AN OUTDOOR GPS WITH TOUCH SCREEN
The Garmin Oregon 300

The new generation Garmin GPS devices design for the outdoors, the best of all Garmin technology now built into one device, the Garmin Oregon 300.

During July this year Garmin announced their new products for the second half of 2008. The Oregon took a few of us by surprise as we were all waiting for the launch of the Nuvi 500 that has now replaced the Garmin Quest and then this new device popped out of the wood.

If I was to describe the Oregon it could be said that it is the upgrade or update of the GPS MAP 60 / 76 CSx or even the newly launched Colorado (April 2008) but when looking at this new device I am even more convinced that it has a bit of the best of all Garmin’s devices to date now in one unit, only thing is without voice navigation which should not be a requirement for outdoor applications. As with the GPS MAP 60 /76 CSx the Oregon does do street navigation.

The device has all the new features of the Nuvi 500, Colorado and more. It is rugged and robust but at the same time it has a touch screen which is new, as till now no touch screen was adaptable for bush use.

Features :
• Colour, touch screen that is easily readable in sunlight (3.8cm x 6.3cm) same as the Colorado
• IPX 7 water proof standard (1m of water for 30 minutes)
• Rugged made for field work
• Has the “HotFix” technology to predict your position if satellite signal is lost
• New menu logic that is the most user friendly take I have come across
• Has the new Garmin high sensitivity GPS engine for quick and better GPS signal acquisition in dense foliage
• Has a magnetic compass and a Barometer (not always necessary)
• 2 AA Lithium (for the best results) or NiMH batteries
• Battery life 10 to 16 hrs depending on the backlight intensity (some documentation say up to 18hrs)
• Does not float like the 76 series
• 850mb on board memory with the option of adding a 2Gb micro SD card if needed for extra mapping (1Gb micro SD card included in the initial purchase)
• 1 000 waypoint
• 10 000 breadcrumbs with the backtrack feature
• Area calculation
• DEM (Digital Elevation Model) capability and 3D isometric view of the terrain ahead which could be improved on
• Can add a heart rate monitor / cadence sensor
• Wireless transfer of data between compatible devices
• Included with topographical maps for the 9 Southern African countries ( 1Gb memory needed)
• Can take the new g2 vision marine charts from Garmin

Feature I like about the new Oregon 300 :
• Large screen when compared to the now outdated 60 and 76 series device
• Easy to read, clear, high resolution screen and touch screen
• Fits very comfortably in the palm of your hand
• Nice and easy to understand icons
• All the icon for the features are displayed and all one has to do is to scroll left and right to get to these icons so much easer
• Some features like the stop watch and alarm clock did not interest me, but these features are nothing new to outdoor GPS devices
• New menu logic is a winner for ease of use

A feature that did not catch my attention was the back drop screen on all the different sub screen, it looks very nice but did not have any true value. I did miss the external antenna option as in most outdoor devices for even better signal inside a vehicle.

This is an amazing device and come highly recommended. In the office we cannot wait to get our own devices.

Happy GPS adventures