Magellan Explorist 210

by Valerie Stabenow
(Freeport, IL)

I was in the market for an affordable GPS to use for some community projects. I didn't need it to help me find places or a lot of the other tasks most GPS units can do, so I couldn't justify spending over $200 for a GPS unit. The 210 does have these features, but I liked the ease of use. The joystick allows you to navigate easily the menus and screens and to enter information. It doesn't have a color screen, but it does have a backlit screen with 2 brightness settings. However, you are advised that battery life will be quickly depleted by constant use of the backlight.

I found that it worked well to calibrate my car's speedometer, and here I thought I was speeding all this time! Turned out my speedometer registered about 5 mph faster than I was actually going.

If you are a die-hard hiker or backpacker, this may not be the unit for you. But if you need good locational information that's better than trying to deal with a paper map the 210 is an ideal choice.

It has a screen that functions like a real compass and also a screen that shows your location by longitude and latitude. There is a tracking screen and you can mark your position to file so that you can return to it, or use it to return to your starting point. The file system allows you to enter Points of Interest (POI). You can use the file folders that are built in and also create and name your own folders.

I haven't tried all the 210's features yet, so I'm thinking that it will be even more useful as I learn more. I haven't done anything with the software since I am in the process of upgrading to Vista on a new computer.