Great improvements over Etrex Vista monochrome version
Written: Jan 14 '05 (Updated Jan 17 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: Very readable screen; fast USB interface, better reception and battery life than the old Vista
Cons: Screen layout isn't the best; USB connection is daunting for Macs
The Bottom Line: You won't find a more full-featured hand-held navigation device (GPS mapping compass altimeter) anywhere, plus it's fast and the color screen is actually readable!
bobodobo's Full Review: Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Handheld GPS Receiver
I don't know why they call it "Vista C," it should be called by a different name since it's so different from "Vista." The only similarities are that both are GPS units with capability for downloading maps, built-in compass and barometric altimeter.
The biggest advantage of the "C" is that infinitely easier to read than monochrome screen of the Vista. I always found it hard to distinguish between roads, water features, topo lines, etc. in monochrome. The next most important improvement is that the satellite reception is MUCH better with the C, it even works indoors in wood-frame houses! Also, with the USB rather than serial port, map data bases download much much faster (like 20 times faster!). Additionally, either the processor or the onboard software is faster since map re-drawing, page changing, etc. is much faster with the C. And if that wasn't enough, the battery life is noticeably longer.
There are a few downsides however. The screen is wider but not as tall as eTrex Vista, and data fields at top of map page have huge numbers/letters, so a lot of screen space is lost, and there is no way to change the font size (though you can control the font size on the map itself). You can turn off the data fields if you want the full-screen map, however. Also, the USB connection is a nightmare for Mac/Virtual PC users like me. I could NOT get the C to communicate with Mac OS X / Virtual PC 6 / Windows 2000. I did get it to communicate just fine if I booted from OS 9 - which you can't do if you have a newer Mac (less than 2 years old.)
Finally there a lot of features of marginal value - whom is going to play the games on this device???
(An edited version of this review, which I also wrote, appears at http://shopper.cnet.com/Garmin_eTrex_Vista_C___GPS_receiver/4014-3490_9-30982007.html?rvwtp=4852-3490_9-30982007)
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