Garmin handheld GPS Archives - Page 12 of 24

Garmin Astro 320 announced

June 2, 2011 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

UPDATE: We now have up a dedicated Garmin Astro 320 page, with links to hands on reviews.

Garmin continues to roll out more handheld love this week, announcing the Garmin Astro 320 dog tracker. A niche product designed for hunters with hunting dogs, the Astro 320 is based on the very popular Garmin GPSMAP 62s, bringing a range of new features to the Astro. These include BirdsEye imagery and Garmin custom map capabilities, a tri-axial electronic compass, wireless data transfer and a new interface.

Additional improvements are a 30% increase in effective range (up to 9 miles in flat, unobstructed terrain), a vibration feature and keypad lock. The Astro 320 alone will have an MSRP of $499.99. Coupled with a DC 40 tracking collar and accessories, it jumps to $649.99 (MSRP). The Astro 320 is expected to be available in July 2011.

Seeing the news this morning makes me think about all the dog owners (non-hunters) who take their dogs on leash-free hikes in National Forest areas and other public lands where it is permitted. I wonder if Garmin can expand their market to these canine fans.

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: Garmin Astro 320

Garmin Rino 610, 650 and 655t announced

June 1, 2011 By Rich Owings 42 Comments

UPDATE: I’ve posted Garmin Rino 650 and Rino 655t pages with more details and screenshots.

Garmin is announcing three new Rino two-way radios this morning, the Garmin Rino 610, 650 and 655t. The Rino 650 and 655t GPS receivers feature a 2.6” touchscreen, the same size found on the Garmin Dakota series. ~~It’s unclear from the news release, but I’m assuming the 610 uses the same touchscreen.~~ UPDATE: The Rino mini-site confirms that all three models are touch screens. All three models accept BirdsEye imagery and Garmin custom maps, and are expected to hit store shelves in the third quarter of 2011.

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: Garmin Rino 610, Garmin Rino 650, Garmin Rino 655t

Loading multiple maps to Garmin devices

May 31, 2011 By Rich Owings 68 Comments

Loading supplemental maps (such as the free topos from GPS File Depot) to Garmin units often confuses people. If you use MapSource or MapInstall to load a map, it works fine. But load another map, and the first one you sent is overwritten. Here’s how you get around this…

Older Garmin units

For older models, select the portions of the map you want to send to the unit, then use the drop down Map Selection box and choose another map, as shown below. Select the portions of this map that you wish to transfer to the device. Rinse and repeat. Once you’re finished, transfer the maps all at once. Unfortunately, if you decide the following week that you need another map, you’ll have to repeat the process again.

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: Maps, Tips

Garmin eTrex 10, 20 and 30 announced

May 31, 2011 By Rich Owings 44 Comments

UPDATE: Garmin UK has confirmed that the eTrex 20 and 30 will support BirdsEye imagery.

UPDATE 2: Read my hands on reviews of the eTrex 10 and eTrex 20.

Garmin has announced three new models this morning, the Garmin eTrex 10, 20 and 30, updating the popular eTrex line with paperless geocaching and other new features. The new eTrex models sport up to an estimated 25 hour battery life and are expected to hit store shelves in the third quarter of 2011.

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: Garmin eTrex 10, Garmin eTrex 20, Garmin eTrex 30

Garmin BirdsEye Topo US and Canada

May 28, 2011 By Rich Owings 102 Comments

UPDATE: It’s now live and available, and I’m enjoying the hell out of it!

UPDATE 2: How to transfer Garmin map downloads after your subscription expires.

Yesterday morning, I noticed there was a new product, Garmin BirdsEye Topo US and Canada, on the Garmin website. Pretty sweet – for thirty bucks, you can load USGS and NRC topos to newer Garmin handhelds for a year. I’ve been expecting and wanting this for awhile, so I subscribed right away, thinking I’d put it on my 62s and grab a few screenshots for this post. It didn’t quite work out that way, but let’s go over the product details before I get into my experience with it…

Most topos for handheld GPS units are vector maps; they are made up of lines and points, and look nothing like the USGS topos we know and love. BirdsEye maps are different. These are raster imagery, actual image files, that put USGS topo map images right on your Garmin. Up till now, you’ve had to use Garmin’s custom map process to do this, which can be a hassle, and then there’s that limit of 100 tiles (images) too.

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: BirdsEye, Garmin BirdsEye Topo US and Canada, raster imagery

Garmin GPSMAP 62s on sale

May 20, 2011 By Rich Owings 4 Comments

REI has the Garmin GPSMAP 62S GPS on sale for $279.99 through May 30. This is a great price, a full $70 lower than the best deal we’ve seen before. Don’t let that end date fool you though; the last time they had a great sale (on the Oregon 450), they sold out.

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: Garmin GPSMAP 62s

4” multi-use Garmin Montana series announced

May 18, 2011 By Rich Owings 75 Comments

UPDATE: I’ve posted my full hands on review of the Garmin Montana 600. I’ve also got pages up for the Montana 650 and 650t.

Garmin is announcing a new handheld line this morning, the Garmin Montana series. Three models, the Montana 600, 650 and 650t, make up the line, which feature the ability to rotate between portrait and landscape orientations and give turn-by-turn directions.

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: Garmin Montana 600, Garmin Montana 650, Garmin Montana 650t, Garmin Montana series

Garmin Forerunner 610

April 27, 2011 By Rich Owings 4 Comments

The Garmin Forerunner 610 is Garmin’s first touchscreen sportswatch. Eliminating the poorly performing touch bezel of the Forerunner 400 series, this new model retains their high-end feature set, and adds a magnetic charging cable and a virtual racer that allows you to race against previous runs (or other people’s runs downloaded from Garmin Connect). read more

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: Garmin Forerunner 610, GPS for runners

Five reasons to upgrade your Garmin handheld

April 25, 2011 By Rich Owings 41 Comments

UPDATE: Here’s a sixth reason – Garmin BirdsEye Topo.

Still rocking a Garmin 60CSx or maybe an eTrex? Have you wondered what the new units offer? Here are our top reasons to pony up for a new Garmin:

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Geocaching, Handheld/Sport

Garmin TOPO Alaska Enhanced

April 4, 2011 By Rich Owings 1 Comment

Garmin has quietly rolled out TOPO Alaska Enhanced, which includes 1:24,000 and 1:63,360 scale topo maps, routable roads, urban and wilderness points of interest, and public land boundaries.

Filed Under: Featured, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport Tagged With: Garmin TOPO Alaska Enhanced