GPS Watch

[mouseymousey]

No idea what forum this should be in so I'll start it here.

I'm after a watch type GPS unit (i.e. wrist mounted) that I can use when running, cycling or hiking.

The only features I definitely need are ability to display current speed and distance travelled. I would ideally like it to also log the route I'm taking for downloading into Google Earth at a later date.

From what I've seen it looks like Garmin do the best range. Has anyone got any personal recommendations?

[Zad]

I'm sure things have moved on in the last year or two but the ones I looked at all tended to be rather clunky and have limited battery life. Had you considered something like a Nokia 5230 phone which has built in GPS? It wouldn't add any weight if you are carrying a phone or mp3 player anyway.

[ewenm]

The Garmin Forerunners get good reviews. Some sort of smart-phone app is another possibility.

[Tycho]

Android phones have a great app called cardio trainer. It will log your track via their website which you can download to Google maps and it allows you to train against yourself and had audible notifications such as distance and pace.

I also looked at the Garmin Forerunner 405CX which I found on the net for £175 as a factory refurb. Can't remember where though.

[mouseymousey]

Cheers guys. I've got various smart phone apps for my previous Windows Mobile and current Android phones but I find the battery life terrible. It's ok for a shortish run but not so great for a long walk.

Having the phone strapped to my arm is also a pain. Wasn't too bad with my old Touch Diamond but the Hero is just a bit bulky. I like the idea of something in a watch type form factor.

The Forerunner range quote battery life of 10 hours and look quite compact. I think I'll give one of them a go.

Incidentally - First time I used Cardio Trainer on Android it told me I had run 100m in a 10km run!

[ATG]

I had a look at these about a year ago. I found the wrist watch GPSs fell into two categories; training aids and navigational devices. There was little crossover.

If you wanted detailed perf measurement and integraion with a heartrate monitor, there was loads of choice ... Garmin forerunners, various Suuntos. Very nice bits of kit, but none of them were any real use as a navigation device, which is just plain nuts as all they'd need would be a bit more software.

If you want a GPS watch that can display an OS grid reference (and equivalents for loads of other countries) so you can actually use it with a map, then the _only_ device I could find was a Suunto X10. It's primarily a navigational device, has all the basic waypoint and route management features you'd expect, plus it has a barometer that can be used to improve altitude measurement. It also records exercise time, distance, avg, min and max speeds and you creates a log file of your route at 10 second intervals that can be uploaded straight to Google Earth. It doesn't do any of the "virtual running partner" stuff that the training devices can do, it doesn't integrate with a heartrate monitor.

I alreay had a heart rate monitor, and I wanted OSGB grid refs, so I bought an X10 and go out running wearing two watches and looking like even more of a div than usual. On the whole the X10 has been great, but it is a bit fragile. It's supposed to be an outdoors watch ... they even market one version as being "military" ... but I've already had to replace the strap/outer case when one of the rubbery buttons started falling apart and the watch is currently back at Suunto after it started switching itself off at random. Other have reported that fairly minor blows have knackered them. The redeeming feature is that Suunto's customer support is excellent. If they could just sort the physical packaging of the device out, it would be an outstanding bit of kit.

[esuuv]

I've got a forerunner 305 - which isnt the newest anymore - I use it for Marathon training mostly but it works well on the bike (there is a kit so you can mount it on the handlebars)

Gives you way more info than you'll ever need and the website http://connect.garmin.com is pretty useful for keeping track of stuff - seeing where you went.

Battery life i'd say ten hours is a little optomistic even when it was new - 5 maybe 6 tops so not ideal for longer walks.....you can't take the battery out to change it either so no chance of having two.

[mouseymousey]

Thanks guys, very helpful info.

ATG - any idea on the battery life of the X10?

[Mattt]

I have a Suunto, just with the HRM - but you can get pods (foot pod, bike pod etc) that connect wirelessly and feed distance & other info. Doesn't do GPS maps/tracking AFAIK but gets good reviews.

[was8v]

Dealextreme is brilliant for reandom gadgets like this, surprisingly quick postage too:

http://www.dealextreme.com/search.dx/search.gps%20...

$124 delivered:



- 1.5" OLED display screen (128*128)
- Low watt consumption
- Supports two speed dialing and SOS keypad
- Send the accurate location to the tutelar center when sending out SOS signal
- Build-in microphone, supports sound monitoring
- Displays Speed, Coordinate and Altimeter
- Supports time setting, continuous or un-continuous tracking
- Alarm when out of the appointed monitoring distance
- Alarm supported and long distance monitoring
- Supports point-to-point, and provides MSN tracking function
- Monitoring distance can search moving destination object through MSN/GPRS
- Supports record travel data and history travel data playback
- Build-in 500mAh rechargeable lithium battery
- Standby time: 60~72 hours
- Package includes:
- 1 * G60 GPS watch
- 1 * 500mAh lithium battery
- 1 * US plug battery charger
- 1 * Earphone with micphone
- 1 * USB cable

[ATG]

mouseymousey said:

Thanks guys, very helpful info.

ATG - any idea on the battery life of the X10?

With the GPS switched off, it works for about 3 months as a watch. With the GPS switched on, battery life is determined by how frequently the watch takes a fix. If it is set to get a GPS fix every second, the battery lasts about 6 hours. If it is set to get a fix every minute, it lasts 16 hours. You can also configure it to only take a fix when you press a button. In that manual mode, the battery life depends on how often you take fixes, but it might as well be for ever.

[mouseymousey]

ATG said:

mouseymousey said:

Thanks guys, very helpful info.

ATG - any idea on the battery life of the X10?

With the GPS switched off, it works for about 3 months as a watch. With the GPS switched on, battery life is determined by how frequently the watch takes a fix. If it is set to get a GPS fix every second, the battery lasts about 6 hours. If it is set to get a fix every minute, it lasts 16 hours. You can also configure it to only take a fix when you press a button. In that manual mode, the battery life depends on how often you take fixes, but it might as well be for ever.

Excellent, thanks very much. Looks like the X10 is the winner. About £100 more than I wanted to spend but ain't that always the way?

I did look at something like that one on Dealextreme but I think the X10 is definitely the one for me.

[ATG]

mouseymousey said:

ATG said:

mouseymousey said:

Thanks guys, very helpful info.

ATG - any idea on the battery life of the X10?

With the GPS switched off, it works for about 3 months as a watch. With the GPS switched on, battery life is determined by how frequently the watch takes a fix. If it is set to get a GPS fix every second, the battery lasts about 6 hours. If it is set to get a fix every minute, it lasts 16 hours. You can also configure it to only take a fix when you press a button. In that manual mode, the battery life depends on how often you take fixes, but it might as well be for ever.

Excellent, thanks very much. Looks like the X10 is the winner. About £100 more than I wanted to spend but ain't that always the way?

I did look at something like that one on Dealextreme but I think the X10 is definitely the one for me.

Don't want to put you off, but as one Chim owner to another, the X10 is a bit like a TVR Speed 6. Great when it's working, but not the world's best-finished product. Before you buy, definitely worth googling around for other owners' experiences. Suunto are quite open about this stuff, and a lot of info is available on their website's forum. E.g. http://forum.suuntowatches.com/suunto-gps-series-9...

[Sebo]

The new forerunner is out soon - meant to be 20 hours battery life and waterproof too. (Good for triathletes)

[mouseymousey]

ATG said:

mouseymousey said:

ATG said:

mouseymousey said:

Thanks guys, very helpful info.

ATG - any idea on the battery life of the X10?

With the GPS switched off, it works for about 3 months as a watch. With the GPS switched on, battery life is determined by how frequently the watch takes a fix. If it is set to get a GPS fix every second, the battery lasts about 6 hours. If it is set to get a fix every minute, it lasts 16 hours. You can also configure it to only take a fix when you press a button. In that manual mode, the battery life depends on how often you take fixes, but it might as well be for ever.

Excellent, thanks very much. Looks like the X10 is the winner. About £100 more than I wanted to spend but ain't that always the way?

I did look at something like that one on Dealextreme but I think the X10 is definitely the one for me.

Don't want to put you off, but as one Chim owner to another, the X10 is a bit like a TVR Speed 6. Great when it's working, but not the world's best-finished product. Before you buy, definitely worth googling around for other owners' experiences. Suunto are quite open about this stuff, and a lot of info is available on their website's forum. E.g. http://forum.suuntowatches.com/suunto-gps-series-9...

Thanks again! Funnily enough I'm currently looking at getting a Tamora as I've just written off the Chimaera so the Speed-6 analogy is a good one

[insanojackson]

if you have a nokia mobile with gps, download nokia sports tracker and your sorted.

[ATG]

mouseymousey said:

Thanks again! Funnily enough I'm currently looking at getting a Tamora as I've just written off the Chimaera so the Speed-6 analogy is a good one

Sorry to hear about the Chim, and good luck with the hunt for a Tamora. If TVRs suit you, you'll be fine with an X10. Wonder if they do one with a reflex paint bezel?

[griffgrog]

I've got a Garmin 405cx. It's brilliant.