My Trimble Juno ST GPS is getting a little bit old. Since I bought my Trimble (for about US$600) there have been two newer models of the Trimble Juno that have come to market. The Juno ST feature list lacks a bit of bling and I’m thinking about replacing it with something a little more full featured. I want to replace it with something that can do exactly what I need it to do.

To me a GPS is an extremely important tool that I use a lot. I use my GPS to mark locations of where I take rock and soil samples, I record my tracks so I know where I’ve been and how to get back there later, I record important geographic or man-made changes in geographic features, and I use my GPS to keep me from getting lost.

Sometimes I have it pretty easy and there’s a lot of resources around because I’m marking where we’re doing a lot of work. But most of the time I’m trekking around in really hot weather, in barren terrain that’s very far off of the beaten path. There are very few people around to offer me help if I ever need it. It’s hot, it’s dangerous, and I’d be in a serious life-threatening situation if I were to ever get lost, so I rely on my GPS not only to collect data but I also rely on it to help keep me safe.

It helps to stay safe by not carrying more than what I have to. I normally carry some food, a couple of liters of water, some candy, my camera, a hammer, a small pocket knife, 20 or so thick plastic bags with tie straps, my backpack, cellular phone, old style compass, keys and of course my GPS.

The list of what I’m carrying looks fairly reasonable, it’s not too bulky and not too heavy – but as I’m hiking I’m putting rock samples in those plastic bags I’m carrying. I’m also marking the location of where I picked up the rocks and taking a picture of the area and the place where I found them. If you haven’t guessed it by now – I’m using my GPS while prospecting for minerals. Sometimes I’m one of the guys that goes in and finds the place to explore before there’s ever a thought of a mine being there.

Since I’m picking up rock samples along my way, the backpack I’m carrying is getting heavier all the time. Sometimes I’m doing a 20km (12.5 miles) round-trip hike in 35C (95F) or hotter weather. Under the conditions I’m using my GPS in – even the shirt I wear is heavy.

One of the reasons I like the Trimble Juno is because it’s a handheld computer. The Juno runs the Windows Mobile OS and while I’m a Mac user I have to admit that the Windows Mobile OS is actually pretty good. My GPS is not only a GPS, I can open spreadsheets with it, take notes with it, add custom programs to it, look at reference pictures that I put on it and I can even play music or movies on it. My GPS is a multi-functional device but it’s not as multi-functional as I’d like it to be.

I’d like to have a reasonable camera in my GPS, it’d save me from having to carry one and the extra effort to get it out of my backpack after taking a sample. The camera should take pictures that include of geographic reference to where the photo was taken (geotagged).

Both the new Juno SB and the Juno SC now have the functionality I’m looking for.

The two new models now sport a 3 megapixel camera that will geotag the pictures it takes. Trimble upgraded the body style so that the device is a little more rugged too. Being rugged is pretty important, since it’s likely you’re going to be using this thing outside.

The only real difference between the two new models is that the Juno SB has a 3.5G cellular modem. This feature, that you’re going to pay an extra $200 for, would have been far more useful if it were a full fledged cellular phone. I have to give Trimble a thumbs down on that point – why wouldn’t you have given it phone functionality too?

All in all, both the new Juno models look pretty good, but I’m not going to pay the extra $200 for the 3.5G modem – that additional feature isn’t going to keep me from having to carry my cellular phone.