Garmin chirp beacon gives a lift to geocaching
updated 08:45 am EDT, Fri October 15, 2010
Garmin intros chirp geocaching beacon
Garmin on Friday boosted its geocaching efforts with the unusual addition of a beacon. The chirp can be detected by most of Garmin's outdoor GPS units and will automatically unlock hints or other details when close by. Its owner has full control and can not only password-lock the beacon but create coordinates for a multi-cache set or check how many users have visited a given chirp unit.
The design is built to last for very long periods outdoors, with a year's worth of battery and a shell that should withstand typical weather. It's just 1.3 inches across and is designed to stay hidden. Unlike most Garmin launches, the chirp should already be available and costs a relatively low $23.
