PHOTOS: Garmin Oregon 550t

Hands on with the geocaching GPS device

21 July 2009 19:58 GMT / By Stuart Miles

If you think you've seen the Garmin Oregon 550t somewhere before that's because you have.

The new GPS from Garmin for geocachers and outward types comes in virtually the same casing as the previous Garmin Oregon 400t, but adds a 3.2-megapixel digital camera on the back and adds a spot of red in the design.

We are double checking with Garmin, but it looks like the screen has finally got a boost in power as well, it is noticeably brighter than the 400t in use so far.

The waterproof Oregon 550 is angled at those looking for an easy-to-use, multi-purpose GPS device. On the camera side of things, there's autofocus and 4x digital zoom, and the device automatically geotags each photo with the location of where it was taken.

With just 850MB of internal memory, there's a microSD card slot for expansion, and pictures taken can be transferred to a PC via USB for printing, or to be stored and shared online via the myGarmin.com service that offers direct Picasa links.

On the GPS side of things, the new handheld offers a WAAS-enabled GPS receiver and HotFix satellite prediction, while the built-in barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. Users can store up to 2000 waypoints, 200 routes and a tracklog of up to 10000 points and 200 saved tracks.