Handheld GPS Comparison


	Email Updates Sign up now to our occasional alerts. Get new speed camera database releases, hot topics, news and reviews. Enter Your Email (for our eyes only & one click unsubscribe)


	Search Tip To search any page press Control and F Search 200,000 Pages Search News Search Forums


	Help Registration Subscription Speed Cameras Contact Pocket GPS


	Members Area (Speed Camera Warnings FREE with Subscription) Subscribe Now Speed Cameras Submit Cameras Member Forums Free Competition Member Discounts Your Account


	Public Forums Forums Log in to Post Private Messages Your Account Register to Post


	GPS Central About Pocket GPS Contact Pocket GPS Downloads Events Event Blogs Speed Cameras Stolen GPS Register Stories Archive Submit News GPS Related FAQs Site Map


	Points of Interest Download POIs Submit POIs POIs POI-Sync


	Copyright & Terms � Terms & Privacy


	Bookmark us Now! Bookmark us (add to favorites) by right clicking here

Handheld GPS Comparison

04th May 2003

Article by Dave Burrows

There are so many handheld GPS Receivers out on the market, it's starting to become very difficult to find the wood from the threes. Most of the receivers are of similar specification, but some can be quite different in price, so we've tried to bring together the most popular handheld GPS Receivers and compare the complete manufacturer specifications. You can also read the review on any of these GPS Receivers if a review has been written by clicking on the Read Review link under each GPS Receiver.


	Magellan Meridian GPS	Magellan Meridian Colour	Magellan Meridian Gold	Magellan Meridian Marine
Review	Read Review	Read Review	Read Review	Read Review
Basemap	2mb cities/highways	16mb cities/highways	16mb cities/highways	16mb cities/highways
Number of Screens	7	9	7	7
Position Update	1 sec	1 sec	1 sec	1 sec
TTFF Cold	<2 mins	<2 mins	<2 mins	<2 mins
TTFF Warm	<1 min	<1 min	<1 min	<1 min
TTFF Hot	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs
Max Velocity	951 mph	951 mph	951 mph	951 mph
Weight	8 oz / 227gm	8 oz / 227gm	8 oz / 227gm	8 oz / 227gm
Display Size	2.2in x 1.75in	2.2in x 1.55in	2.2in x 1.75in	2.2in x 1.75in
Display Resolution	120 x 160	120 x 160	120 x 160	120 x 160
Colour Display ?	Grayscale	High-Colour	Grayscale	Grayscale
Backlit Display	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Antenna	Quad Helix	Quad Helix	Quad Helix	Quad Helix
Horizontal Accuracy	<7 m	<7 m	<7 m	<7 m
Horizontal Accuracy WAAS / EGNOS	<3 m	<3 m	<3 m	<3 m
Battery Type	AA	AA	AA	AA
Battery Life (hours)	14	14	14	14
Additional Memory	SD Cards	SD Cards	Built In	Built In
Additional Maps	MapSend	MapSend	MapSend	MapSend
Waterproof	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Min Operating Temp	-10C / 14F	-10C / 14F	-10C / 14F	-10C / 14F
Max Operating Temp	60C / 140F	60C / 140F	60C / 140F	60C / 140F
Max Operating Alt	60,000 ft / 18,288 m	60,000 ft / 18,288 m	60,000 ft / 18,288 m	60,000 ft / 18,288 m
Waypoints	500	500	500	500
Routes	20	20	20	20
Trackpoints	2000	2000	2000	2000
Datums	76	76	76	76
DGPS/WAAS/EGNOS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Electronic Compass	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Barometric Altimeter	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hunting/Fishing Calc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Celestial Information	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Interface	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial




	Magellan Meridian Platinum	Magellan SporTrak	Magellan SporTrak Map	Magellan SporTrak Pro
Review	Read Review	Coming Soon	Read Review	Coming Soon
Basemap	16mb cities/highways	Cities Locations POI's	2mb cities/highways	9mb cities/highways
Number of Screens	7	9	7	7
Position Update	1 sec	1 sec	1 sec	1 sec
TTFF Cold	<2 mins	<2 mins	<2 mins	<2 mins
TTFF Warm	<1 min	<1 min	<1 min	<1 min
TTFF Hot	15 secs	15 secs	<15 secs	<15 secs
Max Velocity	951 mph	951 mph	951 mph	951 mph
Weight	8 oz / 227gm	8 oz / 227gm	6.1 oz	6.1 oz
Display Size	2.2in x 1.75in	2.3in x 1.4in	2.2in x 1.75in	2.3in x 1.4in
Display Resolution	120 x 160	160 x 104	160 x 104	160 x 104
Colour Display ?	Grayscale	Grayscale	Grayscale	Grayscale
Backlit Display	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Antenna	Quad Helix	Quad Helix	Quad Helix	Quad Helix
Horizontal Accuracy	<7 m	<7 m	<7 m	<7 m
Horizontal Accuracy WAAS / EGNOS	<3 m	<3 m	<3 m	<3 m
Battery Type	AA	AA	AA	AA
Battery Life (hours)	14	14	14	14
Additional Memory	SD Cards	Built In	Built In	Built In
Additional Maps	MapSend	n/a	MapSend	MapSend
Waterproof	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Min Operating Temp	-10C / 14F	-10C / 14F	-10C / 14F	-10C / 14F
Max Operating Temp	60C / 140F	60C / 140F	60C / 140F	60C / 140F
Max Operating Alt	60,000 ft / 18,288 m	No Info from Magellan	60,000 ft / 18,288 m	60,000 ft / 18,288 m
Waypoints	500	500	500	500
Routes	20	20	20	20
Trackpoints	2000	2000	2000	2000
Datums	76	76	76	76
DGPS/WAAS/EGNOS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Electronic Compass	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Barometric Altimeter	Yes	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hunting/Fishing Calc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Celestial Information	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Interface	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial




	Garmin eTrex	Garmin eTrex Summit	Garmin eTrex Legend	Garmin Venture
Review	Read Review	Coming Soon	Coming Soon	Coming Soon
Basemap	n/a	8mb	1mb Cities / Highways	24mb Cities / Highways
Number of Screens	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Position Update	1 sec	1 sec	1 sec	1 sec
TTFF Cold	5 mins	5 mins	5 mins	5 mins
TTFF Warm	45 secs	45 secs	45 secs	45 secs
TTFF Hot	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs
Max Velocity	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Weight	5.3 oz	5.3 oz	5.3 oz	5.3 oz
Display Size	2.1in x 1.1in	2.1in x 1.1in	2.1in x 1.1in	2.1in x 1.1in
Display Resolution	128 x 64	128 x 64	288 x 160	288 x 160
Colour Display ?	Grayscale	Grayscale	Grayscale	Grayscale
Backlit Display	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Antenna	Patch	Patch	Patch	Patch
Horizontal Accuracy	15 m	15 m	15 m	15 m
Horizontal Accuracy WAAS / EGNOS	n/a	n/a	3-5 m	3-5 m
Battery Type	AA	AA	AA	AA
Battery Life (hours)	22	22	18	20
Additional Memory	None	None	8mb Built In	1mb Built In
Additional Maps	n/a	MapSource	MapSource	MapSource
Waterproof	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Min Operating Temp	-15C / 5F	-15C / 5F	-15C / 5F	-15C / 5F
Max Operating Temp	70C / 158F	70C / 158F	70C / 158F	70C / 158F
Max Operating Alt	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Waypoints	500	500	500	500
Routes	1	20	20	20
Trackpoints	1536	3000	2048	2048
Datums	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
DGPS/WAAS/EGNOS	No	No	Yes	Yes
Electronic Compass	n/a	Yes	n/a	Yes
Barometric Altimeter	n/a	Yes	n/a	Yes
Hunting/Fishing Calc	n/a	n/a	Yes	Yes
Celestial Information	n/a	n/a	Yes	Yes
Interface	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial




	Garmin Vista	Garmin Camo	Garmin GPSMap76	Garmin GPSMap76S
Review	Read Review	Coming Soon	Read Review	Coming Soon
Basemap	24mb Cities/Highways	n/a	8mb Cities/Highways	24mb Cities/Highways
Number of Screens	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Position Update	1 sec	1 sec	1 sec	1 sec
TTFF Cold	5 mins	5 mins	5 mins	5 mins
TTFF Warm	45 secs	45 secs	45 secs	45 secs
TTFF Hot	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs
Max Velocity	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Weight	5.3 oz	5.3 oz	7.7 oz	7.7 oz
Display Size	2.1in x 1.1in	2.1in x 1.1in	2.2in x 1.6in	2.2in x 1.6in
Display Resolution	288 x 160	128 x 64	240 x 180	240 x 180
Colour Display ?	Grayscale	Grayscale	Grayscale	Grayscale
Backlit Display	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Antenna	Patch	Patch	Quad Helix	Quad Helix
Horizontal Accuracy	15 m	15 m	15 m	15 m
Horizontal Accuracy WAAS / EGNOS	3-5 m	n/a	3-5 m	3-5 m
Battery Type	AA	AA	AA	AA
Battery Life (hours)	12	22	16	10
Additional Memory	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Additional Maps	MapSource	n/a	MapSource	MapSource
Waterproof	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Min Operating Temp	-15C / 5F	-15C / 5F	-15C / 5F	-15C / 5F
Max Operating Temp	70C / 158F	70C / 158F	70C / 158F	70C / 158F
Max Operating Alt	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Waypoints	500	500	500	500
Routes	20	1	50	50
Trackpoints	3000	2000	2048	5000
Datums	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
DGPS/WAAS/EGNOS	Yes	n/a	Yes	Yes
Electronic Compass	Yes	n/a	n/a	Yes
Barometric Altimeter	Yes	n/a	n/a	Yes
Hunting/Fishing Calc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Celestial Information	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Interface	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial	9 pin Serial




	Garmin Geko 101	Garmin Geko 201
Review	Coming Soon	Coming Soon
Basemap
Number of Screens	n/a	n/a
Position Update	1 sec	1 sec
TTFF Cold	5 mins	5 mins
TTFF Warm	45 secs	45 secs
TTFF Hot	15 secs	15 secs
Max Velocity	n/a	n/a
Weight	3.1 oz	3.1 oz
Display Size	0.92in x 1.44in
Display Resolution	64 x 100	64 x 100
Colour Display ?	Grayscale	Grayscale
Backlit Display	Yes	Yes
Antenna	Patch	Patch
Horizontal Accuracy	15 m	15 m
Horizontal Accuracy WAAS / EGNOS	n/a	3-5 m
Battery Type	AAA	AAA
Battery Life (hours)	12	12
Additional Memory	n/a	n/a
Additional Maps	n/a	n/a
Waterproof	Yes	Yes
Min Operating Temp	-15C / 5F	-15C / 5F
Max Operating Temp	70C / 158F	70C / 158F
Max Operating Alt	n/a	n/a
Waypoints	250	500
Routes	n/a	20
Trackpoints	3000	10000
Datums	18	100
DGPS/WAAS/EGNOS	No	Yes
Electronic Compass	n/a	n/a
Barometric Altimeter	n/a	n/a
Hunting/Fishing Calc	n/a	n/a
Celestial Information	n/a	n/a
Interface	n/a	9 pin Serial

GPS Hardware TTFF (Time To First Fix)

Cold

Test 1

Cold

Test 2

Cold

Test 3

Cold

Test 4

Cold

Test 5

Cold

Test

Average

Warm

Test

Hot

Test

CoPilot CF 1m 22s 1m 8s 56s 1m 17s 54s 1m 07s 52s 16s

Emtac Sleeve/CoPilot 40s 37s 42s 37s 46s 40.4s 10s 9s

Emtac/Socket BT GPS 47s 53s 42s 36s 38s 43.2s 10s 17s

Garmin eTrex 39s 44s 40s 41s 43s 41.4s 8s N/A

Garmin eTrex Summit 38s 41s 45s 39s 42s 41.0s 8s N/A

Garmin eTrex Vista 37s 57s 32s 35s