Mr. Picklesworth
August 24th, 2008, 03:50 AM
I am looking for a small handheld GPS device as a gift for somebody. My searches are giving me brick walls, so maybe someone here can contribute some thoughts!
The recipient is a photographer, so I think he would appreciate a device that helps him track his movements. In particular, I bet one with a compass would be quite useful. Can those path traces produced by GPS devices contain direction information (as in compass direction) at waypoints?
I thought the Magellan Triton 500 sounded interesting, particularly because I can get a little discount on it where I currently work. Some notable features:
Small and tough. Advertised to withstand submersion under a meter of water for 30 minutes.
Very quick lock-on time. When I tried it, I did not even notice it trying to find an initial lock; it just did. (And this was under a big roof!).
It has a barometer. Successfully calculated that I am 18 meters below sea level, apparently gives weather warnings. (Though the interface is pretty convoluted in terms of which button does what, so I could not find how this was done).
A neat little touch is that it shows precise sunrise and sunset time. Indeed, GNOME's clock applet does this just fine, but it's a nice thing to see in this sort of device and another very beneficial tool for a photographer who lacks a geometry kit.
Nice, sharp and bright screen. Didn't get to test it outdoors, but sunlight readable is always a plus.
Less than $300
For use hiking / as a pedestrian, rather than specifically in a car. (I understand car use is still quite doable, of course, but the form factor doesn't limit the use cases). "Voice assisted navigation is for wimps" :P --- Although, personally, I quite liked voice navigation on my N810, until I had to pay for it...
The downside with the Triton is that every single review I have read has been tremendously negative. Reportedly this is mainly software issues, but I get the impression that they aren't thinking much about polish here. I could not help but notice, on the unit I demoed, that I was located within a giant swath of green intersected only by an unusually straight Highway 99. While the person I am giving this to is more interested in the numbery data than the maps, I am sure he would appreciate if it didn't have a nagging need to buy local maps from the start.
Perhaps someone managed to delete or disable the maps and I just didn't notice.
Garmin interests me (and I understand they use Linux firmwares instead of Windows CE!), but all the devices in this bracket I can find on the interwebs have very discouraging pictures showing off what look like 4-colour screens with the resolutions of Game Boys. I am sure they have better than this, so obviously I'm missing something. (Perhaps these are superbly good, scratch-proof e-ink screens? --Is there an e-ink GPS?).
Well, there's my question quota for today. Do any kind individuals have advice or experience with this sort of handheld GPS device?
Thanks in advance! Your contributions will be rewarded with big yellow stars :)
The recipient is a photographer, so I think he would appreciate a device that helps him track his movements. In particular, I bet one with a compass would be quite useful. Can those path traces produced by GPS devices contain direction information (as in compass direction) at waypoints?
I thought the Magellan Triton 500 sounded interesting, particularly because I can get a little discount on it where I currently work. Some notable features:
Small and tough. Advertised to withstand submersion under a meter of water for 30 minutes.
Very quick lock-on time. When I tried it, I did not even notice it trying to find an initial lock; it just did. (And this was under a big roof!).
It has a barometer. Successfully calculated that I am 18 meters below sea level, apparently gives weather warnings. (Though the interface is pretty convoluted in terms of which button does what, so I could not find how this was done).
A neat little touch is that it shows precise sunrise and sunset time. Indeed, GNOME's clock applet does this just fine, but it's a nice thing to see in this sort of device and another very beneficial tool for a photographer who lacks a geometry kit.
Nice, sharp and bright screen. Didn't get to test it outdoors, but sunlight readable is always a plus.
Less than $300
For use hiking / as a pedestrian, rather than specifically in a car. (I understand car use is still quite doable, of course, but the form factor doesn't limit the use cases). "Voice assisted navigation is for wimps" :P --- Although, personally, I quite liked voice navigation on my N810, until I had to pay for it...
The downside with the Triton is that every single review I have read has been tremendously negative. Reportedly this is mainly software issues, but I get the impression that they aren't thinking much about polish here. I could not help but notice, on the unit I demoed, that I was located within a giant swath of green intersected only by an unusually straight Highway 99. While the person I am giving this to is more interested in the numbery data than the maps, I am sure he would appreciate if it didn't have a nagging need to buy local maps from the start.
Perhaps someone managed to delete or disable the maps and I just didn't notice.
Garmin interests me (and I understand they use Linux firmwares instead of Windows CE!), but all the devices in this bracket I can find on the interwebs have very discouraging pictures showing off what look like 4-colour screens with the resolutions of Game Boys. I am sure they have better than this, so obviously I'm missing something. (Perhaps these are superbly good, scratch-proof e-ink screens? --Is there an e-ink GPS?).
Well, there's my question quota for today. Do any kind individuals have advice or experience with this sort of handheld GPS device?
Thanks in advance! Your contributions will be rewarded with big yellow stars :)