Downloadable GPS?

[curly5759]

All, I am currently using a Magellan 300 that I have to manually input all the co-ordinates. After 5 years, it is time to upgrade. I would like a GPS that can access Geocaching.com in the field and show me the caches so I don't have to manually input them.

I do not want a Phone based one, I want a dedicated GPS. Any help is appreciated.

 

Curly

[+SeekerOfTheWay]

As far as I know only smartphones have the internet access to be able to connect with geocaching.com OTA (over the air, or in the field).

 

You'll need to create and load Pocket Queries onto your GPS using a PC.

 

I use both a BlackBerry and a Garmin Colorado. The Colorado is new to me. I loaded the 1000 closest caches onto it so it is similar to using my BlackBerry in that I can fire it up and go to the closest cache, granted I'm within 50 miles.

 

I still use my BlackBerry along with the Colorado to log while I'm in the field, or if I want to read all the logs for a cache. Or if I want to find a cache that isn't loaded onto the Colorado.

 

They work very well together.

[+splashy]

My Samsung Galaxy S and all other smartphones with network can do this.

What we try is to load via Wifi and load also the maps, then in the field we don't have problems being out of network reach.

But if you have network and you want to load new data you will be ok.

[+JJnTJ]

We've used the official Groundspeak Android app to grab impulse caches, and it will also work with pocket queries and other GPX files (like solved puzzles with corrected coordinates). Works ok for us, but battery life of mobiles with GPS tends to be very poor.

[+yourname1]

A GPSr with wi-fi would be cool for sure..

[+ecanderson]

Thus far, I don't think any of the usual 3rd party application folks have cracked the access to the SIM card embedded in the TomTom "Live" models, nor is it clear whether the "Live" services applications are client side or hosted. That said, it's an example of a GPS with its own SIM that goes out and grabs traffic data, Google searches, etc. I have often wondered if the GPS world and smart phone world will be converging even further. Haven't seen a handheld GPS with a SIM ... yet.

Edited November 25, 2010 by ecanderson

[+dakboy]

A GPSr with wi-fi would be cool for sure..

I'd prefer bluetooth for wireless data transfers instead of having to pull out a cable to feed data from GSAK or Send To GPS. WiFi isn't much use in the field unless you exclusively cache in the Starbucks parking lot.

[+yourname1]

If you had a smart phone that is able to be used as a hot-spot like some of the new HTC and other phones, you could borrow that internet to load the GPSr... or if your phone allows "teather" then you could bluetooth to the phone and load..either way seems like the way to go if possible..but both of those options cost extra money on your phone plan..The limiting factor on any of this would be cell service..so its all a compromise..just like anything I guess

Edited November 25, 2010 by yourname1

[+Shelbrain]

Check out the Garminfone (a GPS with a SIM)

[+splashy]

Garminphone died before it even was on the market.

 

You better get a Nuvi 295 W $89 compusa

Is a nuviphone without phone. 3ax compass, wifi 3mp camera.

[+dakboy]

Garminphone died before it even was on the market.

 

You better get a Nuvi 295 W $89 compusa

Is a nuviphone without phone. 3ax compass, wifi 3mp camera.

As long as you know you'll never be away from power for more than 4 hours, don't need something that's weatherproof, and don't need something that can handle getting dropped in the woods.

 

That device is not compatible with most geocachers' activities.

[+splashy]

Many answers are about being 'in the wood' how many people really go in the wood, I don't see them in deserted place like desert and canyons.

 

I suspect many people just go to a parking lot, from there do a cache come back to the car go to the next parking and do a next cache.

 

People that really have long hikes more or less know what they need from a Gps.

[+user13371]

Why not look at Curly5759's hundred or so previous finds (or maybe even ask what kind of caching/hiking they do) before just saying "you better get" any specific model? The original request struck me as a bit odd. There are an awful lot of GPSR's that let you connect and download caches from a computer -- a tremendous step up from the Explorist 300. "Downloading caches in the field" implies wireless network access, another (and different) step up.

 

Hey Curly, is that what you really have in mind? Never connecting your GPS to a computer?

Edited November 26, 2010 by lee_rimar

[+ecanderson]

Many answers are about being 'in the wood' how many people really go in the wood, I don't see them in deserted place like desert and canyons.

 

I suspect many people just go to a parking lot, from there do a cache come back to the car go to the next parking and do a next cache.

"Dropped in the woods" isn't really a prerequisite to killing an automotive GPS. Dropping one in the river rock on the island of the parking lot -- or just dropping one in the parking lot, for that matter -- won't do very many of them any good at all. A "ruggedized" automotive nav unit is a very rare bird.

 

So while the concern may be overstated in terms of terrain, it's just as relevant in an urban setting.

[+Tatooed Lady]

A GPSr with wi-fi would be cool for sure..

I'd prefer bluetooth for wireless data transfers instead of having to pull out a cable to feed data from GSAK or Send To GPS. WiFi isn't much use in the field unless you exclusively cache in the Starbucks parking lot.

not true...I just purchased a wi-fi mobile hotspot (or something like that) through Verizon...I can create my own wi-fi hotspot now, and am able to have up to 5 wf capable devices connect (if they know the password). I now create my own internet connection at my boyfriend's house (no cable, satellite, etc) and at home (same thing), and don't have to depend on finding a parking spot at McD's or some other public location with free hookup. So far....LOVE IT!!! It allows me to boogie around wherever I want and get online to check for updates or log finds (or DNFs, etc). Paired with a netbook and the Oregon 400t, I feel like I've got it all...except a camera...but that's my phone and another story entirely.

Oh, the wi-fi mobile unit IS limited as to how much you can access...for around $50 per month I get 5GB of internet goodness...or, as explained to me, roughly 36,000 webpages.

[NordicMan]

Yep I have mobile hotspots available on my Palm Pre too, which I think was the 1st phone on the market to have that option. It's great! But watch your phone battery drain away quick while it's in that "wireless router mode"!