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Garmin Forerunner 405 Watch is Packed With Awesome Features for Healthy Types
Posted by Sean Fallon at 9:00 AM on January 4, 2008
The Skinny: Garmin takes a giant leap forward over the Forerunner 50 with their new 405 sports watch. Unlike it's predecessor, this baby includes GPS and the ability for users to wirelessly sync with their PC using ANT+Sport technology. Athletic types can record data regarding speed, distance, heart rate and location as well as info about courses, goals and specific workouts to help them train more efficiently. Users can even send the collected data from one 405 to another wirelessly. And if that wasn't cool enough, the computer will sync with the watch as soon as the user enters the room. The Forerunner 405 will be available for $US299 sometime later this year.
The Catch: Despite being described as featuring "lower power consumption than other wireless protocols" one has to wonder whether all of this functionality will be a major battery drain.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
notthatandy
Posted 8:08 PM 3/1/08
More details here: [www8.garmin.com]
And yes, both Heart Rate Monitor and cadence bike sensor are mentioned.
notthatandy
notthatandy
Posted 8:03 PM 3/1/08
I still want to know about the bike connection the 305 had, too. If this does heart monitor and bike GPS, this will most definitely replace my Nike+ iPod setup.
Oh, who am I kidding? Even without, this is replacing my Nike+ setup.
notthatandy
weberunner
Posted 7:11 PM 3/1/08
It definitely looks more watch-like, but the screen looks smaller than the 305 and the start/stop and lap/reset buttons are on the side. I like the 305 because those are big buttons on the face and they're easy to access with gloves on. I'm curious to see what the new training features are. The 201 to 305 upgrade made a lot of sense to me. So far, the jump from 305 to 405 isn't as compelling, but we'll see.
weberunner
mendo
Posted 7:06 PM 3/1/08
"cardio" means heart monitor: sorry, I used an Italian word instead of the English one :)
mendo
mendo
Posted 6:35 PM 3/1/08
I'm currently using the 305 and I find this 405 extremely nice and polished. But it seems to me strange that a product with a "higher number" (i.e. a new top of the line) is cheaper than the old one. Plus judging from the pictures, it seems that the watch don't have the cardio function, which would be bad.
Maybe this is the new 205 and soon we'll see the new 305, i.e. the 505 (odd with cardio, even without).
Anyway it's REALLY beautiful :)
mendo
UnseenLlama
Posted 6:28 PM 3/1/08
Check out the Garmin blog on the 405... touch sensitve bezel? Awesome! I just like the glow... :-D
[www.youtube.com]
UnseenLlama
acechase
Posted 6:16 PM 3/1/08
Sorry to keep going on, but this really is a pet peeve of mine...
From the Garmin product Description:
"The Forerunner 405 can be used indoors or out, when you are outdoors you can use the built in high sensitivity GPS receiver for your training, plus with the new touch bezel you can scroll through menus on the run. While indoors you will be able to use the ANT plus Sport wireless technology to connect to an optional foot pod to measure speed and distance when indoors."
This is exactly the type of device that drives me nuts, why can't the foot pod and GPS work in tandem!?!?
acechase
acechase
Posted 6:13 PM 3/1/08
The big question I have for the makers of all these speed/distance running watches is why, oh why don't they combine GPS and accelerometer for a more accurate reading? The watches that use an accelerometer calibrated to your stride length (like Nike+iPod) can actually yield pretty decent results when calibrated properly. Obviously, the GPS units give good results as well. The problem is, the GPS units, at least the Garmin 305 and I suspect others as well, definitely need an unobstructed line of sight to three GPS satellites and most interesting places to run will take through locations where three point access is lost.
For whatever reason (implementation issues, presumably), even the manufacturers of units with both accelerometer and GPS (e.g. Timex Bodylink) only use one data stream or the other at any given time and never try to merge the two. Lame. IMO.
acechase
i.am.mozman
Posted 6:01 PM 3/1/08
I still want a watch that will give the distance to a way point and an arrow pointing the way. Yes, there is at least one that will do that, but the price is too steep for my taste.
i.am.mozman
Mandatory_Field
Posted 5:58 PM 3/1/08
Any features in there for us UN-healthy types?
Mandatory_Field
dna
Posted 5:48 PM 3/1/08
Yes but does it have Indiglo?
dna
UnseenLlama
Posted 5:39 PM 3/1/08
Oh my! I want now!!
UnseenLlama
weatherman
Posted 5:32 PM 3/1/08
That's a slick looking GPS watch - best I've seen so far. I hope that the feature set is a little more robust than the previous models though. At $300, it's a great price too.
weatherman
vicsells
Posted 5:17 PM 3/1/08
I'm waiting eagerly with money in Hand
This watch looks amazing!
vicsells
s14b23
Posted 11:09 AM 4/1/08
Sometime later this year? If it's anything like Garmin's track records for Mac support, that will probably be sometime in 2009. I love my Forerunner 205 and that they support the Mac at all, but....
s14b23
t1bbs
Posted 10:23 AM 4/1/08
"The Forerunner 405 will be available for $299 sometime later this year. "
Umm, "...sometime later this year".
There isn't exactly much of this year that ISN'T sometime later.
t1bbs
booblies
Posted 8:48 PM 4/1/08
I just put my garmin forerunner 305 on ebay starting at .99. When does the 405 come out? Oh well I got sick of the big bulky reeeeeeeed 305. YAY!
booblies