Comments on: Garmin Dakota

By: Justin

Justin — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:00:04 +0000

Jenni, what your looking for is likely going to be a “smart phone”. No, your basic 20$ per month plan is not going to cover it. Your looking at $60-$100 per month +$200 initial cost. Quality is never free. Look into the Blackberry’s newer offerings (Storm/Tour) or the iPhone from Apple. Both brands have GPS built in and offer calenders, document editing, e-mail, etc. (There are other options, but these are the most popular and I am not familiar enough with others to make any recommendations)

What you should not do is buy the Garmin Dakota – it does not have the features your looking for. It is great at what it does, but its not a “mobile office”.

By: Guillaume

Guillaume — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:41:37 +0000

I think this is definately more an etrex replacement. Size and weight are pretty much the same. The new etrex line was just a refreshment but they’ll still be there for several months. That mean ~3 years, not bad for just an updated product.

As a backpacker. I can tell you that if the screen reflection has been improved, the Dakota are clear winnners. That is supposing the unit is well designed and build.

By: Jenni

Jenni — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:52:24 +0000

HELP?? I am looking for a device that I call a mobile office. I am not tech saavy so please excuse the extend of my ignorance!! I need to keep track of incomings and outgoings and I think a simple spreadsheet will work. I need to print out invoices/reciepts and have everything portable….in the nappy bag type of portable as I lug around 4 kids whilst I input. A laptop is too large as it won’t fit in my pocket/bag and the net books look almost what I am after but still not compact enough. I know of the pda’s but I think my $20 per month phone plan won’t cover these….is there a GPS that incorporates windows so I can add excel and download to my home pc?

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:57:25 +0000

You’re right – they wouldn’t sell it for $80… According to the cached page I found of the Bass Pro advertisement (http://bit.ly/KNS0Y), it would sell for about $350 (!)… Hardly worth down grading from the $400 Oregon. We’ll have to see what other features it has when it comes out.

By: Marty

Marty — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:15:40 +0000

I don’t think this is a direct eTrex replacement. Garmin released the eTrex H not too long ago. I don’t think they would have bothered refreshing the eTrex if they were planning on replacing it now. I also doubt a new Dakota will be sold for $80 like the eTrex H. Garmin needs to keep a presence in the basic/budget handheld market, so they wouldn’t replace the eTrex with the Dakota. I see this being similar to the relationship between the Colorado and the 60-series. Both models continue to be sold – one traditional (60 and eTrex) and one more modern (Colorado Rock n’ Roller and Dakota touchscreen).

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:00:02 +0000

John, I agree it sounds more like an eTrex replacement, especially now that we see the high res photos. (updated on this page)

By: John

John — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:19:08 +0000

If this device is intended for cycling, I certainly hope they have done something to address the screen visibility issue of the Oregon series. With the Oregon, it is necessary to hold at the proper angle, outdoors in daylight, in order to see. This might not be too convenient if mounted in a fixed position on a bicycle.

Seems more likely to be an eTrex replacement. Why? First, it appeared on the Bass Pro website rather than, say, REI. Second, in my mind, the name “Dakota” invokes more the thought of the great outdoors than of cycling. As you say, time will tell.