THIS WEEKS SUMMARY: Friday 28-Jan-2011

1. Price drop on Timex Global Trainer.
2. Jan/Feb Giveaway - Win a GARMIN EDGE 800 valued at $649.
3. Firmware on Garmin Forerunner 110.
4. Pressure testing and battery change service coming soon to HTA,
5. A solution to get Google maps back on Garmin Connect.

REVIEW: Garmin Edge 800 what kind of cyclist needs GPS navigation (by Richard Tulloch)

A package arrived on the doorstep. My pulse rate probably quickened, but I had no way of checking this. The heart monitor was in that package, along with a new Garmin Edge 800 GPS satellite-guided navigation bicycle computer. I’d been invited to take it on a test drive.

I should explain that I’m not a techy-geeky-dudey-type guy. I know how to insert a DVD into my machine, but getting it to play…that’s what you have kids for. So maybe I’m not the ideal person to be reviewing a wham-bang, state-of-the-art Garmin Edge 800 GPS bike computer. On the other hand, if I can work it, so can everybody else.

I’ve been riding bikes since before the launch of Sputnik. I know the way along my favourite cycling routes in Sydney and Amsterdam, and the Dutch ones have signposts giving the distance to the next town. I even know a clever trick for calculating average speed; I divide the distance travelled by the number of hours I’ve been riding. I learned to do this back when calculators filled large rooms in bank offices.

Nonetheless, I was excited by my new Garmy’s arrival, because GPS thingies are fun.

 

 

 

REVIEW: Garmin Forerunner 410 GPS/HRM (reviewed by Anna Papij)

For the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of trying out the Garmin Forerunner 410, courtesy of Highly Tuned Athletes. My usual running watch is the Garmin 305 but it’s over 2 years old now and the battery life isn’t what it used to be. This was a great opportunity to see if the 410 was for me.

Everyone knows the great advantages of training with a GPS watch. Seeing your pace, HR, elevation and maps of your runs is incredibly useful, not to mention fun. But I’ll just go through what I think the three main obvious features of the 410 are - the shape, the wireless ANT connection and the bezel.