Archives for 2007

GeoJournal – Geocaching software for Mac

September 7, 2007 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Applelogo
GeoJournal is a new geocaching program for Mac that allows you to "plan, manage and record your geocaching activities." It includes the following features:

.gpx and .loc support.
Multiple custom categories allow you to group geocaches by type, location, etc.
Multiple "home" locations allowed. For all you folks with a vacation home or the need to get away from the in-laws!
Built-in use of Google Maps.
Itinerary generation to help plan caching expeditions. Viewable in Google Earth.
Built-in journal feature allows you to attach photos to each found cache. hence the name, GeoJournal.
POP3 importing for Pocket Queries.
Paperless geocaching support features includes CacheMate compatibility.

Filed Under: Best of the boards, Geocaching, GPS and Macs

Fall 2007 GPS introductions

September 4, 2007 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

You may have noticed that last Friday was a busy day here at GPS Tracklog, as we reported on a dozen new units from Garmin, Magellan and TomTom. These manufacturers used Berlin’s IFA consumer electronics show as a chance to announce a fall 2007 lineup, ahead of the holiday shopping season. Now that the dust has settled, let’s look at some details that escaped notice Friday, and take a quick look at market niches and innovations as well.

Nuvi 700 series to include tracklogs and MSN Direct option

While I reported that the nuvi 700 series specs include multi-destination routing, I should have read the product description more closely. Under "plan ahead" it states "a trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you’ve been on the map." A little further down it cites MSN® Direct as an option. One other note — they tackle the traveling salesman problem — the nuvi 700 series "automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls."

Filed Under: Garmin, Hardware, Magellan, Mio, TomTom

Garmin Astro 220 review

September 4, 2007 By Rich Owings 5 Comments

Garminastrogpsdogtracker UPDATE: Garmin has announced an improved collar/transmitter, due for release in the third quarter of 2008.

UPDATE 2: A new model, the Garmin Astro 320, has been released.

UPDATE 3: This model has been discontinued.

The Garmin Astro GPS dog tracking system was designed with hunters in mind. Imagine a GPS unit that shows your dog’s location (actually up to ten dogs) as far as five miles away!

Filed Under: Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, GPS Tracking Tagged With: Garmin Astro 220

New Magellan Maestros – Thinner, and maps of Mexico too

August 30, 2007 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

UPDATE: Read our reviews of the new Magellan Maestro line:

Magellan Maestro 3200 review
Magellan Maestro 3210 review
Magellan Maestro 3250 review
Magellan Maestro 4250 review
Also, to see how all the Maestro units compare, check out this Magellan Maestro
chart at TigerGPS.

Magellan has announced the Maestro 3200 and Maestro 4200 series GPS receivers. What’s new is a thinner design (0.7"), and two units that have pre-loaded maps of Mexico.

Here’s how they break down; the 3200 series will feature a 3.5" touch-screen; the 4200 series widens this to 4.3". The flagship units, the 3250 and 4250, will include real-time traffic information and voice commands, ala the Maestro 4050. Models ending in 20 (the 3220 and 4220) will have pre-loaded road maps of Mexico, in addition to the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Most units appear to have 6 million POIs. I suspect that the budget-priced 3200 and 4200 will have less.

I’ll post images and links as they become available.

A few more details from the news release:

Filed Under: Hardware, Magellan

Garmin introduces nuvi 750, 760 and 770 with multiple destination routing

August 30, 2007 By Rich Owings 7 Comments

Nuvi_770_2

UPDATE: Read our Garmin nuvi 750 review, Garmin nuvi 760 review and Garmin nuvi 770 review.

Garmin announced today the introduction of three new models, the nuvi 750, nuvi 760 and nuvi 770. These units marry the slimmer form factor of the nuvi 200W series with the high-end features of the nuvi 650, 660 and 670.

What is perhaps the biggest improvement isn’t even mentioned in the news release though. The spec sheet says that, unlike other nuvis, these new units will store up to 10 routes, and will "auto sort multiple destinations (provides most direct route)." Finally!

UPDATE: The Garmin nuvi 700 series will also record tracklogs, and MSN Direct services can be added as an option. This is true for all three models — the 750, 760 and 770.

Filed Under: Garmin, Hardware

MediaTek vs SiRFstar III chipset – Smackdown in the redwoods

August 30, 2007 By Rich Owings 8 Comments

Last month we learned that Garmin was using a MediaTek (MTK) chipset in its new eTrex H-series. I’m currently testing an eTrex Legend HCx and decided to put it up against the SiRFstar III chip in my trusty 60CSx.

With a new baby in the house, I couldn’t get away for a long trek, nor could I record tracks over multiple days, so this isn’t the most scientific test possible. Fortunately, I live near redwoods, which are dense enough that stray track points occur frequently and lesser receivers will often lose their satellite lock. This made for an ideal testing ground.

Filed Under: Garmin, Hardware

Garmin eTrex H review

August 28, 2007 By Rich Owings 7 Comments

UPDATE: We recommend the newer eTrex 10 instead of this model.

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 H updates the basic yellow Garmin eTrex. A great first GPS for the budget-minded geocacher or hiker, this classic has been updated with a high-sensitivity chipset for superior reception under canopy and in other difficult conditions.

Filed Under: Garmin, Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, Handheld/Sport, Hardware Tagged With: Garmin eTrex H

Garmin – Failure to innovate?

August 27, 2007 By Rich Owings 10 Comments

Garmin_logo_pms_rgb

"We continue to focus on what we do best, which is innovating stuff," Garmin spokesman Ted Gartner said.

I have to say, I find that quote particularly interesting, considering how often other companies are beating Garmin to the punch these days. Which begs the question, has Garmin reached a point where they no longer innovate, preferring to play it safe? Let’s look at recent innovations in consumer GPS products and where they are coming from:

Filed Under: Garmin, The business of GPS

Garmin eTrex Venture HC review

August 27, 2007 By Rich Owings 76 Comments

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 HC is the entry-level mapping receiver in Garmin’s eTrex H-series lineup. With a high-sensitivity receiver for superior reception under canopy, a bright color screen, and the ability to load topo maps (purchased separately), this is an excellent backcountry GPS.

Filed Under: Garmin, Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, Handheld/Sport, Hardware Tagged With: Garmin eTrex Venture HC

Switching between highway and topo maps on Garmin handhelds

August 15, 2007 By Rich Owings 4 Comments

Hidemaps
Oftentimes, handheld users will load both highway and topo maps to their unit. Garmin handhelds will show the highway maps by default. The highway map (City Navigator or City Select) for an area must be turned off before you can see the topo map. This is especially problematic when you have a lot of maps loaded and you don’t know the name of the map for your current location.

In the past, I’ve laboriously scrolled through long lists of highway maps, deselecting each one until contour lines appeared on the map. But there is a simple solution. The instructions below are for the Garmin 60CSx, but I’m hoping this works for the eTrex series too. Perhaps someone can verify that and comment below.

From the map screen, press Menu, then Setup Map, and scroll over to Map Setup – Information. You’ll see your list of loaded maps with a check mark next to each one. But rather than de-selecting them one by one, press Menu again and you’ll see two choices – Hide City Select (or Navigator) and Hide US Topo, as shown in the image. Pretty cool, huh?

Thanks to Hogrod on Groundspeak for this tip.

Filed Under: Best of the boards, FAQs, Garmin