Magellan MAP 330 2.2-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

The palm-size MAP 330 is designed for sturdiness and simplicity, containing an 8 MB base map with political/national boundaries, major roads and highways, national parks, airports, and waterways. An additional 8 MB of rewritable flash memory allows use of an optional CD-ROM for comprehensive street details. Using four onscreen and six hard-case buttons (plus cursor), we could easily plan and track our journeys. The map screen enabled us to find our place on the planet in the general vicinity of our city and state. The data screen displays heading, bearing, speed, and distance covered, while the position screen displays time, elevation, longitude, and latitudinal positions and the trip odometer.

For novices the setup may seem a bit complicated. We recommend that you initialize your unit, then settle in for armchair exploration of the user manual to familiarize yourself with the rather complex programming setup, which can be difficult to follow. For example, the backlight, which quickly drains batteries, will shut down automatically in four seconds when not in use, but you can also set the light level by pressing the light/on/off button. However, when we tried this method, the unit simply shut off each time.

Once you get the hang of the MAP 330, or if you are an experienced GPS user, you'll soon be itching to explore the world. --David Greenberger

Pros:

• Rugged GPS device for the outdoors
• Compact and very sturdy design slips in a pocket or backpack
• Lock-on tracking whether in a closed vehicle, in a boat, or on foot

• Without the optional MapSend Street CD-ROM, you will not get the specific street information to guide you door to door
• Learning curve may be longer for the novice user to master the program sequences

View your navigation information on any of the four graphic screens on the high-resolution grayscale display. Other GPS features include 500 waypoints, 20 reversible routes with 30 legs, calculator for determining the best fishing and hunting times, proximity alarms, and sun/moon calculator. The 1,200-point SmartTrack records your path, while BackTrack brings you home again. A quadrifilar antenna provides superior tracking.

The GPS 330 runs on two AA alkaline batteries for up to 10 hours. It comes with a PC cable, wrist strap, and quick-reference guide. It is covered by a one-year warranty.