While it seems like every handheld device these days come with a GPS receiver, not every GPS-packing portable can be used in the wild. Magellan’s new eXplorist devices, the 710, 610, and 510, all come with the basic features that we should all expect from a dedicated navigator (which means you get maps, road routes, and points of interest), but also come with an important bonus for frequent travelers and outdoorsy-types: they’re built to be tough.
Well, at least tough enough that you won’t have to worry about being lost after hiking through a rainstorm. All three new units are IPX-7 certified, which means they can survive being dipped in up to 3.3 feet (1 meter) of water for 30 minutes, and come with a rubber-coated frame that gives it shock protection.
All three units feature a 3-inch color touchscreen, a 3.2-megapixel cam with autofocus that supports geotagging, geocaching, and a 15-hour battery. For travelers, they all come preloaded with a World Edition map that comes with full road info for the US, Canada, Western Europe and Australia, main roads for the rest of the world, as well as water features, urban and rural land use, and a realistic shaded relief background.
The $550 eXplorist 710 is the top-end model that comes with a 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter sensors, plus Magellan’s Summit Series USA Topographic Mapping and City Series features that offer high-detail maps and turn-by-turn routing.
The eXplorist 610 drops the City Series feature from the spec sheet for $450, while the eXplorist 510 serves as the most basic of the three, dropping the Summit Series, City Series, and 3-axis compass features for $350.
Tags: eXplorist, GPS, Magellan, Mobile Tech, Rugged
