Otherwise, the hardware makes a good impression: Robust, hard rubber grip edge, summarizes in itself, as if it sometimes is expected to fall down, and the display is easy to read even in bright sunlight. The purely technical side of the operation is flawless, with stiff buttons, and I personally like the design even GPS reception works even under less than optimal conditions well, and I only got through the east window up to 8 meters accurate reception.
Drawback is that only an extremely slow USB connection has been installed (feels like 1.1). What is also a joke, is just 50 centimeters short USB cable. Also, a bracket (eg for bikes) are only available as accessories (in this case). The internal memory is sized very very tight with just 1.8 gigabytes of usable, and also is not enough for a lot of material, at least the memory up to 8 GB can be retrofitted in the form of a micro SD card.
A star deduction, there are on the software side. What Garmin has thought in the firmware, may be continued only speculate.
The menus are overweight but still customizable, so can functions that are not needed, which will be hidden was it but also to comfort. To the main menu to get when when you are in the map by times to press the Menu button two. Press with a time you can change the display options, or even make the Werkseinstelllungen again, which has to seek the actual main menu, may be continued speculation, especially since both can be reached using the settings in the actual main menu.
Since the supplied map detail neither overly nor routable, is, it was the well already. More than a rough idea you do not get. If you get used to the fact that the push buttons act reversed, and you zoom out, or want to scroll around, it shows how incredibly slow loading the map, and I supplied already with the detailed poor call them times Demo Map.
Thanks to the community to get the VeloMap for cycling holidays or known, more general leisure card (both are easy to find on Google and used the OpenStreetMap maps that usually is very detailed, the latter fits into the whole of Germany version 1.6 free good GB and just as in the internal memory) maps.
Here too the possibilities are restricted: The software that you actually used to get the card to the device runs on Windows or in a roundabout way (WINE) on Linux. However, it makes the Garmin users here pleasantly simple, and you can mount the eTrex 20 as a disk, and copy the maps to the internal memory manually.
Who uses a Micro-SD card, the card material, however, should previously copy to the memory card This is simply faster (see above). The planning of routes and waypoints, and the management of POIs or geocaching points are done better on the PC (eg on Linux with QLandkarte GT in Garmin Mass Storage mode; management under Windows untested since no Windows available) because the configuration on the device itself is quite fiddly.
If you then put everything on the device, and it is set up so far, are set to go. The positioning and navigation function properly, if you are traveling by bike or on foot, and not about scrolls, it shows from the very, very (and with detailed maps much more) bad charging behavior of the card nothing.
Conclusion:
The hardware is compliant, the software still has to be worked. I hope Garmin brings still out a firmware patch, so that at least the map when zooming or scrolling faster invites (Layer Weiser structure instead of loading all at once, and to wait until everything is loaded, for example)
A Linux version of Garmin's proprietary software would be desirable, but there is with QLandkarte GT a very good alternative. Similarly, there are thanks to the OpenStreetMap community very good, free, and free maps in various design with all imaginable special cards and divisions.
Despite the rather weak Software a buy recommendation!
