Assorted Reviews of the Best Handheld GPS Devices
Handheld GPS devices are very convenient for travelers and explorers to use because they have a similar size to classic cell phone models as opposed to the bigger screened car GPS devices. At first glance, these handheld GPS receivers may not seem to be as feature-rich as the bigger gadgets, but some of the more expensive models have a lot of power deep inside their small displays.
Externally, the best devices are built for any occasion with water resistance that usually follows the IPX6 standard and rugged design to protect it from harsh elements. The interface puts touchscreen technology upfront, but some models may also have some buttons to work with.
Below are five of the most advanced handheld GPS devices by different manufacturers each with their own dedicated handheld GPS review. Each device strives to be unique by targeting a specific audience while others try to be the best in every single aspect to cater to the most frequent travellers.
Garmin Oregon 550t
The Garmin Oregon 550t is the slickest design of the 5 as there are no buttons on found on the device. Without any buttons on the front, the entire 3-inch diagonal display covers the model which means more surroundings can be seen around the map. With complete topographical data covering the entire continental US, serious climbers and hikers have nothing to worry about in venturing as the maps are very detailed and contain all kinds of statistics like elevation information and key points of interest. The Garmin Oregon 550t also doubles as an electronic compass with 3-axis. This allows users to get their bearings without aligning the handheld GPS unit in level.
One of the highlights of the device is the 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and zooming features. Every photo taken is geotagged allowing locations to be saved so it is navigate back to that particular location at any time. It has nearly a gigabyte of memory to spare and a microSD card slot for even more storage. Through a USB connection, photos can be uploaded to Picasa.
Magellan Triton 2000
The Magellan Triton 2000 may not have the 3-inch diagonal display, but the 2.7-inch display is still touchscreen and it has some extra buttons for zooming and accessing the menu. It also has many other features that match up the Garmin Oregon 550t nicely. The device strives to be the best in topographical capabilities by offering free downloadable maps, plenty of built-in base maps and lots of points of interest. The SD slot makes it possible to transfer more detailed maps including maps from National Geographic and marine cartography.
The other features make the Triton 2000 more of a multi-function PDA device with MP3 file support, voice recording, built-in LED flashlight, and a 2 megapixel camera. Like the Garmin Oregon, pictures that are taken can be attached to waypoints or can be shared with other people. The voice recorder makes use of the microphone and speaker to record voice notes to waypoints for easy retracing. The music player functions are also impressive as there is a headphone jack for headphones to be plugged in to enjoy any music stored in the internal memory or card memory.
Lowrance Endura Sierra
The Lowrance Endura Sierra doesn't look very high-end on the outside, but the power lies on the internal hardware that makes the device perform faster than its competitors. It is also beefed with lots of built-in memory at 4 GB and a micro SD card slot that can read cards of up to 32 GB. It does a fantastic job in populating the map with lots of trails and points of interests as the device acquires them from a number of sources including web communities. The Sierra contains a number of multimedia extras including microphone, headphone jack, and speaker yet keeps itself waterproof in the IXP7 rated casing.
The main goal of the Sierra is to have all the powerful features out of the box and without the need for too much configuration. Those looking for high resolution maps and plenty of POIs shouldn't be disappointed with the Sierra.
Bushnell ONIX400
The ONIX400 by Bushnell brings something relatively new to the table. This is the device to get if you travel with high concern of the weather. It is the first device to cater to these needs directly by offering satellite imagery for useful weather data along with XM features including satellite radio and a weather navigator if subscribed to XM Satellite Weather. The subscription grants real-time weather information and updates whenever needed.
With the layering feature known as TruView NavigationLayer is activated, it is possible to download a single satellite photo and then layer it with a topo map, compass, XM data, and other visuals all on the same display. The extra XM NavWeather subscription also allows radio access via XM satellite to get all kinds of updated information. The unique shape of the device also separates it from the rest.
Delorme Earthmate PN-40
The Delorme PN 40 is another recommended device to use for people into satellite imagery. Like the Lowrance Endura Sierra, it houses a dual-core processor to make redrawing blazing fast and maps to be instantaneously loaded. Although the capacity is just 1 GB, it is still capable of reading their high-capacity SD cards of up to 32 GB.