Reliable workhorse
Written: Jul 03 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Sturdy, accurate, easy to use
Cons: short battery life, lacks map download capability of newer models
The Bottom Line: While no longer top-of-the-line, it's still a great unit.
|
|
|
| mcjamison's Full Review: Garmin GPS III |
I've had my GPS III for about 3 years now, and have taken it everywhere - hiking through desert canyons, snowshoeing in tree-covered valleys, kayaking, driving through cities and parks, even skiing and flying in commercial airliners. While the novelty may have worn off a teeny little bit in that time, it's become a reliable tool, whose operation is second nature. It's very natural to use, and has held up well through various kinds of abuse. The buttons and display still function like new. While it's fastest to get your initial position fix if you're out in the open, the unit manages to maintain a positional fix through a variety of tough conditions that would have stymied my older GPS 45, such as tree cover, canyons, or simply being passed around inside a car rather than sitting under the dashboard.
Other reviewers have summarized the feature set very well, so I'll just share a few random observations that may be useful to someone considering this unit now.
Built-In map data: the Americas version includes interstate highways and major routes, cities, state borders, and water outlines (coasts, rivers, lakes). The usefulness of the built-in data will vary based on where you are. In semi-rural upstate New York, where much of my family lives, most of the major roads one uses to get between towns happened to make it into the GPS's map, so it's actually useful for finding your way around. In the San Jose, CA area where I live, however, some of the key numbered roads are missing, like state route 82 (El Camino Real) and even the old portion of highway 85. In general, unless you're just driving on interstates, the built-in map data should just be used to place your position in context, so you can find yourself on a paper map.
Supplementing the built-in map: unlike some of the newer models like the GPS III plus, you cannot download new map data (e.g. street-level data) to the GPS III. I have often found it useful, though, to plot a course ahead of time on my computer with software like De Lorme's Street Atlas USA, and download a route (a connected series of waypoints (which are the coordinates of a point, plus a lable)) to the GPS -- the GPS can then guide you along the route, indicating direction and distance to the next point. This guidance is "as the crow flies" from point to point, rather than following the countours of the road or trail, but it's still useful for seeing how far you have to go to the next navigational maneuver, such as turning onto another highway. Though I know the way from my house to the ski cabin I share every year, I still set my GPS to guide me every time I drive it, simply because it eases my mind from the job of watching for signs to catch the next turnoff. (In addition to information-filled displays and simple map displays, the GPS III also has a couple of displays with small amounts of information presented in a big and simple format, which are more suitable when driving.)
Points you've saved in the field, as well as complete tracklogs showing the actual path you took, can be uploaded to the PC from the GPS, and viewed in the context of Street Atlas USA's map data - this can be very fun, for seeing how far you hiked/drove/paddled, etc.
A car mounting tip: while there are fancy car mounting kits available, I've done very well with my $5 solution: I bought one of those note pads with suction cups that some people mount on their windshields, got rid of the notepad, and strung a rubber band around it from back to front - the GPS III sits happily at the bottom end of the notepad on top of my dashboard, and the rubber band holds it securely, while still making it easy to slip it in and out.
While I'm a bit envious of the features of newer models like the eMap, I feel no compelling need to upgrade - the GPS III still meets my needs very well.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mcjamison
|
|
Location: Silicon Valley, CA, USA
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Addicted to gadgets of (almost) all kinds.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.