick with my Explorist 210 for a while longer. Triton looks great though. NG Maps are extremely nice.

I cannot see National Geographic changing there software to work with Magellan products or any one elses products, or anyone elses products.

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Is it just me or does anyone else think a 2.2" screen is a bit small? My current Merigold is 2.7 inches or so and I would like to have it larger! The units with touch screens have screens about that size, but considering the high resolution (QVGA) it seems too small still.

 

Is it just me and my aging eyes?

The Triton 1500 and 2000 have a larger screen 2.7". I like the idea of the 2.7" screen on the larger Tritons

but I do not like the higher prices, I do not need or do I want a GPS with an (electrionic compass) Magnetic compass, LED flashlight, Voice recorder and 2MP Dig. Camera. If Magellan had offered a larger Triton with the features of the Triton 400 I would buy that, but for now I am leaning toward the Trition 400.

 

I believe the Triton 200, 300, 400 and 500 have about the same size screen and the Explorist 100, 200, 210 300, 400, 500 and 600.

 

I also have older eyes :P

When the Explorist 500 came out I went from a Meridian Gold to the Explorist 500, While the screen is smaller I did not have any trouble with the size.

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This question may have been brought up on another topic but I was wondering if anyone knows if the existing NG Topo! series is usable with the new Triton. I have NG Topo! for MO and would love not to have to buy another mapping program to get these maps into the new Triton. Magellans website talks about 2 new programs that look identical to my Topo! If the NG Topo! isn't compatible I'll stick with my Explorist 210 for a while longer. Triton looks great though. NG Maps are extremely nice.

 

NG State Series & others will work. here's a quote from NG......

The Magellan Triton should start shipping in 6-8

weeks, and will be compatible with maps from TOPO!

State Series and Weekend Explorer (free update to

version 4.4.0 will be avail for download, to handle

this). Raster maps will transfer separately from the waypoints/GPS-routes/tracks.

 

They also said that their deal with Magellan is not an exclusive one.......so maybe other brands are on the horizon......

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OK, I'll say it - since no one else here will.

 

I just hope Maggie goes beyond the 200 geocache file load limit.

 

500 min, 1000 desirable.

 

anyone else?

1000 would be nice! <_<

 

Why put artificial limits? I put 10,000 into my TomTom. I'd much rather there just be no limits at all. There is no reason for them given the amount of memory available these days.

 

--Marky

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Thought you folks would be interested!

 

http://gpstracklog.typepad.com/gps_tracklo...lan-triton.html

 

If you have questions, let me know by replying here. I've got a bunch, but I'm sure there are some I haven't thought of. I'm on the phone with a Magellan rep at 3:30 PDT.

What great timing! My eXplorist 500 just had its screen crack and the repair is going to cost as much as I paid for the refurbished unit. Great unit, but so limited in the available maps. I'm going to see if I can get another few months of life out of the 500--at least until the first firmware update comes out for the Triton! Confucius says: Never buy version 1.0 of anything! <_<

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Some more interesting data about the VantagePoint software coming along with the release of the Triton line.

 

<snip>

 

VantagePoint sounds like an enhanced MapSend Lite...sort of a MapSend super welterweight.

Will probably be more like the MapSend Super Paperweight... [sorry, had to go for it] :(

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OK, I'll say it - since no one else here will.

 

I just hope Maggie goes beyond the 200 geocache file load limit.

 

500 min, 1000 desirable.

 

anyone else?

1000 would be nice! :blink:

 

Why put artificial limits? I put 10,000 into my TomTom. I'd much rather there just be no limits at all. There is no reason for them given the amount of memory available these days.

 

--Marky

But you have 10,000 caches within a mile of your house :(

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Why put artificial limits? I put 10,000 into my TomTom. I'd much rather there just be no limits at all. There is no reason for them given the amount of memory available these days.

 

--Marky

But you have 10,000 caches within a mile of your house :blink:

Actually, it's 100 miles, but that's after I filter out the 5000 puzzle caches. :(

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Why put artificial limits? I put 10,000 into my TomTom. I'd much rather there just be no limits at all. There is no reason for them given the amount of memory available these days.

 

--Marky

But you have 10,000 caches within a mile of your house :blink:

Actually, it's 100 miles, but that's after I filter out the 5000 puzzle caches. :(

You mean I am not the only ones that filters out puzzles (I will do a puzzle thay uses CW aka.Morse code)

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Now that I've had time to stare at the units... Is it just me, or do these things look like bricks?

 

Also, the T200-500 appear to be slightly smaller but 'chunkier' or 'brickier' than the eXplorist models, and the T1500-2000, definitely are larger, but not as large as the 'old' meridians.

 

T200-T500 4.65 x 2.16 x 1.22 inches (slightly smaller in all dimensions)

eXplorists: 4.7 by 2.2 by 1.3 inches

T1500-T2000 5.75 x 2.5 x 1.125 (larger, but thinner)

Meridian models 6.5 x 2.9 x 1.2 inches

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I used to truly despise rechargeable AAs, but since I've changed to a proper charger (electronic instead of timed), I pretty much use nothing else anymore. When I'm out caching, I'll bring a spare set with me just in case, and when I get home I just charge the old set back up. It's just not a big deal anymore.

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I'm not digging the AA battery thing. I've become used to tossing the 400 to charge and AA's are hell to keep up with. I can't say I've had much luck with rechargeable AA's either.

 

I disagree. My camera, gps, & flashlight in my pack all use AA batteries and I much prefer them all to use the same power source. I used to hate rechargeable batteries too until I understood why they sucked when I went to use them. Normal rechargeable batteries loose up to 1% of their charge every day they sit.... so you need to charge them up before you head out.

The new Hybrid rayovac batteries hold 80% of their charge after 6months, so there is no need to recharge before you head out. I also still use some regular 2500mAh energizers, I just make sure they have a fresh charge before hand.

 

You also can't forget AA batteries can be bought almost anywhere, even at some backwoods country store.

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The new Hybrid rayovac batteries hold 80% of their charge after 6months, so there is no need to recharge before you head out.

Cool, I've had my 600 for so long, I haven't kept up on NiMH technology advances. That was my one complaint about NiMH batteries. I guess I will need to get me some of those for my new 2000. :mad:

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I'm not digging the AA battery thing. I've become used to tossing the 400 to charge and AA's are hell to keep up with. I can't say I've had much luck with rechargeable AA's either.

 

I disagree. My camera, gps, & flashlight in my pack all use AA batteries and I much prefer them all to use the same power source. I used to hate rechargeable batteries too until I understood why they sucked when I went to use them. Normal rechargeable batteries loose up to 1% of their charge every day they sit.... so you need to charge them up before you head out.

The new Hybrid rayovac batteries hold 80% of their charge after 6months, so there is no need to recharge before you head out. I also still use some regular 2500mAh energizers, I just make sure they have a fresh charge before hand.

 

You also can't forget AA batteries can be bought almost anywhere, even at some backwoods country store.

 

My biggest complaint with regular AA's that can be picked up anywhere is the time they last and ease of disposal. Some just toss them out as fast as they get them leading to landfill problems. A rechargeable like the one we use in our 400 seems to last twice as long and regular batteries and can be reused. The rechargeable AA's cost a bit more and always seem to konk out after heavy use. One of my reasons why I'll never buy another digital camera with AA's. The Canon G2 I've had for years still has the original rechargeable and works fine after about 5 years now. We only have one other rechargeable for it as a backup. I'll have to look into the hybrid option for the other camera we use. However it'll be like pulling teeth to talk the wife into getting more rechargeable considering what we've spent over the years on others with poor performance.

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Never had too much trouble with AA's until I upgraded from the Map60C to the Map60Cx. With this GPS my Energizer NiMH 2500mah batteries all fail after about 4 hours or so of use, even after fully charging them up before use. Also my Precharged Radioshack NiMH bateries are pure junk from the get go. I have the Eneloops and they are great, also I will use the normal Duracell coppertops because they work best in the Map60Cx. The way I see this,is that some of the Tritons will be quite hard on the batteries like the Map60Cx is. Both these Tritons and the Garmins are using the SiRF III's, but I hope the Tritons are using the newer SiRF III lites, that use much less power.

 

One other hangup of using the AA's is the lack of a hard pressure against the batteries in the Map60Cx, causing the inferior batteries, to perform extremely poorly. I did a 50 mile bicycle ride on Monday, and did the trip from 10:30am to about 7pm, and had 2 sets of fully charged NiMH batteries(Energizer 2500, Radioshack Precharged NiMH), and the Energizers gave a few hours of use, then flaked out due to lack of a tight contact in the Map60Cx's battery compartment, then I put in the fully charged RadioShack month old Precharged NiMH batteries and those crapped out quickly.

 

The Map60Cx on Monday as I got 3/4ths the way through the trip started shutting off faster and more often as the junk batteries depleted and the bicycle hit bumps. The trouble I have been going through with too many AA and battery compartment connection problems, are turning me off from Electronic Gadgets.

 

I have thrown out a few Energizers that have sat out to long that would not charge up properly even in my electronic battery reconditioner. After switching between a regular charger and the reconditioner these batteries that have sat out too long, if they do not recondition I will throw them out.

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As has Got GPS, I have not had great experience with NiMH over the years. They do not have the memory effect compared to Nicds but they do not seem to last very long, as in the life of the battery where they do not keep a decent charge anymore. And I have had a top quality smart charger for several years.

 

Now with 2 months using the Rayovac Hybrids in my digital cameras and GPSr that uses them, I will never go back to a standard NiMH. They keep their charge and power the cameras for a long time. There are some articles that describe the superior voltage curve. This means that your device gets higher voltage during use and the 2100 MAhr rating can last longer than higher rated standard NiMH batteries for some higher current devices like cameras.

 

Other Hybrid batteries include the eneloop and the Hybrio.

 

However....I was hoping the Tritons have the Li-Ion similar to the eXplorists. I really like putting my eXplorist in the cradle, on or off, and it charges until done, with its own internal smart charger. Just like your cell phone. Can you imagine pulling AAs out of your cell phone every day to charge them. At the end of the day, I put my phone it its cradle to charge, as well as charge PDA, and several times a week the eXplorist.

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batteries seem to be the one area that noone can agree upon. I like the Lion's in the explorists as well, but others will make their purchasing position based soley on the use of standard alkaline batteries like the AA.

 

actually, the eXplorists let you (us) have both. which was nice...

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batteries seem to be the one area that noone can agree upon. I like the Lion's in the explorists as well, but others will make their purchasing position based soley on the use of standard alkaline batteries like the AA.

 

actually, the eXplorists let you (us) have both. which was nice...

 

That was a great option for everyone. Why they wouldn't do it for these newer models is beyond me. An led flashlight won't exactly eat through batteries. As an MP3 player it'd depend if it was flash memory or minidrive.

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