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Garmin intros two bike-centric GPS units


Barrikady

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Newest Garmin® Edge® Lets Cyclists Share Routes Wirelessly While Adding Power Compatibility

 

OLATHE, Kan., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Garmin International

Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), today introduced the Edge 705

and Edge 605 -- the latest innovations in the popular line of integrated

personal training systems for recreational and advanced cyclists. The Edge

705 and Edge 605 provide mapping capabilities, street navigation and a 2.2"

color display in addition to tracking vertical profiles, climb and descent,

altitude, speed, distance, and time.

The Edge 705 represents several breakthroughs in cycling technology,

including power compatibility and wireless unit-to-unit connectivity.

Through collaborative efforts with SRM, Quarq and other experts in mobile

power diagnostics for bicycles, Garmin for the first time gives cyclists

the opportunity to monitor GPS position, power, heart rate, speed, cadence,

altitude and gradient on the same display. And Edge 705 users will be able

to share their information -- including saved rides, waypoints and workouts

-- with each other through ANT+Sport wireless technology.

"The Edge 705 gives cyclists the most effective tools they need to

train efficiently and share data easily," said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice

president of worldwide sales, "and these new products are further proof of

how innovative technology can enrich people's lives and help them better

enjoy their exercise and recreational activities."

ANT+Sport technology allows the Edge to interface wirelessly with other

fitness devices such as a heart rate monitor, cadence sensor or other Edge

units. Cyclists can share courses, workout data and saved rides. When

paired with an optional power meter from SRM or Quarq or another third

party's ANT+Sport-enabled device, the Edge 705 measures power -- torque and

cadence for each leg at the pedals -- which is often cited as a true

indicator of an efficient ride.

The mapping capabilities on the Edge 705 and Edge 605 allow cyclists to

truly get lost in their ride without losing their way. Routes can be

adapted to revisit previous rides, personalized shortcuts or new

destinations. Both units come with built-in basemaps, and optional detailed

street or topo maps are available on preloaded data cards.

Altitude is recorded using a barometric altimeter for the Edge 705.

This accurate altitude data makes it much easier for cyclists to match

their altitude profile with their speed, cadence and heart rate during

post-ride analysis. The Edge 605 measures altitude through GPS positioning.

Whether you need to know where you've been, where you're going, how

long it's taking or how high you're climbing, the Edge 705 and Edge 605

offer answers. Cyclists can display their customizable data fields on large

color screens, and the addition of a click stick helps users navigate

through the various options. Sleek, waterproof and durable, the Edge uses a

high- sensitivity GPS receiver to sustain reception in the most challenging

conditions, such as heavy tree cover or "urban canyons" created by

skyscrapers. It attaches to either the stem or handlebars of the bicycle,

and is designed for easy removal at the end of the workout.

The Edge 705 heart rate monitor uses a robust wireless technology that

eliminates cross-talk and interference and delivers real-time heart rate

data exclusively to the user's device. This data is stored with each track

point for post-workout analysis. The Edge 705 with speed/cadence sensor

incorporates a self-calibrating, wireless speed/cadence sensor that mounts

to the rear chain stay of the bicycle.

Customizing the Edge is achieved using several innovative features:

 

-- Workouts: Design workouts with multiple steps based on time, distance,

calories or heart rate. Establishes workout targets based on speed,

calories, cadence, heart rate and power (heart rate is standard on

Edge 705, speed/cadence sensor is optional and power requires an

ANT+Sport-enabled third-party meter).

-- Virtual Partner®: Team up with a virtual training partner that

provides continuous feedback. Depicts a digital cyclist (desired speed)

in relation to the user's real-time speed and notifies if ahead or

behind desired target.

-- Courses: Cyclists can race against a recorded course and match

previously set speeds at every point of the way. Combine the Courses

and Virtual Partner features and race an opponent that varies speed

while climbing hills and navigating tricky turns.

-- Navigation: Ride to a specified location by following turn-by-turn

prompts, or try out brand new routes by downloading GPX files and

leaving your paper directions at home.

-- Bike Computer: Customizable bike computer screen shows up to eight

different data fields. The user may customize the display for the size

and placement of the data.

-- Auto Pause®: Pauses the timer when the user's speed drops below a

preset threshold.

-- Alerts: Program alerts to sound if the user strays outside the range

of speed, heart rate or cadence values. Alerts can also indicate when a

set amount of time or distance has passed.

When used with Garmin Connect -- Garmin's new and improved online

training site at connect.garmin.com -- the Edge's benefits continue long

after the workout. By pairing the Edge 705 or Edge 605 with Garmin Connect,

users can join a worldwide network of cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts and

log their workouts, track their totals, share workouts and participate in

an online community.

The Edge 705 with Heart Rate Monitor is expected to be available in

December 2007 and have an estimated retail price of $499.99. This device

includes an ANT+Sport heart rate monitor, AC charger, USB PC interface

cable, bike mounts, owner's manual on disk and quick-reference guide.

The Edge 705 with Heart Rate Monitor and Speed/Cadence Sensor is

expected to be available in December 2007 and have an estimated retail

price of $549.99. This device includes an ANT+Sport heart rate monitor,

speed/cadence sensor, AC charger, USB PC interface cable, bike mounts,

owner's manual on disk and quick-reference guide.

The Edge 705 bundle is expected to be available in December 2007 and

have an estimated retail price of $649.99. This device includes an

ANT+Sport heart rate monitor, speed/cadence sensor, microSD card with City

Nav NT maps, AC charger, USB PC interface cable, bike mounts, owner's

manual on disk and quick-reference guide.

The Edge 605 is expected to be available in December 2007 and has an

estimated retail price of $399.99. It includes bike mounts, USB PC

interface cable, AC charger, owner's manual on disk and quick-reference

guide.

 

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Garmin to announce two new cycling computers and new fitness Web site

 

Garmin International is putting more muscle into its fitness business.

 

The company today plans to announce two new cycling computers and a new fitness Web site designed for Garmin customers.

 

Garmin will phase out its MotionBased fitness Web site in December, replacing it with a free Web site that will allow customers to store, track and share training data and their favorite training routes.

 

Garmin Connect will expand the services offered by MotionBased and make most of them free, said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales.

 

Garmin Connect will unofficially launch in October, when it will be available for customers using the company’s new Forerunner 50. It will be available for other Garmin fitness devices in December.

 

In a second announcement planned for today, Garmin said it would begin selling two new versions of its Edge cycling computers starting in December.

 

The Edge 605 and Edge 705 will add color screens, street navigation and mapping to the cycling computers.

 

The Edge series uses Global Positioning System technology to let bikers track their time, distance, speed and other fitness variables.

 

Garmin planned to make the announcements as the Eurobike 2007 trade show opened in Germany.

 

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Edited by Barrikady
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I've been riding with one. Overall pretty good unit, I've ran into a couple problems though so far.

 

First on bumpy mountain biking rides, the center "enter" button gets activated, which changes the map from current position to pointer, and from bike 1 to bike 2 screens while riding. I don't see this issue on the road bike.

 

Also and worse, the unit freezes repeatedly while trying to navigate a course. I've had it happen every ride I've ride to have it do a course, with courses I've downloaded and those I've made from the unit itself.

 

The other issue I've had is you can download tracks to the unit, and they get put in the where to menu of "saved rides" the problem here is when you try and navigate the track, the unit only brings in random parts of the track, leaving out others or drawing strait lines between parts of the track that should have data. I thought it was a track point issue but I've tried tracks as low as 200 points with the same issues.

 

I would also say the track that it shows on the map is so thin and hard to see that I don't think you could ride back along it if you had to, walk with the unit very close to you maybe, but never ride. The course and saved ride track lines are wide and easy to see.

 

Battery life seems good, backlight is very bright, similar to the etrex series.

 

I'm going to see if REI has a replacement unit and see if it has the same issues. I did go to the latest firmware as well, same issue.

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