Bushnell 363500 Onix 350 GPS with sensors Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got the Onix350 during a wootoff for about $65. The hardware is excellent.The software is incredibly bad.The pros and cons are below:

Pros:

The GPS system is extremely sensitive and unlike the majority of GPS systems, can acquire satellite signals below deep forest canopies.I had read about this capability before I bought the unit, and choose it for that reason.I live in the middle of the woods and wanted a unit that would work while hiking in the heavily wooded areas near my home.In fact, the unit acquires signals inside my house which is surrounded by trees.I am writing this review in my living room, and the unit has acquired seven satellites with three in the green (strong signal).My garmin unit cannot acquire a single satellite when I am inside the house.I do not know whether this is due to the electronics or a good antennae, but it matters not ... this unit has superb signal acquisition.

The display is very good but not outstanding.It is plenty bright, but the resolution is only medium.But the color is excellent and the ability to overlay either topographic maps or aerial maps is a very nice feature.But you will have to pay for these maps, and you should count on adding at least another $20 to collect enough maps to make this unit useful (see below).

Cons:

The web software is terrible.The Bushnell web site is disorganized and seemingly designed to prevent the user from getting to where they want to be.For simply registering the product, you get four free downloads which is enough to get you around your neighborhood, and thats it.The maps are small in area coverage, and hard to download. You will need to use trial and error to get what you want, so only having four free downloads is a tease and an insult.

If you are running Vista, then I recommend you buy another GPS.The combination of Vista paranoia and the Bushnell web site makes it nearly impossible to download maps.There is no Mac support, so forget about that as well.But I was able to download maps using Windows XP, although the process was convoluted and tiresome.The instructions are obscure, and often incorrect.Downloading maps to the GPS is a three or four step process, involves multiple windows, great patience and adequate karma.You will be cussing out the software engineers who designed this junk well before you have achieved success.I am guessing the software development was farmed out to Siberian potato farmers without access to computers or heat.

Summary:

Great hardware, terrible software.Count on adding another $20 for map downloads.This will give you unlimited downloads for 90 days.I paid $30 for one year of "free" map downloads, but in retrospect, the extra $10 may have been a mistake.I will lose patience long before 90 days are up.Nevertheless, after you suffer the indignation of dealing with the obscure and obscenely incompetent map download system, you will have an excellent GPS that works well in the deep forest.I know of no other GPS with comparable signal acquisition capabilities.

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Product Description:
Combining satellite photography and navigational aids on a single screen, the Bushnell Onix 350 GPS navigator lets you plot your course by comparing your surroundings with the pictures in your palm. As a result, you can easily find your way back to the car whether you're hunting or hiking in the woods. The Onix 350 works by layering a satellite photo, topographical map, compass, and other navigational aids on the extra-large, 3.5-inch full-color LCD display. Because you see all the images and aids on the same screen, you eliminate all of the guesswork of GPS navigation. This means you don't have to worry about taking a wrong turn or making an "educated" guess that the tree patch on the left is supposed to be there. The Onix 350 also includes barometric pressure and temperature sensors, helping you predict changing weather conditions. In general, lower pressure brings inclement weather, while high pressure brings stability and clear skies. And fishermen will love the unit's Solunar Edge technology, which provides sun and moon tables to determine optimal animal and fish activity times.
Other details include a SafeTrack battery conservation mode that helps the Onix 350 run for up to 30 hours; a user-friendly interface that provides easy access to all of the features and controls; a self-calibrating three-axis digital compass; an embedded 512 MB microSD card; and a rugged, waterproof rubber armor.
Specifications:

Receiver: SiRF Star III 20-channel GPS
Navigation type: TruView screen layering
Screen type: Full-color LCD
Display size: 3.5 inches
Display resolution: 320 x 240
Battery type: Lithium ion
Battery life: Up to 30 hours
Waterproof standard: IPX7
Dimensions: 3.1 by 7 by 0.55 inches (W x H x D)

About Bushnell
Bushnell has been the industry leader in high-performance sports optics for more than 50 years. The company's guiding principle is to provide the highest quality, most reliable, and most affordable sports optics products on the market. Bushnell product lines enhance the enjoyment of every outdoor pursuit, including nature study, hunting, fishing, birding, and stargazing. Indoors, the company's binoculars bring the audience closer to the action in fast-moving sports or the fine arts at theaters and concerts.

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Sonocaddie V300 Color GPS Unit Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I received my Sonocaddie V300 from Amazon last week.The software installation went well on my laptop but created a minor challenge on my desktop.Registration was trivial, with the "free" Eagle membership being automatically granted without having to request it.I immediately downloaded all the courses I normally play, and the process was quite fast.I have used the Sonocaddie on the course, and it is very effective.I especially like knowing the distances to the green even if you are far off the fairway.It agrees quite well with the markers on my home course.I acquired 11 GPS satellites within 5 minutes the first time I powered up the unit.And, it is refreshing not to have a $50 annual fee as in SkyCaddie or a $25 fee for Golflogix (your unit is useless unless you are current in your membership with those companies).I decided it was much more important to see the relative layout of the entire hole, especially for courses not previously played, so I chose the V300 versus other brands.I could not be more pleased.Move quickly to receive the one-time Eagle membership for free - deal expires June 30.

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Product Description:
Utilizing advanced and sophisticated GPS satellite technology, the easy-to-use Sonocaddie V300 calculates the distance from any point on the course to the green or any other target, even without a clear line of sight. Players need to download the particular course--domestic or international--that they will be playing to their V300 via a PC and detailed course information covering every curve, contour, slope, and sandtrap will be at the placed at the golfer's fingertips.

Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but powerful enough to take strokes off your game. Other features built into the Sonocaddie V300 include shot distance measuring and tracking, digital scorecard and game analysis functionality, and personalized course editing and mapping. Shot measuring allows players to leave the driving range behind as you accurately measure the length of individual shots, while the tracking system strings each shot in a round together cumulatively for later review. The unit's digital scorecard and game analysis functionality allows players to toss out their paper scorecard and tiny pencils for good as they keep track of their game digitally and perform an analysis based on pre-determined data points at the end of each round. And although the V300 is designed to download every known aspect of the courses of the world, no course's links are static. This is where its editing and mapping functionality comes in. Whether it's the filling of a bunker, the lengthening of a tee or a removal of a tree, with the V300 players can map, edit and save changes noticed on their favorite fairways right on the spot.
Finally, the unit's memory and optional Sonostar membership club perks allow for all the flexibility that even the most avid of golfers could need. The V300 ships with enough built-in storage space to simultaneously accomadate data on up to 30 courses as well as track 100 rounds and record 100 scorecards. Course data can always be recorded manually, but the V300 also includes 5 free course downloads, with each additional download purchased at either a nominal ala carte rate or with unlimited downloads available when registering your V300 and paying a one-time lifetime Sonostar GPS membership fee*.
Specifications:

The V300's distance calculator.
Size: 4.3 by 2.3 by 1.1 inches (108 by 58.3 by 28.4 mm)
Weight: 140g (4.95 ounces)
Storage: Stores up to 30 golf courses, 100 scorecard
Power: Rechargeable battery, Up to 15 hours
Display: 2.2" High-Resolution Color LCD with backlight
Language support: English
Waterproof: Yes, IPX6
Regulation: CE, FCC, WEEE, RoHS Compliance
Antenna: Built in
Internet connection: Required
Membership: Required*

What's in the Box?
Sonocaddie V300, mini USB Cable, rechargeable battery, user'sguide, belt clip, AC charger adaptor, carry pouch
System Requirements for Course Download

Windows 2000/XP/Vista 32-bit
CD-ROM
Minimum of 512 MB RAM (XP) / 1 GB RAM (Vista)
Minimum of 12 MB of hard disk space

Manufacturer's Warranty
Three months to a one-year extended warranty depending on which Sonostar membership plan chosen. See your user's guide for details.
About Sonostar
Sonostar strives to be leaders in high-quality creation and development of new products. Breakthrough ideas and innovations are what give the company their competitive edge while also being a great developer of technology. Sonostar employs the very best people in research and development engineering; mainly in GPS technology and other related microprocessor products. Sonostar was founded with the vision of creating affordable microprocessor solutions designed to merge advanced technology into sports activities in order to provide players a higher level of performance.
* A Sonostar GPS membership is not required to obtain GPS signals and to manually map locations on courses on your Sonocaddie V300, but to utilize the system's 3D graphics, its more advanced functionality and to download course data you must choose from one of the three optional plans. See your user's guide for details and rates.

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Bushnell Onix400 Waterproof Hiking GPS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is one of those products that can either be a great thing or can be a great disappointment...All dependent on actual need / intended use.

For me, it has been a great product that met my needs.I like to do a lot of camping and hiking in the middle of the woods and all I need from a portable GPS is just the basics.Let me mark locations, get me from the car to the camping site or marked locations and get me back.For this, I don't really need advanced features such as street routing, a POI database filled with restaurants, gas stations, etc. For that, I use the navigation system on my car.

Having said that, pretty much, any of the portable GPS devices meet my requirements but what attracted me to the Onix 400 was the addition of the XM Weather receiver. That extra feature, for me was worth the price as it does come in handy to be able to see when storms are coming, their severity and to be able to estimate roughly when it will be on top of you and how long it will be before it passes once is on top of you.

While the GPS with the Weather feature has been great on my outings, I do have a few complaints, which I did make sure Bushnell knew so that they can improve the product.

1. While XM does seem to work during bad weather provided the device is out on the open, it is useless when one is stuck inside a tent while waiting for the rain to stop.The GPS does have a connector to allow peripheral devices to be connected, including an external antenna, but Bushnell does not offer such an antenna.The closest they have is a headset with an antenna, but is not designed to take the role of a real external antenna. Cable is short and because of it being a headset, I don't believe it will be a good idea to leave it out on the rain for any extended periods of time.

2. The cost of extra batteries.Only Bushnell batteries can be used due to their design.These batteries are not cheap to be able to buy a couple of spares, so one has to trade real time info for battery life. Pretty much, to extend battery life, once you get to where you need to be (Camping Ground),turn the unit off and if the sky shows signs of bad weather approaching, turn it on, wait for the XM signal to update the Weather info, then turn it off again.

For me, this has not been a major issue, as turning the device off is what I would have done anyway with any other portable GPS without XM and turned it back on when on the move.Just thought other users may want to be aware of this.

In summary, if you are looking for a portable GPS specific to outdoor activities and would like to keep an eye on severe weather, this is a GPS for you.

If you want to use it as an MP3 player or for urban door to door navigation...

Have you looked at Tom Tom or Garmin?

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Product Description:
Introducing the world-s first handheld GPS to combine navigational aids, satellite photography and XM weather on a single screen. It shows you the perfect pinchpoint for this wind. And how you should dress for the day. NEXRAD weather data downlinked via XM Weather, layered over a georeferenced satellite map of your location keeps you prepared. It-s all housed in a rubberized defensive armor built to XPX7 waterproof standards, with a high gain SIRF GPS receiver. In your palm.Features: Layer a satellite photo, topo map, compass, navigational aids and XM services on a single screen with TruView Navigation Extra-large 3.5- full color LCD Downloads and displays georeferenced satellite photography Displays XM weather data on the GPS map* XM Satellite radio entertainment including XM sports* SafeTrack battery conservation mode SiRF® GPS receiver Digital compass Embedded 128 micro SD card Rugged rubber armor Waterproof (IPX7 rated) *With XM Satellite subscription

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