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Garmin eTrex Vista C Color Handheld GPS | 
 enlarge | Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  42 reviews
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Number Of Items: 1
Tracks: 20
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: Yes
Native Resolution: 176 x 220
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 1.2 x 4.2 x 2.2
Speed
Distance
Electronic compass
Altimeter
Ascent/descent rate
12-hour pressure trend
Time/date
Heading
ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)
Bearing
MPN: 010-00368-00
Model: 010-00368-00
UPC: 753759046538
EAN: 0753759046538
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| Features:
| • | Automatic route generation, off-route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions and more help navigate you safely to your destination | | • | An electronic compass provides accurate bearing information | | • | Mini-USB port for fast, convenient download of map data | | • | 256-color, sunlight-readable display, 20-hour battery life and 24 MB internal memory | | • | Measures 2.2 x 1.5 x 0.9 inches (WxHxD) |
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| Accessories:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Includes: eTrex unit, PC/USB interface cable, MapSource Manager CD, lanyard&quick reference guideThe eTrex Vista C Handheld GPS is for people who need GPS and waypoint information wherever you go. Many new exciting features make this portable GPS tool more versatile then ever. The 256-color TFT display produces the brightest and most readable display around. The units are completely waterproof and boast a 36-hour battery life, for maximum usage. All this and more -- adding up to a solid way to survive on theroad or in the woods. Trip computer has an odometer, stopped time, moving average, total time, max speed and more 10,000 point automatic track log -- retrace your path in any direction, on up to 20 saved track(with 500 points each) The eTrex Vista C elevation computer tells users current elevation and ascend/descend rate Built-in celestial tables give you the best time to fish and hunt, plus times and positions for the sun&moon Compatible with most MapSource products - BlueChart, City Select, U.S. TOPO 24K and more Battery life up to 36 hours Unit Dimensions(WxHxD) - 2.2 x 4.2 x 1.2 Display Size(WxH) - 1.3 x 1.7 NOTE - Use with MetroGuide USA is not recommended
Amazon.com Product Description
Garmin's pocket-sized eTrex Vista C handheld GPS unit combines Garmin's popular eTrex Vista with a color screen, automatic routing, and longer battery life, making it one of the smallest, least expensive waterproof products to combine a color TFT display and advanced GPS auto-routing abilities. You won't miss a thing when you take this lightweight, easy-to-use handheld out hiking, biking, boating, or geocaching. 
The main menu feature icons. View larger. | 
Crisp, color display for easy map viewing. View larger. | 
Altimeter display provides elevation information. View larger. | 
The eTrex Vista C packs loads of GPS features into a compact, handheld device. View larger. | The unit offers a bright, transflective color TFT display with daylight viewability, automatic route generation, off-route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions with alert tones, and icon-driven menus for finding points of interest (when combined with Garmin's optional MapSource CDs). And you'll get up to 20 hours of use on two AA batteries. The unit offers 24 MB of internal memory, and its mini-USB port lets you download map data rapidly from Garmin's library of MapSource CDs (not included) using your PC. You'll enjoy outstanding accuracy of less than three meters (10 feet) when the device is enabled to receive enhanced GPS signals from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in the United States and of 15 meters or less in normal GPS mode. As on all eTrex units, the primary controls are located on the unit's side, so you can operate them with one hand. With the innovative rocker switch on the unit's face, you can input data and scroll through menus or pan the map page. Other key features include an auto-route basemap (featuring general map data, including highways, major roads, rivers, lakes, and borders), a waterproof design (to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards--submersible in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes), 500 waypoints/routes/tracks (with graphic identification), 50 reversible routes, 20 saved tracks, 10,000 trackpoints, TracBack technology, alarms (waypoint proximity, anchor drag, and off-course, as well as a built-in alarm clock), a GPS patch antenna, selectable audio tones and color schemes, a stopwatch, a hunting/fishing calendar, sun/moon calculations, and a trip computer. The Vista C also features an electronic compass for accurate bearing information while standing still; a barometric altimeter with local pressure and a 48-hour automatic pressure-trend recorder; and an elevation computer (which provides your current elevation, ascent/descent rate, minimum/maximum elevation, total ascent and descent, average and maximum ascent, and descent rate). The Vista C includes a built-in, permanent basemap-- Americas Recreational--which cannot be altered. The Americas Recreational Routable Basemap v2 includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America, and covers the area from longitude 30 to 180 degrees west and latitude 60 degrees south to 75 degrees north. The basemap includes a high-level worldwide map featuring borders and major cities. Standard map coverage includes oceans, rivers, lakes greater than 30 square miles, lakes greater than 5 square miles in the United States and southern Canada, lakes greater than 10 square miles in central and northern Canada, principal cities, some smaller cities and towns, major interstates, principal highways, political boundaries (state and international borders), major airports, and a database of Interstate exits. This last category includes many establishments within about 0.25 mile of exits, including restaurants; diesel and gas stations; hotels, motels, and inns; overnight RV parking; dumps; campgrounds; truck stops; medical facilities; shopping and outlet malls; ATMs; and many other attractions.
What's in the Box
eTrex Vista C GPS receiver, basemap (Americas Recreational), MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager CD, PC/USB interface cable, wrist strap, quick reference guide, and owner's manual.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 37 more reviews...
awesome unit if you're willing to accept it's short comming September 27, 2004
134 out of 136 found this review helpful
I've own the original Garmin Vista and currently own the high end Garmin 60CS.
I was expecting the Vista C to be just a colored version of the original vista but I was wrong it's actually the little brother of the 60CS. OS, feature and hardware wise it's like the 60CS in a smaller Vista package.
the Vista C is a HUGE improvement over the original vista. it's faster, better screen, better battery life, seems to track satellite better and faster. TONS of features. It works almost the same way and have same features as the more epxensive and bigger 60CS.
the "click stick" is not as easy to use as the dpad on the garmin 60CS. sometimes when I want to press in on the stick it would go left or right. and the button are not that "nice and easy" to press. tho there are "shortcuts" with the buttons like on the 60CS. it's not really that bad, just not as easy and initituive as the 60CS because it has less buttons. I'm use to and familiar with the way the 60CS work so it took me only about 30 minutes to figure how they assign the buttons. but for someone new it will probably take an hour or two to learn the buttons and shortcuts.
if you're use to the easier button interfac of the 60CS you won't like the buttons of the vista C as much.
Pro
- alot faster than the original vista & about same speed as the 60CS (perhap same cpu?)
- updated OS and interface as the 60cs.
- Color screen is easier to read even in daylight than the original Vista.
- USB port
- External antenna port.
- all the software features and hardware of the bigger 60CS in a smaller package.
Con
- screen is kinda small so incar navigation is not as easy to read like the 60cs (but to it's credit it's not meant for car navigation)
- only 24 megs of ram. and you can't expand it.
- garmin propietory interface only load garmin maps/programs
 Very good...but beware of marketing hype! August 5, 2004
32 out of 46 found this review helpful
I have mixed feelings about the Garmin Vista C GPS I just bought from one of Amazon's sponsored-link vendors. And when I ask myself why, I see that it's because of the huge gap that exists between the product as it actually is and all the marketing hype that surrounds it. As a result of this gap, the Vista C has fallen below my expectations, so I'm disappointed. But if I try to disregard all the overblown marketing claims, I find that I am, in fact, happy with this device. Its features are well described by Amazon and the manufacturer, so I won't repeat them here. I'll just say that it is chock full of great stuff, ranging from a really helpful trip computer to an alarm clock. It even predicts high and low tides. In fact, this sturdy, little GPS is so handy that it has already become a major asset that is enriching my wilderness hikes. And if I lost it tomorrow, I would buy a replacement immediately. Having said this, however, there is unfortunately plenty of room left for criticism. Despite Garmin's claims, their user interface is not particularly intuitive, and some effort will be required to become familiar with the GPS's operations. Fortunately, it's not too difficult to learn...I just wish that Garmin would spend less time talking among themselves and spend more time talking to real customers. Then they'd see the need for further improvements. Another key point is that despite Garmin's super-hyped claims, the various buttons on this GPS can be awkward to use. My chief complaint is with Garmin's innovative "rocker", which is a small, joy stick-like device that functions more-or-less like a mouse. The basic idea is that you push this device up or down or to the side to move through menus, and then you push it straight down to enter your selection. Unfortunately, when I push down there's a tendency for the rocker to slide off to the side, with the result that instead of choosing the current menu selection, another item is selected instead. This can produce surprising results. Errors of this type are especially common when I try to use the GPS while I'm actually hiking. The bumping and jarring that comes with traveling over a path makes it really tough to produce the desired result. And who wants to interrupt their hike so they can stop and push a button that doesn't quite behave as it should? I should also add that I'm manually dexterous, so people with any type of physical limitation may have serious problems with this button. Another annoying problem is that Garmin's user documentation is unsatisfactory, and this problem is unlikely to be solved until Garmin realizes that they must involve users in their design process before they ship their products. In any case, I won't enumerate all of the almost uncountably large number of problems with the user's manual. Instead, I'll illustrate the entire set with one example. Although the Vista C's altimeter is one of the key features that differentiates it from much less expensive GPS's, the words 'altimeter' and 'altitude' do not appear in the index. And although the word 'elevation' does appear, it directs you to extraneous material that has nothing to do with using the altimeter! This oversight underscores just how careless Garmin has been. But the biggest problem of all concerns the massively over-hyped claims that you can download detailed maps into your Garmin and thus greatly enrich your hikes. To a first approximation, this is pure baloney. Although the Vista C comes with 24MB of memory for storing such maps, be sure you understand that the ONLY maps you can download are those produced by Garmin! That's right...no DeLorme or National Geographic maps can be downloaded into the Vista C!!! And that is an extremely serious problem, since the Garmin maps that hikers are most likely to use are truly and authentically horrid. Visit the Garmin site, where they'll let you view portions of their TOPO map online, and see for yourself. In my case, Garmin's map provided exactly 0.0000% improvement over the horrifyingly scanty detail that's already built into the GPS. And worse, my neighborhood is not shown on the map even though it's five years old and houses thousands of people. Check the Amazon reviews for Garmin's TOPO product, and then you may dismiss Garmin's claims that you can download super cool maps into your Vista C. Finally, although the Vista C includes a speedy USB port for transferring data to your PC, be aware that many third-party vendors can't or won't support it. DeLorme is a primary example. As a separate review of their TOPO 5.0 product states, DeLorme knows they can't read Garmin USB data, and despite frantic pleas for help from their customers, they have reacted with what can best be characterized as a huge yawn. Still, despite these very serious shortcomings, I do like my Vista C. Its best features are the "legacy features" that were present in previous incarnations of Garmin GPS's, but it's still a handy tool. One final comment. Amazon has great return policies, but some of their sponsored-link vendors have much more restrictive ones. So before you place your order, BE CERTAIN that you understand the return policy. Otherwise, you may be out some serious money!
 Another hit from Garmin August 18, 2004
28 out of 31 found this review helpful
I was reluctant to give up my trusty Garmin Etrex Legend, but I really wanted an altimeter and digital compass (for the unintiated, GPS compasses only work while you are moving). So, I took the plunge.
All I can say is... WOW. Garmin does such a great job with GPS!
The pros:
1. Brilliant color display-- better than expected. You really can read it in the light, especially with the strong backlight. Also seems speedier in terms of redraws than the old Etrex. I was a little worried that the screen is slightly smaller than before (the whole thing looks like a runt compared to the old etrex series) but honestly the color more than makes up for it.
2. Straightforward interface and controls-- Similar to the interface on the older etrex units with some new additions/ revisions. For example, you can now select which pages you can flip through from the right side key... pretty cool.
3. Weight-- practically the same as the old Etrex! Someone over there at Garmin understands what backpackers care about.
4. Battery life-- I havent' tested it to the limit yet, but if it really does last 20 hours, hallelujah! No more swapping batteries mid-trip.
5. Accuracy-- Others have complained about GPS accuracy in general, but in my testing with this unit thus far, it has been dead-on-- just like my old etrex Legend. Obviously, enabling WAAS improves accuracy. Altimeter and compass seem to function as advertised.
The cons:
1. Complexity-- There are so many features on this little thing that newbies may have a problem comprehending them all at once (I believe there are videos for those needing step by step instructions) Take it one feature at a time and practice, practice, practice. Non-auto-based GPS is NOT like an Ipod-- in order to take full advantage of it, you have to know about waypoints, tracks, routes, declination etc. It also helps to know how to navigate using traditional methods (i.e. map and compass), which you should always carry as a backup anyway.
2. Reception-- All Etrex's use a patch antenna, which used to cause me headaches due to lost satellite reception. However, I discovered that the anntenna works great IF the face of the unit points to the sky. If you don't want to tote this thing in in front of you like a geo-nerd you can belt-clip it to your backpack shoulder strap so it faces upwards. Using this method, I've hiked in some pretty thick forests in vermont, Minnesota, and upstate new york with satellite lock 99% of the time.
3. Cost-- This unit ain't cheap, but I have to say you get what you pay for. If you want something more down to earth with 75%-80% of the functionality, try the etrex legend or vista (non color). Those are a little simpler to operate as well. My old etrex legend saved my butt in the wilderness many a time, and I would totally recommend it.
Overall, I am totally satisfied. A solid upgrade to the Etrex series.
Fantastic unit, prefer over the 60CS. September 15, 2005
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
After trying the 60CS and the Vista C I chose to buy the Vista C. While I like the 60CS a lot, there were several reasons why I chose the Vista C over it.
Size: while they are similar in size the Vista C is clearly smaller. On a hot day in shorts and tee shirt the Vista was much nicer to carry around in my pocket. The 60CS was definately more of a burden. The 60CS is not slightly bigger than the Vista C, by my calculations the Vista C is more than 40% smaller than the 60CS (by volume).
Price: Some of the reviews here point out that the Vista C is similar in price to the 60CS and that is definately not the case now 9/05. The Vista C can be bought for nearly $150 less than the 60CS.
Reception: tried them both in the same spots and came up with similar results. The 60CS definately has the edge but not by a huge margin. Granted, I have not compared them in a lot of different terrain. I tried them in a hilly wooded (tall hard wood) area and in the open. The 60CS is faster in getting a lock but the Vista C is still very fast (and tons faster than my old eTrex Summit).
What is really came down to for me: is the bigger screen, slightly better reception, and more ram of the 60CS worth carrying around a substantialy bigger unit and for a lot more money? For me it was not. If I was using the GPS mainly for car navigation I probably would have gotten the 60CS.
Hope this helps!
 Don't Buy this GPS June 6, 2005
18 out of 23 found this review helpful
I would rate this GPS average, when it works.
As far as I am concerned, this GPS was put on the market before the software was debugged. I got one of the first units, which has had no end of glitchy lockups (always nice to have to pull the batteries to restore operation).
After it's last outing, it appears the backlighting has failed. I did firmware update #3 (and was happy to see they had finally fixed some of the lockups), just in case this was another one of the bugs, and now the unit is completely dead. According to Garmin, I have to pay to have this fixed. Nice Garmin, release buggy software, a buggy update utility, and charge people when the update doesn't work. And the backlighting is still probably screwed, which hopefully will be warranty.
Other than this, the GPS is difficult to use with gloves, the little joy stick is hard to use (selections usually result in a direction change), and the USB port is pointed out the back, which strains an already fragile connector.
I wouldn't buy another Garmin product in a million years.
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