FINALLY A GPS UNIT THAT IS WORTH BUYING

About time someone made a proper size screen that makes sense for use in cars. I have a really small vehicle Toyota Prius and this 7200 Streetfinder gps is perfect size for the car. There are many useful functions on the touch screen or you can use the remote control. The screen is big beautiful and bright if you want bright if not you can adjust it. I mainly like to just keep the unit on "map" function so I can see what streets are coming up especially at night when I an not in my neighborhood. The name of the next street is there is big bold letters but if you press the "speak" button on the remote it will announce the upcoming street. This thing is great and I highly recommend it. The cigarette power supply and bracket (one piece) makes it a snap to remove the unit for safe keeping. One easy motion and its off the bracket. Garmin really put a lot of thought into this one. There are so many ways this thing works but I don't want to write a book here. The only thing I can recommend is that if you are not going to mount it directly on top of your dashboard purchase the Garmin "Ga 25MCX Low Profile Gps" antenna that snaps into the back of the unit. It will give you great reception results instead of "searching for satellite" you will get "ready for navigation" in just a few moments. The wire that it comes attached to it is not too big and allows for easy squeezing into small places for easy concealment. I didn't have to mount it outside my car for great reception as a matter of fact just plugging it into the back of the unit made a great difference. For true mobile use I am sure Garmin will be coming out with a suction mount also in the near future. JUST ORDER IT YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!!!! That is my opinion.More detail ...

GPS With European Maps

The Garmin GPS was a godsend on our trip to Europe. If you have ever driven into cities or small towns in Europe you will know how difficult it is to navigate while trying to read foreign street signs dodging motor scooters and bicylists finding the right exit out of a around-about all the while being pushed along by the very aggressive drivers behind you. But with the GPS most of that stress goes away as you know when and where to turn and you drive through towns like a native. I was very impressed that even going through the miles long tunnels of the alps the GPS must be programmed to keep the unit tracking without a satellite signal because several minutes later coming out of the tunnel it still provides instructions. I purchased the pricier model 270 because of the factory installed European maps. If you purchased a GPS with only North America maps and had to load the European maps the cost of those maps would be another $250. It's less money to get the 270 or 370 with maps already loaded. The windshield mounting is excellent and worked well in the rental car. The Nuvi series GPS is convenient enough in size to be carried in the pocket for walking around the cities. But it does not work as well for pedestrian purposes because it cannot keep bearings well as you tend to rotate the device and it looses it sense of direction. I read all the reviews on GPS's and chose the Garmin because of it's higher ratings for search engine ease of use and maps. You will immediately become an expert user even without reading instructions with this device. It is literally that easy to use.More detail ...

Wonderful for the Amateur

I'm not one of those extreme high-end geocachers. I just love a walk in the woods. However I want to find the cache when I go to look for it. Last year I upgraded from a Garmin Explorer to a 60CSX and was in love. Unfortunately that got stolen. I've saved my money and now have the Colorado 400t. It's everything my 60CSX was and more. The new rocker control is a lot easier to use than the controls on the 60CSX or the Explorer. The accuracy is fantastic. With the City maps plugged in the road navigation is wonderful. This really is the best GPS unit I've used for hiking & caching. I'm really impressed with the ability to swap between profiles using the Automotive until I hit the trail and then switching back to the Geocaching mode. Start up time & satellite acquisition are good. They're now supporting SD instead of the mini-SD cards and that's a good choice on Garmin's part. A lot of the new interfaces are improved over the old ones plus like the old ones they're customizable.

Like everyone else the fact that only one cache at a time is visible is a pain but all the other features quickly wash that away. I haven't found the maps to be inaccurate but then I mainly use it for off-road hiking and the hills mountains & streams are pretty solidly in place even in Massachusetts. It is a little dim in bright sunlight.

Despite these small shortcomings this is a wonderful GPS unit. I intend to get years of use (and hang on to it more tightly).



UPDATE: Garmin released a software patch that fixed the problem with displaying multiple cache's. That's one less of the few and small negatives to worry about. I'm still loving this GPS unit.More detail ...

Best All Around GPS

Excellent and versatile GPS that I use for geocaching driving mountain biking and hiking. I previously owned the Venture Cx and the display cracked due to my carelessness in the airline luggage. I upgraded to the new Legend HCx with the high sensitivity receiver and this unit significantly outperforms the older units. The new receiver fixes your location much faster and provides much better signal coverage. I noticed this as soon as I turned the Legend HCx on as I was able to get a fix inside my house.



The expandable memory option (Cx) of the etrex series allows you to store a tremendous amount of map info. I installed the TOPO and City Navigator Mapsets for the entire state of CA and I am able to switch between mapsets. When I am on the trail I "hide" the other mapsets and "show"/use the TOPO mapset. When driving on the road I switch to City Navigator to get turn by turn navigation to my destination.



The only cons about the etrex series is that they have a small screen to view while driving and the menus/control button configuration are complex. I had to install my unit right on the steering column for driving. It took me awhile to learn and use all the features of the City Navigator and to switch between mapsets. But for a pocket size all around GPS with excellent battery life these are acceptable compromises.More detail ...

Accurate and Easy to Use Unit

Pros: Easy to use sharp screen clear voice instructions and less expensive than other GPS units with comparable features



Cons: Needs more dynamic search capabilities for POI (its a little too simple which is good and bad)



The Garmin C340 is a wonderful unit I've tested several other units such as the Navmans & Magellans but the Garmin was the hands down winner.



It has built in street level maps for both US and Canada - so there is no need to download detailed maps from your computer. In addition the interface is a breeze to use - w/o even reading the manual I was able to get it up and running. The screen is razor sharp and the navigation controls are intuitive. Another bonus is that it has a built in rechargable battery so you can walk around with it for a while or even program your next destination while you're away from the car.



I recommend this unit very highly - especially after reviewing the alternatives at this price point.



---------Update--------------



Just an update because I've taken my Garmin C340 to: 1) Toronto Canada 2) Omaha NE 3) Salt Lake City UT 4) Denver CO and 5) Seattle WA. I have to say it worked wonderfully. It NEVER led me astray and got me to my destinations without any problems. This is a definite must have because it's so compact and easy to program that it makes exploring new cities a breeze. Who needs to rent an expensive GPS unit from a rental car agency when you have the Garmin C340 with you! More detail ...

FANTASTIC

If you are reading this and the other reviews of the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx then you are doing your homework and wondering if this GPS is as good as all the hype makes it out to be. The short answer is YES! I have an old Garmin 12 Map which has served me well but was getting a bit long in the tooth. I wanted something a bit smaller lighter with color screen and was water tight. The Vista HCx meets all of these needs and so many more. It is small in size but with a fairly big and bright screen (easily readable in the sun) for its size.

Every review I read touted the extra sensitive antenna and how it picked up and locked onto satellites inside of homes or buildings. Well I can honestly tell you that it does all this and does it quick. How this happens it Garmin magic. I was always told you had to have line of sight to pick up satellites but not in the case of the Vista HCx it can get them just about anywhere short of being in a bunker.

The menu is intuitive and easy to navigate so much more that my old Garmin 12 map. The long story short this little GPS is the one for everyone else to beat. If you are seriously considering a GPS purchase for hiking or navigating the back country do not look elsewhere this is the one to get!

The base maps in the Vista HCx are of course upgradeable through additional accessories purchases from Garmin (at substantial cost) but worth the money. How Garmin managed to pack so much into so little a package is a mystery to me. Do yourself a favor stop reading the review and just buy one you will not be disappointed.

BTW I purchased mine through Amazon.com and took advantage of the free shipping. It arrived four days ahead of when it was scheduled to arrive which was a nice surprise. Amazon has a very good price and I have always been happy with my purchases through them. And no I am not getting paid to say these nice things about Amazon I am just a very satisfied customer.



Dan...

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