Garmin launches Dakota line of handheld GPS units for the great outdoors

Garmin's already firmly entrenched in the GPS for outdoorspeople game with its Oregon line of handhelds, and now the company's announced a new series, the Dakotas. Two models -- the 10 and 20, respectively -- have been launched. These bad boys supposedly have a 20 hour battery charge life, a 2.6-inch LCD (diagonally), and store up to 200 tracks. The higher-end Dakota 20 boasts a MicroSD slot, an electronic compass, a barometric altimeter, and wireless data transfer between compatible units. They're expected in the 3rd quarter and will run you $299.99 for the Dakota 10 and $349.99 for the 20. Full press release after the break.

[Via GPS Tracklog]

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the Dakota 10 and Dakota 20 handheld GPS navigators, packing a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, worldwide basemap and color touchscreen display into a compact, waterproof device with up to 20 hours of battery life.

"As families and friends explore the outdoors – from an exotic locale to the local park – Dakota helps keep their adventures affordable and enjoyable," said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales.

"While kids have fun with Dakota's small size and simple interface, parents can take comfort in never losing their way thanks to high-sensitivity GPS and extended battery life."

Lightweight, rugged and waterproof, Garmin's new Dakota devices quickly acquire and maintain satellite reception – even in heavy tree cover or deep canyons – thanks to a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix TM , which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position. Everyone from geocachers and youth scouts to surveyors and hunters can take advantage of Dakota's 850 MB of internal memory, which can store up to 1,000 waypoints, 50 routes, 2,000 geocaches and an active tracklog of up to 10,000 points and 200 saved tracks.

Based on the innovative interface of Garmin's award-winning Oregon series, Dakota's glove-friendly, color 2.6-inch touchscreen display is easy to read and use in all conditions, responsive to the touch of your finger, yet resistant to the forces of nature. Weighing only 6.75 ounces, Dakota lasts up to 20 hours on two AA batteries and can connect to your PC or Mac via USB connection.

Dakota 20 adds even more features, including a 3-axis compass, barometric altimeter, a microSD card slot for increased mapping and memory storage, and wireless unit-to-unit connectivity for sharing your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with compatible Dakota, Oregon, Colorado and Foretrex devices. Dakota 20's 3-axis, tilt-compensated electronic compass shows your heading even when you're standing still, without needing to hold it level.

It's fun and easy to get into paperless geocaching with Dakota. You can download up to 2,000 caches, with information such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description - no more paper print outs and manually entered coordinates. Visit Garmin.com/geocache for more information.

Dakota comes preloaded with a worldwide basemap and is compatible with Garmin City Navigator NT for turn-by-turn directions on city streets, Blue Chart g2 for marine charting, and TOPO U.S. 24K and 100K map software for incredible terrain detail (each sold separately).

[nathan.wong @ Jun 26th 2009 11:57AM]

Wow. Should I be saying goodbye to my 60CSx? I do like that smaller size.

[neofolklore @ Jun 26th 2009 11:59AM]

No compass.

[Chris @ Jun 26th 2009 12:10PM]

"Dakota 20 adds even more features, including a 3-axis compass, barometric altimeter, a microSD card slot for increased mapping and memory storage, and wireless unit-to-unit connectivity for sharing your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with compatible Dakota, Oregon, Colorado and Foretrex devices."

Sounds like the higher-end model has a compass...

[nathan.wong @ Jun 26th 2009 12:08PM]

No compass? The Dakota 20 has a 3 axis compass so it doesn't have to be held level and you can use it while standing still. That sounds like the one to get.

[Ryan M @ Jun 26th 2009 12:14PM]

All I know is anybody who ever wants to research these (Google Dakota vs Colorado) is only going to find a sleuth of information on the virtues of one Compact american pickup over another. Pretty funny, actually.

[Orbital @ Jun 26th 2009 1:36PM]

OH NO, NO COMPASS.

IT'S NOT LIKE I COULD STOP AT ANY OLD STORE FOR ONE, IT'S NOT LIKE THEY COME IN LARGE SIZES TO FIT IN YOUR HAND, OR, SMALL SIZES THAT FIT ON KEYCHAINS, AND A LOT CHEAPER, TOO.

WHATEVER WILL WE DO.

[murmermer @ Jun 26th 2009 2:00PM]

its a GPS devices how do you know what direction you are heading without a compass? these GPS Units are for walking around, if you have ever been hiking you know that you are already carrying water, food, a GPS UNIT, a med kit, rain gear, change of clothes, weapon (protection), that stuff gets heavy you shouldnt have to carry around another device because the first one is lacking

[Dakota @ Jun 26th 2009 1:52PM]

Despite my name, I'm still a TomTom man by heart.
Thanks but no thanks, Garmin.

[MicroF_ckingSoft @ Jun 26th 2009 2:55PM]

So you're saying despite your name, you never do any of the following?

- hiking
- hang-gliding (or paragliding)
- boating
- backcountry snowboarding (or skiing)
- mountain biking
- off-road motorcycling (or driving)

And that's why you prefer your in-car TomTom vs. something made for "outdoor" use?

What's funny is that despite my screen-name, I prefer WinMo vs. iPhone!!! But that's because I use Garmin nRoute on my WinMo phone (Touch Pro) and share waypoints and maps with the two Garmin units I use for the above activities. I'd probably be DEAD if I had relied on an iPhone (or a TomTom or even my WinMo phone) for those activities.)

[ConceptVBS @ Jun 26th 2009 2:01PM]

If James Kim from CNET had this device, he would'nt have died. =(

RIP James

[leftyfb @ Jun 26th 2009 2:02PM]

I'm not seeing how this is a "bump up" from the Oregon line other than an extra 4 hour battery life.
These are the only differences I found:

Oregon 550t / Dakota

3" LCD / 2.6" LCD
200 routes / 50 routes
3.2 megapixel with autofocus; 4x digital / nope

[FitFan @ Jun 26th 2009 2:04PM]

I'm not sure that this is a bump up from the Oregon line. The latest Oregon units have built-in 3 MP camera and are a lot more expensive.

The screen does look nicer.

[hoodieboy711 @ Jun 26th 2009 3:49PM]

That picture is obviously an artist's rendition.

I think the biggest difference is price, the Dakota looks like it is a value, or entry-level, unit compared to the $360-$600 Oregon series units.

[Todd @ Jun 26th 2009 4:31PM]

That's a neat looking device. I will have to see how it reviews and decide whether it's worth replacing my 60CSx.

[StevenBlunt @ Jun 27th 2009 9:00AM]

I like these for the size, but the Oregon units seem to have much more functionality and convenience than these. I'd rather pay the extra hundred bucks for a user-replaceable battery for on the trail swaps, as well as the camera for those quick shots.

Steve

[theo @ Jun 28th 2009 5:55AM]

i hope its screen is significantly better than my Oregon's 300, which is useless for outdoor use (who uses GPS outdoor anyway?). Luckily I still have my 60Csx, best GPS device ever...!