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New Garmin Oregon 600 Series


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garmin website now finally allows to purchase the unit. It says processing time 2-3 weeks. I guess better than nothing

Yup, and still 3-5 on the 650. Id rather have had mine yesterday :)

Each one has to be personally inspected by someone who looks at it, arches an eyebrow and says "Hmmmm." It's taking considerably more time than they anticipated.

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[quote name=Team-H :)' timestamp='1366058468' post='5236415]

'Quick Start Manual' was posted to the product page today. Hopefully a sign of imminent release...

 

http://support.garmi...e=en&country=US

I noticed the "Downloading Geocaches" section only shows the open caching site. Is that a problem or is that how Garmin does their paperless GPS manuals these days?

 

I am enjoying the excitement shown in this thread. Have fun.

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[quote name=Team-H :)' timestamp='1366058468' post='5236415]

'Quick Start Manual' was posted to the product page today. Hopefully a sign of imminent release...

 

http://support.garmin.com/support/manuals/manuals.htm?partNo=010-01066-20&language=en&country=US

 

Looks like the Owners Manual is about to be published as the website now has the hyperlinks ready to download it, but clicking on the link generates a "File Not Found" error message at the moment :(

 

Chris

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[quote name=Team-H :)' timestamp='1366058468' post='5236415]

'Quick Start Manual' was posted to the product page today. Hopefully a sign of imminent release...

 

http://support.garmin.com/support/manuals/manuals.htm?partNo=010-01066-20&language=en&country=US

 

Looks like the Owners Manual is about to be published as the website now has the hyperlinks ready to download it, but clicking on the link generates a "File Not Found" error message at the moment :(

 

Chris

Working now.

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[quote name=Team-H :)' timestamp='1366058468' post='5236415]

'Quick Start Manual' was posted to the product page today. Hopefully a sign of imminent release...

 

http://support.garmin.com/support/manuals/manuals.htm?partNo=010-01066-20&language=en&country=US

 

Looks like the Owners Manual is about to be published as the website now has the hyperlinks ready to download it, but clicking on the link generates a "File Not Found" error message at the moment :(

 

Chris

Working now.

 

Great... now for some reading!

 

Chris

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Yesterday I visited a outdoor store (Garmin representative) and the owner said that many customers have cancelled their preorders of Oregon 600 -units because of repeating delays.

 

Why do people even bother pre-ordering things like this? What, so you can have it a few days earlier than just ordering it the day it's finally released? These units aren't like ammo... They'll be available everywhere and it's ALWAYS a good idea to let others do the beta testing and see their reviews because we all know it won't be perfect from Garmin. :rolleyes:

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Yesterday I visited a outdoor store (Garmin representative) and the owner said that many customers have cancelled their preorders of Oregon 600 -units because of repeating delays.

 

Why do people even bother pre-ordering things like this? What, so you can have it a few days earlier than just ordering it the day it's finally released? These units aren't like ammo... They'll be available everywhere and it's ALWAYS a good idea to let others do the beta testing and see their reviews because we all know it won't be perfect from Garmin. :rolleyes:

 

I pre-ordered because I want it to ship on the first available date. I also preordered because LL Bean had a 20% discount.

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Being on a trip the less settings on the gps the better, if you set the track off every time sooner or later you will forget to set it on again.

 

Being able to stop/start recording isn't even a new feature, it was just more buried in the earlier models. This just makes it more convenient for those who want it. That said, I may not even bother using it. The manual points out a couple other new toys that might do most of the job:

 

Auto Archive: Sets an automatic archive method to organize your tracks. Tracks are saved and cleared automatically.

Auto Pause: Pauses tracking automatically when you stop moving.

Auto Start: Starts recording a track automatically when the device has acquired satellites.

 

Auto Archive could be useful, but the manual is pretty tight-lipped on what it can do. If it say, lets you auto-archive on shutdown or when it notices you are in an entirely different location, that'd be pretty useful. Shut it down at the end of a trip and get a fresh track when you launch it back up again.

 

Auto Pause may be the best of the 3, if it means less spidering in the tracks. The 600 has an accelerometer for screen orientation, so it should be able to detect when you are stopped better as well. Will have to see how good it actually is though.

 

Auto Start looks like it is really just a way to tell the Garmin to stop automatically recording data on startup, and require that you hit "go". If that's your thing.

 

And because all of these are settings, you can configure them by profile, it looks like. So you can get the Oregon 4xx/5xx behavior in some profiles, and leave tracking off entirely in others if you want (say, in automotive mode). I like it, personally. Adds a bit of customization without over-complicating things too much. They don't mention what the defaults are though. That would be annoying for some if the defaults aren't what they want.

 

Why do people even bother pre-ordering things like this? What, so you can have it a few days earlier than just ordering it the day it's finally released? These units aren't like ammo... They'll be available everywhere and it's ALWAYS a good idea to let others do the beta testing and see their reviews because we all know it won't be perfect from Garmin. :rolleyes:

 

Sometimes, there isn't a whole lot of risk to a pre-order, or there's an early sale (like the LL Bean buyer). Places aren't supposed to place a charge until it is in stock anyhow, so you aren't out the money until that point. And if it does turn out to be a stinker, some of these places have a generous return policy. In my case though, I'm a bit of a gadget geek.

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Sometimes, there isn't a whole lot of risk to a pre-order, or there's an early sale (like the LL Bean buyer). Places aren't supposed to place a charge until it is in stock anyhow, so you aren't out the money until that point. And if it does turn out to be a stinker, some of these places have a generous return policy. In my case though, I'm a bit of a gadget geek.

 

Yeah, okay, I can see the benefit for the guy with the 20% discount. And, yes, you're right about those return policies. I had my Montana for a few months and returned it for a full refund because I just couldn't bring myself to like it for hiking due to it's size. LL Bean refunded it no problem and, hey, that's what their warranty says... Return anything for any reason at any time if you're not 100% satisfied. I won't even mention what pair of hiking boots I'm on now... :D

Edited by sviking
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[quote name=Team-H :)' timestamp='1366058468' post='5236415]

'Quick Start Manual' was posted to the product page today. Hopefully a sign of imminent release...

 

http://support.garmin.com/support/manuals/manuals.htm?partNo=010-01066-20&language=en&country=US

 

Looks like the Owners Manual is about to be published as the website now has the hyperlinks ready to download it, but clicking on the link generates a "File Not Found" error message at the moment :(

 

Chris

Working now.

 

Great... now for some reading!

 

Chris

 

The butler did it. :lol:

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Well that didn't take long to read! 22 pages without any mention of GCZ files, the number of geocaches and waypoints it will hold, or detailed descriptions of setting up profiles. I'm surprised they couldn't have released this when they announced the beast in January!

 

Chris

 

With most Consumer Electronics items I'm finding the real manual is some sort of PDF which is stored on the item. I agree, this owners manual isn't much more than that quick start manual was. Even basic things, such as in which folder to place files seemed to be missing, how to go about cleaning out old files, etc. The sort of things you really do need to know before you break something.

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With most Consumer Electronics items I'm finding the real manual is some sort of PDF which is stored on the item. I agree, this owners manual isn't much more than that quick start manual was. Even basic things, such as in which folder to place files seemed to be missing, how to go about cleaning out old files, etc. The sort of things you really do need to know before you break something.

 

Yeah, I'll stick to the Wiki

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Hi,

 

I have preordered a 650 from REI... A Garmin rep told me they are shipping "very soon" and "worth the wait!"... an REI rep said they are due into their distribution center on Monday 4/22...

 

That'd be good to see. I ordered mine through them as well.

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I back ordered mine in February... leaving home for a week long river trip in the Ozarks May 3rd so REALLY want to get it in time for that! already have the waypoints etc. in Basecamp ready to upload. REI is great cause you get 15% off if you use their credit card, and have unlimited return privileges if you dont like it...

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I back ordered mine in February... leaving home for a week long river trip in the Ozarks May 3rd so REALLY want to get it in time for that! already have the waypoints etc. in Basecamp ready to upload. REI is great cause you get 15% off if you use their credit card, and have unlimited return privileges if you dont like it...

Just joined the site today? Not sure how I missed that in the last post. Welcome aboard!

Edited by Team-Facetious
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That's the same one that I mentioned, all 22 pages of it! (My Oregon 400t has a 56 page owner's manual, and the Montana - with similar firmware to the Oregon 6xx - has a 70 page manual!!)

 

And even in that short document I've found confusing statements... The Garmin website says the 650 and 650t come with the rechargeable NimH battery pack as standard, while it is an option with the 600 (and 600t??). But the manual states "The device operates using the optional NiMH battery pack (650 and 650t only) or 2 AA batteries." So is the battery pack standard with the 650/650t? Can the battery pack be used in the 600/600t?

 

Guess I'll need to wait until the Wiki is finished and the review sites have had a chance to tell us all about it!

 

Chris

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That's the same one that I mentioned, all 22 pages of it! (My Oregon 400t has a 56 page owner's manual, and the Montana - with similar firmware to the Oregon 6xx - has a 70 page manual!!)

 

And even in that short document I've found confusing statements... The Garmin website says the 650 and 650t come with the rechargeable NimH battery pack as standard, while it is an option with the 600 (and 600t??). But the manual states "The device operates using the optional NiMH battery pack (650 and 650t only) or 2 AA batteries." So is the battery pack standard with the 650/650t? Can the battery pack be used in the 600/600t?

 

Guess I'll need to wait until the Wiki is finished and the review sites have had a chance to tell us all about it!

 

Chris

 

Hi Chris. The battery pack can be used in ALL of the new Oregons. The 650 and 650t come with the battery pack in the box. 600 and 600t users will have to purchase it separately.

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I back ordered mine in February... leaving home for a week long river trip in the Ozarks May 3rd so REALLY want to get it in time for that! already have the waypoints etc. in Basecamp ready to upload. REI is great cause you get 15% off if you use their credit card, and have unlimited return privileges if you dont like it...

 

Speaking of REI... My order for a 600 updated today. REI's website no longer shows backorder status for the 600/600t, and my order has been flagged as shipped to my local store, due to arrive "on or before 4/20". Could Garmin have actually gotten a few out the door this week? That'd be a miracle.

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TRANSCRIPT OF REI HELP CHAT:

 

Chat Transcript

Welcome to REI Live Help; an REI representative will be with you shortly.

You have been connected to Andrew H.

Andrew H: Hi David, thank you for contacting REI!

Andrew H: How can I help you?

david: hi

david: I have a garmin Oregon 650 on backorder. i saw this morning that the oregon 600, 600T, and 650T aere available, but not the 650

david: can you explain, please

Andrew H: I will try to see what might be going on. Do you have your order number so I can take a further look?

david: yes one moment

 

Andrew H: Perfect. Can you please verify your address and phone number as well?

 

 

Andrew H: Thank you! I am contacting our product team to see on that.

david: tyvm

Andrew H: It looks like Garmin has delayed shipment until May 23 now, but I want to be sure first.

Andrew H: It looks like Garmin has had some delays that are causing these items to be backordered for us until May 23 right now. If you would like to cancel this and order one that is in stock, I can do that.

david: are all those units unavailable? the website showed you can order the 650T?

Andrew H: The 650T is also delayed, though you can place an order to be on backorder for that one.

david: I saw this post ona gps forum this morning:

Speaking of REI... My order for a 600 updated today. REI's website no longer shows backorder status for the 600/600t, and my order has been flagged as shipped to my local store, due to arrive "on or before 4/20". Could Garmin have actually gotten a few out the door this week? That'd be a miracle.

Andrew H: So what is happening that is causing that is our system thinks that the previous dates are still correct. We have received word directly from Garmin that we will not be receiving the 650 or 650T. I believe the 600 and 600T are available to order currently and are shipping on orders that have been placed.

Andrew H: Let me verify that.

Andrew H: Yes, we do have those in stock and they should be shipping if you have an order for them.

david: can i order one without it having been preorderd?

Andrew H: Yes, we also have them in stock for normal orders as well.

david: ok thx

Andrew H: You're welcome! Is there anything else I can do for you?

david: so may 23rd on the 650?

david: maybe

Andrew H: That is what we received word from Garmin. I think they had a manufacturing defect they recalled the units for.

Andrew H: They should be fulfilling orders by May.

david: i'll pass the word, ty

Edited by padlnjones
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I hope they get the 650/t figured out soon, I'm really wanting the one with a more rugged 8mp camera. Makes one wonder what the defect was??

 

The 6xx line in general looks like it has been plagued with manufacturing issues trying to get the product ready for launch, hence the delays up to this point. But it isn't that uncommon for issues to crop up when moving to manufacturing from the prototype stage. Any issues with the 650 would be with components or processes that the 650 needs that the 600 does not. Different chips, the camera, the pack-in batteries, extra work the case needs to seal the camera correctly, things like that.

 

Faulty quality control? :ph34r:

 

The QC isn't faulty if it's preventing bad units from being shipped to you. ;)

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I'd be careful about the statement from the REI online help guy. "I THINK" is by no means a window into the issue. We should remember that ALL units were pushed back for some time and REI simply may not be among the first retailers to receive shipments of the 650/650t from Garmin. GPScity on the other hand is usually first on the list. They get the first batch and may indeed ship in early May.

 

I'm fairly certain there was no manufacturing defect on the 650/650t. It's most likely a distribution issue or delay from the manufacturer and nothing more.

 

I'll be picking my 600 up from REI in Missoula, MT on Saturday.

Edited by yogazoo
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Faulty quality control? :ph34r:

 

The QC isn't faulty if it's preventing bad units from being shipped to you. ;)

Better to fix the problem than deliver faulty units. On the other hand, they obviously didn't find the glitch, whatver it was, before making delivery promises it couldn't keep.

 

--Larry

 

There was a problem found with the rubber grip on new Canon 650D/T4i cameras. While hotly anticipated and many orders placed, they stopped shipping them and recalled cameras to replace the defective rubber, which was breaking down and producing an irritant. Possible this happened with the new Oregons - something not immediately apparent, but revealed after a brief time -- some manufacturers, particularly in China cut some pretty terrible corners.

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There was a problem found with the rubber grip on new Canon 650D/T4i cameras. While hotly anticipated and many orders placed, they stopped shipping them and recalled cameras to replace the defective rubber, which was breaking down and producing an irritant. Possible this happened with the new Oregons - something not immediately apparent, but revealed after a brief time -- some manufacturers, particularly in China cut some pretty terrible corners.

This seems credible.

 

Personally, I'm not too concerned about any delays. I don't have any specific plans for the new gadget other than to hopefully enjoy it when it gets to me. I also understand how irritating it can be to pre-order something and make plans around its delivery, only to have the delivery date slide farther and farther into the future. That's happened to me a few times.

 

--Larry

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Better to fix the problem than deliver faulty units. On the other hand, they obviously didn't find the glitch, whatver it was, before making delivery promises it couldn't keep.

 

Which is a problem with pre-announcing a product before you've built up a launch supply. You can get sidelined by things entirely unexpected and eat away any buffer you may have in your schedule. As I stated, it's not that uncommon to hit issues in manufacturing that aren't present in the prototype or pre-production phases. The number of delays suggest this particular model has caused more problems than average moving into manufacturing.

 

I'd be careful about the statement from the REI online help guy. "I THINK" is by no means a window into the issue. We should remember that ALL units were pushed back for some time and REI simply may not be among the first retailers to receive shipments of the 650/650t from Garmin. GPScity on the other hand is usually first on the list. They get the first batch and may indeed ship in early May.

 

I'm fairly certain there was no manufacturing defect on the 650/650t. It's most likely a distribution issue or delay from the manufacturer and nothing more.

 

Completely correct that REI probably doesn't have a clear picture, other than it is delayed. Something we can see through Garmin's website as well, as they quote a longer time for 650s than 600s. At least he clarified it with "I think" rather than stating it as a fact like some CSRs do.

 

However, unless Garmin's manufacturer has just been blowing them off, it is unlikely a delay on that end. And distribution only makes sense when dealing with shorter time scales (days). If GPSCity does start shipping 650s on the 5th, then I'd find it more believable. But considering how many delays faced so far, the likely explanation is that when they moved to mass production, it revealed issues not present in pre-production (this happens all the time in my industry). The 600 is the first to have them solved, either by choice or because they were easier to solve. I could buy that the first batch is 600s, and the 650s will follow up shortly in the second batch, just so they could start selling the likely to be more popular model as quickly as possible.

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In my experience, Garmin routinely staggers release dates, probably to maximize revenue. Typically they will release lower cost units first, followed a few weeks later by the high-end models.

 

As far as I can tell, we're just seeing a delay for the entire line, which isn't unusual. Most GPS manufacturers tend to over-promise and under-deliver when it comes to the estimated ship dates they provide to retailers.

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In my experience, Garmin routinely staggers release dates, probably to maximize revenue. Typically they will release lower cost units first, followed a few weeks later by the high-end models.

 

As far as I can tell, we're just seeing a delay for the entire line, which isn't unusual. Most GPS manufacturers tend to over-promise and under-deliver when it comes to the estimated ship dates they provide to retailers.

 

I could buy that, definitely. And yeah, you can maximize revenue by shipping the cheaper models ASAP and getting the sell-through as quickly as possible. Starting with the more expensive ones first may not pay off if the demand is 2:1 for the cheaper ones.

 

And as another note, my REI has mine in the store waiting for me. I'll probably pick it up during lunch.

Edited by Kolenka
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It arrived so I picked mine up over my lunch. I'm cautiously ecstatic. This thing can do a lot! There is more functionality in many areas than even the Montana. Everything seems very well thought out and the geocaching features are awesome! You can even increase the font size of the descriptions and logs page so people with older eyes can read it with ease. The Track operation from the "Current Track" screen is incredible. The map redraw is lightning fast and the touch-screen interface is silky smooth and very sensitive. I'm stoked!

Edited by yogazoo
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Picked mine up at lunch as well. So far the impressions are largely positive:

 

- Can run your own strap now, or use the mounting on the back. Nice touch.

- Map navigation is much easier with the capacitive touch (gestures on resistive screens never work all that well for me), and faster. A lot of the UI is just more responsive.

- Despite having to get a lock cold, within a couple minutes it was reporting greater accuracy than my 450. It stayed that way the entire trip back except in one case where the 450 reported better accuracy by 3 ft (both low 30s at the time).

- Screen is much easier to see in the day with the backlight off. I'd say the display itself is about on par with the eTrex 20/30, but is more readable due to the larger screen (larger text). Combine that with the UI color choice which boosts contrast, and it blows the 450 away.

- The Sun and Moon screen now has a feature to show you where they should be in the sky at any given time (defaulting to the current time). This is something I liked about the Magellan 610's compass screen and wished the Garmin had. Now it does.

- Proximity Alarms. Was annoyed the 450 lacked this feature after playing with the eTrex.

- Ergonomics are a bit better in my hand. The 450 wasn't bad, but the 600 is a bit better.

- Dashboards.... Jebus. You can even put a dashboard on the screen that comes up when you press the power button. Just in case you want that data hidden, but easily accessible. More dashboards to pick from (including track controls). It's a bit of a playground for getting whatever data you want on the screens you want.

- Many places where you would click into a list view from the main menu now takes you into tabbed views. This makes data just as accessible, and in some cases, faster/easier.

 

A couple nitpicks so far:

 

- The USB port cover feels cheaper and less integrated than the 450. It looks like it will do the job, but it is a weird detail to miss.

- The back ditched the lever on the 450 as the lock, which is actually nice (dug into my thumb as I have short nails), but it is a bit harder to put the back on after swapping batteries.

- Boot time seems mostly unchanged.

Edited by Kolenka
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The screen brightness is everything Garmin touts. Highly visible in low and bright light with a much improved viewing angle range. I'll post more screenshots tonight. There are a lot more data field choices than even the Montana. I'll try to capture all of them.

 

The 600 is a very stable unit. I haven't experienced any crashes yet. My Montana crashes on me quite frequently with a lot of interface.

 

There is also a new "Calorie" data field and a setup menu to input the users weight, height, age, etc. It will calculate calories burned based on activity and distance. You don't even need a heart rate monitor for this to work.

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