Amazon has two handheld GPS sales going on right now:

• This one ends Sunday, December 18 still going
• While this one ends Wednesday, December 21 stil going

Now that doesn’t mean that the prices and models listed won’t change, and quantities are limited, so if you see something you want, I’d grab it. The best deals seem to be on the Garmin Oregon 550 ($359.99) and the new GPSMAP 62stc ($479.99), although the prices aren’t too bad on the Oregon 450 ($259) and the GPSMAP 62s ($299) either. There are other deals too, so check them out. Oh, and Amazon offers free delivery by the 24th with Super Saver shipping orders placed through Monday.

More info:

• Handheld GPS buyers guide
• Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart

Amazon has the Magellan eXplorist 310 Waterproof Hiking GPS on sale for $139.99. This deal should be good thru December 18.

Here’s a snippet from GPS Tracklog’s Magellan eXplorist 310 review:

The Magellan eXplorist 310 is an entry-level handheld GPS and the newest member of the eXplorist family. The 310 is based on the same hardware platform as the popular eXplorist GC and like that model, includes paperless geocaching functionality. Unlike the GC though, the 310 also offers the features of a backcountry GPS, including the ability to load and navigate tracks and routes.

More info:

• Handheld GPS buyers guide

Amazon has rolled out their Black Friday GPS deals, in a week-long sale starting today. I’ve identified the following as some of the best deals posted this morning:

• Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates for $134.99 – Number one in GPS Tracklog’s readers’ top ten for seven months running (review)
• Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates for $152.99 – Just like the 1450LMT, plus you get Bluetooth (review)
• TomTom GO LIVE 2535M 5-Inch Portable Bluetooth GPS Navigator with HD Traffic and Lifetime Maps for $209.99 – A 5” internet-connect navigator that gives you Google Local search and more (review)

These deals may or may not be there all week. I didn’t see any great entry-level bargains, but I do expect new deals to be posted as the week goes along. For the most current Black Friday GPS deals follow @gpsdeal on Twitter.

More Black Friday week GPS deals at Amazon

Here are links to the main GPS sale pages at Amazon:

• Black Friday Week deals in GPS
• Black Friday Week deals in auto GPS
• Black Friday Week deals in sport & outdoor GPS

Handheld GPS deals

This morning’s list was a bit disappointing in this department. Here are a couple of the best ones we’ve seen though:

• Magellan eXplorist GC Waterproof Geocaching GPS for $129.99 – Paperless geocaching at a bargain price (review)
• Garmin Montana 650t Waterproof Hiking GPS with TOPO U.S. 100K and 5 Megapixel Camera for $582.99 – The top of the line Garmin handheld for one dollar more than the one without preloaded topos! (review)

In addition to the items in their holiday sales flyer, REI.com also has some handheld deals on their GPS sale page. Here’s the best of the bunch:

Garmin Oregon 550t for $369.99

• Garmin Oregon 550t review
• Compare at Amazon

Magellan eXplorist 310 for $159.93

• Magellan eXplorist 310 review
• Compare at Amazon

Magellan eXplorist 710 for $429.93

• Magellan eXplorist 710 review
• Compare at Amazon

You can see their full list of GPS sale items here.

UPDATE: This appears to be iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPod Touch 2nd generation compatible.

Magellan has opened up their own eBay store to sell direct to consumers and one of their first offerings is the Magellan ToughCase for iPhone and iPod Touch for only $79.99. It looks like they’ve done a price drop and then discounted it, as this item is still widely available online for $100 more!

Basically, the ToughCase gives you ruggedized, waterproof protection, an extended battery and improved GPS performance. There’s no formal expiration date, so we don’t know how long the deal will last. If you see that it’s gone, please drop a comment below.

More info:

• Compare at Amazon

We saw this deal a couple of months ago, and it’s back — Amazon has the Magellan eXplorist GC Waterproof Geocaching GPS for $129.99, which has to be about the best deal you can find for a paperless geocaching handheld. There’s no formal expiration date, so we don’t know how long the deal will last. If you see that it’s gone, please drop a comment below.

Here’s a snippet from GPS Tracklog’s Magellan eXplorist GC review:

The Magellan eXplorist GC is a new introduction designed to do one thing well – geocache! It has a 2.2” color (non-touch) screen, 18 hour (rated) battery life and a highly detailed worldwide basemap. And while it isn’t designed for backcountry navigation, it can accommodate 500 waypoints and a 5,000 point tracklog. Really though, the eXplorist GC is a one-trick pony aimed at geocachers, with a low and sure to be discounted MSRP of $199.99.

More info:

• GPS for geocachers

Amazon has the Magellan eXplorist GC Waterproof Geocaching GPS for $129.99, which has to be about the best deal you can find for a paperless geocaching handheld.

Here’s a snippet from GPS Tracklog’s Magellan eXplorist GC review:

The Magellan eXplorist GC is a new introduction designed to do one thing well – geocache! It has a 2.2” color (non-touch) screen, 18 hour (rated) battery life and a highly detailed worldwide basemap. And while it isn’t designed for backcountry navigation, it can accommodate 500 waypoints and a 5,000 point tracklog. Really though, the eXplorist GC is a one-trick pony aimed at geocachers, with a low and sure to be discounted MSRP of $199.99.

More info:

• GPS for geocachers

Amazon has the Magellan RoadMate 1420 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator on sale for $61.90. This is a great deal on a widescreen navigator with 6 million points of interest, text-to-speech, and preloaded maps of the entire US except for Alaska. There’s no formal expiration date, so we don’t know how long the deal will last. If you see that it’s gone, please drop a comment below. 

More info:

• The official Magellan RoadMate 1420 web page

Amazon has a 48 hour GPS sale running thru 11:59 p.m Pacific time, December 17. Follow that link and use the coupon code 48HRSGPS. There’s a wide range of units, but as of this morning, the best deals were the Magellans, the DeLorme PN-60, the nuvi 1350T and the TomTom XXL 540TM World Traveler Edition. The selection may change before it’s over though.

Amazon has posted some new sales on GPS receivers, with prices good through December 11. The best deals are the two Magellans, which are both at or near Black Friday pricing.

• Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS for $179.99 (GPS Tracklog review)
• Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator for $165.59 $129.99 (GPS Tracklog review)
• Magellan eXplorist GC Waterproof Geocaching GPS for $149.99 (GPS Tracklog review)
• Magellan RoadMate 3030 4.7-inch Portable GPS Navigator for $89.99
• TomTom XXL 540M 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator (Lifetime Maps Edition) for $119.99 (GPS Tracklog review)

More info:

• Garmin handheld GPS comaprison chart
• Garmin nuvi comparison chart
• Handheld GPS buyers guide
• Auto GPS buyers guide
• Specialty GPS buyers guides