Garmin eTrex Vista C

Much more than just a color upgrade to Vista

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Nov 6, 2004 | 9 out of 10 found this Garmin eTrex Vista C review helpful

Pros: Very readable screen; fast USB interface, better reception and battery life than the old Vista

Cons: Screen layout isn't the best; USB connection is daunting for Macs

I don't know why they call it "Vista C," it should be called by a different name since it's so different from "Vista." The only similarities are that both are GPS units with capability for downloading maps, built-in compas...s and barometric altimeter. The biggest advantage of the "C" is that infinitely easier to read than monochrome screen of the Vista. I always found it hard to distinguish between roads, water features, topo lines, etc. in monochrome. Also, with the USB rather than serial port, map data bases download much much faster (like 20 times faster!). There seems to be much better satellite reception with the C, it even works indoors in wood-frame houses!. Map re-drawing, page changing, etc. is much faster with the C. Supposedly the battery life is supposed to be longer but I can't confirm that yet.There are a few downsides however. The screen is wider but not as tall as eTrex Vista, and data fields at top of map page have huge numbers/letters, so a lot of screen space is lost, and there is no way to change the font size (though you can control the font size on the map itself). The USB connection is a nightmare for Mac/Virtual PC users like me. It works ONLY if you start the Mac under OS 9, which is possible with my 3 year old Mac but not on newer Macs. With my old Vista (not C) with the serial port, using a Keyspan serial to USB adapter it worked fine on Virtual PC 6 / Mac OS X /Windows 2000 except for long map downloads where it would always choke after about 5 - 10 MB. Finally there a lot of features of marginal value - whom is going to play the games on this device??? Read more Less