Buy the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx for $329.99
The Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx is a great mid-range, hand-held site navigation device. It’s a little heavier than the cheapest or most expensive Garmins, but it still floats, if need be. It comes with a 128 microSD card and is geocaching/game friendly. Compared to your bare bones GPS, you’ll get a barometric altimeter, an electronic compass, turn-by-turn directions, tide tables, a high-sensitivity receiver, which will give you reception even in those remote areas, and custom points of interest.
The Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx retails around $535.70. Compared to the $249 Garmin GPSMAP 60, this upgraded version comes with three important new features. First, the new SiRFSTARIII chip set has received wide acclaim for its ability to beam signals under canopies, around buildings, down into canyons and in typically hard-to-reach places. Secondly, this new Garmin model has traded in the dated internal memory system for a microSD card slot that can be upgraded instead, giving you unlimited storage capacity and the ability to use any new map software that comes out. Thirdly, the 60CSx comes with an electronic compass and barometric altimeter that the GPSMap 60CS doesn’t even have.
There are many pros to the GPSMAP 60CSx. The microSD card with improved storage ensures that your device will be able to load more complex maps and perform valuable auto-routing tasks. If you’re heading over to a European country, then you can simply buy that map set and plug right in easily. You can also download your track logs onto your PC through a USB connection, which can also charge the device. Secondly, the maps are displayed and redrawn much quicker than previous versions. For instance, a map drawn using the Garmin GPSMAP 60CS will be 2.4-2.8 times slower than with the 60CSx! This is important when you’re changing zoom levels, as the details change, and also when you’re scrolling or panning across your map. Older site navigation devices may occasionally show blank screens as you pan across the map, unable to draw in real-time, whereas the newer version can move perfectly. Lastly, the points of interest feature is much better on the 60CSx because you can load as many points as you like onto your SDcard, you can define categories using icons, you can add proximity warnings and you can write longer names, as well as descriptions.
If you’re used to the old GPSMAP 60CS, then you may notice there are some modifications in auto-routing with your new GPSMAP 60CSx. For starters, you’ll notice the newer version calculates a route twice as fast as the old version. In a 140-mile trek with 26 turns, the 60CSx takes 18.8 seconds to route, compared to the 39.4 seconds it took for the 60CS. Additionally, the recalculations if you miss a turn are much faster on the new version too. Some people like turn warnings well in advance, but the 60CSx turn warnings are presented much later. The one true con for this newer version, however, is the battery life. While you’re likely to get 27 hours from your AAs, you’ll still have about 30% less battery life, no matter how conservative you try to be.
Related posts:
- The GPSMAP 60 Has Many Pros site navigation For an affordable grayscale device, the GPSMAP 60 has a few goodies normally only found on more upscale...
- Your Perfect Navigation Solution Is The GPSMAP 276C GPSMAP 276C Considering that some of the Garmin GPS devices for boats can reach $7,000 in price, the GPSMAP 276C...
- What You Can Do With Your GPS Software navigator maps Getting the most out of your GPS navigation system is often a matter of knowing the GPS software....
- Garmin Nuvi 760 Product Review The Garmin Nuvi 760 GPS is an almost unanimous favorite amongst consumers and professional reviewers alike. It comes with all...
