Our day-to-day use of personal GPS units is one of the more astonishing technological fruits of the space race, and has now become commonplace in our everyday lives. Who could have imagined that a small handheld device would be able to communicate with satellites orbiting the earth and triangulate a user’s position to an accuracy of a few meters, making it seem as easy as getting the time from your watch. Even early science fiction couldn’t predict them; instead we saw flying cars, personal rockets, ray guns, and aliens. Who needs those fantastical gadgets anyway, when what really matters is that we are still stuck in traffic, disoriented on a mountain, trying to find that perfect fishing spot, or find that food cache.
In a car, a normal GPS does the trick, providing directions, alternate routes, and possibly advising us with traffic updates, restaurants, and points of interest. But a GPS isn’t really designed to work off of a battery (30 minutes tops!) and certainly not made to be banged and bashed about, get wet, or take photos. To have those capabilities would be science fiction, right?
Enter the latest realm of handheld GPS navigators that can deliver all that and more. We looked at the Magellan’s flagship eXplorist 710 to see just how far technology had come. This isn’t your GPS of old – it packs a 3.2 megapixel digital camera that produced surprisingly good images; a microphone and speaker so you can make notes on the go; and more maps than imaginable, including a set of 2D and 3D topographic maps. Users can create waypoints, keep a record of their tracks, and plot routes from point to point. According to Magellan, the unit boasts “a complete road network in United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Australia and major roads throughout the rest of the world and provides cartographic orientation in almost any location.” With this GPS, you can get lost either accidentally or on purpose, and be sure to find your way back home.
The maps have terrific details, including water sources, trails, elevation changes, and other points of interest. In our testing it proved very accurate with quick location locks, and as a result, it is trustworthy. We used it in the car as a normal GPS unit and it did all that we asked of it, although we would have liked the AAA and Traffic Alerts included as in Magellan’s vehicle series. One small feature that would be a nice addition is the ability to play music MP3’s; presently it will play voice recordings only. The ability to eliminate a MP3 player or iPod/iPhone for music would be welcome on the trail. You can add a Micro SD or SDHC card to expand your memory, and it uses normal AA batteries.
The 3.0-inch touchscreen worked fine, and we liked the ability to program the two physical buttons for features we used on a regular basis. The unit ships with a full complement of maps, however, you can purchase special maps such as Navionics for mariners. This is a nice extension of the unit’s capability and a great alternative to specialized units that are hard-wired into boats. All this wouldn’t mean much if it were a fragile, “only on a nice day” device. According to Magellan it can “withstand intense use, accidental impact and immersion in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes (IPX-7).” While we did drop it a few times and get it wet, we weren’t ready to dunk it for a half-hour to test that specification! It is solidly built, and we never had any concerns for its durability. Geocaching is one of the markets for this device, and it has every feature a serious aficionado would desire.
There are less expensive portable GPS units, including several from Magellan, but none can touch the feature set of this unit. Since many folks will use this as a vehicle GPS, the included set of city maps saves on the purchase of maps required of less expensive units, a worthy consideration. If you or someone you care about is serious about moving around in the wilderness or city, or is a geocache fan, then we believe this unit would make a delightful gift. The Magellan’s eXplorist 710 is a Mac Edition Radio Holiday Pick!
Harris Fogel, posted 12/23/2011
For more information on the Magellan eXplorist 710 visit: www.magellanmaps.com
