Garmin Oregon review

Monday, May 18th 2009 - 12:00 CEST - Comments: 0

G armin's slogan seems clear: 'Limitation shows the master." When I open the box, I can see a screen with solid plastic edges, with only one button and no antenna in sight. Since my GPSmap 60CS has many buttons and an easy-to-spot antenna, I instantly become somewhat suspicious. Furthermore, the content of the package is limited; it contains the device, a USB cable, a carabiner clip, a quick start guide and a manual in English.

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Garmin Oregon review - Standard installed maps

Like other GPS handhelds of Garmin, the Oregon 400t features a basic map, in this case the WW Autoroute DEM Basemap NR. In the name, DEM stands for Digital Elevation Model, which is the base from which heights including their shades can be displayed. The extra costs for this model are for the standard integrated Recreational Map of Europe v2.0. It's a very detailed map with a scale of 1:100,000. Even street names are visible, although at the preloaded Topo map I miss indications for ditches, harbors and canals. If you think you can go from A to B in a straight line, you're wrong, because you will at times find yourself in front of all kinds of water. So for full information, you will have to invest some extra money.

 

 

Garmin Oregon test - GPS antenna?

New on this Garmin top model handheld is the 'knob' lacking. Whereas the Colorado shows a moderate knob, the Oregon shows nothing of an antenna at all on the outside. I wonder if this causes problems. Surprisingly enough, I witness the same results for the Colorado as well as the GPS60CSx during my walks. The Oregon keeps pace at all times. It means the city offers enough reception, which is good for the Wherigo cartridges. What highly surprised me is the start-up with Hotfix. Even after as little as ten seconds, enough satellites were found for a position indication with an accuracy of 15 meters.

 

 

Garmin Oregon 400t review

In October 2008, the 400t was launched as top model of the Garmin Oregon series. New for this type of GPS handhelds is the touchscreen, taking things even a step further than the Colorado series. The amount of buttons is now limited to one; the on/off button. I am particularly curious about the energy consumption, considering the camera contains more electronics. The model costs approximately 100 Euros more than the Oregon 300, which has a standard preloaded topographic map of Europe. Read our full Garmin Oregon 400t review to get to know all details about this GPS receiver.

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