Name: Argelia De Palacio
Location:
Date: 2006-07-03
Customer Rating: -
Summary: The best cost/benefit GPS
Comment: Easy to use, with a lot of options and with an accesible price. I Recommended.
Name: Chile
Location: Farmington, NM
Date: 2007-03-14
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Perfect Item/perfect shipping
Comment: Very pleased with how this was shipped and I received it very quickly.
Name: Mitchell Small
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA
Date: 2006-04-28
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Perfect for Outdoor User of Any Experience
Comment: I did my first Geocache at the end of January 2006 as part of a group with a shared GPS. I was hooked. I started looking into units and within two weeks, I had a Garmin Legend. After one outing, I traded it in for the Vista Cx and have not regretted it one bit.
Ignoring the Legend experience, it took about a half hour of going over the manual to take in the details. The manual is well written and properly illustrated. Directions are easy to understand and once you grasp the organization of the menu structure, the unit is easy to master.
While a little on the small side, the display is very crisp and the colors are easy to see in the daylight. If you use this after dark, the screen requires backlighting, something that is built-in to the unit. Using the menus, you can even customize the degree of backlight illumination and the time it stays on.
One downside is the base map, the map burned into the firmware, is pretty sparse. I understand this is fairly standard for hiking GPS units. I strongly urge users to get either the Garmin MapSource Topo map for your country or the Garmin City Navigator appropriate to your area. Now we are getting into what the new "X" series is all about, memory.
The Vista Cx uses MicroSD memory, allowing the users to store large amounts of map info. . . if you get additional memory. The 32 MB that comes standard with the unit will hold a LOT of topo map info, but if you are loading road map info, you will need more memory. I have not had the opportunity to try the new 1 GB MicroSD cards, but the 512 MB is holding all the trip info for my summer vacation plus topo info for most of PA, MD, WV, CT, MA, and NY south of Albany.
One negative is that you can display either the topo info or road map info, but not both at the same time. Personally, I find this not too annoying, but sometimes, I'd like to see both. The two buttons controlling the degree of zoom are well positioned.
I bought this primarily for Geocaching, but I recently had the opportunity to test it as a navigation aid and Geocaching tool. In the car, once navigation satellites had been locked onto, the unit kept me on course. Out in the field, I switched to topo only display and the unit performed flawlessly.
This is only the beginning of all this unit can do. I do not use the barometer / altimeter function too heavily, but I've come to appreciate the electronic compass. The rocker switch makes it easy to enter data, but I prefer to use the optional software and my computer for extensive data entry.
This is a GPS primarily for the outdoor person, not a vehicle navigation aid, although it will function nicely as one. Many people would consider this beyond an entry level GPS. I found it easy enough to use and capable enough for future growth that I would recommend it for the entry level user. Buying this unit at the beginning will help put off that upgrade for quite a while. I do strongly suggest getting the largest addition memory you can find and the software to match your navigation needs. It will be money well spent!
Name: Mr. Domenic V. Fascia
Location: Sarasota
Date: 2007-02-01
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Garmin GPS review
Comment: I had purchased the vista cx primarily for geo-caching. It seems that the unit has good battery life qualities but is lacking on accuracy when there is any amount of cover like trees or even cloudy days. The GPS comes pretty much bare bones so you have to buy the map software to view streets, addresses, points of interest, ect. I recommend buying a car adapter. That will save on battery life. Overall I am pleased with the unit.
Name: David L. Johnson
Location:
Date: 2007-01-27
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Amazing product
Comment: I use this GPS both on my bike and in my car. I don't know half of its capabilities yet, but I am impressed with what I have figured out so far. The machine seems rugged (a concern on the bike), it's easy enough to use, and provides much more than just a map of your location.
The maps (purchased separately, which makes this a more expensive unit than some) contain huge amounts of information. I wonder about which shops/restaurants are in the database, versus which ones are not, but have no flagrant ommissions to report. Roads, turns, etc., are all correct, and it instantly adapts when you change course. Directions (when you enter an address and hit "go to") are as good, or better, than sites like MapQuest, though they do have similar limitations in that they don't know the way to avoid traffic delays. But if you take an alternate route it patiently gives you directions for the remainder of the trip.
Very clever machine.
My gripes are that any computer would be hard to use if it only had 6 keys. The multi-function enter/move around key is a bit finicky about what it considers an "enter", and navigating through menus to type words for searces is annoying. A real keyboard would be a nice option. Secondly, since I do not use Windows, borrowing a computer to upload maps is an annoyance. Please beg Garmin for a linux and Mac version of their software. the security hurdles you have to go through to install the maps are over the top as well.
The screen is small, but that is the price you pay for portability and usability on a bike or when hiking.
On the other hand, I thank them for making the thing only beep when you get to a turn. If I had one of those talking GPS's it'd be out the window in a week.
|
Larger image or other views