Garmin Colorado 300

The Garmin Colorado 300 is an all-terrain GPS navigator from Garmin’s Colorado series. It is suitable for exploring the backcountry. The Garmin Colorado 300 comes included with a built-in basemap, high-sensitivity receiver, barometric altimeter, electronic compass, SD card slot, colour display, picture viewer and more. Besides that, it also has wireless capabilities that allows users to exchange tracks, waypoints, routes and geocaches between similar units.
Specifications
The Garmin Colorado 300 measures 60 mm x 139 mm x 35 mm (W x H x D) in dimension and weighs approximately 206.9 g including its standard provided battery. The Garmin Colorado 300 features a transflective colour TFT display that measures 38 mm x 63 mm (W x H) or 3 inches diagonally with a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels. It is powered by 2 AA batteries which are not included and have to be purchased separately. The Garmin Colorado 300 works best on NiMH or Lithium batteries which are able to provide up to 15 hours of battery life based on typical usage. Besides that, it also incorporates IPX7 technology which makes it waterproof. In addition to that, the Garmin Colorado 300 also utilizes USB and NMEA 0183 compatible interfaces. In terms of maps and memory features, the Garmin Colorado 300 has the ability to add maps. It has a built in memory of 384 MB available for user to store data. Besides that, the Garmin Colorado 300 also has a memory card slot that is built for SD memory cards which have to be purchased separately. The Garmin Colorado 300 can store up to 1000 waypoints/ favourites/ locations, 50 routes, and 10000 points and 20 saved tracks. Additional features include automatic routing with turb by turn routing on roads with optional mapping for detailed roads, a built-in electronic compass, a barometric altimeter, and is geocaching-friendly. Besides that, the Garmin Colorado 300 is also compatible with custom maps and includes outdoor GPS games. Other features include hunt/ fish calendar, sun and moon information, tide tables, and area calculation. Besides that, the Garmin Colorado 300 also includes the ability to accept custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest), perform unit-to-unit transfer (shares data wirelessly with similar units) as well as includes a picture viewer. The Garmin Colorado 300 comes pre-loaded with a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief and accepts SD cards for all your outdoor activities on land or water. It is also compatible with Garmin’s preprogrammed SD cards which include street maps, topographic maps, coastal charts or inland lake data. Not only that, the Garmin Colorado 300 is located inside the waterproof battery compartment which protects it from getting wet. In addition to that, the Garmin Colorado 300 also has wireless compatibility to allow you to share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other Colorado users by selecting “send” to transfer your information to other Colorado unites. There is also a fun an intuitive rock ‘n roller input wheel that allows for easy one-handed operation and also supports Geocaching.com GPX files for downloading geocaches and details straight to your unit. The Garmin Colorado 300 interface can also be customized based on your favourite activity. In addition to that, the Garmin Colorado 300 also incorporates a high-sensitivity WAAS-enabled GPS receiver that helps you locate your position quickly and precisely as well as maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. Besides that, the Garmin Colorado 300 also comes with a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even while you’re standing still as well as a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. There is also an altimeter that allows you to plot barometric pressure over time to help you keep track on changing weather conditions.
Reviews

“I’m giving the Colorado series a qualified recommendation, keeping in mind thescreen brightness and the fact that some firmware issues remain to be addressed.
For geocachers, if you can bear with Garmin while they improve the unit, I think it is a real winner. The paperless geocaching feature is a huge improvement.” (GPSTrackLog, 2008)

“We are impressed by the Colorado and our customers agree with us, it offers new useful features with the 3D being the most innovative, overall we think it offers a great package especially when combined with Topo GB.
Although it’s a unit which can be used at a basic level, we reckon there are others in the Garmin range better suited, but for advanced users, the Topo map option when combined with PC-based route-planning software.” (OutdoorsMagic, 2008)

“If I look at the features alone, I get the feeling of watching a beautiful stereo set that lacked the money for a good set of matching speakers. The Colorado offers a lot; however, the monitor makes it hard to enjoy this to the fullest. I can’t but feel that the designer thought out a beautiful layout without realizing how reflections can badly influence the monitor in practice. I liked The Rock ‘n Roller for zooming in on a map page and its possibilities to scroll. Inserting characters is fine however; to move the hands of a clock in order to set the alarm is more of a nostalgic feature than that it is practical. Some people have their doubts about the waterproof quality of the dial construction. As for me, I think Garmin will have taken no risks with guaranteeing the waterproof.” (LetsGoMobile, 2008)