Garmin Etrex Legend GPS Receiver
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $149.99 You Save: $50.00 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $72.99 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin Etrex Legend GPS Receiver
Customer Review: Good little GPS... what's up with the serial cable??
Summary: 4 Stars
OK first off... this is 2006... what kind of new electronics uses a serial cable? Lets get real Garmin!
Now I should note that I downloaded EasyGPS and loaded waypoints for Geocaching through the serial cable without a hitch and zero configuration. Nice little program.
Good news is you can buy a converter which will allow you to use USB for your laptop. This cost me $13 bucks. Do a google and you should find several options.
A friend of mine has a Vista. You should know that the legend and the Vista use the *SAME* antenna, so you are not upgrading your reception if you buy a more expensive model. Our reception and navigation was identical. The higher end ones really don't do much for usability. They only give you some "niffty" features like knowing the sunset time, elevation, etc. Really these aren't things that will help you navigate. Color doesn't seem to be useful either (at least as far as geocaching goes)
The backlight is great at night, no problems whatsoever seeing the screen.
The only reason you would want to upgrade from the etrex is if you want a GPS for road navigation OR to get a better antenna.
I have had this GPS in very thick cover in PA and in my car and have never had a problem with getting satellites.
So in my opinion if your looking at the vista or this go with this, if you want to spend extra cash then get something with a better antenna.
Customer Review: Great for everything
Summary: 4 Stars
This GPS would have got 5 stars but I am a bit leary when it comes to the engenearing of a product. I dont like Cameras that have that flimsey auto shut and open lens cover and with this GPS I cant say I really trust the joystick design. But I bought it for it's name and hope my trust in them pays off.
As for its features. I would have to say 5 STARS all the way!
I have not been out of the city with it yhet but in the city the worst reception I have had was off by 30 feet. This awsome toy tells you ohw fast you are walking, running, and/or driving. In my truck it is only off by 2 mph.. It tells you everything you can think of. If you like... It will tell you how long you have been sitting on the can.
I dont know if it is possable to love a toy but I plan on getting all my hiking friends and evin family one sort of GPS or another. My parents dont know it yhet but I am going to get them one for there car. Because when it comes to them taking or giving directions it is like the US finding Ben Laden. You think something 5 blocks away and 2 turns would be easy directions to take. But it takes like one houre to explain it to them. hehehe Got to love parents.
By the way... The reason I call it a toy is because my grandpaw is a pilot from WWII and he made it a point to teach me how to not only read a map but a compass and a topographic map. So a GPS to me is just a awsome toy.
Customer Review: Bad Recption? Learn How To Use It!
Summary: 5 Stars
The eTrex Legend is one great unit. It's easy to use and despite what too many people here say, it gets great reception, even under heavy tree cover. The key is to hold it the way the manufacturer recommends, which is flat, face up, pointing at the sky. If you hang the GPS around your neck (as one reviewer did), or let it dangle at your side, you will lose reception. Another key is to turn it on well before you enter the woods so it knows where the sattelites are. The latter is true for all GPS units.
I use my Legend frequently for geocaching and hiking in the dense, northeast forests and rarely lose reception and those few times I do, I regain it immediately.
As far as other features. It's compact and easy to use. The one handed operation is nice, though it's designed to be held in the left hand which can be annoying. I guess the point was to keep your right hand available for other tasks.
The base map is pretty useless, which is the case for all GPS's that I've tried, Garmin, or Magellan. But download the Mapsource Topo or Mapsource Metroguide and you get detailed maps which are incredibly useful for finding your way around. The 8 megs of memory is good if you don't travel a lot. It should hold enough maps to cover 50 miles in every direction, but if you travel a lot, you might want the extra memory of the Vista.
I highly recommend this unit for someone who wants an inexpensive, mapping GPS.Customer Review: Not so great- Serial ONLY, poor battery life, no MAC Support
Summary: 1 Stars
This product basically does what it claims. That is about it. Any maps you may want are EXTRA. There are ZERO maps inlcuded. The ones native to the device are so high level as to be useless on a practical basis.
The device chews up batteries so fast as to be practically useless on long trips UNLESS you are willing to tote around tons of AA batteries.
It is currently RS-232 Serial ONLY. There are also no plans for Bluetooth support. Furthermore, there are NO plans to offer a direct USB interface.
If you want use a Garmin on a Mac, then you are on your own. Garmin support explicitly stated they have NO plans to support Mac interfaces.
If you want to do Bluetooth AND MAC, the only product available is DeLorme. However, it is not a standalone handheld device. You will need a Palm or other handheld pocketPC device or laptop to view your way.
The GPS device market is way behind the times, and you will have to put up with it. Believe me, I spent a LONG time investigating the products on the market. They are expensive, all have various compatibility and wiring interface issues.
If you do not have a business need with a good expense budget for all the extra software and expensive proprietary wiring needed to make the device useful, I would definately pass on this device.
Bryan Grant
bryan_grant@runbox.com
Customer Review: Not bad, but...
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this for my dad as a gift, and I am a bit disappointed. The unit is not very intuitive. Once you work with it for about 1-2 hours, you can figure out *most* of the fuctionality. The instruction book helps a little bit, but...
PROS:
good rubberized body
lightweight
easy to use buttons one-handed
once it finds satellites, keeps them usually
CONS:
8 mb smaller than you think! Holds about 2 states worth
you can set a 'route' to find an address, but I still haven't figured out how to tell if you are *ON* that route!
battery life pretty good
long start-up time
Overall, it's not bad for a lower-end GPS unit, in an area where you can spend over $1000 for a good one. This does the basics, and definitely has base maps that are reasonably extensive for larger areas. It is weak in small towns, etc. I got around some of the maps by putting in our home town, destination town, and then relying on base maps for data in between. Also, if you want to hang it off your rear-view mirror, think again: it is top heavy and turns upside down.
If you want a basic GPS unit, this is for you. If you want a detailed tell me to turn left here color bonanza, try something else. If you want a moderate level GPS, this is not quite it.
GOOD LUCK!