Garmin Colorado 300 Bilingual Handheld GPS Unit with North American Maps
By: Garmin Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 9
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 On: 2008-06-14
Ive used two other Garmin outdoor GPS before and I was expecting this new device. After a month of using, Im almost decided to switch back to Garmin 60 CSx.
Colorado +:
- display
- gc listings
- holders (car, bike)
- wig
Colorado -:
- battery consumption
- gc listings (listing is sometimes bad formated)
- roller, buttons, menus (60 CSx is much more powerful and faster to control, search...)
So if you need listings/wig then buy Colorado. In case having PDA or smartphone, take 60 CSx...
 On: 2008-06-09
The Garmin Colorado is a LONG way from being all that it should be for th price ov over $400.. Read the review if it on BACKPACKINGLIGHTWEIGHT.COM
I STILL havent got my 300 models SD card loaded w/ the topo map. Dont use an "Ultra" SD card. Garmin says they dont work well with this unit. It would have been nice if they would have SAID SO on the box or the tiny instruction leaflet so I could have known before I bought one.
Garmins customer service is helpful but you MUST call them to learn how to use all the features properly. The included instructions are so basic as to be laughable. In short, this may be a good GPS in about a year - after Garmin gets the bugs out.
 On: 2008-05-11
It amazes me the comments made about this product in the gps forums and websites. I was very reluctant to purchase based on all of the complaints and whining. Now that Ive had one for a week, I dont see what all of the complaining was about. It does everything I expected it to and more. All of the things Ive read that others were complaining about can be done, but you have to actually read the manual. No its not like the older previous models - thats what makes it new. Could it be improved? Of course. So could the Jaguar XJS, but you wont hear many people complain.
On: 2008-05-03
This replaced my 60csx. The detail on the screen is a big improvement. NIMH battery performance has improved with recent firmware upgrades. The back cover is extremely hard to get on and off. After a couple of weeks of daily use, the back battery seal tore. Garmin support via email (3 day response time) said I had to return it for warranty repair. Instead I took it back to REI and they exchanged it no problem. This happened again and am now on my third one. Now, I never fully close the back cover unless I am in a situation where it could be submersed in water. This has prevented the seal from tearing, and makes the back cover much easier to get on and off. Also you do not have to remove the carabiner to get the cover off with this method. TOPO and City Navigator work great! I recommend this unit but be careful with the back cover!
On: 2008-04-18
this is a perfect product...
Top class GPS, with great screen and great function.
 On: 2008-04-08
Ive owned multiple GPS units over the years, including $10,000+ marine units. Generally had great experience with Garmin.
But the Garmin Colorado is a waste of money. Worldwide basemap only sees state highways and above. Thats right, for $300+ you get a worthless navigation unit!
So you have to buy City Navigator for another $145. Defective disc wont load in any of 5 different PCs. Emailed customer support - no answer in a week. Called customer support, wait times 55 minutes, 50 minutes and 50 minutes! Sent disc back asking for replacement. No response.
Never again, Garmin. Time to sell my shares.
On: 2008-03-28
This is an extremely cool GPS.
The screen is gorgeous. Big and sharp. The Topo 2008 maps look so cool with shading and 3-D.
The new control wheel really makes it easy to use. Far easier than any other Garmin unit.
It is well built, looks very cool and feels really good in your hand.
The recent firmware updates have solved most of the problems early buyers encountered when it first came out. I have no real complaints or problems that bother me.
I use it for hiking, biking, and driving. I put a 8GB SD card in and was able to load a lot of maps. I am really enjoying using it on my weekend explorations here in New Mexico.
I highly recommend it. Well worth the price.
 On: 2008-01-31
I have used this GPS on hikes with navigational requirements and just general testing. These are my conclusions after a few calls to Garmin Support and searching GPS forums. The good news is that it is well constructed, has many features. If you buy the city, topo, and marine mapping, you can probably do it all. It has a fairly basic ease of operation (after you get the settings customized). The bad news is that the manual is way too general and if you want to do basic custom setups, you might have to call Tech Support but the unit is so new that even they dont always know the answers (do not e-mail them questions, call instead. Much better support). Thats were the GPS forums can come in handy. The problems I have encountered is first and foremost how difficult it can be to view the screen outside (especially topo detail) unless you have the sun shining directly on it. The backlight under low light conditions (shade, early morning hours) outside will not help. The altimeter does not seem to be the most accurate at times and when you have the unit turned off, drive to a new location, turn it on, the altitude can sometimes still read your last location until you recalibrate it. Even with it set to auto calibrate and full satellite bars. NMHI rechargeable batteries do not work well with this unit if you value the backlight. There is a bug in their firmware (hopefully they will get it fixed soon) that will turn the backlight off permanently after a very short time and in some cases, that I have been reading, completely shut the unit off even when the batteries have a full charge. Some people have had problems with the current time not updating even after the GPS has locked into satellites and have been told to return the unit for an exchange, but mine has worked fine. The manual tells you how to access settings but gives no detail as to what the settings mean, leaving you to experiment, dig, accidentally find what you want, or call tech support for even basic things as transferring archived (saved) tracks to your PC, transferring topo map detail, or deleting archived tracks. Some of the things I have mentioned are bugs that will hopefully get resolved with firmware updates but right now, I can only moderately recommend this GPS. It has taken me a lot of time playing with this unit, experimenting, calling tech support, and reading blogs to operate it to my satisfaction (minus the bugs).
On: 2008-01-17
I replaced my 60CSx with this. I have to say that its a good replacement. I havent spent too much time with it yet but the display is definately sharper. The 3D map view is awesome.
I will be putting it through its paces in the next few weeks. No time now!
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