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Handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers are GPS enabled devices that are portable and are adapted for mobile and outdoor activity such as hiking, biking and even some utility mapping. Suffice to say that even some professionals still find them handy and accurate to a specification. They come in many brand names, with many specifications but are generally classified by price into low, mid and top range models. They can also be classified by function into mapping grade, biking, hiking and marine.
These devices have seen a massive improvement in their design, hardware and software specifications. Many of the leading brands such as Magellan and Garmin have gone ahead to develop cloud based platforms as well as imagery download capabilities in their mid-priced ranges. In addition, the brands have led aggressive marketing to promote the appeal of these devices to the less professional and recreational users.
Mapping grade handheld GPS devices usually come with four standard functions namely-Waypoint, Route, Track and Navigation. These functions give the user the tools to represent real life features properly as well as find his or her way around. They come with a base map and enables the user to capture points, lines and calculate area features and view on a map. They store the data that is captured on the field, with some mid-priced ranges able to store 1000 units of data outside of the memory card. Basically the degree and sophistication of functions drive the price tag.
My favourite handheld tool for a while had been the Garmin GPSMAP 78s. It has a rugged feel and a good sized screen, but it is now way behind in the trend of things today. I got a Garmin Dakota 20 recently and it sports a larger screen,touchscreen and has an interface that is easier (at least by me) to input data. In everything, best of all is the price because for some of the power it packs, it comes at a low to mid-price range of between 180 to 220 dollars.
Nowadays, top range handheld GPS receivers are bundled with a variety of additional high tech software and hardware capabilities such as inbuilt cameras, health and ergonomic monitors, cloud based connections, internet sharing and so on. They could cost anything from 800 to 1500 dollars.
Handheld GPS devices are outdoor tools so they are made to be rugged, float on water and weather resistant. Some are equipped with marine charts and this is normally indicated in the marketing prose.
One of the great things about handheld GPS is the ability to download your data after working on a trip, hike or even serious professional activities. Most of them come with downloading USB cables and proprietary interface software. We will choose a later post to talk more about downloading and uploading GPS data.
Hope you have gotten that bit of basic information on handheld GPS receiver units. Let us have your comments please
Next post, we debate the myths and facts behind the Handheld GPS receiver!!!
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