Sunday, March 18, 2012

Garmin Montana 600 video and menu tip

Apparently it’s video week at GPS Tracklog. I’m still learning iMovie after my recent move to Mac, so I’m not claiming pro quality.

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Garmin Montana 650

Garmin-Montana-650-review

The Garmin Montana 650 is one of three models in Garmin’s newest handheld series. With it’s huge 4” touchscreen, I had initially thought the Montanas were targeted to the motorized crowd (ATV’s, etc.), but after spending over a month with one, I’m convinced that a lot of hikers and geocachers will be attracted to it as well. Before we get into the details, here’s some info on the rest of the series…

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Garmin Montana 600 review

Garmin-Montana-600

Hands on with the Garmin Montana 600

The Garmin Montana 600 is one of three models in Garmin’s newest handheld series. With it’s huge 4” touchscreen, I had initially thought the Montanas were targeted to the motorized crowd (ATV’s, etc.), but after spending over a month with it, I’m convinced that a lot of hikers and geocachers will be attracted to it as well. Before we get into the details, here’s some info on the rest of the series…

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GizzMoVest protective GPS case review and giveaway

GizzMoVest-GPS-case-reviewGizzMoVest protective GPS cases are manufactured by a small Goleta, California company. Made of a combination of materials (a soft-knit interior, a high density plastic, and a very grippy exterior) the case shown above gives plenty of protection for the device. I’m not sure it would prevent damage if it were ran over by a truck, but it seems likely to save it against many drops on rock, concrete, etc. Now you would still need a screen protector, and as you can see, the front of the Garmin GPSMAP 62 series case is open, allowing access to the buttons. So while it could always hit a rocky protuberance screen first, a case such as this should dramatically reduce the chances of significant damage from most spills. In fact, the case results in a recessed screen (whereas the 62 series screen on a bare unit is flush), further reducing the chance of screen damage.

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Magellan eXplorist and Triton lines get aerial imagery

Magellan_eXplorist 710_with DigitalGlobe_LLRMagellan has rolled out a new aerial imagery subscription program for their eXplorist and Triton lines. Like the DeLorme  and Garmin services, this one will utilize DigitalGlobe imagery and runs $29.99 per year.

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Garmin Montana – First looks

Montana-recreational-dash

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.

I’ve had a Garmin Montana 600 in hand for a couple of weeks now and so far I’m pretty impressed with it. I initially thought it was targeted at the motorized crowd (ATVs, 4WDs, etc.) due to its size, but now I’m not so sure. While it does make the Oregon series look positively diminutive, in comparison to the 62 series, it’s shorter, is the same thickness, and weighs just an ounce more.

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The king is dead; long live the king?

The-king-is-deadGarmin has finally pulled the plug on the venerable GPSMAP 60CSx, officially discontinuing it. Long considered the gold standard, the 60CSx had started looking a bit long in the tooth over the past year or two, missing now standard features such as paperless geocaching.

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Garmin BirdsEye Satellite Imagery

Garmin BirdsEye Satellite Imagery

Garmin BirdsEye Satellite Imagery is a $29.99 annual subscription plan (though downloaded imagery does not expire) that allows you to transfer satellite imagery to compatible Garmin devices. At this point, the following series are compatible:

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$50 rebate & killer deals on Garmin Oregon 450/550 series

Garmin Oregon rebate

UPDATE: Wow, now there’s a heck of a sale on the new Montana series too. Well the Montana deal didn’t last long, but at least the Oregons are still available…

UPDATE 2: GPS City’s prices have gone up, but fortunately the rebate is valid till the end of September, so hopefully we’ll see some better deals.

Garmin has just posted a $50 rebate for the Oregon x50 series, bringing the price down to $249.95 for the 450 and $349.95 for the 550 at GPS City, one of our favorite low-cost vendors. Hit the jump link for all the details on this killer deal.

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Garmin TOPO US 24K review

Garmin TOPO US 24KGarmin recently finished rolling out their new TOPO US 24K map sets. They are available as downloads and on micro-SD cards, with larger regions available on DVD. All three formats can be purchased directly from Garmin as well as various retailers. The new product offers several advantages including routable trails and detailed highway coverage, and the DVD and micro-SD formats are not locked to a single device, so you can still use them if you buy a new unit.

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