Amcor 3.5 Inch Portable Touchscreen GPS for Under $100 Offers Much for Drivers

The Amcor Touchscreen Portable GPS is drawing a lot of attention because of price and features, and as the owner of a couple of older Garmin portable units, it's a possible replacement. My units have been great for hiking as one is waterproof, the other has a bicycle mount, and both do an excellent job of acquiring signals with a 12-channel receiver. Navigation software in the units tracks my path, indicates my approach to waypoints, and gives me bearings in a number of different measurement systems. They are black-and-white, with small screens, and cost a fair amount. What can the less expensive Amcor do that they can't?

Starting with the practical, the Amcor has a rechargeable battery, about 3 hours worth according to Woot.com, where it's today's special at $99+$5 shipping. Maybe not so good for the woods, unless there's an outlet nearby for charging, possibly good for sailing on a bigger boat with electricity, but again, not as a handheld. Casual use, geocaching, shorter hikes or for part-time use on the go would be fine, but the software doesn't seem to be designed for much but road use. From the battery life and the apparent lack of the hiking features I enjoy, I'd say the Amcor Touchscreen Portable GPS is pretty much a road unit, with battery flexibility when there's nowhere to plug it in.

The 3.5" color display is a big plus, the touch screen also. Users report that selecting icons on the touchscreen can be done with a finger as well as the stylus. Most North American maps are built-in (mine have to be loaded separately on my Garmin units) and there's an SD card slot to hold data. Lots of recommendations for pit stops are built in for drivers (mine has a few), and it's got 21 languages in its voice output to keep you company and keep your eyes on the road. Mine has a beep. The unit software is reported to have quite a few cool features, including playing MP4 video files.

Touchscreen input is becoming more popular, and deservedly so since devices like my Sansa E250 MP3 player don't work so well as the buttons and knobs break down pretty quickly (less than a year on this and a previous Sansa unit), and the Amcor is a commodity unit so it's likely to get similar quality input devices. My Garmin unit is pretty rugged, but not so inexpensive, either. Users report that the Amcor is of good construction, with a rubberized feel as well.

Maps available for the unit can be updated with downloads from the Amcor site, and the manual for a similar unit, the 3500, indicates that the points of interest listed in the unit's database include a wide variety, even traffic video cameras. Route planning including pit stops can be done using in-unit data, another reason that the battery might be convenient since it allows programming while the unit is in a more convenient location, such as a desk.

As a commodity unit detailed technical specifications concerning the GPS reception technology are scarce, but so are complaints about reception and operation. Previous products have been popular, so the Amcor portable unit seems likely to be satisfactory as a car-based unit, and the price and features are hard to beat. I don't think it will replace my units for off-road use, but for a car that doesn't have a factory installed navigation system or a business traveler, this one will do nicely.

"The Woot Community: Amcor 3.5 inch Touchscreen Portable GPS", http://www.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=1983116&PageIndex=1&ReplyCount=187#post1983138
"AMCOR Navigation GPS Systems", http://www.amcorgroupusa.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD_STATIC&Store_Code=&Category_Code=GPS