Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS Receiver and Sports Watch by Garmin
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Digital camera reviews of Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS Receiver and Sports Watch
Digital camera Review: A little disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
I should accept full responsibility for my purchase, but still feel like I was mislead. Reading only the manufacturers propoganda, is obviously ill-advised and other "reviews" should be consulted first. I read some other "reviews", not from the manufacturer, or so I was lead to believe they were independant. Bottom line is this thing is no where near as accurate as any reviews would lead you to believe. Just standing still, the elevations reading vary by 50 feet, it never stops at one number, or flips between a couple of numbers. Garmin said to do a full reset...which I will do, which will delete all my history and settings but I doubt it will correct the problem which is almost certainly inherent to the device itself.
Run the same course, and when you compare the elevations of each run they are no where close to each other. Not even the patterns line up. Courses I thought were flat apparantly are very hilly.
Even the distance comes in different although I am not certain how to calculate acceptable error in distance, particulary if it is a looped course. I think the error reported for the final distance should be no more than the allowable error in any one reading- which they claim is 10 feet. This should be the error in distance on a looped course, regardless how long.
Generally the device is very twitchy...you see your pace reading jump all over as you run at an even pace, and then see the same range on the graph on the computer. I beleive tree cover does affect the readings, contrary to the so-called indpendent reviews. As for getting decent GIS based maps, forget about it...at over $120 for a set of maps it's not worth it for most people, and comes as a surprise that the maps on the device are non-existant,and can't be added at any cost, and the maps that come with the PC CD are very sketchy, showing maybe freeways and not much in terms of other roads.
The software is okay, but does not let you do everything you think you can do...but again, you can upgrade for a monthly fee.
Other things you do not know until you get it, is that it takes a while to connect to the satelites. In winter, you must stand still for a minute or so while it locates, which is not as good a running right out of a warm house into cold air. So if you want to use your Forerunner in winter, you will be starting runs half frozen.
Also the large numbers are hard to see in the dim light especially if you divide the screen into 4 panes. If you need reading glasses at all, you might as well tuck this into your pocket, as you won't be able to read it at all. You can select a single pain, which is good because the numbers are larger. Turning on the back light in the dark is hard...some buttons turns on the light and others will change what is on your screen. Once you do get the light on you have to figure out how to get back to the screen you were at.
May take some more geting used to....
I think the stop watch function works very well though. It is light weight too.
Digital camera Review: A must for all runners!
Summary: 5 Stars
I order the 205 after I left my 305 on a treadmill at the gym - goed figure no turned it in! Anyway, I loved my 305. I had it for a little over a year. Since I rarely - if ever - used the heart rate monitor (and cheaper) I chose the 205. I've found the 205 to be just as reliable as the 305. As with all GPS's you're going to experience some momenntary signal losses in heavily covered areas and jogging between tall buildings, but only for an instant. It's multiple screen configurations and data collecting are irreplaceable for even a novice runner. I would highly recommend this watch!Digital camera Review: A must for every runner, biker or combination thereof
Summary: 5 Stars
Having recently ran my first marathon (July 06 - SF) and half-marathon (Oct 06 - SJ) I was eagerly looking for something I could use outdoors to track all the essential data. I was very used to, and tired of, running on the treadmill to figure this out. I took a chance and got the Forerunner 205. I couldn't be more happier.
When I opened the package I immediately turned it on, indoors, and it found the satellites in about three minutes. Before I ran on it I took it with me to work, while driving, and tested the speed, distance and elevation to see how accurate it was. The speed was a little slow in catching up as I accelerated but it was always accurate once I was at an even pace. Top speed was correct. Once in the office I compared Yahoo Maps and Google Maps distance: their's said 5.4 and the 205 said 5.38. Elevation was off by about 10 ft.
Next up was my running. I took it out for a 4 mile run. The pace, again, fluctuated some as I was running, but that could be my own faulty running style. Elevation and speed seemed to be accurate though and was absolutely essential to maintaining a steady pace (which I wish I would have had for both the half and full marathon). Once I got back to the house I uploaded my history into the Garmin Training Center. This software is amazing. It breaks down your time, pace, average speed, max speed, calories burned, and elevation (descent and ascent) for your overall run and/or for each mile (if you set the Auto Lap to a mile). The mapping part of the software is amazingly accurate. I purposely would run a circle around a tree and cross over my out and back path to see if the 205 kept track of it, and it did! Every turn I made was recorded.
As a previous reviewer stated, the only time I noticed my speed wasn't accurate (it would say 0) is when I went under an overpass but it immediately started up just before I ran from under it. Also, as the same reviewer stated, at this exact time there was a spike in the data for that short section. Also, every time I turned the 205 on it found the satellites from 30 seconds to two minutes, but the one time I turned it on in the hills while driving it took about five minutes, which is still not too slow. I have since turned it on while driving, but not in the hills, and it found it very quickly.
With many marathons, half marathons and triathlons coming up this year I cannot wait to be running with my 205, something I cannot believe I ran without in the past. I would whole heartedly recommend the Garmin Forerunner 205 to any runner, biker or combination thereof. A definite recommend.
5 stars.
Digital camera Review: A necessity for runners
Summary: 4 Stars
After two weeks with my Garmin 205 GPS I wondered how I had managed all these years without one. Although at times it is somewhat slow to locate satellites once it is powered on (this depends quite a bit on your location), when it locks on the satellite it is extremely reliable and accurate. The autolap and bell function are great. It has so many features it is difficult to use them all. I have yet to take advantage of the virtual runner. It can store large amounts of data which can be easily downloaded to a computer. At first I was worried about how bulky it may feel, but after a brief bit of use, I don't notice it any more than the sports watch I used to wear while training.Digital camera Review: A reasonable product
Summary: 2 Stars
This product is useful, but I do find it difficult to get an initial connection to satalites. Also the product is not so easy to use, and the buttons are positioned awkwardly (start/stop button sometimes gets pressed by clothes during workout) leading to a loss of training info. It is also bulky and weighty and generally leads to me leaving it at home for the run, but being happy to take it on the bike. However, it does appear to provide accurate detailed speeds, distances etc once I was familiar with its operation and the software provided.