Garmin GPSMAP 62S Review

Portable technology is advancing at a fast rate and from the wide number of tablets and cellphones being churned out, the future looks to be large screens and fewer buttons. Consumers are finally getting used to touchscreen interfaces because of their high accuracy and the lack of buttons allows screens to be as large as possible. However, that is not to conclude that handheld devices that have traditional designs are dead. There are still plenty of people out there that prefer buttons and Garmin seems to be aware by continuing the GPSMAP brand alongside their touchscreen devices that continue to sell well. The Garmin GPSMAP 62S looks to a promising version of a classic for people that are not fond of the Garmin Dakota and Nuvi series.

Garmin GPSMAP 62S GPS Navigator

Design

If you owned an older GPSMAP model, you will be pleased to know how slim and lightweight the Garmin GPSMAP 62S is. The black design may not be the most ideal since it could be tough to find if you drop it somewhere but it definitely looks sleek and fresh. It also has the same ruggedness and waterproof properties that the other devices have and it is comfortable to hold with one hand as well. The 2.6-inch screen may look dated but the panel is completely sunlight-readable and the 160 by 240 resolution means that map detail is just good enough for reliable navigation.

Interface

The Garmin GPSMAP 62S portrays its interface in full color and the shaded worldwide basemaps look nice and give you a good sense of the surrounding geography. There are icons and maps present so the maps resemble printed maps.

Navigation Features

The 62S makes use of a quad helix antenna which makes the device highly accurate and sensitive. Like many other Garmin handhelds, the GPS receiver is WAAS-enabled to make it even more accurate and uses HotFix satellite prediction so it can better assume the location of the satellites for better connectivity. With these technologies combined, it is possible for the device to track your location without problems even if you are surrounded by tall buildings or if you are navigating through a forest or deep canyon.

If ever you are in an area that the Garmin GPSMAP 62S does not cover, you can add more maps with ease as there is 1.7G of internal memory to spare. You can load 24K as well as 100K topo maps from BlueChart g2 preloaded cards. Some of the City Navigator NT maps that other Garmin devices use may be compatible with the Garmin GPSMAP 62S too. It also acts as an entry-level marine GPS device and a car GPS device if you load any of the marine and road maps respectively.

The Garmin GPSMAP 62S also features a built-in tilt-compensated 3-axis electronic compass which functions even if you do not move and you don't have to hold it in level to get an accurate reading either. Checking the weather conditions is important for any person venturing to distant areas and the barometric altimeter that is part of the Garmin GPSMAP 62S does that.

The 62S is a device where you will often add waypoints and custom routes to your map. Your companions are likely to use GPS devices to get around as well. If any of them happen to have a Garmin device, you can share these waypoints and other custom data directly via Bluetooth. You can also acquire pictures from Garmin Connect Photos so you can navigate to previously explored routes much easier.

Extra Features

The Garmin Connect extra deserves its owe section because of its social networking capabilities. All that is required is a connection to the Internet through your computer. You can share any of your travel experiences on Twitter or Facebook. Google Earth uses its powerful engine to check what activities you currently have.

The Garmin GPSMAP 62S may not have that big screen, but that won't stop the device from getting Geocaching support. It can read the GPX file format so you won't have to input coordinates manually just to find a geocache. There is no longer a need to bring pieces of paper and the like just to take proper notes of geocaching locations. Once you uploaded the GPX file, you can have fun and start hunting immediately.

Conclusion

The Garmin GPSMAP 62S is clearly a worthy successor and deserves top recommends that like buttons and don't mind small screens. The $450 price tag puts this in the high-end model but it can be had online for much less.

List Price: $549.99

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