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Magellan Triton?


travis71

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Has there been an official notice indicating that these have been pushed back?

well, I don't remember an official date stating when it was supposed to come out. The closest I can get on the maggie web site is - coming soon :mad:

 

I think REI and Tiger GPS had it listed for release... today, but now it appears they have slipped it back to mid November.

 

Gotta love magellan. announce then clam up. no pictures, no additional details, no more specs, nothing.

 

maybe apple should buy magellan...

 

Hey, I can dream can't I?

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I heard september also, then end of october. Haven't heard they'll be pushed to November yet. I was thinking of getting one of these. But put magellan's bad customer service history plus the apparent ineptitude of the company and I am cooling to the idea of getting one. Was going to get on release, now I think I'll wait at least 6 months to see how good/bad the unit is.

 

Got this from the magellan website:

 

The Triton series, available in stores beginning in September, is the first line of rugged, outdoor handheld GPS devices designed with a new user interface flow and screen graphics that make handheld GPS more accessible to a greater population of outdoor enthusiasts.

Edited by sanramonhunter
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I've been notified of a new release date...early to mid-November.

Quoting from the main Magellan Triton topic. Rich has a contact at Magellan. So if he says early- to mid-November, I would take that as being as close to an official word as we can get if Magellan does not update their website or make an announcement.

 

If Magellan is taking care of bugs or adding functionality, this wait will be worthwhile and I'll give them props. But if the Triton ends up being buggy and problematic on top of being late, my confidence in Magellan will decrease further.

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I think Magellan got desperate and jumped the gun by announcing a unit that was actually only in the planning stages. Delorme did the same with their PN-20, announcing it in early 2005, then not coming out with it until nearly two years later.

 

Hopefully they will at least listen to their customer needs and give the unit a universal USB cable instead of that silly one they used for the Explorist.

 

That along with AMERICAN tech support like Garmin uses. Magellan is showing poor customer relations by not updating the release date of the Triton.

Edited by gpsblake
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Hopefully they will at least listen to their customer needs and give the unit a universal USB cable instead of that silly one they used for the Explorist.

Granted, the screw is a PITA. But universal? How could the unit be waterproof?

 

(Do the Garmin handhelds use a universal USB connector? I've got one for my Quest, but I don't trust the rubber flaps on it to keep the inside dry in case of a dunking.)

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The photos in the GPSPassion site show the connector. Looks more like the Meridian than the eXplorist (can only be attached one way.) The advantage of this type of connector is that it is more waterproof and has no pins to fail. The swivel mount is recommended for this type of connector. At sites such as Tiger GPS, the mounts are available for the Tritons.

 

Off subject:

This reminds me, my son goes to a university that has Tritons as its mascot team name. Anyone know where this is....

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Off subject:

This reminds me, my son goes to a university that has Tritons as its mascot team name. Anyone know where this is....

You can't remember which university your son goes to? :laughing::santa:

 

Oh! It's a quiz. I had no idea, but my friend Dr. Google suggests UC San Diego. Since I live in Pennsylvania, I hope you'll forgive me for my relative ignorance.

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embra wins the prize: I will buy you a beverage of your choice at the next event cache I see you at.........

 

Back on topic, I am probably going for the 400 Triton. It is full featured, and I do not need or want the electronic compass (always carry a mechanical) or baramoter (I find calculated elevation very accurate.) As for camera, I carry a 7MP with zoom and filters.

I am most curious about the file system: did they keep the eXplorist's or improve? I do a lot with tracklogs and like the current text file (with dates and times on each point) that is easily transferred to other formats (and geocode my photos.) I like the Li-ion system and am disappointed in going back to AAs. I really do believe that 95% of geocachers use is day use where Li-ions are much easier. So, the main difference might be more map versatility, a different menu system, and a slightly more sensitive receiver?

Edited by EScout
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Do the Garmin handhelds use a universal USB connector?

Sure do. The rubber flap isn't what makes it waterproof, just the way the plug is constructed into the case.

The Garmins use a standard Mini B connector across a huge percentage of their lines. It's very convenient that the same cable is used on all the Nuvis, most of the StreetPilots, the C and X models, the C3xx and C5xx lines, the 376/276, Quest, and so on. It's even more convenient that this is the same cable used on a large variety of consumer equipment meaning that the cable is commonly available (forgot to pack one for your trip? the office store or chain retailer will have one..) and inexpensive. I paid $1.76 (including shipping) each for the last batch I ordered.

 

The connector and case mounting that Garmin uses is waterproof even w/o the rubber plug.

 

Magellan got this right on Crossover. I'm surprised to see them regressing.

 

The world just does not need more proprietary USB cables.

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I like the 2000, but I dont like the pricetag. It would be nice to condense a flashlight, camera, & a nice GPS with good maps into one entity... But it would mean that many more things that would break, & based on all accounts of Magellans customer service... well, I want to avoid that. I will likely end up with a middle of the road Vista HCx.... Hell, I wont even get that until this stinkin guitar & amp sells.. /grumble

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When Triton was first announced, the relase date on Magellan's site was August 14. What seems to be the problem?

Same delays happened with the Explorist releases, IIRC.

 

OK, Robert & Klatch convinced me that Garmin does it way better on the connectors. I'm glad my message didn't carry the tone of dismissive haughtiness that I was feeling as I wrote it.

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Here a message a buddy of mine received yesterday :

 

Thank you very much for your e-mail and interest in the new Triton product line. Your correspondence was forwarded to me by our CEO, Nelson Chan.

 

 

I am pleased to inform you that you will start seeing Triton products in the stores the first half of November. We know that many potential customers, like yourself, have been anticipating this release for some time and are pleased to be at the stage where we can start shipping Triton.

 

 

Your suggestion of a communication about the shipping status on the web is a good one as is your suggestion about Macintosh compatibility.

 

 

I hope that you will be pleased with the Triton 400, if that is the one you purchase, and invite you to me send any feedback that you may have once you start using the product.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

- Stig

 

 

 

 

Stig M. Pedersen

 

Sr. Director, Handheld Products

 

 

Magellan

 

960 Overland Ct.

 

San Dimas, CA 91773

 

USA

 

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OK, Robert & Klatch convinced me that Garmin does it way better on the connectors.

 

Yeah, I have to say they do. Gouging folks $40 for what should be a $2 (shipped - and only in the event that this happens to be their first USB device) cable is uncool. A related recent thread that says they can't even be bothered to actually make/ship the $40 cables that have been on the market for some two years doesn't fill me with confidence that the NEW $40 cables will be the land of milk and honey.

 

I'm disappointed to see this in a product in 2007.

 

It kind of stinks that iPod does this, but it at least does have some additional pins in that proprietary connector. (You know, the one that takes the 4 pins containing power and USB into the zillion pin cable of ipods that does at least add value in power sense and audio out lines. ) From the pictures, it's pretty clear that Triton just carries the four pins from USB to the four pads on the Explorist/Meridian-ish connector.

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Gouging folks $40 for what should be a $2 (shipped - and only in the event that this happens to be their first USB device) cable is uncool.

<snip>

I'm disappointed to see this in a product in 2007.

Sure it stinks that Magellan is using a proprietary connector instead of the generic mini-B USB connector. But what stinks more is that the 400, most likely to be the volume leader, does not ship with the cable. The dealer datasheet PDFs posted weeks ago indicated this, as does the TigerGPS website. The 200 doesn't connect to the computer, the 300 only has limited memory, but the 400 has the SD slot. Someone buying an SD slot-equipped unit is more likely than not to use a cable. Why not include it in the box? Shoot, even the 500 doesn't include the cable. At least the eXplorists (even the 210) came with the cable. It's inexcusable for $200+ devices not to ship with a $2 cable these days.

 

I say this is a good reason to wait for the units to be out for a while. Then maybe we can get a cheaper third-party cable instead of the $35-40 Magellan brand cable.

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