The wilderness can be breathtaking, but it can also be brutally indifferent when you’re miles away from cell service. Garmin knows this, and their new GPSMAP H1i Plus is built for those who don’t just want to explore off-grid, but also want to bring a bit of civilization with them in the form of connection, safety, and maybe even a few bragging rights sent directly from the mountaintop.
Garmin is synonymous with excellence in GPS tracking for athletic activities. But also, when most people think of Garmin, they think of big, chunky running watches. It’s safe to say that most GPS watches aren’t designed for aesthetics first, but Garmin has some cool ideas up their (sweat-wicking) sleeves to make fitness tracking a lot more comfortable. First of all, if you’re someone who has ever had to wear a support garment under their shirt, you’ll know that chest straps can often get in the way of sports bras. Garmin is trying to solve that with the HRM-Fit. It’s designed…
I never finished my review of the Garmin VivoSmart, partly because the VivoActive arrived and I ran to that, but partly because it took a few firmware updates for everything to stabilize with the Bluetooth functionality. But I really loved the VivoSmart, and if I didn’t prefer GPS to smartwatch capabilities, I’d probably still use it today. So when I got a message about the new VivoSmart HR I was intrigued. At first glance you might think this is something new in the VivoFit line, as the appearance is much different than the original VivoSmart and closer to the VivoFit…
Doesn’t it feel like I was just writing about the Garmin Forerunner 225 announcement? While it has actually been 5 months since the FR 225 reveal, since then they also added the FR 25 entry level GPS watch and each slowly trickled into availability. This year has been all about big new launches and slow product roll-outs that have left me scratching my head wondering what is happening with Garmin. Today Garmin announced three new watches that should have me excited, but instead resulted in a cynical eye-roll and vague interest in when they might hit stores – but why…
Back in April I reviewed the Garmin VivoActive GPS Smartwatch, listing five reasons I loved it and three concerns. After a couple of months I started drafting a follow-up about how I STILL loved the VivoActive – but stopped when an update caused issues. The next update resolved the issues, but by early July I was done. Why? Read on!
For years Garmin had an unassailable position with their GPS watches representing the ‘gold standard’ for runners. The move to low-cost Bluetooth activity trackers rocked the industry as it pushed manufacturers to include more features, wireless syncing, and lower prices. Garmin pushes the envelope again with ForeRunner 225, the first major running watch with integrated optical heart-rate sensor from Mio.
Just as Apple Watch opened for pre-orders, the Garmin VivoActive arrived in stores and the hands of runners and athletes everywhere. I had written up announcement at CES, so I was thrilled to get one in my hands to play around with. Now after a week, I want to check in with my initial likes and dislikes of the VivoActive.
We already reported on the new additions to Garmin’s vivo line-up, the vivofit 2 and vivoactive, which round up Garmin‘s consumer wearable line. But they also added to their higher end products with the Epix and Fenix 3. The Fenix 3 is the latest in the company’s multi-sport category, and Epix is intended as a wearable GPS for outdoor enthusiasts.
I’ve always been a fan of Garmin products, considering them the ‘gold standard’ for running GPS watches. Their leap into fitness trackers in 2014 with the vivoFit and more recently the vivoSmart were highly successful and each is on a wrist in my household. Now they are announcing the ViVoActive Smart Fitness Watch that pretty much does it all!
Just two days before my first marathon in 2012, Garmin sent me their new ForeRunner FR-10. It’s an entry-level watch with the right amount of tracking features for most casual runners and racers. I jumped at the opportunity to check out the new entry-level Garmin Garmin Forerunner FR-15 GPS and Fitness Watch!
In fall 2012, Garmin introduced the FR-10 GPS Watch. I did a quick preview, took it on a marathon two days after it arrived, and then did a follow-up after several months of use. I still use the FR-10, and now Garmin has introduced the FR-15 GPS Watch, combining the FR-10 GPS and elements of the VivoFit fitness band.
Since I reviewed the Garmin ForeRunner 10 back in mid-October, the YouTube video has continued gathering comments. So I figured it was time for an update. You can see the Garmin peeking out above between my two thermal-tech layers and gloves. You can even glimpse the toll all of the salting and slush are taking on my beautiful new bright orange running shoes! Quick summary: the Garmin ForeRunner 10 is an amazing running watch that is precise and reliable, and only the 5-hour battery time is a drawback. What have I done since the review? Finished training for the Corning…
My first day on the CES floor, I saw the Garmin booth. I bypassed the various dedicated GPS units, and headed right for the display of Forerunners in all their glory. Along the way, I was stopped by one of Garmin’s reps, and when I explained how excited I was to see their booth because “I love Garmin!”, he laughed and said “You must be a runner, people always say that because of the Forerunner.” We had a good laugh, and he showed off their various new watches. I was deeply in awe of how much smaller and sleeker each…
I usually like to lead my reviews with an intro, give the company providing a product the chance to say something, and then dig in … but not this time, because the Garmin ForeRunner 10 is simply that easy to recommend. In fact, here are the only people I would NOT recommend getting the Garmin ForeRunner 10: You run races of more than 50 miles distance or 5 hours duration. You don’t like to sync/charge your GPS watch within 50-60 miles or 5-6 hours of use (or 7 ‘events’). You need to use a heart-rate monitor or other ANT+ wireless…
I had posted about the Garmin ForeRunner 10 announcement previously, and we were expecting a review sample but had been notified that they were still waiting for stock before shipping. While acknowledging the message and thanking them for the update, I mentioned that it was too bad it wouldn’t arrive in time for the Wineglass Marathon I am running this weekend, but since I would be running a half-marathon in a month it was no big deal. Justin at Garmin got back to me quickly, saying that he would have one in my hands by Friday (yesterday) … just in time…
When Carly and I went for our run at GearFest in July, something that came with each of us was our GPS watch. We compared and contrasted the features and results in a video here, but the bottom line is this: we both firmly believe that using a GPS watch has made us better runners. Two of the problems with GPS watches are that they are bulky and expensive. More recently watches have dropped below $200, which is the range both of our watches cost. But the bulky part has only somewhat diminished from the Garmin 305 days to current…
Garmin, who seem to be going like gangbusters lately (including the addition of Navigon to their lineup last year) have released a preview of what they are showing at CES this week. In their press release they are announcing some new and update products including: – Garmin Smartphone Link is the first Android app that provides live services to a PND utilizing the smartphone’s data connection. – The new nüvi® 3500 series: Garmin’s newest flagship personal navigation devices and the company’s first GPS navigators that combine the ultra-thin form factor with a large, 5-inch glass display. – Garmin® Approach™ G6…
Just in time for the huge travel weekend that is Thanksgiving, Garmin has released an update for its StreetPilot Onboard iPhone navigation app. The new version of the app includes the ability to show real-time photos from traffic cameras. As the Garmin release explains, This functionality can help holiday travelers get to their destination faster by giving them the ability to literally see traffic conditions ahead of time. The update also includes live weather information, the option to share points of interest via Facebook and SMS as well as other improvements. The update is a free download to current app…
Garmin’s nuvifone G60 is a quad band phone (850/900/1800/1900) EDGE, HSDPA and Wi-Fi device running Linux. Naturally you’d expect a phone from Garmin to be heavy on GPS features and this won’t disappoint. The video gives a nice overview of the GPS heavy feature set. The bigger question on this phone – is it introduced too late and will people buy phones that are designed around GPS rather than phone functionality? nuvifone G60 via Nan Palmero