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Simple and effective case w/o click wheel protector

Marware makes nice iPod cases. This one for the iPod classic is easy to slip on and gives a nice "cushy" silicone jacket around your sometimes-fragile iPod.



It does a good job and is reasonably priced. The only problem I had was with the click wheel protector. If you put the thin sheet of flexible plastic over the iPod classic click wheel the function becomes *very* erratic and unresponsive. I thought that my iPod was defective when using it! Finally I peeled off the click wheel cover and the iPod is functioning well again. I recommend omitting this part of the Marware case.

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The Forerunner 50 rocks!

After reading about Polar's new running watch I almost bought it but after a couple of negative reviews I decided to check out the market first. I happened to see an ad for the Garmin Forerunner in a runnning mag and thought I would take a closer look at it. I ended up buying it (with the foot pod only not the heart rate monitor as I already have one and don't use it much) and I am extremely pleased!



Pros: The watch is very accurate from what I can tell (admittedly a nonscientific approach) and what a lot of fun! The wonk in me marvels at how a watch can tell you exactly how far you have run your current pace your average pace and calories burned. It is lightweight with an easy to read face and you forget about the foot pod once you clip it into your shoes. It's a fantastically motivating tool ... my only concern is that I will fall on my face as I am constantly checking my progress while I run! Technology nerds will enjoy being able to complete their run immediately check out their history and then once at home download the data onto their PCs. Also the price is very reasonable (although I bought mine with foot pod for $139 just last week and now I see the price has jumped to $169).



Cons: The watch face and strap are really large and obviously made for a man. I'm small wristed even for a woman and have to use the smallest hole to buckle the watch. On the other hand the size of the watch face is probably what makes it possible to see all the data so clearly while running. My other gripe is the owner's manual which appears to be written in English by someone who is not native to the language. Fortunately it is pretty easy to figure out. My first couple of runs weren't recorded because I didn't completely understand how to start/stop/save a run but after I got the hang of it it was a breeze.More detail ...

Nice little device

I bought this device to be paired with a bluetooth GPS adapter for my Nikon D300. This receiver is nice small and light. It has a silicone case. It acquires the GPS signals really quickly. Software is great. In fact I will probably now just use the receiver and use the software to geotag my photos without the GPS adapter. It's that easy. Having said that I could have probably gotten the lower model and be just as happy as long as the software is the same. But I will give this device only three stars. Minus one star because the light on it is hard to see in the daylight. You have to shield it a bit to see if you turned it on and if it has acquired the signal. Plus it uses a proprietary connection to the USB port. I haven't found a place that just sells the connection so be careful not to lose it. It also uses a battery that the end user is unable to change. So you'll probably be buying a mew one when the battery dies. Minus another star because when I emailed the company about 3-4 days ago regarding buying an extra cable I have not gotten a response.



All-in-all I'm happy with my purchase. It's not perfect but with the software I'll probably do away with my GPS adapter. One less thing needing to use my 10 pin slot on my camera.

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Garmin Forerunner 301

I bought my forerunner slightly used about 4 months ago. For someone who is just getting started with a good fitness routine this product should prove to be beneficial. Depending on where I am it can easily interface with my desktop PC or my MAC laptop...definitely a plus. I can only think of two draw-backs and those are that it is not water-resistant therefore no swimming with it and it may at times take 5-10 minutes to lock in on satellites. Other than that I am quite pleased with it. More detail ...

Do you take your running seriously?

I have recently purchased a Forerunner 301 after having used a Sports Instruments heart rate monitor for about a year. The heart rate monitor was excellent and certainly usefull in the gym - rather than wait a certain length of time between sets wait until your HR is below 120bpm. It allows you to pace yourself much more.

When it comes to running it is difficult to measure your performance (time heart rate and distance) over the days and weeks. A heart rate monitor is good but when training you need to push yourself and will always have a high heart rate.



The forerunner is a completely different animal. So different that there really isn't any fair comparison at all.

With this puppy on your arm you can build a workout (they are quite simple but effective) on your pc slap it on the forerunner and off you go. Great running feedback and excellent info when transferred to the pc. Everything is easy to do - not quite WinXP wizard easy but simple none the less.



If you live in a large city forrested areas or anywhere with sky obstructions then it may give your trouble with reception. I have had a gps for years and with my wifi experience I knew that reliable reception was going to be an issue. However for me I found the reception excellent. Great in fact! In my lounge I can still get a lock with 4 good strength sattelites! If I stop it reacts within 1 second and another second it knows I have stopped (due to the 1 second display update speed). Much better gps calculations than my garmin gps12.



If you are gagety inclined and ARE taking (not just wanting or planning to) your running or biking seriously then without a doubt this is the machine for you.



It isn't too big but big enough to read. Locks on in less than 1 minute in my small back yard and has stellar reaction time. Perhaps even just keeping track of your exercise history is worth it for you? Or the in running feedback? Or the calorie (much more realistic than anythng else I have seen) info?



I am very happy with my buy. I paid $230 for it. Worth every last buck. From my experience I have no trouble recommending the Forerunner 301 to any one who is taking their running seriously!!

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Do you take your running seriously?

I have recently purchased a Forerunner 301 after having used a Sports Instruments heart rate monitor for about a year. The heart rate monitor was excellent and certainly usefull in the gym - rather than wait a certain length of time between sets wait until your HR is below 120bpm. It allows you to pace yourself much more.

When it comes to running it is difficult to measure your performance (time heart rate and distance) over the days and weeks. A heart rate monitor is good but when training you need to push yourself and will always have a high heart rate.



The forerunner is a completely different animal. So different that there really isn't any fair comparison at all.

With this puppy on your arm you can build a workout (they are quite simple but effective) on your pc slap it on the forerunner and off you go. Great running feedback and excellent info when transferred to the pc. Everything is easy to do - not quite WinXP wizard easy but simple none the less.



If you live in a large city forrested areas or anywhere with sky obstructions then it may give your trouble with reception. I have had a gps for years and with my wifi experience I knew that reliable reception was going to be an issue. However for me I found the reception excellent. Great in fact! In my lounge I can still get a lock with 4 good strength sattelites! If I stop it reacts within 1 second and another second it knows I have stopped (due to the 1 second display update speed). Much better gps calculations than my garmin gps12.



If you are gagety inclined and ARE taking (not just wanting or planning to) your running or biking seriously then without a doubt this is the machine for you.



It isn't too big but big enough to read. Locks on in less than 1 minute in my small back yard and has stellar reaction time. Perhaps even just keeping track of your exercise history is worth it for you? Or the in running feedback? Or the calorie (much more realistic than anythng else I have seen) info?



I am very happy with my buy. I paid $230 for it. Worth every last buck. From my experience I have no trouble recommending the Forerunner 301 to any one who is taking their running seriously!!

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Better than 405 & Polar...GOOGLE EARTH alone is worth the upgrade!!!

I use mine for cycling and running the direct link to see your workouts mapped on GOOGLE EARTH is FANTASTIC!!!! (the included software is far more stable than the junk Polar included with their HRM's.



Heart rate strap with replaceable battery is coded and comfortable. It's better in my opinion than the Polar products (of which I've owned three)



This is much better than the Forerunner 201 which I previously owned (locks on satellites 10 times faster) and I'd avoid the 405 unless you really want to use this watch as a normal day to day wristwatch (check out the 405 reviews)



One nice feature is being able to customize the display screens. Another review criticized the 305 for the numbers being too small to read while exercising. I don't have an issue but would point out that you can significantly increase the size of the display by simply displaying fewer fields.



My only complaint is that it's easy to leave it on and run the battery down - which is a bummer if you're just about to work out. I wish there was an "auto off" feature which would shut it down if it detects no movement or heart rate within an hour or so. Fortunately with Li-Ion batteries as little as a 10 minute charge gives you enough juice for a 90 minute run.



If you've found this review to be helpful please let me know! More detail ...

Impressive Hardware Poor Software Non-Existant Support

Update: after two months of using the 405 I have some additional observations. Based on my experiences I would lower the star rating to 3 stars. The decrease in rating is due to incredibly poor software and support from Garmin. The hardware is still extremely impressive despite the software failings.



Software and Support:



The Garmin Connect (which allows you to track your training progress) is nothing more than a beta with limited functionality and slow response times. Moreover it is still very buggy. The software which automatically uploads the computer data to Garmin Connect just suddenly stopped working a month ago.



Hold times to get in touch with Garmin telephone support is 45 minutes. Email support is terrible - it has taken a full MONTH to have two email exchanges with support. All this and the problem has not been fixed.



Moreover the software is poorly designed. You have to constantly monitor Garmin's website for software updates (there is no "Check for Update" feature). If a problem occurs in the software there are no features to aid in resolving the problem.



Hardware:



First impressions: the form factor is nice but you need to be aware that the watch is somewhat "thick". If you are wearing a button down shirt the 405 will not fit comfortably under a sleeve cuff. However looking at it from above it looks like a normal watch. Wearing it while running will probably not draw a second look from other runners. This is also a downside since you want people to notice your shiny new 405.



Setup - this took only a few minutes and was very easy. TThe 405 walks you through a brief tutorial. Overall setup was very easy.



Navigation - this takes a few minutes to get the hang of. Once you have the buttons down it is quite easy to navigate. The sensitivity of the touch bezel is adjustable for your taste. I've played with the 305 in the store and the 405 actually seems more intuitive to navigate.



Initial lock - finding the satellites takes a few minutes the first time. It will lock on much faster if you are not moving. Subsequent times to find the satellites was much quicker.



Use - After you have turned on the GPS and gotten a lock all you need to do is press start to begin your workout. It was very easy to use. I basically forgot about it while I was running other than to check my pace every mile or so. Kept a lock the entire time (keep in mind this was in Chicago's Lincoln Park - roughly 2/3rds of the sky is clear (except for trees) so achieving constant lock-on should not be a problem for any GPS. I have not tested this downtown).



For those worried about water resistance my first usage of my 405 was in the pouring rain. It didn't seem to notice (or care) about the rain. It can handle a good amount of water without issue.



Syncing - you need to download the software from Garmin (it's actually a web plug in). However the manual was clearly rushed out the door. Not only does it contain typos (at one point it refers to the wrong step) but it is not clear from the manual that you need to download the USB drivers. DO NOT put the ANT USB key into the computer until you have downloaded the specific ANT drivers from Garmin (so you have to download two different pieces of software - the plugin and the USB driver). If you plug the ANT key into the computer w/o the Garmin USB driver Windows will find what it thinks is the correct driver (which is the wrong driver). The syncing will not work if you do this. Just a heads up.



I wish I owned a 305 to compare it to. In the Garmin store the 405 did not see that much smaller than the 305 although the 405 was clearly more elegant. Functionally I hear that they are extremely similar. You just need to personally evaluate whether the 405 is really worth the increased cost over the 205/305. Personally I plan on keeping the 405.



Battery Life - After playing with it for 30 minutes taking it on an hour's run and syncing it with my computer it only used 12% of the battery life.More detail ...

Perfect partner

Great tool for your run. Buy with HR monitor as well as the foot pod. That would be an unbeatable combo.

Garmin connect is awesome too great value addition. All in all nothing negative to write about except

some minor things but nothing that can't be overcome.More detail ...

Misleading: Not a Triathlete watch

This device has been represented as a triathlete's watch and the first swim proof GPS watch. If you watch the video from Garmin or see any of the advertisements Garmin leads you to believe that this watch will collect reliable data for all 3 multisport events. It is reasonable for someone to assume this watch can be worn in a race and collect GPS data in the water since of course SWIMMING is the first event in a triathlon.



If you are considering buying this watch realize the following:



-This device does not collect usable data in the water period (other than time which any $20 waterproof watch can collect in a much smaller form factor). No heart rate data and totally unusable and inaccurate GPS data while in the water.



-There are preset modes for run bike and "other" in which "other" shows a person on skis (explain that one?). They intentionally omit a category for swimming despite advertising that this watch is for triathletes (see the photo I added under product photos).



-You will need to purchase a separate quick release kit if you want to use this watch on a bike. It does not get accurate data on a bike if you are wearing in on your wrist. It auto pauses then unpauses for most of the time I am riding if I wear it on my wrist -- even if I have it set to only auto pause when completely stopped. The quick release kit IS NOT the more common one for the 205 and 305 Garmin 010-10889-00 Forerunner 305/205 Quick Release Kit so do not buy that one. They have made a new one for this watch and most places do not have it in stock yet. As of the date I am writing this review it is not yet available on Amazon.com. Go to Garmin's website and look under the accessories tab for this watch. You will see a different model number. I have confirmed this with customer service. The part number for the proper quick release kit is: 010-11215-00. Google it.



-If you want foot cadence or the ability to track distance indoors and assume you get it for spending $400 on this device think again. You will have to buy a separate foot pod which costs $80-100 depending on where you buy it (earlier Garmin Forerunner watch kits included foot pods). Garmin Foot Pod SDM4 (ANT+)



-The watch is large and sits high on top of the wrist (they packed 20 hours of batter life into this watch) so to wear it under your wetsuit will let water in the wetsuit or you will have to wear it on top of (or crammed in front of) the wetsuit which will not allow you to remove your wetsuit without first removing the watch (thus adding time to your transition and sort of negating that whole "triathlete" angle). You can see a photo of this watch on my wrist under the photos section of the product.



-There is no way to turn off GPS tracking for only one of the 3 events in multisport mode. Therefore you will always either have incorrect GPS data recording for the swimming mode (or actually "other" since there is no "swim" mode as previously mentioned). I have called customer support and they confirm this. Their solution was to turn off GPS while I am swimming then reset and manually start a new timer and mode during transition 1 for my bike event. I'll let you be the judge of how to take that advice.



So in conclusion if you want to setup this watch for a bike and run and want the ability to wear the watch in the water before hand (and no start it unless you want some incorrect distance data included) you will need to buy:



$400 - the Garmin 310XT with HR

$25 - quick release mount kit (for wrist and bike) (no link in Amazon yet)

$80-100 - foot pod (if you want cadence)

Garmin Foot Pod SDM4 (ANT+)

$35-50 - speed/cadence sensor (if you want cadence for the bike)

GARMIN 010-10644-00 Speed/Cadence Sensor



You'll be into it for $575 retail. Garmin you did us wrong on this one. Some of us are willing to spend this kind of money on a product if it proves to do what it advertises itself to do. We're not asking it to do anything more than perform as advertised. I realize your fine print saves you from lawsuits but it doesn't gain you repeat customers. It sends them over to Polar.More detail ...

Just plain AWESOME !

I have been using this watch/footpod/HR monitor now for about 6 months and I absolutely love it. It is like having a coach. I am a fairly new runner and completed a half marathon this past spring and loved it. I decided to get more serious about my training and run a fall marathon. The longer runs were really a pain because I'd have to get in my car and drive the route each time....and then remember them as I ran . And of course if an unpredicted problem came up (angry dog suspicious person etc) I couldn't really deviate without blowing the run and not knowing how far I'd gone . And also......my paces were off. I was running my recovery runs and easy runs WAY too fast. And then at the time I was using an old treadmill that was totally off pace so my faster runs---well who knows how consistent they were. I needed help !



And I got it. Everything fell completely into place after getting the watch. It basically sets ITSELF uptoo. So easy to use. The Garmin website is awesome. I understand they had bugs at first but I have encountered none of that. I can look at a run and see my heart rate and pace on a graph. I can also see reports on mileage etc. And the ability to see cadence per mile is cooltoo. I have learned so much by having all this data. It has made me a much better runner. I pay attention to heart rate nowtoo.



And of course it is wonderful to be able to track my distance and pace as I run outdoors. I can just take whatever direction I want now....I feel totally free and spontaneous out there. And I use it on the treadmilltoo. Way more accurate than the treadmill as far as pace is concerned.

I also run in a lot of trees which is why I avoided the GPS version. The footpod works everywhere and GPS will lose way points in heavy trees or in a city with tall buildings.



It coached me to a 4:14:01 first marathon finish this past October. It is really accurate and I have never calibrated it. Although I plan to go to an indoor track this week and do that this week before I start training seriously again (I wore it in the marathon and it tracked the the distance as 26.58---not bad over that many miles with no additional calibration but still.....).



I highly recommend this product to anyone who would like to be able to monitor their training. It is all they say and a lot more. I plan to try to qualify for Boston this spring and I know my chances are much improved with my Garmin FR60 (yes all my friends are definitely tired of hearing how much I love the watch!).More detail ...

Misleading: Not a Triathlete watch

This device has been represented as a triathlete's watch and the first swim proof GPS watch. If you watch the video from Garmin or see any of the advertisements Garmin leads you to believe that this watch will collect reliable data for all 3 multisport events. It is reasonable for someone to assume this watch can be worn in a race and collect GPS data in the water since of course SWIMMING is the first event in a triathlon.



If you are considering buying this watch realize the following:



-This device does not collect usable data in the water period (other than time which any $20 waterproof watch can collect in a much smaller form factor). No heart rate data and totally unusable and inaccurate GPS data while in the water.



-There are preset modes for run bike and "other" in which "other" shows a person on skis (explain that one?). They intentionally omit a category for swimming despite advertising that this watch is for triathletes (see the photo I added under product photos).



-You will need to purchase a separate quick release kit if you want to use this watch on a bike. It does not get accurate data on a bike if you are wearing in on your wrist. It auto pauses then unpauses for most of the time I am riding if I wear it on my wrist -- even if I have it set to only auto pause when completely stopped. The quick release kit IS NOT the more common one for the 205 and 305 Garmin 010-10889-00 Forerunner 305/205 Quick Release Kit so do not buy that one. They have made a new one for this watch and most places do not have it in stock yet. As of the date I am writing this review it is not yet available on Amazon.com. Go to Garmin's website and look under the accessories tab for this watch. You will see a different model number. I have confirmed this with customer service. The part number for the proper quick release kit is: 010-11215-00. Google it.



-If you want foot cadence or the ability to track distance indoors and assume you get it for spending $400 on this device think again. You will have to buy a separate foot pod which costs $80-100 depending on where you buy it (earlier Garmin Forerunner watch kits included foot pods). Garmin Foot Pod SDM4 (ANT+)



-The watch is large and sits high on top of the wrist (they packed 20 hours of batter life into this watch) so to wear it under your wetsuit will let water in the wetsuit or you will have to wear it on top of (or crammed in front of) the wetsuit which will not allow you to remove your wetsuit without first removing the watch (thus adding time to your transition and sort of negating that whole "triathlete" angle). You can see a photo of this watch on my wrist under the photos section of the product.



-There is no way to turn off GPS tracking for only one of the 3 events in multisport mode. Therefore you will always either have incorrect GPS data recording for the swimming mode (or actually "other" since there is no "swim" mode as previously mentioned). I have called customer support and they confirm this. Their solution was to turn off GPS while I am swimming then reset and manually start a new timer and mode during transition 1 for my bike event. I'll let you be the judge of how to take that advice.



So in conclusion if you want to setup this watch for a bike and run and want the ability to wear the watch in the water before hand (and no start it unless you want some incorrect distance data included) you will need to buy:



$400 - the Garmin 310XT with HR

$25 - quick release mount kit (for wrist and bike) (no link in Amazon yet)

$80-100 - foot pod (if you want cadence)

Garmin Foot Pod SDM4 (ANT+)

$35-50 - speed/cadence sensor (if you want cadence for the bike)

GARMIN 010-10644-00 Speed/Cadence Sensor



You'll be into it for $575 retail. Garmin you did us wrong on this one. Some of us are willing to spend this kind of money on a product if it proves to do what it advertises itself to do. We're not asking it to do anything more than perform as advertised. I realize your fine print saves you from lawsuits but it doesn't gain you repeat customers. It sends them over to Polar.More detail ...