Garmin Dakota 10

The Garmin Dakota 10 is a smaller version of Garmin’s successful Oregon models. The Dakotas appear poised to replace the eTrex series, bringing all of the Oregon’s touch screen goodness while retaining the eTrex’s small form factor, light weight and long battery life.
Both units in the two-model Dakota series sport a 2.6” screen. Neither model comes with pre-loaded topo maps, but both can accommodate the many free topo maps available for Garmin units, Garmin custom maps and the forthcoming BirdsEy  imagery.

The Dakota 10 is the entry-level model, but is still an awesome unit, thanks to the aforementioned mapping capabilities, it’s touch screen and paperless geocaching features.

TomTom XXL 540TM

The XXL 540TM World Traveler Edition adds maps of Europe

Despite the higher product number, the XXL 550TM gives up quite a few options with its simplified interface, but still gives you lifetime maps and traffic in a 5″ package

The TomTom XXL 540M is identical to the XXL 540TM, except it leaves off the lifetime traffic

Meanwhile, you’ll give up both lifetime map updates and traffic with the TomTom XXL 540-S

Or keep the lifetime maps and traffic and give up a bit of screen size with the 4.3″ TomTom XL 340TM

A PDF version of the TomTom XXL 540TM owners manual

Want to see how the XXL 540TM compares to other units? Check out our TomTom comparison chart

There are several good TomTom message forums:

• yourNAV’s TomTom forums
• GpsPasSion’s TomTom message forum
• A U.S.-based TomTom forum

The official TomTom XXL 540 series web page

Garmin Oregon 450t

The Garmin Oregon 450t is one of the newest members of the touchscreen Oregon family, featuring the latest improvements such as better visibility, a tri-axial compass, custom dashboards, advanced track navigation features and the ability to load custom maps and BirdsEye aerial imagery.

• The Oregon 550t adds a 3.2 MP geotagging camera
• Going the other direction, dropping down to the Oregon 450 you’ll lose the pre-loaded topos (see the next section for reasons to buy this instead of the 450t!)
• With the Oregon 400t, you’ll go back to an earlier generation (less legible) screen and you’ll get a standard electronic compass
• To see how the Oregon 450t stands up against other Garmin models, check out my Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart.

Garmin eTrex Venture HC

The Garmin eTrex Venture HC is the entry-level mapping receiver in Garmin's eTrex H-series lineup. With a high-sensitivity receiver for superior reception under canopy, a bright color screen, and the ability to load topo maps (purchased separately), this is an excellent backcountry GPS.
The Venture HC has 24 MB of memory, and will accommodate 500 waypoints, 50 routes and 10 saved tracks.

The Summit HC is identical except that it adds a barometric altimeter and electronic compass

The primary differences between the Venture HC and the Legend HCx are twofold — the Legend HCx has an expandable micro-SD memory card slot instead of on-board memory; it is also routable, allowing you to generate turn-by-turn directions when optional highway maps are loaded

Going the other direction in features, the monochrome Garmin eTrex H cannot accept maps and, unlike other eTrex units, doesn't come with a cable for transferring data between the GPS and your computer; it also lacks the click-stick of the other H-series models, making for a less user-friendly interface

To see how the Venture HC stands up against other Garmin models, check out my Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart

Garmin nuvi 3790LMT

One of the first things you notice with the 3700 series is just how thin they are. You can see this in the image below, comparing it to my nuvi 765T. Also note the standard micro-USB connection (a cable is included to allow you connect it to the USB port on your computer). Micro-USB connections are becoming quite common as PNDs and mobile phones get thinner and thinner.

The capacitive glass display is beautiful, but is quite the fingerprint magnet; of course, these don’t really show much unless the unit is off. It is very bright, even in full sun. I’ve always found the nuvi series

Also new is the built-in accelerometer, allowing the display to rotate and be viewed in portrait or landscape mode, as seen below. At left you see junction view, which comes up in split screen mode when in portrait orientation. To the right is the map view, giving you a peek at 3D terrain on the 3790LMT. to have the brightest screens of any portable navigators, but at certain angles this model makes my 765T looked washed out.

Hands on with the Garmin GPSMAP 62s

The Garmin GPSMAP 62s brings a long-awaited update to the fabled and much-loved GPSMAP 60CSx, which has reigned supreme as the gold standard handheld GPS for more than four years. During that time, Garmin experimented with new interfaces, first with the Colorado series, and later with the Oregon and Dakota lines. These have been fine-tuned through many software updates, adding things like paperless geocaching and the ability to add custom maps and aerial imagery.

With the 62 series (and the boater friendly companion 78 series, which shares the same interface), Garmin has married the best features of the 60/76 models, with many of the advantages of the Oregon line.
With transflective TFT screens, the greater the pixel density, the less light that can be reflected back to the user. In order to maintain the bright screen found on the 60/76 series, Garmin left the resolution (160 x 240 pixels) alone. Screen size remains unchanged too, at 1.6 x 2.2”. The 62 and 78 series do enjoy an increased range of colors that can be displayed (65,000 vs. 256 in the 60/76 series). The result is a bright display, not quite as large or as high resolution as the Oregon series, but with much better visibility in a wide range of conditions. I definitely noticed the lower resolution, but these are the tradeoffs you make. The only time the screen seems cramped to me is when I have a dashboard showing on the map screen (discussed more below).

Garmin nuvi 1450

5” screen

Very thin

Multi-destination routing

Lane assist with junction view

Speed limit display

Trip log display

Compatible with CityXplorer maps’ enhanced pedestrian navigation features

Customizable fields on map screen

Quick access to previously entered cities and street names

Visually warns when speeding

The 1450 is an excellent unit, but it brings only incremental changes to the nuvi line. At 0.6”, it is (along with the nuvi 12xx and 13xx series) the thinnest GPS on the market. The luxurious 5” screen is very nice, but a 4.3” screen is more than adequate for most folks.
Many of the 1450’s features are also found on the nuvi 7×5 series. As a result, I can’t see what’s going to drive sales, unless you are interested in the pedestrian navigation features.