This week, Garmin announced that a series of their older on the trail GPS receivers are discontinued.
Many of these models have been around for many years and have older, slower technology. However, there were a few surprises for this Examiner.
The GPS that I consider the standard for a low cost. entry level to geocaching is the eTrex. This model is used by many volunteer organizations to introduce geocaching to its membership. I know of youth groups who have purchased many of these receivers due to the low average cost of $80 retail. I suspect that the explosion of inexpensive smartphone applications let to the sunset of this model.
Other models that reached the end of life are the Colorado 400 series GPS receivers. These models are Garmin's first attempt at the next generation of clear, readable maps and quick bootup of teh receivers on the trail. This model had a lot of firmware issue early on and gained a reputation of being less than reliable. The successor models Oregon and Dakota have been well received.
What this means to you is expect heavy markdowns at your favorite retail establishment. If you can live with older technology, you could pick up a new GPSr for a song. Amazon currently has the Garmin Colorado 400t Handheld GPS Unit with U.S. Topographic Preloaded Maps available for $294, half-off the original $600 MSRP.
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More information on geocaching is found on the Centennial State Geocaching Podcast
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