Name: K. ATKINS
Location: Sunnyvale, California United States
Date: 2008-02-28
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Good Buy
Comment: This was my first entry into the GPS market. I asked around at work, and "Garmin" was the name a few folks recommended. I was looking for something that would be great for hiking and off road experience, but I also wanted something that I could use on long car trips to help navigate unfamiliar places.
The Garmin website makes research very easy. I compared feature differences between their different handheld mapping units, and this one seemed to provide all the features I needed without going overboard.
I have purchased the following upgrades:
1. City Navigator NT -- worth the investment to make your handheld street worthy.
2. Topographical maps -- again, worth the investment for hiking.
3. Suction cup mount -- illegal in my state, but largely unenforced. If you install it correctly, it's better than the friction mount. I've heard others complain that it frequently falls off, but I've had it for several months and have moved it around to find the right sweet spot, and it has never fallen off once.
4. Friction mount -- irritatingly, you have to purchase the dash mount in order to get the swivelling head that makes it work... But just in case... (note the legality issue of the suction cup mount)
5. InvisibleShield screen protector -- the screen can easily be scratched, and this non-garmin product is a great way to protect it long term (also available through Amazon, or direct).
6. Sanyo Eneloop Rechargeable batteries -- they work well and don't lose a charge when sitting unused. They're even ready to use right out the the package with a full charge.
With the added functionality of my upgrades and preloaded features, here are just some of the features that I've enjoyed:
1. Geocaching mode -- if you haven't tried it, you must! Works like a charm!
2. High sensitivity receiver -- this is nothing short of incredible. The fact that I can get a signal inside a building and under tree cover is amazing. Sometimes my signal bounces around a little (20 to 30ft), but it's a hundred times better than not having one at all.
3. Tracking -- I love to see where I've been, and it also makes it easy to navigate back out when you don't know where you are.
4. Turn-by-turn directions -- it doesn't talk to you, but it does beep at you when there's an upcoming instruction.
5. Waterproof -- Let's face it, if you use it outside, you're going to get rained on, or you'll spill something on it. I've used it in a downpour, and it was protected.
6. Point-of-interest search -- You can easily find stores, gasoline, lodging, hospitals, exits, truck stops....
7. Compass and Altimeter -- you do need to calibrate them frequently, but still worth the money to have them.
8. Waypoint Manager -- this is software that comes with the unit that you load on your PC. You can use it to create routes, waypoints, and map packages that you want to load onto your unit. So if you travel frequently to a particular area, you can "store" your own regional specific data on your PC that you can transfer to your GPS when you actually need it. I also use it as a backup for my unit. Bottom line -- all electronics eventually fail, so backup, backup, backup.
Little things that annoy me:
1. Turn-by-turn directions aren't always the best route that I would choose, but they still get you there. (Mapping feature)
2. When recalculating, it seems insistent on getting you back on the route that it originally planned for you. (Mapping feature) I say that you should still always have a paper map as a backup.
3. Backlight setting resets after powering off even though it's set to "on" in the setup menu. A small annoyance that I've gotten used to.
A few weeks ago, I actually had a failure of my unit. Shortly after I backed up all my data to Waypoint Manager, I was loading waypoints directly to my unit from geocaching.com, and my unit turned off. For some reason, whenever it was connected to my computer, it wouldn't turn on or stay on. Garmin technical support was amazing. Someone picked up within a minute. He was friendly, helpful and patient in working out my problem, and then created an RMA and put a rush on it when I asked for it. I'm one of those pesky customers who calls frequently to ask for status, and again, I got someone on the phone immediately every time, and everyone was helpful, and they overnighted my replacement once my failed unit was received. Since I work in customer service myself, I strongly appreciate good customer service when I get it (which is actually quite rare).
In summary, this is a full feature-rich product, with a few recommended upgrades, and when something goes wrong, Garmin's customer service makes you glad you bought a Garmin...
Name: Raxxal
Location:
Date: 2007-11-11
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Excellent GPS unit.
Comment: I've been playing with this thing for over a month now. Great unit, very sensitive. The only place that I don't get signal is where I work, but the building is shielded, what can I expect? Other than that no problem: In the house, malls, hills, you name it. This baby knows where it is all the time. The basic map is basically basic, no much fun, so I installed City Navigator 2008, and here is where this thing shines. You get turn by turn to your destination. Of couse, you will need a MicroSD card to install the maps, do yourself a favor, get the 2GB, here at Amazon the price is just right to pass.
Now, after you install the map, go to "setup" then to "routing" and pick faster time, then below that menu, pick "Follow road Options..." and disable all the "avoid". I thought this thing lost its mind, it was routing me all over the streets to my destination, until I came to this menu and disable all the "avoid."
Pros: Very sensitive.
Able to use a MicroSD card.
Small and rugged.
Cosn:
Wish to be able to scroll back and forth, so far you can scroll forward only.
To test the unit, press the rocker switch down and turn it on. To see additional info, get to the computer trip, then press the rocker switch up, right, down then left.
In my opinion, this unit is more advanced than those for your dashboard. Of course, you don't have voice guidance, traffic update, etc.
Usually, I come to Amazon.com to read reviews, some are very extensive. In my opinion, people that write reviews here are more mature in most aspects, so these are my two cents.
Name: Teacher
Location: Derry, NH
Date: 2008-07-06
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Garmin Vista HCX is a great GPS
Comment: I spent a great deal of time selecting this unit. I wanted a GPS that had the following features. This unit made the cut on all the features except for the manual/documentation.
- turn by turn routing
- compass - magnetic and GPS
- bright color screen that provided clear detail
- ability to handle both land and marine maps and usage
- high sensitivity and high accuracy
- as water proof as possible
- over 500 waypoints along with at least 10 routes. It has 1000 and 20.
- reversible routes / tracks
- time to waypoint and to final destination
- distance to waypoint and to final destination
- eta to final destination
- needed to be good in the car and superb on the water.
- proximity alarms
- altimeter
- strong back light
- at least 12 hours of power from one set of batteries (easily meets this requirement with several hours to spare)
- needed to accept power from my iGo power supply
- several different screen color displays to get the most out of available light / too much light / not enough light conditions
- lots of options in terms of numerical data displays
- ability to have road and topo maps loaded at the same time
- reasonably easy to master (It is easy to use.)
- USB connection to the PC
- enough memory to store road maps for the entire country and Canada along with topo maps for at least two non-contiguous areas (it did it with a bit of room to spare using a 2 GB memory card)
- good to excellent manual (This is the area it failed miserably in. But, the unit is easy to use and there are lots of tips and tricks on the web to get you started. So, I let this one go in terms of the decision process.)
- under $300 for the unit and under $500 when I added in the maps and optional stuff like a car windshield mount. I went first class on the maps and the mount and still made it.
Cons
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1) The manual is next to worthless. It explains the buttons but does not detail how to use them. It does not show the all the sub-screens underneath the buttons/selections. If you are a first time GPS user you will need to buy a book or Google the tips and tricks along with the GPS basics. I have used a GPS and I just spent a few hours playing through all the screens and took notes on how to get back to the features / selections I know I would regularly need. I good manual would have made this extra work unnecessary.
2) The manual is next to worthless. (I won't type this in any more.) Garmin could and should do much better given the cost and the sophistication of this unit.
3) The car power supply sold by Garmin is way over priced. I chose not to use it. Instead I bought a USB adapter for my iGo power supply and used one of the short USB cords I had lying around. Cost $10 bucks and works perfectly for me.
Name: Denis J. EVANS
Location: Canberra, ACT Australia
Date: 2008-01-03
Customer Rating: -
Summary: simply the best hiking GPS
Comment: For many years I used a Garmin eTrex Vista. It was sooo reliable. So when it came to upgrading (I wanted a USB rather than serial port, data card for mapping and waypoints) I chose Garmin eTrex Vista Hcx. This is an amazing GPS for hikers and trekkers. It has everything. Long battery life, very high sensitivity (it works inside my house or my work office), fast satellite acquisition, memory card for detailed maps, excellent track log facility, small size, light (180gm inc. protective jacket and Li batteries), waterproof and easy to use (I still haven't used the manual). The main problem with GPS is that none of the manufacturers offer proper support for Apple Macintosh computers. However Mac GPS Pro is excellent. The cost is reasonable $49.99(US). This software also makes it easy to see your tracks and waypoints on Google Earth!
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A couple of months later:
OK, the sensitivity of this little GPS is AMAZING. Tested under tree cover - no problems. It's a sensitive as my in-car GPS (Nuvi 660)!! V fast acquisition times. These two items are really important for GPS's. And of course it loads maps. These vary in quality and are not related to an individual GPS - the maps run on many models.
About the only thing that is missing from this little device is Blue Tooth or Wfi. If it had (switchable) Wifi, there would be no effect on battery life (which is fantastic!) and they could waterproof it even better. I have my doubts about the weather sealing around the USB socket!
But still, I am blown away by this units power, sensitivity and endurance. Simply amazing.
Name: Photoangler
Location: Northern Illinois
Date: 2008-08-30
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Great all-purpose GPS
Comment: I purchased this GPS to use both on my bicycle and in my car. I also own a 60Cs from Garmin.
The Vista HCx is a better GPS in every way. It is smaller, the screen is higher resolution (though physically slightly smaller), the arrangement of buttons is better for one-handed operation, battery life is at least twice as long. The Vista also has a micro-SD slot which is a great feature. The 60Cs has 64MB of memory, enough to load say northern Illinois and part of souther Wisconsin. I put a 2GB micro-SD card in the Vista and was able to load maps of the entire U.S. and Canada. No more switching map sets before long trips!
The high-sensitivity receiver is great, it receives signals and maps my position while sitting on my couch! I used the 60Cs a couple years ago on a bike trip and found it lost reception when the trees extended over the road or trail. I rode the same route this summer with the Vista HCx and reception was perfect.
I have the City Select maps for North America which I loaded on my 60Cs. Garmin allows their maps to be loaded onto two devices so I was able to load and activate the maps for the Vista.
I also purchased the bicycle handlebar mount for this unit and it works great as well (though a bit pricey for what it is).
Currently I have only one complaint about the Vista HCx. The backlight does not automatically stay on when running on external power. You must press the On/Off button briefly to activate the backlight. With the 60Cs if the GPS was running on external power the backlight automatically came on and stayed on. This is a minor complaint but since it could be fixed with a firmware update it would be a nice feature to include.
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