By Evan Ackerman

At first glance, the new Garmin eTrex H series is nothing special… It’s small, waterproof, has a track log, a backlit LCD, WAAS, and runs on two AA batteries for $110. Here’s the hook: it will be able to connect to an entirely new global positioning system called Galileo.

It may not bother you that the United States (specifically the US Military) owns the current globally adopted satellite navigation and positioning system, but it’s understandably unsettling for other countries. The European Union is currently working on it’s own Galileo Positioning System (that would be… GPS). It will feature standard (free) accuracy on par with the US system, or you can pay a fee to subscribe to sub-meter accuracy (10 cm when receiving a ground station signal).

Since Galileo isn’t operational yet, the eTrex H will accept a drop-in chip when the system goes live in 2010.

VIA [ Navigadget ]

GPS