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While companies like TomTom and Navman take the spotlight on GPS gizmos, the lesser-known Magellan is taking the GPS navigator out of the car and into the wild with a range of weatherproof, outdoor navigators.
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But then again, Magellan is owned by the company that also owns Navman, so the distinction between companies is a little vaguer.
They’ve taken this GPS legacy though and thrown it into a range of outdoor-optimised handheld devices in its eXplorist series, due out this August.
The hand-held devices sport screens from 2.2 to 3 inches, with functionality for both in-car navigation and handy tools for the great outdoors – but more of the latter.
These include geocaching, one metre waterproofing, fishing and other marine maps, topographical maps, compasses and altimeters, route tracking, integrated mic and camera, and the typical turn-by-turn navigation road map.
The units opt for AA Alkaline batteries over Lithium-Ion batteries seen in most in-car devices, housing a ‘suspend mode’ for energy saving.
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One of the clever additives to the GPS genre here are waypoints and ‘breadcrumbs’ for planning and tracking back along routes through the devices. Up to 2000 waypoints can be created and stored on the device and the ‘record active track’ function lets users set out with their device on and then follow their steps back along the same path.
Higher up models in the food chain like the eXplorist 510, 610 and 710 feature an inbuilt 3.2MP camera, microphone and speakers to capture and share moments from your trekking adventures.
While these three models feature 3 inch touch screens, there are two programmable hard buttons for quick access (or for users with gloves). There’s also a one touch menu for 12 bookmarked favourite functions on the touch screen.
The 610 and 710 exclusively house 3-axis compasses and barometric altimeters that relay data to users even when away from a GPS signal.
You can find the full RRP list below:
eXplorist GC $199
eXplorist 310 $299
eXplorist 510 $499
eXplorist 610 $699
eXplorist 710 $749
