New Garmin Geko 301 sneak peak...

[SergZak]

Check it out at this Garmin web page

It's basically a Geko 201 with electronic compass & barometer.

[+Renegade Knight]

I knew they were small, but they seemed to have captured the essense of ugly as well.

 

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Wherever you go there you are.

[+nincehelser]

GAG!

 

That is rather un-attractive. It at least needs the Geko logo or something to balance out that big blank space at the top.

 

And a new color! What is that? Sewer-pipe Gray?

 

I wonder why they put a compass and barometer instead of mapping capability? A Geko with even a basic world basemap would be pretty cool.

 

George

 

[This message was edited by nincehelser on May 07, 2003 at 03:55 PM.]

[+MacBWizard]

looks like a vista with no mapping

 

where did they find that color?

[+EtrexRose]

Color? Seriously, if you were to choose between a grey 301 or a blue 301 but the blue one could only save 250 waypoints and both were of equal price-which one would you buy?

 

All im saying is, when Im on the trails or geocaching I dont say, I HATE THE COLOR OF THIS STUPID GPSr. Instead it never crosses my mine and I worry about the capabilities of the unit and what Im doing, unless maybe you buy it too show it off to your friends and have a low self-esteem so when they make fun of the "grayish" color of your GPS, it really effects you.

 

I do what I gotta do, when I GOTTA do it.

[SergZak]

OK...maybe this will break up all that blank space on the Geko 301 image...I modified the image by copying the logo from the Geko 101 (hence the slight yellow "halo" around the geko) using Adobe Photoshop. Maybe the color of the logo will be changed a bit prior to production to make it stand out a bit better (I left it the same color as the 101/201 for the modified image). Any better?

 

 

Here, the geko has been altered to match the color of the text on the unit.

 

 

[This message was edited by SergZak on May 07, 2003 at 08:22 PM.]

[+nincehelser]

That certainly helps. I never really noticed before the Geko "G" looks a lot like the Geocaching "G".

 

As far as color, it's true that it doesn't have anything to do with performance or functionality, but I bet it would certainly help it sell better.

 

Surely it wouldn't be that much harder to give it a more "metalic" sheen or something. But maybe that makes it look too much like a cell phone.

 

George

[Alphawolf]

Color???? Who really really cares about color? It amazes me that a discussion about a new receiver model revolves around it's looks! Guess such things matter to some people. Glad looks weren't that important to my wife! The 301 sounds like a smaller version of the Summit. If I were a serious backpacker, where every ounce matters, this would be my unit! Geeeeez......put a paper bag over it's head...That's what my wife does when she takes me out in public!

 

"Never take a sunset for granted. Stop what you are doing and enjoy it. You never know when it may be your last"

[+Hoomdorm]

$246.42 seems kinda pricey for no more than it offers. I would think that if someone were really that interested in the games they would just buy one of the cheaper units.

 

--------------------------------

Magellan Meridian GPS / 128MB

Handspring Visor Deluxe

L.O.S.T. - http://www.kjjeep.com

http://www.darkglobe.com/geocache

[+apersson850]

Nice Photoshop job! Maybe you could edit in a map in the display, too, and then then Geko 401 is ready to be released!

Just be careful about that color...

 

Anders

[+user13371]

I think the absence of mapping makes sense in a unit this small.

 

How much of a map could you display in 64x100 pixels? Not sure about this either, but isn't the display straight black and white, not 16 or 4 levels of grey?

 

Oops, I didn't mean to mention the color

 

---

LDR.

[+apersson850]

But in Photoshop, you could give the display any resolution, since it's comparable to magic anyway.

 

Yes, the Geko has only black and white, no gray levels at all in the display.

 

Anders

[+user13371]

quote:

---

Yes, the Geko has only black and white, no gray levels at all in the display.

---

 

That's okay for something that has to only show text and an ocassional line/symbol. B&W units have better contrast than any greyscale ones. Parts are cheaper, too.

 

I guess the compass and altimeter are what pushed the price up, or all the engineering it took getting them into such a small box.

 

---

LDR.

[+pizzachef]

I still can't figure out what type of user these things are being marketed to???

It just doesn't look rugged enough for a serious, ounce-counting, backpacker...i think the summit would FAR outperform this thing...and the 101 and 201? Is there a reason they made the screen so small? It just looks like a lot of wasted, potential screen space.

I realize 2 AAA's don't give that much juice, maybe that's the reason for the small screen.

I just don't get it

 

-pizzachef

[+apersson850]

They must have the keys and the antenna somewhere.

 

Probably trying to widening the market somewhat, by going down-grade, with something that looks cheap and (hoepfully) is cheap to produce, so that they can make money and still sell it at a low cost. Or could sell it at a low cost, if they wanted to.

 

Anders

[+CoronaKid]

I don't get it either pizzachef. Why would anyone buy a more expensive Geko when they can get the same features in a cheaper etrex model?

 

The only benefit that I see is the games, which look lame to me anyways. I also think having the buttons in the middle with the screen on bottom is just bad design.

 

IMHO, they should've just stuck with a sub $100 Geko 101 and left it at that. It would've been a great way to get kids and teenagers interested in the sport. Now anyone looking to buy a Garmin will have to decide between the Geko and Etrex series.

 

--CoronaKid

[+TEAM 360]

Can you believe the screen on these are less than an inch across? According to the website, the screen size is .92 x 1.44 inches and only 100x64 resolution. They are going to have to do alot better than that if they want to sell any of those things.

 

Biggest screen sizes I have found so far are:

 

StreetPilot III- 3.4 x1.8

StreetPilot GPS-colormap 3.3 x 1.8

Meridian Series- 2.2 x 1.75

Garmin Emap- 2.2 x 1.7

[+user13371]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TEAM 360:

...the screen size is .92 x 1.44 inches and only 100x64 resolution. They are going to have to do alot better than that if they want to sell any of those things."

---

 

I disagree. While a larger display is needed for displaying maps, I'm sure some people will be quite happy with a text and symbol display for position, headings, compass, etc.. As long as the display is sharp and easy to read, bigger is not necessarily better.

 

That's the market niche Garmin is aiming for. But having said that, I do think the price is a bit high. I'll be curious to see what the "street price" becomes when these things are out.

 

---

LDR.

[+Og's outfit]

Even with SergZak's amazing Photoshop abilities, I think the Geo-nerd who carries this unit should also be wearing those 60's black-rimmed birth control glassed with a band-aid holding them together.

 

IT"S MA-FUGLY!!

 

Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out.

[+GeneralBracket]

quote:

---

still can't figure out what type of user these things are being marketed to???

It just doesn't look rugged enough for a serious, ounce-counting, backpacker...i think the summit would FAR outperform this thing...and the 101 and 201? Is there a reason they made the screen so small? It just looks like a lot of wasted, potential screen space.

I realize 2 AAA's don't give that much juice, maybe that's the reason for the small screen.

---

 

Maybe this junk is what the eTrex line is being replaced with.

 

I think I feel faint...

[+user13371]

Y'all are kidding, right?

 

My only gripe with this non-released unit, from what I've read so far, is that it seems a bit pricey for what you get. But for someone who wants a tiny GPS/compass/altimeter it's probably just the ticket.

 

But the majority of comments (and complaints) here are that it's UGLY? That you don't like the COLOR?

 

Are you just trolling? Or is this some inside joke I don't get? I prefer subdued colors, but if I spray painted my GPS fluorescent purple it don't think it would affect the performance. Unless I got it on the screen

 

---

LDR.

[+JohnnyVegas]

quote:

---

Originally posted by SergZak:

Check it out at this Garmin http://www.garmin.com/products/geko301/

It's basically a Geko 201 with electronic compass & barometer.

---

 

It's a small version of the Summit.

I think the Gekos are just too small. but that is just my opinion.

 

Of course it has some games, the only reason they put games in these is marketing. I don't see any good reasons for a game in a GPS unless you just want to burn through batteriess.

 

As far as the color comments, Color is a big part of marketing, I think the grey is to appeal to techno nerds.

 

[This message was edited by Johnnyvegas on May 09, 2003 at 07:16 AM.]

[+GeneralBracket]

When I bought a Legend the color was somewhat of a selling point. I think it looks cool. I did look at the feature list BEFORE the color, so I'm not just some fashionite wanting to accessorize. Just pointing out that if it was ugly it'd be less appealing.

 

I also have a Vista that I got a year later. It's gray, but it obviously still looks better than the Geko 301.

 

It might bear mentioning that I got them both for free. They were comp'd on extremely large orders from CDW. Sooo... for whatever that's worth...

[+Searching_ut]

While it's not currently on my list of products I intend to buy, I can see several things for which a geko would be a great choice.

 

1. Finding the vehicle in large parking lots. Or as a unit to guide me on basic direction in a large city or other area where I didn't want to drag around a full sized GPS. The unit is small enough I could reasonably carry it around in a pocket. It also looks like it would work great as a data providing device for those using a PDA for their primary road mapping and navigation. Navigate with a PDA/Geko combo to the cache, then off down the trail using the geko for guidance and to find the goodies. That way you're not stuck with the so so maps provided by GPS manufactures.

 

2. Anything where I was primarily looking to just record my track for mapping trails, roads etc.

 

3. Hiking and backpacking. For most of my day hikes, I've already pre-planned a route and use the GPS primarily for route management. I rarely use the maps on my Legend, and virtually never use the maps on the sportrak. I just let the compass screen point me in the right direction and tell me how much farther I need to go. For me the size trade off would probably be worth the loss of mapping capability in many cases, especially when comparing the size difference between a Geko and sportrak.

 

4. It would go great with one of those pontiac aztecs, or a VW bug. A good looking unit would be way out of place in one of those.......

[peter]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Johnnyvegas:

Of course it has some games, the only reason they put games in these is marketing. I don't see any good reasons for a game in a GPS unless you just want to burn through batteriess.

---

 

Go backpacking with kids. While on the trail they'll be complaining about being tired and make you carry almost everything, but once you get to camp they'll recover while you just want to lie down for awhile.

 

So hand them the GPS and show them how to play the games - it'll have them running around and give you a chance to rest. The games are also a good way for someone to become familiar with how the GPS works.

 

I haven't noticed Garmin emphasizing the games in their ads, so I think the main purpose is to make people happy with their new toy and more likely to recommend it to others.