Archives for 2006

Garmin nuvi 360 review

July 13, 2006 By Rich Owings 7 Comments

UPDATE: Though still available and supported, Garmin has discontinued the nuvi 360. For newer models, check out my Garmin nuvi comparison chart.

The Garmin nuvi 360 updates the popular nuvi 350, and both have consistently been among Garmin’s top sellers. The 360 adds Bluetooth, allowing for hands-free cell phone use, and the Garmin Lock™ theft prevention system.

This is on top of the features that made the nuvi 350 such a hit, including a 3.5″ touch-screen, an MP3 player, audio book reader, SiRFstar III chipset, and the ability to speak upcoming street names. The 360 comes pre-loaded with maps of the U.S. and Canada.

Additional options include live traffic information, the Garmin Language Guide™ and Garmin Travel Guide™. Stepping up to the nuvi 370 adds maps of Europe and a traffic receiver (optional on the nuvi 360).

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin, Garmin auto GPS, GPS Reviews, Hardware

Extracting TOPO (.tpo) track files

July 12, 2006 By Rich Owings 3 Comments

Yesterday I posted about being able to convert National Geographic TOPO (.tpo) track files to .gpx using GPSBabel. This is something that will excite quite a few people, as it overcomes what (IMHO) is TOPO’s biggest disadvantage. Let’s take a look at the whys and hows.

When I first discovered GPS and mapping software, I went wild mapping trails in our area. I mountain bike with my wife every weekend, but the area we ride is private land, and there are no good trail maps. My first software purchase was National Geographic TOPO! Not only did I record tracks of rides, I started adding logging roads that show on aerial photos, trails that only showed up on 1:100,000 scale maps, etc.

Filed Under: Software

Convert National Geographic TOPO (.tpo) files

July 10, 2006 By Rich Owings 6 Comments

GPS Babel, Robert Lipe’s conversion utility, has recently been updated to version 1.3.0. This newest version, I am extremely happy to say, converts National Geographic TOPO (.tpo) files. Yes TOPO users, you can now extract track data, converting it to .gpx or the format of your choice. It will work with TOPO versions 2 and 3, but not 4.x.

For those of us with a mass (mess?) of data in TOPO, this is welcome news indeed. I tried it out this morning and it works flawlessly! Congratulations to Robert and the entire team of Babel-heads, especially Alex Mottram, who appears to be their NG TOPO expert. (CORRECTION: Apparently Curt Mills deserves the credit here.)

National Geographic TOPO (Amazon) is a wonderful product, and remains my favorite in terms of CD/DVD-based mapping software. As I noted in my book, GPS Mapping – Make Your Own Maps, the difficulty in exporting tracks is one of the few disadvantages of this program (and the only major one). Finally, we have an elegant solution that allows you to extract your data.

Related post: Extracting TOPO (.tpo) track files.

Technorati tags: GPS

Filed Under: Software

Consumer Reports rates GPS receivers

July 6, 2006 By Rich Owings 1 Comment

UPDATE: Check out my take on Consumer Reports’ October 2007 GPS ratings.

The August 2006 issue of Consumer Reports rates portable GPS navigation devices for cars. Garmin won top honors, placing number one and two, and coming in with the only best buy. Listed below are the top six, which were followed for the most part by, ahem, lesser brands (Navman, Cobra, Clarion, Lowrance, Mio and Pharos).

Unfortunately, these are all last generation units. Compare these to the Top Ten list I posted yesterday and you’ll see that only the StreetPilot 2730 and nuvi show up on both lists. There is one thing that GPS Tracklog readers and Consumer Reports agree upon – the Garmin nuvi 350 is ranked number one by each.

Technorati tags: GPS

Filed Under: Hardware

Garmin StreetPilot c550 vs. TomTom GO 910

July 4, 2006 By Rich Owings 9 Comments

Streetpilot_c550 T.D. Smyers submitted the following comparison of the Garmin StreetPilot c550 and TomTom GO 910 as a comment, but it’s just too good for that, and deserves its own post. So, with gratitude and with T.D.’s permission, here is a head-to-head face off between these two models…

"This review is provided as a public service. It represents my own opinion and experience, so take it for what it’s worth to you.

Like many of you, I looked all over for some detailed comparisons of available GPS units before I bought one. What I found on the web didn’t answer many of my questions, so I decided to share my own GPS adventure with those of you still in the market. What follows is a comparison between the TomTom GO 910 and the Garmin c550. There are other units out there, as well, but this review may help make you a more educated GPS consumer – whatever you buy. Please, take advantage of my time without losing a lot of your own!

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):
After several days of side-by-side testing, I’m taking my TomTom GO
910 back to Best Buy this morning, and keeping my Garmin c550. The 910 has enormous potential, but can’t yet deliver in the US; maybe in a few months or so it will. The Garmin is less flashy, but gets the job done.

Intro:
I was very excited about the TomTom GO 910 after doing some preliminary research and finding that it had enormous capability, customization and functional advantages over the competing Brand’s equivalent models. My initial excitement was reinforced when I opened the box. The 910 had the feel of quality equipment – it was solid and sleek; it had several “extras”, including an audio cable and a home computer dock; and the connecting hardware fit together firmly and securely with a sharp “click”. I continued to be impressed with the many Text To Speech (TTS) options available (I chose a very nice British female to guide me around Northern Virginia); the wide, attractive display and the MANY ways available to customize my display and navigation.

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin, Garmin auto GPS, GPS Reviews, Hardware, TomTom, TomTom auto GPS

Magellan RoadMate 860T Review

July 2, 2006 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Roadmate860t_1

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide or check out our other Magellan auto GPS reviews.

The Magellan RoadMate 860T GPS updates the popular RoadMate 800, adding real-time traffic capabilities (includes 15 months of traffic service), SayWhere™ text-to-speech, and added space for multi-media file storage. It does not have the new SiRFstar III chipset; you’ll have to buy the RoadMate 3000T or 3050T for that. The 860T also has a shorter battery life than the 3000 series models, which may matter if you’re going to use it as an MP3 player or photo viewer away from your car.

Compare prices on the Magellan RoadMate 860T

Here’s what others are saying about the RoadMate 860T:

Filed Under: Auto, GPS Reviews, Hardware, Magellan, Magellan auto GPS

Garmin eTrex Venture Cx review

June 22, 2006 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Venture_cx_1

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For more current recommendations, please refer to our handheld GPS buyers guide or our Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart.

The Garmin eTrex Venture Cx is more than an update of the antiquated eTrex Venture. It’s really an entry-level unit in the eTrex x-series line, and is better compared to them.

Like other x-series units, the Venture Cx sports turn-by-turn routing, a color screen, and expandable memory. What’s different about the Venture Cx is that it doesn’t come with a micro-SD card (which might make it a good deal if you’re just going to toss the 32 MB card that comes with the Legend Cx and buy a 1 GB micro-SD card anyway). A more important difference is that the Venture Cx doesn’t come with a USB cable — you may want one, but will have to buy it separately. Stepping on up the x-series line to the Vista Cx adds a barometric altimeter and electronic compass. As with all these units, detailed maps cost extra. And remember, the x-series eTrex doesn’t have the SiRFstar III chipset.

Compare prices on the Garmin eTrex Venture Cx

Filed Under: Garmin, Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, Handheld/Sport, Hardware

Garmin tech support

June 16, 2006 By Rich Owings 1 Comment

A couple of months ago, I took my wife and Garmin 60CS snowboarding. My wife fared better than the GPS. Upon return, when I attempted to download the tracks, I was not able to establish communication with my computer. I tried it on multiple computers, reloaded the USB driver, did a hard reset, etc.

I believe that I had damaged the seals (I could see visual evidence of this), probably due to my misuse of a RAM mount on my bike. BTW, this post is by no means a criticism of my GPSMAP 60CS or the RAM mount. I test GPS receivers and report on them here, and I am brutal with those I own. I just eat the cost of repair every year or so.

I should have just replaced it, but couldn’t convince myself to pony up the money for a 60CSx, even though I’ll probably get one before long. Guess my wife will inherit the 60CS.

So onto the tale of my journey into the world of Garmin customer service. Is their tech support really as good as people say?

Filed Under: Garmin

Why have a barometric altimeter?

June 12, 2006 By Rich Owings 20 Comments

Altimeter

NOTE: A much more current version of this post can be found here.

Quite simply, the primary reason you would want a barometric altimeter in a handheld GPS is for more accurate elevation readings. This is especially useful for bikers, hikers and atheletes in training. You can use the resulting data to track your progress and maintain an accurate record of your trips. A barometric altimeter can also help you accurately place your location on a topo map.

Furthermore, you can use the altimeter to forecast weather trends. A falling barometer can indicate worsening weather. See the barometer section of this review for some really cool things you can do with your GPS!

GPS-based altitude error is generally worse than latitude/longitude error. A good explanation of why barometric altimeters are better than GPS-based elevation data comes from GPSInformation.net. Here is another good resource — an electronic compass and barometric altimeter FAQ from Garmin.

Finally, a barometric altimeter is often paired with an electronic compass in higher end handheld GPS receivers.

Filed Under: FAQs, Hardware

Lowrance iWay 350C review

June 7, 2006 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Iway350c
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide.

The Lowrance iWay 350C is a touch-screen GPS with pre-loaded maps of the U.S. and Canada. It includes an MP3 player and photo viewer, along with an FM modulator to stream music and voice-prompted directions to your stereo.

The smaller sibling of the iWay 500C, iWay 350C has a smaller screen (3.5″ vs. 5″) and hard drive (4 GB vs. 20 GB).

Compare prices on the Lowrance iWay 350C

Here’s what others are saying about the iWay 350C:

Filed Under: Auto, GPS Reviews, Hardware, Lowrance, Lowrance auto GPS