GPS Running Watch Review

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Reviews

Garmin Forerunner 305 Review

August 16th, 2009

Click Here To Learn More About The Garmin Forerunner 305

Specifications

Dimensions: 2.1 x 2.7 x 0.7 inches (5.33 x 6.86 x 1.78 cm)
Display: 1.3 x 0.8 inches (3.3 x 2.0 cm)
Resolution: 160 x 100 pixels
Weight: 2.72 oz (77 g)
Battery: rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life: 10 hours, typical
Water resistant: yes (IPX7)
GPS-enabled: yes
High-sensitivity receiver: yes
RoHS version available: yes
Lap history: 1,000 laps
Waypoints/favorites/locations: 100
Routes: 50
Heart rate monitor: yes
Bike speed/cadence sensor: yes (some versions)
Foot pod: yes (optional)
Automatic sync: no

Garmin Connect™ compatible: yes
Garmin Training Center compatible: yes
Virtual Partner: yes
Courses: yes
Auto Pause: yes
Auto Lap: yes
Auto Scroll: yes
Multi-sport: yes
Advanced workouts: yes
Simple workouts: yes
Pace alert: yes
Time/distance alert: yes
Vibration alert: no
Interval training: yes
Customizable screen(s): yes
Unit-to-unit transfer: no
Sport watch: no

Pros

Excellent Signal Reception
Precise speed, distance and pace data
Allows downloading of workout data for analysis
Can be used for biking, skiing, running and other sports
Online mapping

Cons

Variable pace readings
Not Mac friendly

Ratings

Score (Rank)

Value: 9.25/10 (1)
Performance/Ease of Use: 9/10 (1)
Quality: 9/10 (2)
Size/weight: 8/10 (5)
Overall Rating: 9/10 (1)

Review

The Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch is a sleek, stylish GPS enabled personal trainer. It is great for runners who want to have speed, heart rate and distance data on an easy-to-read display. It includes a highly sensitive GPS receiver and a wireless heart monitor to help runners keep the maximum level of performance during their workout.

The Forerunner 305 comes in at a very reasonable 2.72 ounces and a 2.1″ X 2.7″ X 0.7″ WxHxD size. It’s not as small as the average sports watch, but it will do so much more to push you to your best workout.

The 305 can display enough data to have your head spinning. But, they’ve made it easy to arrange the display so that the information that is most important to you is front and center. Plus, you will have it that way in just minutes since the 305 is easy to set up.

The 305 has the SiRFstarIII GPS receiver that can track you through tall trees and near tall buildings. The GPS antenna wraps around your wrist and gives the unit a better view of the horizon in order to lock in on the satellites.

The course feature found on the 305 allows you to compete against yourself by comparing your pace and your heart rate against data stored from previous workouts over the same course. One accessory available for the 305 is the Garmin Foot Pod. The Foot Pod allows you to run indoors on a treadmill and still collect accurate pace and distance data.

The Forerunner 305 allows you to upload your data to the Internet via Garmin’s MotionBased service giving you a web application that takes your GPS data and translates it into usable online performance and mapping analysis. After browsing through your cumulative stats you can share and compare them with others.

The Garmin Forerunner 305 is considered to be one of the most user-friendly watches on the market. It can provide you with simplicity and accuracy, two elements necessary to using your GPS trainer effectively. The Forerunner 305 is a proven addition to your training. It has been around for a number of years and generally gets good reviews.

Click Here To Learn More About The Garmin Forerunner 305

Videos

Click Here To Learn More About The Garmin Forerunner 305

Manuals

Owner’s Manual
Quick Start Guide
Foot Pod Quick Reference Guide
Heart Rate Monitor Guide

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Tags: Garmin Forerunner 305

Garmin Forerunner 405 Review

August 16th, 2009

Click Here To Learn More About The Garmin Forerunner 405

Specifications

Dimensions: 1.88 x 2.78 x 0.646 inches (4.8 x 7.1 x 1.6 cm)
Display: 1.06 inches diameter (2.7 cm diameter)
Resolution: 124 x 95 pixels
Weight: 2.11 oz (60 g)
Battery: rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life: 2 weeks in power save mode; 8 hours in training mode
Water resistant: yes (IPX7)
GPS-enabled: yes
High-sensitivity receiver: yes
RoHS version available: yes
Lap history: 1,000 laps
Waypoints/favorites/locations: 100
Routes: 0
Heart rate monitor: yes (some versions)
Bike speed/cadence sensor: yes (optional)
Foot pod: yes (optional)
Automatic sync: yes

Garmin Connect™ compatible: yes
Garmin Training Center compatible: yes
Virtual Partner: yes
Courses: yes
Auto Pause: yes
Auto Lap: yes
Auto Scroll: yes
Multi-sport: no
Advanced workouts: yes
Simple workouts: yes
Pace alert: yes (for advanced workouts only)
Time/distance alert: yes (for advanced workouts only)
Vibration alert: no
Interval training: yes
Customizable screen(s): yes
Unit-to-unit transfer: yes
Sport watch: yes

Pros

Appearance
Wireless data transfer
Touch-bezel control replaces multiple buttons.
About the size of a regular sports watch

Cons

Touch-bezel control can be hard to use
Heart rate monitor can be inaccurate

Ratings

Score (Rank)

Value: 8.5/10 (4)
Performance/Ease of Use: 8.75/10 (2)
Quality: 9.5/10 (1)
Size/weight: 8.75/10 (2)
Overall Rating: 8.75/10 (2)

Review

The Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch takes the most state of the art watch in GPS technology and combines it with some of the most groundbreaking training technologies to give you the ultimate edge to your work out. Whatever your training, the GPS enabled device will track your progress, store the information and then automatically transfer the data to your computer via wireless technology, whenever you come in range.

The Forerunner 405 comes with dimensions of 1.88″ x 2.78″ x 0.646″, it has a display size of 1.06″, a display resolution of 124 x 95 pixels and it weighs 2.11 ounces.

The Forerunner 405 is very easy to use and has a smooth look. It comes with a heart monitor and gives accurate GPS information for all levels of runners. Plus it has a convenient touch bezel control.

The Forerunner 405 allows you to communicate with other Forerunner 405 users about the different kinds of running courses and workout techniques. By selecting “transfer” you can send your workout data to nearby enabled devices. This will allow you to have the most effective workout possible using the time-tested techniques of others to your advantage.

The Forerunner 405 can be used for cross training activities including cycling. You can track the speed of the bike or the pace that you are running, even at times when a satellite signal is not available.

The Forerunner 405 has a unique antenna that lets you receive one of the strongest satellite signals of all the GPS enabled watches on the market today. The highly precise GPS receiver is able to receive a signal from the device in many places where other GPS watches will lose their signal such as near tall buildings and under trees.

The Forerunner 405 is considered to be one of the most state of the art GPS watches on the market today. That being said some of the drawbacks that other users have commented about include: the touch bezel control takes some practice to become familiar with, and the heart rate monitor has to be damp to provide the most detailed reading possible. Overall though, the Garmin 405 consistently gets high marks and merits your consideration.

Click Here To Learn More About The Garmin Forerunner 405

Videos

Click Here To Learn More About The Garmin Forerunner 405

Manuals

Owner’s Manual
Quick Start Guide
Heart Rate Monitor Guide
Bike Mount Instructions

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Posted in Reviews

Tags: Garmin Forerunner 405

Garmin Forerunner 205 Review

August 16th, 2009

Click Here To Learn More About The Garmin Forerunner 205

Specifications

Dimensions: 2.1 x 2.7 x 0.7 inches (5.33 x 6.86 x 1.78 cm)
Display: 1.3 x 0.8 inches (3.3 x 2.0 cm)
Resolution: 160 x 100 pixels
Weight: 2.72 oz (77 g)
Battery: rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life: 10 hours, typical
Water resistant: yes (IPX7)
GPS-enabled: yes
High-sensitivity receiver: yes
RoHS version available: yes
Lap history: 1,000 laps
Waypoints/favorites/locations: 100
Routes: 50
Heart rate monitor: no
Bike speed/cadence sensor: no
Foot pod: no
Automatic sync: no

Garmin Connect™ compatible: yes
Garmin Training Center compatible: yes
Virtual Partner: yes
Courses: yes
Auto Pause: yes
Auto Lap: yes
Auto Scroll: yes
Multi-sport: yes
Advanced workouts: yes
Simple workouts: yes
Pace alert: yes
Time/distance alert: yes
Vibration alert: no
Interval training: yes
Customizable screen(s): yes
Unit-to-unit transfer: no
Sport watch: no

Pros

Feature rich
Nice styling
Easy to read screen
Simple to set up
Simple to use

Cons

No heart rate monitor
Not Mac friendly
Poor signal recovery

Ratings

Score (Rank)

Value: 9/10 (2)
Performance/Ease of Use: 8.5/10 (3)
Quality: 8.75/10 (3)
Size/weight: 8/10 (5)
Overall Rating: 8.5/10 (3)

Review

The Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS watch is one of the most advanced GPS devices on the market. It is ideal for runners that want the most effective work out possible.

The Forerunner 205 is a very popular device with dimensions of 2.1” x 2.7” x .7”, making the device very portable, where you can easily carry it in your pocket. The display resolution is 160 x 100 pixels, it weighs 2.72 ounces, it is water resistant and the rechargeable battery has a maximum life of ten hours.

The Forerunner 205 is very easy to use, making it great for retrieving the information that you are looking for when you most need it. The screen is very easy to customize. That being said there have been some complaints about it taking to long to connect to the satellites, the cost and that there is no Mac friendly software available with the device.

The Forerunner 205 comes Garmin Connect compatible. This is an online community that was developed by Garmin to analyze, connect and share different data with various Garmin users. Users can also use Garmin Connect to contact the customer service department.

The Forerunner 205 has different features to help improve the overall quality of the workout that you are receiving. These would include being able to create specific custom workouts with stated objectives to store in the Forerunner 205. You can also set the device to give you simpler workout information such as the time, distance and the overall amount of calories that you are burning during the workout.

The Forerunner 205 comes with different alerts to let you know when you reach your stated objective. These would include: the pace alert, that will let you know when you are straying from your preset pace, and the time/distance alert, which lets you know when you reached your predetermined time or distance.

We recommend using the Garmin Forerunner 205, however, before you make any purchase please be aware that some consumers have mentioned that while the device is reliable it sometimes takes too long to connect to the satellites. And, that there is no Mac friendly software available with the device. Even with these concerns, it is advisable to give the Forerunner 205 some serious consideration.