To wrap this review up, lets summarize some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Garmin Monterra.Strengths
- Relatively new Android OS
- Android side of things works great
- Workable display
- Power pack should save a lot of money on batteries
- GPS and GLONASS provide excellent accuracy
- Comes with international power adaptors and screen protectors
- Supports a virtual unlimited number of caches
- Still have to reboot device for Garmin apps to see new maps and GPX files
- Large physical size
- Burns through power like a congressman burns through cash.
- Some subtle yet incredibly annoying UI apps on the Garmin legacy side.
- Expensive
Going into this review, and given the revolutionary aspects of the Monterra, I expected this device to be weak in some areas, and stronger in others. What I didn't expect is that these areas were completely opposite. The Android side turned out to be stellar, and the legacy Garmin side turned out to disappoint.
Despite how shiny and new this device is, and how convenient the Android OS makes the device to use, its downsides far outweighs its upsides.
At one stage during testing I had the Monterra, the Montana, and the eTrex, all ready to go in my pack, and honestly, every time I reached for a GPSr to search for a cache, my instinct was to pick the eTrex.
The Monterra is pretty, but I'd rather keep my current setup, all things considered.
Did I miss anything you wanted to see in the review? Drop me a line in the comments and I'll address it inline, or in a follow up post.
<< Previous section: Power | Wrap around to the Introduction ^^
