Magellan has announced its new eXplorist 500 LE handheld GPS unit, which is pretty similar to the existing eXplorist 500, but offers a choice between using a rechargable Li-Ion battery or ordinary AAA batteries—handy when you’re off in the middle of nowhere away from generators, car chargers, and utilty power. A pair of AAA batteries offers up to 17 hours of use.
The eXplorist 500 LE features a 2.3-inch full color backlit LCD screen, PC-style file management of user files and directories, and expandable storage via standard SD cards. Magellan promotes the eXplorist series to outdoor types: hunters, hikers, fishers, kayakers, and—thanks to the ability to download cache information directly from the Internet—even geocachers. The units include MapSend Topo 3D topographic maps, and can be combined with MapSend Lakes to offer complete off-road navigation solutions. (Of course, the systems can also display street maps.) The eXplorist 500 LE calculates area and a perimeter while providing vertical relief profiles for trails and paths; users can also view contour, elevation, and terrain detail, along with extensive points of interest databases. Eight megabytes of built in memory enable users to save 5 track log files, 20 routes, and 500 points of interest; a USB port enables data exchange with PCs.
The eXplorist 500 LE comes with a rugged carrying case, weighs less than 4 ounces, offers three-meter accuracy, and is waterproof to boot. Additional MapSend software is available, including nautical titles, topographic maps of Mexico and other international locales. The eXplorist 500 LE will carry a retail price of $299.99, although some vendors will no doubt offer discounts.
