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From The Road to the Trail: A Review of Two Garmin GPS Models
Portable Navigation Devices, or PNDs, have made such deep inroads into the automobile industry; they will soon be as ubiquitous as seat belts. New cars won't be caught dead without an on board GPS, which emboldens drivers by making them virtually immune to getting lost. As GPS become commonplace, it's worth pointing out that not all of them are created equal.
In fact, some lower echelon touch screen navigation panels in cars are difficult to operate at best and barely functional at worst. At this point in the history of the GPS market, it might be worthwhile to take a look at Garmin, one of the original makers of the GPS since the military technology was first made available to the public in the mid eighties.
The GarminNuvi
The Nuvi 265WT, Garmins newest PND offering, is highly portable with an easy to use, 4.3 inch touch screen. The screen cues you with two choices: "Where to?" Or "View Map." From there, the icons are very intuitive and easy to use. The easy functionality of the Nuvi goes beyond convenience, as during driving one can't afford to be futzing around with a complicated interface. No worries here. The Nuvi also comes back with a huge database of City Navigator NT street level maps of North America and more than 6 million points of interest (POI). The POI database contains info on gas stations, lodging, ATMs, restaurants and more.
What's better, the database will synchronize with your current GPS location and to notify you with the location of the nearest hospitals, gas stations, or even movie show times. You also have the option of marking your path on the fly with way points. The marking way points feature as you go is a personal favorite of mine. It's always fun to bookmark the location of a great restaurant or cafe in the middle of nowhere. The device also features Bluetooth integration enabling hands free communication through cell phones, as well as live traffic updates. If having an on board GPS is more than just a novelty for you, I strongly suggest looking into the GarminNuvi 265WT.
The GarmineTrex Vista
The eTrex Vista is arguably one of the biggest selling recreational line of GPS. It features a rugged, waterproof exterior with a built in altimeter, compass, Points Of Interest database and detailed base maps. The screen is small, but offers clear, zoom-in/zoom-out resolution. The device uses a twelve channel receiver to lock in on satellite signals to determine your position.
There have been some mixed reviews about the Terexs ability to maintain GPS signals under heavy cloud cover or trees. But this review had no problems. You can also scroll through different menus to get both "straight line" distances, as well as plotted path distances to and from a given destination. 24 MB of storage allows for loads of optional Garmin downloads for more detailed maps, but these maps tend be on the expensive side; almost $200 for the Map Source Metro Guide CD. The basic maps that come with the device are effective enough for your average hiking trip. But road atlas information is very limited and may leave you with the desire for more mapping downloads.
That said it's good to remember that this model is intended more for hiking, whereas the Nuvi is optimal for car navigation. Two AA batteries enable the eTrexVista to run for at least eight hours.
About the Author Article by William Gold. He writes about two different Handheld GPS devices. ChosenMobile.com has the best selection on GPS, Unlocked GSM Phones that have GPS, and all electronics.
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