Garmin's goin' fishin'

We don't spend a lot of time covering Garmin's slightly lesser-known fish catchin', maritime, and generally outdoorsy kinda gear, but we figured what with the holidays rapidly approaching we'd branch out a little in order to keep you informed about potential new toys for your friendly local bassmaster. The latest run of updates to their GPSMap 60 and 76 lines include the 60Cx, 60 CSx, 76Cx, and 76 CSx, as well as bumps to their eTrex line, the Legend Cx and Vista Cx. Apparently the big diff here in these x-models is that all the devices now come with MicroSD slots, so you can more easily load up map data for your boat trip. According to the Bass Pro peeps who posted these devices before announcement, they could even be available as soon as early December.

[Richie @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I much prefer fishfinders and GPS systems that can be mounted to my dashboard, but ah well. ;)

[Jared @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

No changes for my little yellow eTrex though... but nice to see that Engadget cares about GPS!

[Old Number 7 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

eTrex Vista C and now the Cx is Garmin's all in one unit for climbing, city navigation, topographic navigation, orienteering, geocaching, weather prediction, etc...

The fishing part is mostly limited to preset hunting and game tables. My Vista C does have an anchor drift alarm which is useful when sailing or fishing in one spot like a rock pile.

Garmin purpose build fishing GPS units have integration with fish finders and autopilot units. In conclusion these units engadget mentioned can be used for fishing in a pinch or as a backup but they are far better suited for other tasks.

[NewzGuy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Can't praise the 60CS enough.
Only problem is... never again can I claim to be late because I was lost.
Use it on my motorcycle as well as in the Gulf Of Mexico.
Most helpful device I own.

[David @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Hey guys,

Looking to get a GPS for my dad but am damn confused which one to buy! I need one that can be used in the car and outdoors. I was looking at the Garmin Quest 2, but just read that its primarily a car GPS and not very good outdoors! My parents do alot of boating and I would want them to be able to use it on lakes as well. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Dr. Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Great to see these worthy units getting recognized. I noticed that all of them are featured on the Rated4Stars GPS review site (http://www.Rated4Stars.com).

I've used the 76 series at sea with great success -- it's rugged, waterproof and has great battery life.

To answer David's question, the 60Cx is the most versatile of the three. In the car it will give you turn-by-turn directions (no voice, but a beep warning you before each turn). It's also compatible with Garmin's BlueCharts, so you can jump from asphalt to the blue highway. (And if you're up for mountain climbing after all that, it also does topo maps.)

[eskimo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

The funny thing about a hand-held GPS unit, is that it can tell you how to go anywhere in the world, yet your wife will never be able find it in her purse.

[David @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Thanks Dr. Dave,

This may be an obvious question, but is 60Cx the most versatile of ANY GPS system? I'm not looking to spend thousands, but I wasn't sure if Magellan or another competitor offered any good units.

From your description, it sounds lik the 60cx is pretty good. Would you need to load the different maps each time? Do they use the same detailed road/highway maps as the car-dedicated systems?

Thanks for your help!

[Dr. Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

David,

For a reasonably priced and highly-rated handheld that works well in the car, boat and backcountry, I haven't found a more versatile unit than the Garmin GPSMap 60Cx.

You can get a listing of all the Garmin-compatible maps for the 60cx series using Garmin's MapSource Compatibility tool at: http://www.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/compatCB.jsp You'll see that among the many maps it's compatible with, the 60cx series uses City Select/City Navigator CDs which are essentially the same database that dedicated in-car systems use.

I believe you can load highway, topo, and marine charts onto your machine all at the same time -- you're only limited by the unit's memory. However, only one map type is displayed, depending where you are. For example, if you're at sea, you'll see the marine chart, on the highway, you'll see the road map. Where there's overlap among more than one map type, the documentation refers to a hierarchy it uses to determine what you'll see. The documentation is vague on exactly what that hierarchy is, but you can read more in the 60CS manual on page 88.

There's a link for the 60CS manual (PDF) as well as a review, description and specs at: http://www.rated4stars.com/html/garmin-gpsmap-60cs_.html

Good luck!

P.S. Don't forget to consider the cost of map CDs when estimating cost. You might also want to consider an available car kit with charger.

[Dr. Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

David,

For a reasonably priced and highly-rated handheld that works well in the car, boat and backcountry, I haven't found a more versatile unit than the Garmin GPSMap 60Cx.

You can get a listing of all the Garmin-compatible maps for the 60cx series using Garmin's MapSource Compatibility tool at: http://www.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/compatCB.jsp You'll see that among the many maps it's compatible with, the 60cx series uses City Select/City Navigator CDs which are essentially the same database that dedicated in-car systems use.

I believe you can load highway, topo, and marine charts onto your machine all at the same time -- you're only limited by the unit's memory. However, only one map type is displayed, depending where you are. For example, if you're at sea, you'll see the marine chart, on the highway, you'll see the road map. Where there's overlap among more than one map type, the documentation refers to a hierarchy it uses to determine what you'll see. The documentation is vague on exactly what that hierarchy is, but you can read more in the 60CS manual on page 88.

There's a link for the 60CS manual (PDF) as well as a review, description and specs at: http://www.rated4stars.com/html/garmin-gpsmap-60cs_.html

Good luck!

P.S. Don't forget to consider the cost of map CDs when estimating cost. You might also want to consider an available car kit with charger.

[David @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Dr. Dave,

Thanks for the input - its really helpful! With Christmas right around the corner, I was beginning to get very confused with the different models, etc. It sounds like this is the one to get, perhaps I should wait until the new 60cx comes out. I'm a little confused as to what the card sizes will be - One report stated 32 - 128, and another said 256? Also, what is the baraometer and electronic compass the only difference between the 60cx and the 60csx?

Thanks for your help, I'm pretty much deciding between this and the Quest 2. Quest 2 seems to have a pretty big following as well.

[Mike Miller @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

It may not be as fresh new and sexxy, but the Garmin ique 3600 with car kit is about $300 on ebay. (I've got one on order as we speak.)

[http:financenstuff.blogspot.com @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

What in your opinion is the cheapest decent car navigation system on the market? garmin quest unit any good? sorry if I am going a little off topic.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Nice to see that Garmin is finally catching up with Magellan.

[Dr. Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

The cheapest, decent car navigation system on the market? The reviews are great for Garmin's new StreetPilot i-Series. They offer most of the wonderful easy user interface from the c-Series, including spoken turn-by-turn directions. They're smaller than the c-Series and use a thumbwheel. The i2 is the cheapest (monochrome); the i3 offers color; the i5 has all maps pre-loaded. Review of the i3 at: http://www.rated4stars.com/html/garmin-streetpilot-i3-gps-rati.html
(PC Magazine and Rated4Stars give it 4 out of 5 stars).

If you can afford a bit more (and holiday sales are working in your favor right now), I personally own and love the c-Series. It's as easy as they come and a joy to use. Not all the bells and whistles, but I don't seem to miss 'em. The c320 (which I own) requires that you load maps onto an SD card; c330 includes preloaded maps; the c340 includes live traffic updates (with subscription). Review of the c330 (4.5 stars) at: http://www.rated4stars.com/html/garmin-streetpilot-c330-gps.html

[Rich Owings @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

First of all, thanks to Engadget for linking to my post on these new units. The ttraffic has been incredible!

Second, for those of you trying to decide what to buy, you might want to check out my GPS Buyers Guide at http://gpstracklog.typepad.com/gps_tracklog/2005/11/gps_buyers_guid.html

[Tamas Kerecsen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

The article omitted the other big evolutionary step in the cx series compared to the c series: the cx series will use the SiRF III GPS receiver chipset, which is far superior to the custom Garmin chipset employed in the c series (see http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/articles.asp?id=143&page=3 -- FYI the chipset in the old 60c/cs is a generation older (worse) than the one in the GPS10).

And to answer David, the transflash cards used by the GPSes are currently available in 32-512 MB sizes. Since a transflash is just a miniaturized SD card, I assume the GPS will handle cards up to 4 gigs in capacity.

[combo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

i remember seeing an argument elsewhere that stated the use of a memory card would drastically reduce battery life, so i wonder how the cx line compared to the 30 hours of the previous generation. the now available (at least on ebay) magellan explorist xl runs 19 hours on 4AAs and has an sd card. i was about to get one of these but the new garmin cx line loooks great.

[mark @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

This gps look very sleek and very handy to have, im used to the in built car navigation so would like to try this just to see if it beats what i already have. Gadgets nowadays are getting more complex but this seems to be a simple and pratical idea, always good to try new things.