These new eTrex units are Garmin's smallest, least expensive products to combine a color TFT display and advanced GPS auto-routing capabilities in a waterproof design.

"These pocket-sized units will help you see where you are, where you've been and where you're going in brilliant, sunlight-readable color," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's director of marketing.

"The eTrex Legend C and Vista C are lightweight, compact, easy-to-use products with additional features that bring the benefits of GPS technology to outdoor enthusiasts in an affordable package."

Several improvements have been made in the eTrex Legend C and eTrex Vista C that expand the legacy of the eTrex product line. First, the units have a bright, transflective color TFT display that offers daylight-viewability to the user.

Second, these products both offer automatic route generation, off-route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions with alert tones, and icon-driven menus for finding points of interest (when combined with Garmin's optional MapSource CDs).

Third, they run longer on 2 AA batteries, giving users more hours of outdoor enjoyment with their GPS unit. Fourth, both units feature a mini-USB port that enables users to download map data rapidly from Garmin's entire library of optional MapSource CDs using a PC.

Finally, both products boast 24 MB of internal memory for map storage.

The eTrex Legend C and eTrex Vista C resemble other products in the eTrex family in terms of compact size (2.2"W x 4.2"H x 1.2"D), lightweight design (5.6 oz.) and ease-of-use characteristics.

The units provide outstanding accuracy of less than three meters (10 feet) when enabled to receive enhanced GPS signals from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in the United States.

Like all eTrex units, the primary controls are oriented on the side of the unit, so the user can operate it with one hand. An innovative rocker switch is located on the face of the unit that enables the user to input data, scroll through menus or pan the map page.

The eTrex Legend C and eTrex Vista C are expected to be available in July 2004 at a suggested retail price of $374.99 and $428.56, respectively.

Each unit will ship standard with a USB PC-interface cable, MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager CD, lanyard, owner's manual and quick-reference guide.

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