Mapomatic - Applications of Mapping

Here’s the formal announcement of the Garmin Oregon. We covered much of the spec earlier in the week here, but here’s some more formal information from Garmin…

The 200 (above left) will just have the basemap, whereas the 300 (above right) has the shaded relief worldwide basemap. The 400 series adds particular US maps (just like the Colorado), so will not hit the UK. Neither the 200 or 300 have detailed maps preloaded, but both have a microSD card, as well as their internal memory for storing those additional maps.

The 300 also includes the wireless support, for the exchange of tracks, waypoints and geocaches between other Oregon units and Colorado models. It’s also equipped with a barometric altimeter and electronic compass and is compatible with Garmin’s heart-rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors (all of these features are missing on the 200, so we suspect the 300 will be the biggest seller).

Geocaching is even easier with the Oregon, which quickly downloads online information for every cache, such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description, so that you don’t have to take printouts with you. Oregon users can experience Wherigo™, the newest GPS-based activity from Groundspeak, the people who made geocaching a worldwide phenomenon. Wherigo (pronounced “where I go”) is a toolset for creating and completing adventure games, historical tours or other innovative activities in the real world.

With the 3″ touchscreen, we think this is going to be a big seller in the coming months. All models should be available in the US by the end of the month, although we’re still waiting to hear when they’ll be on sale in the UK.

Story courtesy of UK Gadgeteer.

The current rumours flying around the internet are that Garmin is going to release a new range of GPS devices in the next few weeks. The Oregon range will be a similar device to the Colorado range, although it will be slightly smaller, and feature a touchscreen. One colleague we recently spoke with said he was always trying to use the Colorado screen as a touchscreen, so welcomed a true touchscreen unit.

Although Garmin are usually tight lipped about new devices, it appears that somehow these devices made it onto both Amazon and Buy.com before being removed. As such, a fairly reliable spec has been obtained, and this includes:

• High sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception
• Easy to use, touchscreen interface
• microSD card slot for optional mapping and data storage
• Electronic compass, barometric altimeter, temperature sensor
• Built in 3D Basemap /Digital Elevation Model
• 3D elevation view
• Wireless exchange of user routes, tracks, waypoints, geocaches and images
• Unit dimensions: 4.5 in x 2.3 in x 1.4 in
• Display size: 3 in color, touch screen
• Pixels / H x W: 240 x 400
• Waterproof standard: IEC 60529 IPX7
• Battery type: two high capacity or lithium ion AA batteries
• Weight: 6.8 oz with batteries

The specs above are for the 200 unit, with a 300, and a range of 400 units (similar to the Colorado 400 range) will also be available in the US. Given the main difference between the Colorado 300 and 400 models is the amount of memory to fit in the included US maps on the 400 range, we suspect that again the 400 range may not make it to the UK, leaving us with the 200 and 300 though. The main missing feature from the Colorado will be the Naviwheel, which isn’t needed due to the touchscreen.

Story courtesy of the Groundspeak Geocaching.com forums (no registration required to view) [Via UK Gadgeteer]