Garmin FORERUNNER205

...faulty button (the guys at Garmin promptly replaced the unit under warranty) I've not had any problems with it.

+ The Product:
Essentially its a small wrist mounted GPS, at its very basic it will record information on your run (or walk or cycle ride). Information can be viewed on this history section of the GPS so you can see / compare things like distance run, average speed, fastest speed etc.. You can then download this information ...
...with the GPS is the Garmin Training Centre, you
don't need to use this and it is pretty basic. You simply connect via USB and upload your runs, you can then view information on the run including things like distance, speed (useful as you get a graph so you can see where in your run the speed alters), elevation etc..
The Training Centre software also has a (very very basic) map which also from my experience is inaccurate, it plots your ... more

I purchased the 205 shortly after it was released in the UK and so have had one for some time now, other than a problem with a faulty button (the guys at Garmin promptly replaced the unit under warranty) I've not had any problems with it.

+ The Product:
Essentially its a small wrist mounted GPS, at its very basic it will record information on your run (or walk or cycle ride). Information can be viewed on this history section of the GPS so you can see / compare things like distance run, average speed, fastest speed etc.. You can then download this information for a permanent record, or to carry out more analysis, or even to save the route so you can send this to friends.

+ Training Options:
Another key feature is the training options built into the GPS, training sessions can be set to enable you do carry out specific training programs on your run, for example interval training,
You can also set yourself targets, so for example if you want to do a 1.5mile run in 9 minutes then you program this in and start, you then see you're virtual partner on the screen, if you're ahead of them escellent, if not then move those legs a bit faster and pick up the pace!
The virtual partner is a great feature, if you run the same route frequently you can even run against yourself (based on your previous performance). Even if you haven't run the route before you can still enter a target time and race against your virtual partner.
There are alerts, so you can set a slow pace alert, if you drop below this pace then the GPS will tell you to go faster (note if you see me or anyone else cursing the GPS on their wrist its probably telling them to go faster when they're going as fast as they can - you can of course just turn the feature off)

+ Performance / Reliability:
- Battery Life:
I think the documented battery life is 10 hrs and this seems to be pretty accurate - if you do need longer for those ultra marathons then you could try taking the docking cradle and a portable USB charger with you, 10 hrs should be sufficient for most activities though. Charging can be done by an AC mains adapter or USB connection (so you should be able to charge from batteries via the USB connector, with appropriate hardware, or from a car cigarette lighter socket).
- GPS accuracy:
I've not had any issues with this, the 205 uses SiRFstar III chip technology so should be reliable, it even picks up a signal inside my flat and when you do lose the signal outdoors (under bridges for example) you pick it up again quick enough.
- Reliability:
As mentioned at the start, this is now my second unit, the first did have a faulty button which failed after six months, not had any other issues though.

+Ease of use
Not had any problems here, there's no real setup as such, you just turn it on, you do need to enter a profile for yourself (height / weight) - I assume this is so an accurate calorie calculation can be made - this is easy enough to do.
Because of the size if you wanted to do anything like progam in a course on the GPS then this would be time consuming and a little fiddly (although not impossible), Any configuration like this though is best done using the available software on a PC and then uploaded to the GPS.

+ Software:
The software you get with the GPS is the Garmin Training Centre, you
don't need to use this and it is pretty basic. You simply connect via USB and upload your runs, you can then view information on the run including things like distance, speed (useful as you get a graph so you can see where in your run the speed alters), elevation etc..
The Training Centre software also has a (very very basic) map which also from my experience is inaccurate, it plots your route onto the map, or at least should do - the positioning seems to always be out though by up to a mile.
- Additional Software:
- MotionBased.com
If you want more information on the run then the thing I do is use MotionBased.com site, for basic analysis (which is what I use) this is free, you can subscribe though for more indepth information. At MotionBased you can also plot the run onto an accurate map then view / share using Google Mapping - I like this feature and it seems to work well.
- Other GPS software
You can save off history of your runs from the free Garmin Training Centre software, this can then be converted and imported into other GPS software applications and also into things like Google Maps, enabling others to see the routes you've been running (we all like to show off now and again don't we?)

Questions you might have...

+ Could you use this GPS for navigation?
In theory yes, although I wouldn't recommend it, if you're looking for a GPS which will tell you how to get across Dartmoor or how to drive from Manchester to London then buy one thats intended for this purpose (or just get a map!).
You can enter courses (a route) using Lat/Long co-ordinates manually, upload one using available software or use a previous run you've done to create a course. You get a direction indicator (cardinal compass) so you know which way to head and time/distance to next point information.
You can also see your current position in Lat/Long, so the GPS can give you 'as the crow flies' directions, but remember, it has no mapping information (other than any points you've entered) so you'd still have to navigate yourself round any obsitcles in between the two points.

+ Can I give my position in an emergency?
Ok, so you've gone out for a run and you're either lost or have run too far in the wong direction and you want a friend to come and pick you up. Well you can give them your position in Lat/Long format (h ddd mm.mmm) and many in-car and portable GPS systems will accept this format so you should be found pretty soon! Many maps also have Lat/Long information on them including OS maps in the UK, not as easy to use as the OS Grid but someone should find you...

+ Do I need a PC to use it?
No, at least not for day to day use, you could keep a paper copy of stats from your runs so you have a permanent record. You won't however be able to view the run on a map without a PC (you can view a map on the GPS screen but this is small and only has no other detail other than what you have entered in). You also won't be able to update the software on the unit, probably shouldn't be such an issue if you buy one with the latest software installed now, the original versions though did have issues resolved by upgrades.

+ Do I need it?
If you're only doing a three mile jog, twice a week then no, just use a stop watch. If however you are doing more varied running, training for an event or just want to keep an accurate record of your performance then this is a great product, its small enough not to weigh you down or get in the way and is easy to use, for the functionality you get is worth the money.
Personally I don't make that much use of the training options / workouts, I use the pace alarms occasionally and the interval training options, the possibilities though to assist with your training and improve performance are there. When you do use features like the pace alarms or the virtual partner these do help encourage you to perform better and if you perfom better on each individual run your overall performance should improve also.

+ Other products
There are other similar products on the market, both from Garmin and other manufacturers, I haven't tried others so it wouldn't be fair to compare, the advantage with the 205 I can see is that its all in one compact unit and its intended for activities such as running or cycling. Other units I've seen utilize a separate GPS receiver and some (such as the previous Garmin models) are much larger in size.

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One last note, training with your virtual partner doesn't mean you can do virtual training yourself, letting your virtual partner go for the run whilst you pop down to the pub doesn't count as exercise...
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