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eTrex Touch screen res, good or not?


gallet

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I used to have an etrex 20 which I lost so I bought an etrex 20x which has markedly improved screen res. Then I got a bargain Oregon which is a touch screen with good res but less than the etrex 20x. I gave the 20x to the gf who promptly lost it, so I have just purchased a refurbished 25 Touch because I can see the touch screen works really well on the Oregon.

However I expected the same screen res as the Oregon on the 25 Touch but I now discover that the res is even less than the eTrex 20 :¬( 

 

I'm wondering if anyone using the Touch 25 can confirm that the screen res is OK and are not having problems with it. I'm pretty annoyed by this, I guess it gives Garmin the room to bring out a Touch 25x with the resolution that it should have had. Am I fretting unnecessarily?

 

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@Red90, ha I should have explained, I bought it but I don't have it yet, having it shipped to my US mailbox then I'll reship it to Australia with some other packages. I was just looking at the specs and I've only just noticed the low resolution. I'm not using it for caching, I'm using it as a gps for the gf's motorbike. I've been using the Oregon and I'm really pleased with how well it works. She prefers a smaller size. I guess in one sense it's sort of irrelevant because I already have it being delivered, but I won't get it for two weeks and I was just wondering. I'm just surprised that it works out to about 43px / cm, the etrex 20 was about 55px/cm and the 20x was 72px/cm, the oregon is about 62px/cm

 

If you divide the 400px depth on the Oregon's 6.3cm you get 63px 

if you divide the 240px depth on the Touch 25's 5.5cm you get 43px which is quite a big difference!

Yeah you'd have thought it would be the same type of screen as the Oregon, I just thought that maybe that is in fact an error on the garmin spec page! I might write to garmin to check.

 

@Viajero Perdido not caching it's basically for on motorbike gps use. Need a transreflective screen for a bike. 

Edited by gallet
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On 01/12/2017 at 0:05 PM, gallet said:

@Red90, ha I should have explained, I bought it but I don't have it yet, having it shipped to my US mailbox then I'll reship it to Australia with some other packages. I was just looking at the specs and I've only just noticed the low resolution. I'm not using it for caching, I'm using it as a gps for the gf's motorbike. I've been using the Oregon and I'm really pleased with how well it works. She prefers a smaller size. I guess in one sense it's sort of irrelevant because I already have it being delivered, but I won't get it for two weeks and I was just wondering. I'm just surprised that it works out to about 43px / cm, the etrex 20 was about 55px/cm and the 20x was 72px/cm, the oregon is about 62px/cm

 

If you divide the 400px depth on the Oregon's 6.3cm you get 63px 

if you divide the 240px depth on the Touch 25's 5.5cm you get 43px which is quite a big difference!

Yeah you'd have thought it would be the same type of screen as the Oregon, I just thought that maybe that is in fact an error on the garmin spec page! I might write to garmin to check.

 

@Viajero Perdido not caching it's basically for on motorbike gps use. Need a transreflective screen for a bike. 

I have Etrex 20 and 20x which have used on my bike. I use the suction windscreen mount but have never used them for navigating only for the trip computer and the speedometer as it is more accurate than the bikes speedo. Have done occasional geacache hunts with it.

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OK I just got delivery a couple of days ago. Yes it's true the specs at Garmin are correct. Putting the Oregon 600 and the eTrex 25 side by side the screen on the eTrex is readable but it is indeed lower than the original eTrex 20. That is a truly pathetic move from Garmin. It works and it's readable but they know it's crap. Why would they bother to increase the res on the original etrex 20 when they released the 20x, it was only the screen that was a bit higher res. So it's not something they aren't aware of. And this 25 touch is worse than the original eTrex. It's really annoying when companies like Garmin treat their customers like mugs. OK you can rightly say that I should have gone and checked it out first and you'd not be wrong but I'd still have bought it, unhappily. Why? because this is the size that is needed and it does work and the press button eTrex is difficult to operate on a motorbike and also the rubber buttons crack away from overuse (see my other thread on this)

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On 01/12/2017 at 1:07 PM, Red90 said:

The Garmin specs are correct.  You must be able to go to a store and see one in person.

As you can see, it is the exact same as a Dakota, https://buy.garmin.com/en-CA/CA/p/30926#specs  They just took a Dakota and added a few newer items and renamed it.  The case changed and the screen did not change.  It is pretty old school.

Ah yes I see you are correct it is the exact same screen dimensions and therefore resolution as a discontinued model. So they put a discontinued screen turn it into a touch screen and call it the latest model. As I said, Pathetic. Especially when it should have been the same type of touch screen as the Oregon albeit small size.

Edited by gallet
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6 hours ago, gallet said:

Ah yes I see you are correct it is the exact same screen dimensions and therefore resolution as a discontinued model. So they put a discontinued screen turn it into a touch screen and call it the latest model. As I said, Pathetic. Especially when it should have been the same type of touch screen as the Oregon albeit small size.

It is the same type of touch screen as the Oregon. The Dakota had the same resistive touch screen that the Oregon 300/400/450 units had. The eTrex Touch has the same capacitive touch screen as the Oregon 600/700 units. The resolution has also not changed within lines. The screen size and number of pixels is the same between the old oregons and the new ones, just as it is the same between the old Dakotas and the new eTrex Touch (essentially an updated Dakota).

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On 15/12/2017 at 2:15 PM, Mineral2 said:

It is the same type of touch screen as the Oregon. The Dakota had the same resistive touch screen that the Oregon 300/400/450 units had. The eTrex Touch has the same capacitive touch screen as the Oregon 600/700 units. The resolution has also not changed within lines. The screen size and number of pixels is the same between the old oregons and the new ones, just as it is the same between the old Dakotas and the new eTrex Touch (essentially an updated Dakota).

If you are saying that the eTrex Touch 25 is the same touch screen as the Oregon 600 then you are plain wrong. End of. 

Also I have just discovered that the eTrex 25 is utter garbage and now I will have to replace it with the eTrex touch 20. Unless I can get an oregon 600 at a reasonable price.

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There is no eTrex Touch 20. The eTrex 20 interfaces with a cheap plastic joystick to move the cursor across the screen.

What are your qualms with the Touch 25? Have you updated it to the latest firmware? I want to know if your grievances are software related or hardware, and whether you will be any happier with the Oregon, which you can still find at a decent price from time to time (around $220).

When I say that the eTrex Touch has the same screen as the Oregon 600, I don't mean the same resolution or dot pitch, but same touch mechanism.

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@Mineral2I meant the etrex 20, or more likely 20x what I mean is that if the gf wants a small unit then the touch 25 is so rubbish that you're better off with the plain etrex with the joystick. However while trying to get the eTrex Touch 25 into a usable configuration I have thrown in the towel. It's on ebay I'm getting rid of this POS, and I have just this minute bought another Oregon 600 from Amazon with cheap delivery to Australia for a total cost of $305 Australian, or $219 USD which is a decent price. The gf will have to put up with a bigger unit.

Now you ask what is wrong with the Touch 25? Well for a start the resolution is woefully inadequate, lower than the original eTrex meaning for use as a driving gps it's not very readable. The screen is less responsive than the Oregon too. But the software, christ in a chicken basket,  were these people on drugs when they wrote this software. I have put it back into classic mode because at least that is almost usable apart from the below standard resolution. However the non classic software would send anyone crazy. It's utter madness. 

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None of the handhelds are really meant for being a driving GPS. You can get away with using the Oregon (and even better the Montana), but the reality is that none of them have the screen size and resolution to make for a great vehicle gps. I put my Oregon into Nuvi mode to navigate to geocaches. Otherwise I drive primarily with a Nuvi or my phone.

But I think you're in the right to swap out the eTrex touch for an Oregon 600. The Oregon is just a way nicer and more solid device. I don't think it's that big either.

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On 12/19/2017 at 9:30 PM, gallet said:

Now you ask what is wrong with the Touch 25? Well for a start the resolution is woefully inadequate, lower than the original eTrex meaning for use as a driving gps it's not very readable. The screen is less responsive than the Oregon too. But the software, christ in a chicken basket,  were these people on drugs when they wrote this software. I have put it back into classic mode because at least that is almost usable apart from the below standard resolution. However the non classic software would send anyone crazy. It's utter madness. 

If you already own the Etrex 25, it is not worth the cost to upgrade to an Oregon 600. if you can return the Etrex 25, then return it and get an Oregon 600.  The Etrex touch series is just as accurate as the Oregon's and buying an Oregon will not help you find more geocaches..  If you want a unit to use as a driving GPS, get a 5 inch nuvi for around $60 and it's easy to load up geocaches and makes for an excellent driving GPS to get you to the spot of the geocaches. Then pull out your Etrex 25 for the final find. 

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@cyclingfreak64as per the original post, I gave my etrex 20x to the gf who lost it, so I replaced that with the touch 25, as I have the oregon 600 already. I have subsequently discovered that the Touch 25 is a piece of garbage with unacceptably low resolution and confusing software. I use both units for motorcycle driving. Nuvis are no good because they do not have a transreflective screen and thus are not visible in bright sunlight.

I find the Oregon 600 to be an absolutely superb motorcycle gps. Crisp easy to read with excellent software, I do not use it in automotive mode as I find that confusing I prefer the normal birds eye view where I can see upcoming turns. I've put the Touch25 on ebay and I'll have a second Oregon 600 in a week or two. Plus I can make my own forced routes in basecamp. The montana is unnecessarily too large for me plus it has that edge around the screen. 

 

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Ah... I don't think you mentioned the motorcycle bit before. That makes a difference. I've used my Oregon 600 in the car, but I wouldn't want to rely on it full-time. But a motorcycle? That's a little different. You're sitting closer to the screen, and nuvi's aren't really water/weather proofed. Garmin does make a series specifically for motorcycles - the Zumo. These do have the larger and higher resolution screens, waterproofing, and maybe brighter than a nuvi,  but the current models available are quite expensive such that the Oregon might be a good enough solution. 

Anyway, you've now solved your problem, so happy adventures.

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