Discount Garmin Dakota 20 2.6-Inch Touchscreen Handheld GPS Navigator

I just received my new Dakota 20 and plan to use it primarily for geocaching. I discovered that it will neither send or receive caches, tracks, waypoints, etc. with Garmin MapSource mapping software. I'm VERY DISAPPOINTED that Garmin would come out with a new product that isn't compatible with its basic mapping foundation software. They heavily promote purchase of their Topographic software and/or City Navigator software to install on the Dakota (at about $100 each) which both require subsequent installation of Mapsource. Then, after you purchase and install the software you can't even send or receive (easily that is) all the basic geocaching functions, i.e., caches, tracks, waypoints. You're kidding me! The workaround that requires switching file types from .GPX to .GDB in BaseCamp (a separate, free Garmin software download) isn't satisfactory to me after spending several hundred dollars and after having been a loyal Garmin customer since the inception of geocaching. I also don't care much for having to install more software (BaseCamp) that does little more - and in my opinion considerably less - than Mapsource.
Read the "User Comments" to the Dakota 20 review here for more information: [...]


Perhaps there is some other resolution or fix for this problem that I don't know about right now, but until I find out what it is I'm thinking that this incompatability just sucks! At this point I would not recommend the Dakota series to anyone. I'd recommend the GPSMap 60 series instead (I own two of them).

I sure hope that Garmin doesn't make this same mistake with their new GPSMap 62 series.

I do like the touchscreen, paperless, etc. and all the other features of the unit. The brightness and sharpness isn't as good as my GPSMap 60 Series, but it's a different type and size of display so I'm okay with that. The display is a bit dim in low light (but still quite acceptable to me) and fine in bright sunlight although it sometimes it has to be turned "just right" to get good reflection. It's an easy remedy if hand handheld, but I would imagine not so easy in a bike mount (although I don't ride a bike). Night time is not a problem at all of course.
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