Okay, I admit it. I'm directionally challenged. I was the kid at birthday parties who'd pin the tail on the hostess instead of the donkey. If you also suffer from a poor sense of direction, read on, as help may come in the form of the Magellan SporTrak GPS unit. The SporTrak uses GPS WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) to pinpoint your position to within 10 feet.
Not much larger than a non-flip cell phone, the SporTrak weighs a mere 6.8 oz. and floats if dropped in the water. A narrow, rubber strip runs the length of the outer edge creating a waterproof seal and handy grip. The 240 x 160 pixel reflective LCD color display is a big plus over competing black and white models. It only takes a glance to distinguish between highway systems, waterways and other points of interest quickly.
The keypad has 8 icon-labeled buttons, along with a four-way directional pad similar to that found on PDAs. A single keypress switches between eight graphical views of information, including a handy speedometer view indicating heading, bearing, speed, direction and your ETA. Two AA batteries are included, and they deliver up to 14 hours of continuous use.
The preloaded 10 MB North American base map contains cities, streets, airports, rivers, parks, and even buoys and beacons. There's 22 MB of flash memory for additional storage, with the ability to save your route, and then follow your electronic trail back home. Daniel Boone never had it so good.
The built-in base map appears a bit sparse. For instance, my neighborhood and street are at least 8 years old but are nowhere to be found on the device. Purchasing the optional software is worthwhile and adds more detail such as secondary roads and topographic information. The street price is reasonable and makes this a truly helpful travel companion.
The multipurpose SporTrak also functions as a barometer, three-axis compass and moon phase tracker, offers sunrise/sunset times, is a fish and game calculator and satellite status checker, and it supports nine languages. You'll also find loads of accessories ranging from belt clips to mountain bike brackets to car/boat mount kits.
If you're considering the purchase of a GPS receiver, you'll definitely want to include the Magellan SporTrak Color unit on your list of contenders. Whether you travel by car, boat, hike or bike, the SporTrak has helpful features to get you where you're going and back home again.
