More details on the Magellan Triton series
UPDATE: Read my Magellan Triton 1500 review.
Following my post on the forthcoming Magellan Triton series, GPS Tracklog and Groundspeak readers chimed in with their own questions, which I forwarded to Magellan. Justin Doucette was kind enough to give us an advance look at some of the Triton’s capabilities. Here’s the Q and A:
Q: Will the Triton series be able to auto-route, assuming the proper Magellan maps are loaded to the unit?
A: Yes, this will require an application upgrade and the purchase of a Magellan Street Map. This option will be available in early 2008.
Q: Can you provide more details on photo geocoding? For example, will the Triton 2000 write location data to the EXIF header?
A: The geographic coordinates (Lat/Long) will be recorded in the jpeg header file.
Q: Will the Triton accept geocaching log data (like descriptions, hints, previous logs) along with the actual geocache points?
A: All geocaches will have to be loaded into VantagePoint prior to synchronization with Triton, but most (if not all) geocache attributes are supported in VP. Stig (Pedersen, Senior Director of Marketing) may be able to comment on exactly which attributes are attainable through the Triton user interface.
Q: How many geocache points can be loaded to the device?
A: I believe the communicated limit is 1000, but there should be no reason (other than available space) that would limit the maximum.
Q: Will the unit accept standard .gpx files via USB?
A: .GPX files will be loaded into VantagePoint first, then VP will communicate with Triton via USB.
Q&A on the New Magellan Triton Handheld GPS
Rich over at GPS Tracklog got in touch with Magellan about their new Magellan Triton handheld GPS units and asked a few questions about the new units and how they were going to work. Recall the full-featured Triton units…
I’ve seen that it takes an external antenna. What plug format does it use? Will it take the MCX units? I have a Gillson that I have been using with my emap and iway 500C.
The specs on that haven’t been posted yet.
Has anyone asked about the ruggedness of the Triton’s versus other handheld units such as the eXplorist series or the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx? It looks a bit cosmopolitan on the surface.
I think that’s always been a concern with touchscreen units. Magellan has a “lock out” feature on the CrossoverGPS that works pretty well, so that there is no accidental input. I’m not a big fan of that unit, but as I recall, it didn’t really feel delicate to me.
I can’t wait for the triton 2000. I liked the Crossover, but decided not to keep it because it is not IPX7 waterproof and you could not replace the batteries in the field. This looks great with the SIRF and touch screen. If it also has text to speech it will be perfect.
TTS. Hadn’t even considered that! Has me imagining using it in the field. “Turn left at trailhead.”!