Hands On with the Bushnell ONIX400 XM/GPS/Weather Tracker
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 8:28 PM
Tags: 2, XM
At CES I had the unique opportunity to not only get a demonstration and detailed tour of the Bushnell ONIX400, but also to hold molest the device in my own grubby hands.
To truly understand and appreciate the technical feat that this device is accomplishing really requires a full rundown of it's abilities from the people who know it best - the engineers. Every millimeter of the Bushnell ONIX400 Weather Tracker has been meticulously designed and thought out. And it uses technology so advanced that... well, that it doesn't exist yet (it'll be available this Summer).
Read more, and view more hands-on pics, after the jump...
The Bushnell ONIX400 is built to IPX7 standards meaning the GPS case can withstand immersion in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes.
(Sorry about the fuzzy shot.) Essentially what you're looking at is the bottom of the ONIX400 - including a USB port, and the modular XM dataport that will accept XM accessories like the antenna headphones and docks.
It should be noted that this is a personal GPS device, meant for the outdoorsman and those who want person GPS/Weather Tracking capabilities. It's not a nav-system, so there isn't any soft of routing software that you expect from a vehicle navigation system.
You can setup paths, and have the device drop "bread crumbs" so you can retrace your previous route, as well as mesh this data with real-time weather information. You can track sports scores, stock quotes, and "watch" multiple XM music channel to see what's on (without playing any audio).
The XM Radio aspect of the device is actually very Inno-esque, showing the channel logos and a very similar user-interface to the latest generation XM2go/MP3 players.
The maps include the ability to overlay weather data on top of satellite imagery, or even more useful, on top of topographic maps. The data is layered in the display, so you can have your mapping, weather data, routes and a virtual compass all on top of each other on a single screen.
Also understand that the ONIX400 doesn't just provide weather data. It gives forecasting information in a user-friendly fashion. This isn't like the professional XM WX weather systems for aviation/marine use - this is specifically designed for the consumer. And for only $500, it's targeting the consumer perfectly.
The personal weather technology is the same that's showcased in XM's Infotainment vehicle - only that while that's contained in a vehicle - the Bushnell packs all that information into a handheld.
You also aren't limited to the weather data of your own location. If you want to pull up forecast information for a separate location - so you can be hanging out in a duckblind in Oregon, and call your buddy up in North Dakota to give him a 5-day forecast. With the Bushnell ONIX400, you'll never be dependent on the local weather-guy ever again.
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Comments
Yeah, and you're probably going to get a more accurate forecast out of that thing than you would your local weatherman. Actually, I shouldn't say that... many areas have odd nuances about their environments that may cause conventional forecasting wisdom to not apply all the time, and a local weatherman would know that from their experience in the area, while a device like this might not. But that tends to affect long-term forecasting more than short-term...
Posted by: MikeV ? | January 10, 2007 9:04 AM
Nice photos -- does it accept the Helix/Inno headphones or does it have just a regular jack? Also, is there a car cradle?
Posted by: iband | January 10, 2007 9:25 AM
The thing to consider (and I'm probably going to write a full post about this) is that the "local benefit" that terrestrial radio provides to the consumer is the ability to provide traffic and weather. By developing these technologies, satellite radio is effectively negating this benefit.
This is just the first in many steps towards that.
Posted by: Ryan Saghir ? | January 10, 2007 9:34 AM
That thing is fugly.
Posted by: SatRadMadMan ? | January 10, 2007 2:48 PM
Do you know how many they expect to sell?
Also, Do you know how many XM WX and Sirius Weather each company has signed up?
Nice reporting on this. I look forward to seeing them myself.
Posted by: OsodelMar | March 7, 2007 9:22 PM
I was curious with the weather radar- how close in can a person zoom to get maps and updates of storms and stuff? can a person zoom in to like a 4 county range?
Posted by: Andy S | May 21, 2007 1:45 AM
The XM Weather cast is a nice feature.Overall it looks like a good GPS handheld.However from reading the review I get that you can view whats playing on the XM Radio channels but can't listen.IMHO that feature seems pretty much pointless.For $500 it should give you the ability to listen to the XM Radio channels if you have an XM subscription.
Posted by: Joe | June 30, 2007 3:15 PM
You can listen to the audio, you just need headphones.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | November 6, 2007 6:33 AM
I bought one of these devices as I was intrigued with the weather overlay display feature. The device is a pretty nice physical design but controls, menus and loading maps and arial photos is a step back into the dark ages. I didn't find the maping to be particularly accurate (my displayed positions on either the map or photo was nearly a block from my true location). The maps and photos were difficult to read in outdoor lighting. I was not able to zoom in enough with the arial photos to make them very useful. When I called for product support, as I had a problem loading maps and photos, I was told that the one guy who could answer my questions wasn't there at that time. I don't think Bushnell is exactly geared up to support this product. I took it back where I bought it...
Posted by: Lee in FL | April 25, 2008 12:37 PM