Oregon 550 screen news

[+Unobtainium]

I've just got a replacement unit back from Garmin today under warranty (long story) and the screen is noticeably brighter than my old (Jan 2010) unit. Looks like the newer units are now shipping with the improved screen that we've already seen on the 450's

 

As a side note, Garmin have outperformed themselves again. I sent them just the unit as instructed and got back a brand new boxed unit with all the accessories including batteries and charger!

 

Great going Garmin!

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Yeah, someone else mentioned 450 screens showing up on 550 units. I wish Garmin hadn't done this, as it's going to cause even more confusion than the chipset switch on the 60CSx. It's good for you though, huh?

 

As someone who has used the old 550 extensively, can you comment on the improvement? Do you see it in all conditions? Does it just improve visibility from a wider range of angles?

[+Unobtainium]

I've not used the unit in anger yet, only in the garden under overcast skies. I will post back once I've got a better idea of the improvement.

 

I was one of those that could always see the screen, albeit with some twisting of the wrist, and now it seems significantly brighter although I have no objective data to quantify that.

 

The good news is that the choice of better screen or camera has now been removed between the 450 and 550 units.

[+Unobtainium]

OK, I've now got over 100 caches with the new unit.

 

Whilst I can't say it's chalk and cheese better, there is a significant improvement over my older unit.

 

I now tend to switch off the back light much more and the display is visible and usable over a much wider angle of view.

 

Sadly as I've not had both unit simultaneously, I'm not able to provide objective assessments. Also as I've not seen a 450, I can't comment on how the newer 550's compare to the 450's.

 

But I can say the new 550's screen is an improvement over the older models.

[+myotis]

So if you just got a 550, how can you tell if you have the new screen? I got mine at REI and if it is not the new screen I will exchange it!

[+Unobtainium]

Other than comparing with one you know to be 6 months old, I've no idea.

 

There may be a way from the serial numbers, but I guess you'd need access to the Garmin database for that.

[+Apache_sim]

  On 7/21/2010 at 10:36 PM, Andy K! said:

Other than comparing with one you know to be 6 months old, I've no idea.

 

There may be a way from the serial numbers, but I guess you'd need access to the Garmin database for that.

 

I have just been given a 550 for Christmas... a little disapointed with the screen to say teh least.

I tested in overcast conditions (therefore very diffused light) and could only see the screen with difficulty, I could barely notice the difference when the backlight was turned on at full brightness..

I think I might return the 550 in favour of GPSMAPS 62s

Edited December 28, 2010 by Apache_sim