Product Round-up Experiencing the great outdoors is fundamentally about escaping the trappings of modern life – leaving all the gadgets and gizmos we carry around at home – right?
Well, maybe not – as there’s a mountain of technology ready to enhance, rather than detract from your chosen outdoor pursuit, however extreme or placid. To document and record; advise on progress; predict conditions or vitally save your neck when it all goes wrong, there’s a gadget that’ll do the trick.
Below is a selection of trek tech for a huge sweep of activities, whether you get your outdoor kicks all year-round or just in the milder months. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The Explorist 710 is top of the line in Magellan’s new x10 series of multi-purpose GPS devices and offers preloaded topographical maps, turn-by-turn navigation, geocaching, tracking and a host of other features in one handy robust unit.
Take a hike: Magellan’s Explorist 710
The first thing you will notice about the 710 is how solid device it feels. Indeed, I have absolutely no doubt that it will withstand the rigours of the outdoor life because I accidentally dropped mine down a 15ft scree embankment into a stream, with no harm done. The device is officially IPX-7 rated which means it’s waterproof to a depth of 1m for 30 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Contour has been making a lot of noise recently about the new wireless viewfinder feature for its HD range of helmet cameras. With these units being necessarily small, the idea is that the viewfinder bulk is taken care of by using your phone‘s display, with a Bluetooth connection streaming the pics and video. Simply download a free app and you’re all set.
Environmentally friendly: Contour’s GPS camcorder
The concept is great, however, the current implementation is for iOS devices only, with Android support on the horizon. The cameras themselves (GPS version tested) are impressive pieces of kit. The brushed-metal enclosure slots tightly onto the supplied fixings including the ingenious goggle-mount; skiers and off-road bikers will be most impressed. A few more bundled mounts would have been nice, though the range available separately for your chosen type of extreme, daredevil activity is quite staggering. Read the rest of this entry »
Review TomTom’s entry level Start satnavs have long been the default choice for anyone wanting a reliable but basic PND. Now the range has been given a wash and brush up with the release of some new 4.3in screen devices with prices starting at £130.
Baby driver: TomTom’s Start 20
The design of the Start 20 addresses a couple of long-standing bug bears with many PND users, namely windscreen clutter and suction ring marks. The new integrated ball-and-socket mounting will let you stick the device either the usual way up or upside down, with the screen flipping through 180 degrees depending on orientation.
The advantage of this is that you can mount the unit on your dashboard as well as your windscreen. Ideally, to use it on the dash you need to cough up £5 for a pack of two self-adhesive mounting rings but as long as there is a convenient flat surface, you don’t actually need them. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The 687 sits at the top of Mio’s new range of Spirit satnavs and is a good illustration of exactly how much navigational kit you can expect to get for £150 these days. For your money you get a 5in, 480 x 272 screen, voice command, Bluetooth, road maps of 44 European countries, free TMC traffic data and some rather handy navigational niceties.
Streetwise: Mio’s Spirit 687
Voice command is one the Mio’s ‘big ideas’ on the 687 but the system suffers from the need to be activated from the touch screen, which slightly defeats the object of the exercise. Garmin’s launch method of simply yelling “voice command” at its PNDs is a rather more sound approach. Read the rest of this entry »
