The new Garmin Oregon family of rugged GPS devices is available now on Amazon for delivery in “one to two months”. These devices thankfully have completely done away with the confusing array of buttons I was never able to completely understand on my prior GPS (I’m a slow learner). Instead they promise a ruggedized touch screen interface. Reason for using these instead of your cell phone GPS? Two words – (a) trees and (b) accuracy. Your cell phone GPS won’t grab an accurate signal in the middle of the woods. These will. There are 4 models in the Amazon offering:

- Oregon 200: Worldwide basemap only, 24 MB memory, no unit-to-unit transfer
- Oregon 300: Basemap, wireless transfer, 850 MB
- Oregon 400t: Basemap, Topo map, wireless transfer, 850 MB
- Oregon 400c: Basemap, Bluechart g2 coastal charts, wireless transfer, 850 MB
- Oregon 400i: Basemap, Inland water maps, wireless transfer, 850 MB

Here’s a quick video tour of the Garmin Oregon (complete with 1970s-is new age soundtrack).

From the company’s press release on July 10, 2008:

“The Oregon’s vibrant screen is responsive to the touch of your finger,
yet resistant to the forces of nature,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice
president of worldwide sales. “Combining the touchscreen interface of our
iconic automotive devices with the preloaded features of the acclaimed
Colorado series makes this the ultimate outdoor handheld.”

Easy to learn and simple to use, the waterproof Oregon features a
high-sensitivity GPS receiver, preloaded mapping and a high-resolution, color
3-inch screen that reacts as users tap or drag through menus and options. On a
mountain or an ocean, satellite reception is even faster than before thanks to
Garmin’s new HotFix(TM) feature, which automatically calculates and stores
critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly
calculate a position without waiting for data collection from the satellites.

The Oregon 400t gives hikers preloaded U.S. topographic maps in
state-of-the-art 3D elevation perspective. The Oregon 400i offers anglers
shoreline details, depth contours and boat ramps for U.S. inland lakes and
navigable rivers. The Oregon 400c is a saltwater specialist, providing chart
coverage for the coastal U.S. and Bahamas. The Oregon 300 features a worldwide
basemap with shaded relief. The Oregon 200 provides a basemap that can be
easily supplemented with additional mapping or charts for your adventures on
land or at sea.

Garmin knows its users have many interests, so the Oregon lets you
customize five profiles — automotive, marine, recreation, fitness or
geocaching — making the most beneficial features for each activity the
easiest to access through quick shortcuts.

The Oregon series plays well with others, as the 400t, 400c, 400i and 300
allow for wireless exchange of tracks, waypoints and geocaches between other
Oregon units and Colorado models. Each of these models is equipped with a
barometric altimeter and electronic compass and is compatible with Garmin’s
heart-rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors.

Geocaching is even easier with the Oregon, which quickly downloads online
information for every cache, such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and
description, so that you don’t have to tote printouts with you. Cachers and
collectors will be hunting for a limited-edition geocoin minted to commemorate
the launch of the Oregon series. Oregon users can experience Wherigo(TM), the
newest GPS-based activity from Groundspeak, the people who made geocaching a
worldwide phenomenon. Wherigo (pronounced “where I go”) is a toolset for
creating and completing adventure games, historical tours or other innovative
activities in the real world.

Weighing only 6.8 ounces with 16 hours of life from two AA batteries, the
Oregon has a microSD card slot that is ideal for loading additional MapSource
detail. For more about the Oregon’s features, pricing and availability, go to
http://www.garmin.com and http://www.garmin.blogs.com.

Garmin Oregon 400i on Amazon

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