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When it comes to handheld GPS Units, Delorme already had a winner in the Earthmate PN-20.  With near instantaneous satellite acquisition using a 12 channel STMicroelectronics GPS chipset and 75 megabytes of onboard memory, it had the competition struggling to keep up. 

Delorme did not wait for someone to design a unit to outperform the PN-20.  They designed the PN-40 to leave their own designs in the dust.  The PN-40 is equipped with a 32 channel chipset that locks onto satellites in less than 60 seconds from the time it’s powered on.  A dual-core processor has been included to achieve rapid screen redraws even with detailed color aerial imagery filling the screen.

The PN-40’s onboard memory holds 500 megabytes of imagery, tracks, routes, and waypoints.  If that’s not enough space to get a job done, it accepts SD cards with up to 32 gigabytes of storage.  Considering that one square mile of aerial imagery uses less than one megabyte of storage, it would theoretically be possible to store 32,000 square miles of aerial imagery on one hand held unit. 

Aerial imagery is the most powerful tool available when trying to locate anything from a geocache to a faint trail in the woods.  For example, if you are walking beside a creek, when you look at the screen, you can see yourself walking and you can see the creek beside you.  While driving or walking through a neighborhood, you can see each individual house on the screen as you go past it.  Basically, the picture you are looking at on the GPS unit is the same image you would see if you brought it up on GoogleMaps.com.  The advantage is seeing your own position on that map.

The PN-40 is shipped with a copy of TopoUSA 7.0 with topographic maps for the entire country.  The software is licensed to be installed on one desktop computer and one portable unit such as a laptop.  Everything uploaded to the GPS or downloaded from the GPS is done through TopoUSA 7.0.  For a subscription price under $30, you can get unlimited downloads from the DeLorme server which includes a variety of satellite and aerial packages throughout the United States that overlay the preloaded maps.

If sharing trails and routes with friends is part of your routine, the PN-40 package is all you need.  Everything you do on the PN-40 is stored in files that can be downloaded to TopoUSA and emailed to anyone you know.  For example, you could be camped at a remote site in a dense forest.  A friend could call and offer to join you for some friendly campfire tales.  Using a laptop with wireless Internet, you could send the route you traveled to reach the campsite.  That friend could import your route to TopoUSA and upload it to the PN-40.  Your route will display on the PN-40 and your friend can follow it step by step to your campfire.

A couple years ago two young men went for a hike on a faint trail in the mountains of Colorado.  While they were in the forest, a snow storm passed through.  With a blanket of snow on the ground, the faint trail vanished from sight.  If they had been using the PN-40, they would have a track displayed on the screen that was created as they went into the forest.  To get out, they could simply follow the track on the screen.  In addition, the aerial display on the screen would be one of the trail without the snow.  Getting out would have been as easy as getting in.  Unfortunately, those young men did not have the PN-40.  They became lost and froze to death during the night.