Garmin GPS Reviews

Geocachers from at least 46 states in the U.S. and various regions of Europe gathered in Bell Buckle, TN, over the weekend for GeoWoodstock 7. More than 5,000 cachers - from youngsters to age 76, and traveling from as far as 4,500 miles away - made this the largest GeoWoodstock ever and kept us busy in the Garmin booth, where we were showing off the and Oregon 550t, our newest touchscreen handheld with built-in camera.

We also gave limited-edition Oregon geocoins to a few lucky winners, and there are more of these coveted coins stashed in random caches around the world so let us know if you stumble across one. As you can imagine, we spent most of our time at GeoWoodstock talking about the 550’s built-in, waterproof 3.2MP camera that is perfect for capturing every cache at the moment of discovery, but we did find time to snap a few pics of our own. Especially when Alamogul stopped by the Garmin booth. Known to the rest of the world as Lee van der Bokke, Alamogul has logged more finds (32,670 and counting) so we were excited to snap his picture (above) with the Oregon 550t. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth and attended GeoWoodstock 7, and we’ll see you on the trails and on the road!

It happens. Your employer asks you to make an emergency international trip, your significant other surprises you with a birthday getaway to New York City (and your birthday is tomorrow), a friend suggests a spur-of-the-moment hiking trip. We’ve all been there – and now we’re making it easier to get there with downloadable content for your compatible Garmin GPS.

In the past, you could get additional maps and guides by purchasing a DVD or a pre-programmed data card. It’s easy enough . . . but last-minute trips could present a challenge. That’s where our downloadable content really shines.

We have downloadable content for a variety of uses. If you’re planning a trip to a new city and want to get out on foot and explore, our cityXplorer map data (for compatible Garmin products) is the ideal navigation companion. With cityXplorer, you can plan and use routes that include public transit options such as bus, tramway, metro and suburban rail systems. You can also download Travel Guides as well. Travel Guides provide reviews and recommendations for restaurants, hotels, shopping and more.

Garmin is proudly offering downloadable maps for many parts of the world for a variety of uses. Whether you’re hiking, biking, fishing, or driving in unfamiliar areas, you’ll be able to get the content you need when you need it.

Visit our Download Page today and learn more about all of our Downloadable Content options.

One of the most common questions we get is: “If I want one device for the trail, the bike, the car, the boat - which one can I get?” It’s a tough question, because Garmin makes so many great products tailor-made for your different activities, but the search for a versatile device just got easier with the newly announced Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t. And we added a camera to chronicle your adventures.

We’ve taken the popular Oregon touchscreen handheld and built in a 3.2 megapixel digital camera, which creates geotagged images, and a 3-axis compass into the popular series of intuitive touchscreen handhelds. The waterproof Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t (which features preloaded 100K topo maps for the entire U.S. in state-of-the-art 3D elevation perspective), have an easy-to-use interface and versatile features that make either the ideal solution for customers looking for a multipurpose GPS device.

There’s no need to tote a separate camera in your pack or pocket as Oregon 550’s 3.2 megapixel autofocus digital camera with 4x digital zoom automatically geotags each photo with the location of where it was taken, allowing you to mark, remember and navigate back to that exact spot in the future. With this waterproof digital camera, you can take and view pictures in landscape or portrait orientation, and 850 MB of internal memory offers ample storage. These pictures can then be printed or stored and shared online, making every trip even more memorable. Once your Oregon 550 is connected via USB, you can use my.Garmin.com to detect Oregon’s photos, simplify the selection and uploading processes and then store those photos on Picasa, a popular online photo sharing community for friends and families around the world.

The built-in 3-axis compass and enhanced sunlight-readable touchscreen are two other key additions to the Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t. The 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass shows your heading even when you’re standing still, without holding it level. And Oregon’s glove-friendly, color 3-inch touchscreen display is brighter and easier than ever to read and use in all conditions, responsive to the touch of your finger, yet resistant to the forces of nature. Weighing only 6.8 ounces, the Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t come with two precharged AA NiMH batteries. These batteries provide up to 16 hours of life on a single charge and don’t lose energy when not in use. The included battery charger saves you money and reduces waste as batteries get recharged and reused. Also in the box is a carabiner clip and USB cable for high-speed USB connections. A microSD card slot provides even more storage for photos, mapping and memory and allows you to view pictures from other devices with Oregon’s picture viewer.