Before
I go into the Field Report I want to start by saying that we really
like the geomate.jr. While I will outline a few limitations and point
out a few tradeoffs made in order to keep the operation simple and
price low, I believe these are right in line with the intended use and
the target consumers.
I have lost count of exactly how many
times we have gone out with the geomate.jr. We have used it
for caches
around our home 4-5 times, we took it with us to the central California
Coast for a wedding (we got some great pictures so these are the ones I
have included in this report), we have taken it with us on two family
snowshoeing trips (more about that below), and I have taken it with me
on two business trips.
I
am finding some aspects of geocaching with the geomate.jr. to
be a bit
more challenging then using a standard GPS. Not having maps, cache
name, description, and hints can make locating some caches a bit more
difficult. For example, we went out looking for one cache and ended up
driving back and forth looking for a way to get to the area only to
find there are no direct routes. I referred to some maps and realized
we had to park on the opposite side of the lake in a strip mall parking
lot and then walk around the lake to get to the cache. There was no
direct way to get from the nearest roads to the cache. This has
happened to a lesser extent with a few other caches. Often the cache
name provides a clue about the location of the cache or what to look
for. This is even truer for the cache description. Some caches are
quite easy to locate with only the information provided by
the geomate.jr.,
but some have been quite difficult (I have resorted to using my phone
to obtain the additional information in order to find a few caches).
The flip side to this is that one of the fun parts of geocaching can be
the challenge of finding a difficult cache. In that light, the minimal
information provided by the geomate can be considered an advantage! It
all depends on the objective [find lots caches quick and easy, or be
challenged].
The
limited information provided by the geomate.jr. is offset by
its ease of
use and ability to store an enormous number of caches. Being able to
simply turn the device and automatically have the location of the 20
nearest caches is a huge benefit for kids who may have difficulties in
obtaining the caches from the website and then programming them into
the device. And to be honest this is an advantage for me as well. I
have more than once found myself with some time that I could use to go
geocaching while traveling, only to have difficulties in locating the
local caches on the geocaching website.
In my initial report I
commented upon the fact that the update kit was considered an option,
and I had not received it yet. One of the first caches I took my kids
to find was a cache I knew about near my office. Upon arriving in the
area we discovered that the cache was not loaded in
the geomate.jr. and we
had no way to add it. I still think the update kit should be a standard
part of the basic configuration.
I have since received the update
kit, and immediately gave it to Susan telling her to read the
instructions and see how it goes. She found the instructions easy to
understand and the website quite simple to navigate. She had some
difficulty initially; it turns out installing the update is not fully
compatible with our default web browser (Firefox). She showed me the
messages she was receiving and after I told her to use Internet
Explorer she had no further issues. I believe there is a work around
for Firefox.
As
mentioned in the Initial Report, Grace and Susan have been using
the geomate.jr. Susan being a seasoned geocacher has had
absolutely no
problem using it, and Grace has had no trouble using its basic
functions. However the ‘rule’ I mentioned in the Initial Report still
holds true: Giving an 8 year old something like this requires constant
supervision. Even after numerous warnings she continues to walk with
her head down looking at nothing but the screen of
the geomate.jr.,
completely oblivious to more ‘trivial’ details such as moving vehicles
and dangerous obstacles.
Within the first 6 weeks of receiving
the geomate.jr. I have had to replace the batteries 3 times.
Each time I
have found that the unit would not turn on so I pulled the batteries
and reinstalled them, and while the unit would then turn on, it would
indicate that the batteries were low. In one case I installed fresh
batteries; we used the device for a total of about 30 min and turned it
off. About 2 weeks later we went out geocaching only to find that the
batteries were dead. I e-mailed customer service on Sunday and received
offer to replace the unit the following day. After accepting their
offer and providing them shipping information, they said I should have
it by Friday but just in case it did not arrive before the holiday
weekend, that I was welcome to hang on to my unit until the new one
arrived. I was quite impressed! I don’t recall the last time a company
offered to send an advance replacement without some sort of guarantee
(such as a credit card). I received the replacement within a week,
and so far it has worked perfectly.
In addition to the
advertised uses of the geomate.jr. we have discovered an
additional use for
the devices “Home” feature. We have started taking
the geomate.jr. with us
when we go snowshoeing as a way to be sure we can find our way back to
the trailhead. We simply mark the trailhead as our “Home” location and
at any time can get information on the distance and direction to it
from wherever we may be. Since the geomate.jr. is so much
simpler and
lighter than my other GPS it is a nice way to shed some weight from our
gear without sacrificing safety.
Summary
My
kids and I just love the geomate.jr. While the low price and
ease of
use involved some trade offs, I think the device is a great idea and
perfect for kids. I highly recommend this for both casual and hard-core
geocachers, but especially for anyone interested in a new outdoor
activity with kids, or even an adult wanting a very low cost way of
getting started geocaching.
On a side note, my hope is that the
manufacturer is working on a geomate Sr…i.e. The geomate.jr.
with a few
added features like a better display & mapping and built-in
Wi-Fi.
Essentially, an entry level GPS unit with the caches already loaded and
user interface focused on geocaching. The Wi-Fi would allow on-the-fly
updating of caching logs/posts as well as getting the most recent
caches. I would be first in line to purchase it.
