If you're planning on roughing it out in the woods anytime soon, there's already a plethora of
rugged GPS options to keep you (somewhat) on track, but Satmap Systems' Active 10 handheld puts a new spin on trekking. The device is being dubbed the "world's first to offer fully integrated digital maps and GPS hardware," meaning that users can purchase additional map cards that include detailed imagery of counties, regions, national trails, and national parks. Additionally, the unit sports a 3.5-inch backlit color display, integrated patch antenna, Windows CE operating system, a multitude of power options, USB 2.0 connectivity, an SD card reader, ARM 9 processor, 128MB of RAM,
SiRF Star III receiver, integrated media player, and an impact resistant waterproof enclosure to boot. Initially, the company will be offering maps of popular
UK locales, but additional maps (including "international" zones) will purportedly be available in SD cards or potentially as internet downloads in the not too distant future. Satmap is currently accepting pre-orders for the Active 10, and while the unit is set to ship sometime this month, you can get on the waiting list now for £299.99 ($594).
[Thanks, Simon]
GPS, 
posted June 1st 2007 12:15AM
Is it just me, or is that image SERIOUSLY photoshopped?
That top "bend" seems to be very ergonomic; I'm just not sure about the side buttons for one-handed use... use an old yp-t8 and you'll see the problem with that. Generally seems to be a nice device; good job.
However, packing extra features like an audio player aren't neccesary...
One could always just get an advanced phone and use, like verizons map-stuff, etc...
But still, its a nice device...
yeah. it doesnt look real to me either.
photoshop photo.
but im thinking its just a render.
hah.
I don't understand these devices. You can get a PDA with a CF GPS receiver for much less.
I don't know if that image is a render, but the device is real and several people in the pocketgpsworld forums have tried it at one of the outdoor shows.
These combination devices seems to be the way things are going, yes you can do pocketpc with the same maps, but the battery life sucks, and the normal raster maps on gps devices are really only suitable for the road.
When you add the maps to this it looks a bit expensive though, I'll think I'll wait for competition to bring things down a bit.
There are also rugged GPS devices out there already which have sat imagery and cost less. http://www.delorme.com/pn-20.
The device is very real... seen it at the recent OS Outdoors Show as a prototype.
Yes that image is probably a render... but tell me, how many other products do you see on the web and in print that use a render to show them off ??? MANY off them. Also its not available just yet so the final built device is not there to photograph ;-)
As for one handed use, you can set it up for left or right handed people and the buttons look to be soft buttons so are configurable. Look at some of the pics on the website / PDF's - you'll see what I mean.
The Delorme product looks great... if your an American ;-) Some of us live in the UK so I prefer UK maps - LOL. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there appears to be no UK mapping for this unit.
The prototype satmap unit I held felt very nice in the hand.
Comes with a GPS and electronic compass. GPS only compasses are great if your moving quickly (car, bike etc), pretty useless when your standing still. So there is both on board.
No affiliation with satmap at all... just very keen to get one of these units as it looks the biz as well as has 90% of what I need in a device for walking, off road driving use.
So it does the same thing as a cheap PDA with a mapping program and a GPS addon, but for $400 more?
Awesome, huge market for this, nice job guys.
I have to say though, that I hate the proliferation of GPS programs and hardware that don't work well if you're not on a street. Streets are easy to navigate with a map, the outdoors isn't.
Er nope !
Read the specs.... a tad better than yer average PDA. Contains real OS maps (de-facto the best in the UK). Thats why there are dedicated pieces of hardware out there.
If you use a PDA, Garmin or other with just a GPS based compass in the forest, you will get very frustrated - or lost ;-)
Drop your precious PDA in a puddle or use it in the rain and then decide that you made a mistake when it dies... horses for course mate - donkeys for the beach, thoroughbreds for the race course ;-)
Looks like a nice bit of kit, but I need to mention that a PDA WILL do what this does.
I use a Fujitsu Siemens N520 with inbuilt SirFstar GPS. I use Tomtom and Destinator. Tomtom is THE application for navigating public roads. For offroad PDA software there is Anquet http://www.anquet.co.uk/ or Memory Map http://www.memory-map.co.uk/. Both use Ordinance Survey Maps. Memory Map supply some European mapping software too. I know they have the French Alps available. You can also have a custom map made of the area of your choice within the UK. PDA's also support aviation and marine charting software.
The two weaknesses of a PDA based solution are 1) battery life (you could buy a spare battery or use a solar charger) 2) Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5 can be very slow and sometimes hangs when trying to get these applications running. This might have been due to the integration of the GPS into a WM5 device, but I have experienced other problems with my devices, such as the web browser taking forever.
I had an ASUS A636 prior to my Pocket Loox N520. Both of these were/are a bit tardy when it comes to getting the GPS to find a signal. The Asus was hopeless, so I got a refund and bought the Loox. The Loox fairs better, but i'm not over the moon with this aspect of WM5.
When you are out in the wilds and you need to know where you are, a device that is reliable and works as soon as you turn it on is very appealing. (My Asus took an hour to find a location when we arrived at Munich a couple of years back. An hour later, as we approached the Austrian border, it thought we were winging our way through a field Surrey!
My humble recommendation would be to opt for the dedicated device as it's engineered for that purpose alone.
All valid points there Pete.
A dedicated device will generally always be better and suited to the purpose it was designed for. Also they tend to be pretty rugged and water resistant - whereas your average PDA is not and will cost about the same too ;-)