Golf is quickly becoming more competitive. It was always more than a friendly walk along 18 holes, but technology is giving some players an edge that just can’t be beat. Garmin is arming golfers with a GPS device that will offer strategic knowledge of over 25,000 courses worldwide.
The headline may be a bit of an overstatement, but Dave Zabriskie recently had a recording session with Garmin Cervelo team sponsor Garmin to lend his voice to the downloadable Team Garmin bundle for Garmin Nuvi devices.
Zabriskie’s voice will be available as part of the downloadable Team Garmin bundle from Garmin Garage later in November. The video lets you hear, and see, some of what’s included in the bundle. “I’ll turn this car around…”
Nuvi devices are for cars, motorcycles and trucks, and not bicycles, but we thought it was worthy when a pro-cyclist gets to provide his voice for GPS driving directions. Besides, who knows the road better than a cyclist?
Garmin Official Website
[via Garmin Blog: Road Trip with Zabriskie: Get Dave's voice on your Garmin]
Click image for a closer view
The fitness monitor market seems to be growing as Garmin announced the upcoming release of its FR70 fitness watch, which can tracks users’ time, heart rate, calories burned and when combined with one of Garmin’s accessories even track pace and speed. The FR70 is available in both a men’s and women’s version.
“A lightweight, comfortable and stylish watch that helps users accomplish their goals is what the FR70 is all about,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Wear it as an every day time piece and keep it on during walks, runs or fitness routines to monitor these activities and progress.”
The device is meant for indoor and outdoor training, and at the heart of its success is FR70′s wireless ANT+ technology, which allows FR70 to connect to other ANT+ compatible devices, such as the included heart rate monitor, optional foot pod, speed and cadence sensor or even ANT+ compatible fitness equipment like treadmills, spin bikes, elliptical trainers and more. Read the rest of this entry »
Garmin excels in the sports and fitness category with devices that track distance, speed, heart rate and other measures of a workout. Now it’s come to market with an ANT+ adapter for the iPhone, and companion app on iPhone and Android devices. We hope the Android adapter will soon follow so we can track our workouts on our device of choice.
The Garmin Fit app lets users track metrics such as speed, pace, distance, time, calories, heart rate and cadence. Some of these metrics require connectivity to devices beyond the phone. Cadence and heart rate, for instance, require a pod on the bike and chest strap, respectively. These are measured with companion Garmin devices, and sent wirelessly via the ANT+ adapter to the iPhone. Read the rest of this entry »
Want to see a few minutes into the future of mobile technology? Look no further than the FCC. Late last week word broke that an ANT+ adapter for the iPhone from Garmin had surfaced in FCC documents. The ANT+ wireless sensor would of course be used to track fitness data in devices such as heart rate monitors, sports watches and cycling computers.
While Garmin already makes those devices, it would appear that Garmin could be looking to create a fully integrated system that somehow utilizes the iPhone. From the images this adapter could be compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and maybe even the iPhone 4S.
Sports and GPS go hand-in-hand. That is unless you’re swimming or going off to remote areas where tracking often poses a challenge. Innovations in GPS technology now make it possible to track your workouts, and races, when swimming. Garmin is among the sport watch manufacturers to leverage this new technology.
The company’s new Forerunner 910XT is a multisport watch, an all-in-one GPS-enabled device that provides detailed swim metrics and tracks distance, speed/pace, elevation and heart rate for running and cycling. The 910XT has an on-board barometric altimeter for improved elevation data.
A smooth, low profile allows for athletes to slide tight-fitting wetsuits over the watch. This makes it possible for use with water sports. It also facilitates quick outfit changes necessary for triathletes competing in races where a wetsuit or other protective and warmth gear is necessary.
(Video after the jump)
Over the years we’ve seen GPS added to smartphones and many digital cameras now offer GPS tags. But now Garmin, the maker of satellite navigation technology, sees that turnabout is fair play. The company has announced the addition to the GPSMAP 62 series of rugged outdoor handheld devices – a built-in 5 megapixel camera with automatic geotagging to capture the highlights of any adventure and allow you to share the locations or navigate back to that site. GPSMAP 62stc and GPSMAP 62sc were unveiled at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO, capping a week of exciting new Garmin outdoor handheld announcements by Garmin that included innovations in the popular eTrex, Rino and Astro families.
In other words this is a GPS device with a build camera. Read the rest of this entry »
It was only a matter of time before two-way radios became location aware. Garmin just released the Rino series, a line of three two-way radios with integrated GPS. The Rino 610, 650, 655t have different levels of features, and all three models operate with up to a 20-mile communication range.
With each of the three models you can send your exact location coordinates. Other Rino users will see the location pop up on their map page. Once two radios are paired, you’ll be able to see your friend, or at least the radio, on the map. This helps when someone is in a location where the radio can’t get a signal for voice communication. You can also send unit-to-unit text messages between radios. This feature is ideal for windy conditions where it’s hard to hear, or if you need to be quiet and not disturb wildlife. While you don’t get the benefits of viewable location, the Rino radios are compatible with conventional FRS/GMRS radios, so you can use them to communicate with park rangers or other two-way radio users in the area.
The Rino 650 and 655t include a built-in NOAA weather radio to warn you of hazardous weather approaching. The radio supports Specific Area Message Encoding, which lets you access National Weather Service warnings and watches displayed county-by-county on the map. The Rino 655t has a built-in 5-megapixel autofocus camera so you can take and store pictures of your outing.
All three Rino models have high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix, a feature that automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that to calculate a position for you. The devices have multiple profiles such as marine, recreational and automotive so the Rino radio can be customized to your activity.
Expect to see the Rino devices at retail in Q3. The 610 will retail for $349; the 650 for $499.99 and the 655t for $599.99.
Garmin blog
Garmin Rino
GPS is popular in the car, but it really likes the outdoors. The new Montana, a GPS handheld from Garmin, gives you a ruggedized device with touchscreen functionality. The Montana goes far beyond the state it was named after. It supports a wide range of Garmin cartography with its dual orientation and screen layout options. It has a barometric altimeter for elevation profiling and the ability to profile the route ahead using a worldwide elevation model. The device has a 3-axis compass that provides a heading while standing still, on the move or even when the Montana isn’t held level.
The ruggedized device has a 4-inch touchscreen and a 5-megapixel autofocus camera. Several features make the Montana useful for more than just directions. Two battery options keep your device powered during remote, outdoor adventures. The rechargeable, lithium ion battery pack is said to last up to 16 hours. You can substitute three AA batteries for an additional six hours of battery life when you can’t plug in your handheld.
The Montana supports geocaching GPX files for downloading geocaches and details straight to the unit. It stores key information including location, terrain, difficulty, hints and descriptions.
Official Garmin website
Geocaching, a modern day treasure hunt complete with GPS device, can be a fun activity. Seek out containers and other goodies left for you to find. Maybe place your own geocache for others to find.
Garmin just made it easier to take part in geocaching. It’s now offering an OpenCaching app for iPhone and Android devices. The app is an extension of Garmin’s geocaching web site OpenCaching, which went live in December. The app is currently free, though that could change. Read the rest of this entry »
Serious runners will now have a serious time piece to add to their wrists. Garmin International Inc. announced this week the Forerunner 610 sports watch, a slim and robust water-proof touchscreen solution for serious runners. This watch can stand up to rain, sweat and splashes, yet is responsive enough that it can be operated with running gloves.
“Running with Forerunner 610 is like having a coach with you every step of the way,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “From giving the basics such as pace, distance and time to monitoring your effort through heart rate, creating interval workouts and racing a friend on the other side of the world, Forerunner 610 becomes a necessary partner for all serious runners.”
The watch has already won the Red Dot Design Award, which is a compliment to its marriage of style and functionality. The Forerunner 610 uses a vibration motor for alerts such as heart rate, pace and distance when audible tones cannot be heard (heart monitor included in some bundles or available separately). Read the rest of this entry »
With wireless technologies as prevalent as they are today, the thought of connecting two gadgets using a wire is almost unthinkable. File transferring between computers can be done over-the-air through Wi-Fi, while many headsets and headphones can connect to portable devices like cell phones via Bluetooth. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are just two of the technologies available, all in the name of helping you cut the cord.In the health and sports/fitness sectors, you may start hearing more and more about products adhering to the ANT+ protocol. This proprietary wireless protocol allows devices like heart rate monitors, speed sensors, blood pressure monitors, and blood glucose meters to talk to another device like a computer, smartphone, sports watch, GPS-enabled trainer, or exercise equipment (e.g. treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, etc.), provided they are also ANT+ enabled. For example, while you’re exercising on a ANT+ fitness equipment, the data is wirelessly transmitted to the ANT+ sports watch you’re wearing, without the need to physically attach the watch to the fitness equipment. All this info can be transmitted and stored on your computer or in the cloud (such as Microsoft’s HealthVault or Garmin Connect), allowing you to analyze and track your progress. (At a gym we use, the Life Fitness elliptical can only download our workout info to a USB thumbdrive or a connected iPhone or iPod with Nike+, but would be much more useful if it could wirelessly transmit that info.)
ANT+ was built upon the ANT wireless sensor network technology, which is owned by a subsidiary of Garmin. A group of companies that include Garmin, Stairmaster, Timex, Microsoft, Adidas, Star Trac, Trek, Suunto, Nautilus, Sony Ericsson, and Specialized comprise the ANT+ Alliance, which oversees the standard and its branding, and ensures interoperability. The low-power technology is similar in functionality to Bluetooth, in which it allows two devices to pair and exchange data. Also, like Bluetooth, an ANT+ product connects to only one other product at a time, even though there may be several ANT+ devices in the area; this mean you won’t accidentally receive data from another product, say a treadmill that’s next to but isn’t being used by you. Although both Bluetooth and ANT operate on the 2.4GHz spectrum, the two technologies are not the same. Interestingly, a new feature of Bluetooth 4.0 called Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) will most likely compete with ANT+ in the future if it receives adoption as widespread as ANT+.
So why go with ANT+ at all, especially if Bluetooth can do the same thing? Well, the problem so far has been that Bluetooth has made many promises but in essence failed to deliver, and while it is possible to upgrade existing Bluetooth networks to the BLE, most experts say this isn’t so cut and dry. In the end it is all going to come down with support from product makers – and given that ANT+ has lined up many partners in the fitness space it is a safe bet that the ant will more can than can’t.
Fishing can be a tranquil sport, just you with a pole and all the time in the world. Sometimes you don’t even care if the fish are biting. But the rest of the time you probably want to catch something, and for that there is a nifty little device called a fishfinder. Sure, these devices have been around for more than a decade, but Garmin International has announced its new echo series line of standalone fishfinders that raises the standard for finding the fish.
This line includes devices for all pricepoints as well, from the economical 8-level grayscale unit to the full array models that do everything but cast off for you. The top-of-the-line models include Garmin HD-ID target tracking technology.
The premier high resolution echo 550C offers state-of-the-art technology that almost makes it unsporting (and we mean that in a good way). This unit features an ultra-sharp video-quality 640×480 pixel 5-inch VGA screen, a powerful 500-watt sonar transmitter, and offers excellent fish arch display and bottom tracking as deep as 1,900 feet. The echo 550c is dual beam (200/77 kHz) capable and gives optimum deep or shallow water performance with up to 120 degrees of effective fish scanning area. The step down model echo 500C boasts the same aforementioned premium features, and offers a crisp 256-color QVGA display which gives 320×234-pixel resolution for extra-sharp detail on fish returns, structure and bottom soundings. Read the rest of this entry »
