RIP Garmin Oregon 450
Garmin has discontinued the Oregon 450, one of the most popular handheld GPS receivers they have ever made. Also on the chopping block: the 450t, 550 and 550t.
Of course these models will still be supported and receive firmware updates for some time to come, but I am a bit surprised by this. The 450 has been incredibly popular, and the 600 series doesn’t really have all the bugs worked out yet. Plus, they haven’t exactly received universal acclaim.
Now granted, touchscreens have improved since the 450 came out. This is a unit that required you to tilt it properly to be able see the screen in some conditions. You would tend to do that without thinking, but it certainly wasn’t a good unit for fixed mount use.
On the bright side, this does mean there are some good deals
RIP Oregon 450.
About Rich Owings
It’s a shame, but I can understand why.
Still think the 600 series is a backward step
I know some people have gripes with the 600 series, particularly with geocaching. I’m only a casual geocacher and use my unit for hiking, biking etc. I think my 600 is everything the 450 promised to be and failed to deliver. I remember my first time I took my 450 out – it was overcast but bright conditions. When I realised I could barely see the screen and there was no way I could improve it with backlighting I did get more used to it but it was useless on my bike handlebars where I couldn’t exactly tilt it to get the best screen angle. Thankfully I got a decent price on ebay (poor sucker) when I traded up.
A great disturbance in the force, I feel.
Very sad, am I.
Poor visibility combined with poor battery life (terrible in fact) = good ridance.
I had an Oregon 550T for a about 10 months, after selling my 60CSx. It was ok, except for tracking, battery life, and to some degree visibility. I also had some annoying error messages during PC connection. I was thrilled that Cabelas took it back for full credit! A new Monterra is the ticket, but it’s too early to tell if it is the much better unit I am hoping it will be.
Some initial Monterra concerns:
-Widget modification – I really hope to find a widget design tool so i can FIX the available widgets!
-Size – this thing is big, hand is still not used to it yet
-Icon clarity is a bit weak
My 450 is still working great. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking… so I have no excuse to upgrade! 🙂
Sad news indeed…..the Oregon model is an excellent, reliable unit.
One of the most stable units they ever produced. I have never had a minutes trouble since the day I purchased it.
In addition to the poor screen visibility, navigation round the menus on the 450 was a real pain.
Take for example toggling maps on and off – the clue to how is should have worked is in “toggle.” Instead you had to scroll through a list of maps (each item was large so only a few were visible per page) and then you had to select one then enable/disable it. On the 600 you simply tap to toggle.
Also, leaving the map page to dig your way through menus to get to a function then backing out all the way to the top then back down to maps drove me loopy. Again the 600 improves this – you get a context menu on the map screen and a hideable (by swiping) dashboard with configurable fields. All very flexible and usable.
I could go on, but you get the idea. I’m not sorry I made the move from the 450 to the 600.
I agree. The 450/550 series required too many steps for lots of simple operations.
I have had a Dakota 10 for a few years now and have been happy with it. Would it be dumb to upgrade to Oregon 450 now? The menu structure looks the same, and it’s not great, but I’m used to it. I know firmware upgrades will end (maybe already ended), but it will always be able to pick up gps signals and tell me where I am. Right? I can get the 450 for a steal and think I should be able to get at least 5 years out of it.
If you like your Dakota 10, you will love the Oregon x50 (450/550).
Menu structure is almost identical with more options and functionality.
The Oregon x50 series just had a new firmware update a couple weeks ago, so they are not done improving it yet.
I have an Oregon 300, 450, and 550t.
You will not find a more mature and capable GPSr for the price.
I say do it!
I’m thinking of purchasing a Oregon 450t. (at a good price)
Does anyone have an idea how long Garmin will support the 450t since it’s been discontinued?
Thanks!