Bushnell has announced the Bushnell ONIX 200 marking their entry into the handheld GPS market-place. They have certainly hit the ground running with this device as it comes with a few features many handheld GPS owners have been wanting for many years… Yes indeed, you can load up satellite imagery and aerial photography onto this GPS and layer the map files onto other views.
Bushnell ONIX 200

You will be able to come to see the Bushnell website and download satellite imagery, aerial photography, or topographic maps into your GPS device. With your buy of the device Bushnell will allow you to download four images. Additional buy options are available as well as a subscription model.

The device comes with a grayscale display which might still be okay since so much of the aerial photography and satellite imagery out there is also grayscale. There will also be a color model, the Bushnell ONIX 200 CR coming out in a few months which does feature a color screen. The ONIX 200 also features a “reverse video” mode to allow easier reading in low brightness conditions.

With a handheld GPS device, battery duration and class is often an important consideration. The ONIX 200 uses two AA batteries which could last up to 26 hours. I’ve always preferred traditional sized alkaline batteries in handheld devices for a pair of reasons. One, you can still put rechargeable batteries in most of these devices and two, if you run out of charge you can solve the trouble at the nearest convenience store. With lithium ion battery packs finding a charge (and waiting for it!) in the middle of a trip can be very hard.

Battery life in this GPS is aided by a new “SafeTrack” mode where the GPS chipset continues to monitor your location while putting other device operations into sleep mode. Even when in sleep mode you can still set audible alarms to alert you to course corrections or arrival notifications.

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