17 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
Sexy and powerful, but requires your first-born.
Date of Review: Mar 30, 2007
The Bottom Line: A solidly designed product hampered by horrible map support, which makes resale value plummet. Excellent hardware, below average software. Only specific users will want this product.
OK, I agree with most of the reviews that the 60csx is about as good as you can get. The 20 channel receiver and the new SIRF-III processor outperforms any GPSr I have seen to date. I routinely have 10 satellites locked even under cover. The basemap that comes with the unit is good, but comparable to any other high end GPSr. The extras like altimeter and compass work well when calibrated.
Since you probably already know most of the details about this unit if you are here, you're looking for negatives. There aren't many, but the ones there are were show-stoppers for me.
First, the auto-routing isn't very good. With detail maps installed, it couldn't find its way to many addresses I typed in. The routing has an issue with constantly beeping at you if you are off-road and the 'stick to roads' option is on. It tries to recalculate the route every 10 seconds or so and is annoying.
Second, the menu system is not intuitive. The menu screen is included as a page, which means you're being taken to the settings page every so often. The logical structure of the operating system just leaves something to be desired. Routes are listed right next to waypoints, which are right next to points of interest, all just sort of thrown onto the menu page.
Third, trying to move tracks and waypoints to the computer is incredibly confusing and error-prone. You end up overwriting your tracks because the software loads up a new 'user' every time. You end up with multiple tracks on your GPSr because it doesn't replace them correctly. Just frustrating since you have to be very deliberate about how and when you transfer information.
Fourth, the extras like compass and altimeter will un-calibrate themselves every time you turn the GPSr off. No one wants to spin in a circle twice every time they use it just to be able to use the compass. And no one wants to look up their exact altitude just so they can find their approximate altitude later.
Fifth, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, the mapping software that you can buy to provide street level detail of the US and the world is LOCKED TO THE GPS. When I say locked I mean welded without hope of separation. You get a code which makes your piece of software work with that GPSr ONLY. You cannot sell the software if you decide it sucks. You cannot use that software in a different GPSr that you buy later.
The same goes for the GPSr. Since you paid for the software to be forever linked to the hardware (via serial number matching) you can't sell that GPSr for market price or you just lost the full price of the software. The only way you'll ever get it sold is to find someone who wants the GPS and the exact software set you have installed on it.
This is the WRONG way for Garmin to go about preventing software theft. They shot themselves in the foot, because no one who is more than a casual GPS user will ever buy more than one GPS from this company again. I certainly won't until they change their current authorization system.
After all that, don't be dissuaded from buying the 60csx if you want good sat lock, because it will beat anything out there.
UPDATE 17AUG09 - I have been using this GPS for 3 years now and I still love it. The negatives listed above still apply, and using it for street navigation is pretty much moot since you can get far superior solutions (bigger screen, more updated roads) for very cheap. It remains my primary tool for trail and off-road use. I have used map hacks to load customs maps (canals in Venice, Google map track lines). I have downloaded track files and converted them into Google Earth route layers. This unit is very customizable and hackable and extendable. Of course, many other GPSr's are also, but I can only speak to this one. Data entry may be more cumbersome than the fancy touchscreen units out there now, but I wager it's much more durable. The thin metal coating on touchscreen glass/plastic WILL wear off eventually and a bigger screen equals easier breakage. I have upgraded my original rating to 4 stars to reflect the fact that it will not reasonably be used for road navigation anymore.
Bottom line: SIRf III processor keeps this unit competitive with newer models and has advantages that make it an attractive purchase.
