+Tequila Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Not sure if this is allowed in the forum. If it isn't, please close the topic. I would like to survey the community to get a more complete picture of whether or not the Colorado is more or less reliable than the Oregon. Please respond to this message and add your name to the bottom of the list indicating how many times you had to replace/repair either unit. In my case, I had to replace the Colorado 3 times and once I got an Oregon it has run fine. So my response looks like below. Thanks for your responses. And yes, I know the results are unscientific. Tequila Colorado - 3 Oregon - 0 Quote Link to comment
strumble Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Tequila Colorado - 3 Oregon - 0 strumble Colorado - 0 Oregon - 0 [i hated the thumb wheel so changed to Oregon] Quote Link to comment
yogazoo Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 1) My wife could not open the battery cover on the Colorado as it was difficult due to a poor design. 2) Got tired of the rock-n-roller wheel. It really sucks for text entry. 3) Garmin offered to replace my Colorado with an Oregon so I took them up on it. I'm glad I did. The Colorado was a good unit but Garmin seems to be putting that line out to pasture. The touchscreen and form factor is really nice on the Oregon. My vote is for the Oregon. I've been through 5 Colorado Units and finally ended up getting an Oregon. I've had that one Oregon unit ever since. Quote Link to comment
+g-o-cashers Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 1 Colorado, 1 Oregon Although I believe both were really software issues that were addressed in later releases of software. Quote Link to comment
+Timpat Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 On my 2nd Colorado 300. I first had a very low SN unit, one of the first out, and the clock did not function, which created all sorts of issues. My 2nd 300 has been fine and reliable. Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 One Colorado, no problems. It is kind of a silly "survey" as it will biased towards those with problems and will not cover a complete spectrum of owners. In addition, the Oregon came out later and benefited from the Colorado's software development. A more fair comparison is only to include COs with firmware that came out after the Oregon was available. Quote Link to comment
+jerpete Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I really like my Colorado 400t, I bought it after the Oregon came out and compared them in the store. I just thought the rNr interface of the Colorado would work better with gloves. I've never had to write more then a waypoint name and I don't think it's any slower entering text then my Legend. One Colorado, no problems. Quote Link to comment
+Tequila Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 One Colorado, no problems. It is kind of a silly "survey" as it will biased towards those with problems and will not cover a complete spectrum of owners. In addition, the Oregon came out later and benefited from the Colorado's software development. A more fair comparison is only to include COs with firmware that came out after the Oregon was available. Clearly stated in the OP that it is not a scientific survery. Feel free to start your own survey. Count so far" Colorado: 9 Oregon: 1 Quote Link to comment
+Evshro & son Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Well, I can't speak for the Oregon, but I love my Colorado! Text entry is a bit slow, but I am used to it now. I have to wonder what text entry on the Oregon is like with gloves on. It may be fine. I also don't see why Garmin couldn't make the text entry more like that of the Explorist line. It was still a bit slow but quicker than the Colorado. A simple Firmware update could change that. IMHO I am not sure what makes people think the Colorado is being left behind. Perhaps I missed something in a thread somewhere. Anyway, for what it's worth, put me down for a Colorado. Quote Link to comment
snomchfun Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 5 bad Colorados........1 great Oregon Quote Link to comment
+Pat in Louisiana Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 We have one of each Both work great. Oregon runs circles around Colorado in ease of use! Quote Link to comment
+Gushoneybun Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 One Colorado since March 2008. No big issues and all solved by firmware updates. Love it . Quote Link to comment
+Redwoods Mtn Biker Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 0 Colorado, 0 Oregon (I also had an Oregon review unit that was fine.) Quote Link to comment
+Tequila Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 Defective count to date: Colorado - 14 Oregon - 1 Quote Link to comment
+dostuffgps Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I have an Oregon 400t and a GPS V, both by Garmin. The thing I really didn't like with the GPS V was the toggle, toggle everything. I absolutely love the Oregon, it is very easy to use and fulfills all the needs I have for both road and trail. The color screen is wonderful as are the maps, both topo and city navigator (which I added), Probably the best features which I think are great are the paperless geocaching (I think the Colorado has this too) and most of all the touch screen!!! I recently updated to v. 2.8 and it has been very nice. It came with v. 2.2. V. 2.8 did add some features which I really missed and like now to have. Quote Link to comment
+whinger Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I am on my second Colorado 400t, and am not too happy with it. The old one had a terrible drift problem that would place me up to two blocks away from my position, amongst other issues. The new one still isn't as accurate as my iPhone, and it bounces around a lot more than I would expect for a top-of-the-line unit. I have only taken the new 400t out twice since I got it from Garmin, and it was raining both days. I want to try again under better weather conditions to see if my iPhone continues to outperform the Colorado. Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I have one of each with no issues in either that required a return. Quote Link to comment
+dostuffgps Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Found this report on the Wiki, Oregon: Adds touch screen Eliminates the Rock'n Roller Internal ceramic antenna (no quad-helix antenna stub like the Colorado) No hard buttons other than power button on the side Uses MicroSD cards instead of SD cards 1" (2.5cm) shorter and slightly more narrow (2.3" x 4.5" x 1.4") than the Colorado (2.4" x 5.5" x 1.4") Weighs .5oz (14g) less than the Colorado Adds HotFixTM feature which allows for faster satellite acquisition times Includes a Track Manager to better manage tracks, a shortcoming of the Colorado Provides a lanyard attachment point Quote Link to comment
rjfrider Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 1 Colorado from practically day 1 - 2007 with no issues and no returns. I just updated it regularly SW and Firmware. It's been on the trails in Baja and in Colorado; in dust; in sand; in rain; in rocks; in snow; and hard wired to my bike. Still keeps goin like an old Timex. rider Quote Link to comment
ZeMartelo Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Colorado owner here. I could not justify the price of the Oregon and the roller buttons are really not that bad imo. I love to be able to see all the caches on the map screen and just scroll the mouse to it and click and get all the info for that cache. Awesome. The device needs to improve its accuracy. I still dont know why Garmin dropped it, it is a great unit imo. Quote Link to comment
+Maingray Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Oregon, no issues so far. Prefer it over the CO, ability to touch on a cache and bring up info worth the price of admission alone I use it a lot to autonavigate as well, so touchscreen is a natural for that as well when it's mounted on the windscreen. The GUI is setup a bit differently to the CO, some pros and cons- but the ability to switch between profiles via couple of screen touches felt better on the OR and the geocaching mode felt more immediate. Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I'm on my fourth Oregon. One broken battery clip in parking lot of the store where I just bought it. One I deleted something I shouldn't have. Garmin replaced the unit and the map card. One that fried. Fourth one is great and the other two worked great until they didn't. Bill Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) not my fault Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) this one either Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) and this one Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) and so on Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) and so on Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) and so on Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) help Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) it won't stop Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) man...my apologies Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) almost done Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) sorry Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+billandlore Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) double post Edited February 22, 2009 by billandlore Quote Link to comment
+johnandmegs Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Colorado owner here. I could not justify the price of the Oregon and the roller buttons are really not that bad imo. I love to be able to see all the caches on the map screen and just scroll the mouse to it and click and get all the info for that cache. Awesome. The device needs to improve its accuracy. I still dont know why Garmin dropped it, it is a great unit imo. I also couldn't justify the price of the Oregon, and I'm not a fan of touch screens. I really like my Colorado, and haven't had any problems with it. I actually like the rock n' roller- I can manipulate it in the winter with gloves on, and it seems easier to navigate through the menus and features than the Oregon. Quote Link to comment
ZeMartelo Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I think one of the misconceptions about the unit is that it only has a roller. People dont know or dont realize that it still has the same directional buttons inside the roller like the 60csx. The roller adds extra functionality to the four buttons because it makes zoom in/out and scroll text alot easier. I am happy with the colorado as well, even thou Garmin seems to have dropped development for it. It's a shame because I think there is enough market for both the Colorado and the Oregon. Quote Link to comment
+myotis Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I love my Colorado, but I am not a fan of Garmin. One thing to remember about Garmin is they seem to have a policy of replacing the GPS and dennying software issues. I know lots of people posted on the forums they were getting thier CO replaced multiple times for what turned out to be firmware issues. I remember when I had my 60CSX I returned it once and it still did the same thing (it would lock up at certian places when I would have proximity custom POIs). Then they wanted me to return the new GPS. I went round and round with them telling them it was a firmware issue. About 6 firmware revisions latter they fixed the problem. I also thing a lot of the bad press for the CO was because they released it without adaqute beta testing. I got the 60CSX when it came out and there were lots of problems with it, but the problems with the CO were much greater than with the 60CSX. But even with all its problems, the CO was by far the best GPS you could get when it was released. I like to say I love Garmins but hate Garmin. Quote Link to comment
+BetaMan Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 1 Colorado, 1 Oregon 400t I retired the Colorado immediately after getting the Oregon. No contest! The Oregon is BY FAR a better unit than the Colorado! Quote Link to comment
+BetaMan Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I did have a problem with a Wherigo cache locking up several times today though... From what I've heard, the Oregon has a slight problem with Wherigo caches. Quote Link to comment
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