Highlighted New Enhancements of the Alpha 200i

The newly released Garmin Alpha 200i takes everything that has been tried and tested with the Alpha 100 and adds a list of great new features. Below are some of our favorites we found when testing out the new handheld.

Dog Group Management

One of the new features of the Garmin Alpha 200i is the addition of dog list and group management. This very useful feature allows you to set-up groups of collars and handhelds, which could be different groups of dogs or different hunting parties. Best of all, when a group is not in use, you can hide the group from your dog list while still keeping all the inactive dogs in the system. So no more needing to delete and re-add dogs when you’re hunting with different people or using different sets of dogs.

InReach Compatibility

New to the dog tracking systems, InReach provides interactive SOS alerts and two-way messaging via the 100% global Iridium satellite network (active satellite subscription required). A subscription to this service is both affordable and flexible with packages starting at $11.95 per month.

Large and Easier to Read Screen

The Alpha 200i features a 3.5” capacitive touchscreen display and button-operated dog-focused design for quick, minor adjustments. This screen is a full 0.5” (15%) bigger than the screen of the Alpha 100.

Easier Zoom In and Out

With the Alpha 100 handhelds, to zoom in and zoom out on the map screen meant tapping on the “+” and “-“ buttons on the screen, moving in and out at preset intervals. Now with the Garmin Alpha 200i, zooming in and out is down by pinch in or pinch out, a much more familiar and controllable method.

Customizable buttons and home screen

The Alpha 200i features the same three buttons at the top of the screen, but new with the Alpha 200i, these are now customizable. They can work as training buttons using the pre-set configuration like the Alpha 100, or you can change them to work as your favorite functions. For example, making one a screen-lock and unlock button.

The home screen also features all the familiar icons and features, but now three quick home screens like a smart phone, as well as the ability to add and remove icons to these screens allowing you to tailor these pages to your preferences.

Conclusion

After getting over 100 hours of field time with this handheld we are really excited about it. Being backwards compatible with the existing lineup of Garmin TT and T5 series of collars remove any stresses of not being compatible with hunting buddies if anyone choose to upgrade. The bigger screen, a more smartphone like controls, and customizable pages make the new Alpha 200i more user friendly and a more versatile training and hunting tool.

As a reminder, Lion Country Supply offers a great trade-in program to make upgrading your old equipment to a new Alpha 200i handheld or system a less expensive experience.

The Garmin Alpha 200i comes as 5 different purchasable options to meet your needs:

Garmin Alpha 200i Handheld Only

Garmin Alpha 200i TT15X Tracking and Training Bundle

Looking for a comparison between the Alpha 100 and Alpha 200i, see our Garmin Alpha 100 vs Garmin Alpha 200i blog.