Gadget Review: Garmin Forerunner 405 with HRM and USB ANT stick

Product Features

• High-sensitivity GPS receiver
• Innovative patent pending touch bezel interface
• Can be used for running and cycling
• Easy-to-read display
• Comfortable vinyl wristband
• Compatible with GSC 10 speed/cadence bike sensor – monitor pedalling cadence and wheel speed
• Compatible with foot pod – measures speed and distance and runners cadence when indoors
• Watch features: time of day (12/24h), dual time zone, (day/date), daily alarm
• Training and motivational features: Virtual Partner, courses, workouts, goals
• GPS features: mark waypoints, back to start, save location
• Zone training, heart rate zone training, supports 5 heart rate zones
• ANT+SportTM wireless technology – lets you automatically transfer information back and forth between the watch and the PC (MAC Compatibility 3rd Quarter 2008)
• Unit-to-unit – transfer workouts and locations to other Forerunner 405’s

Technical Details

• Battery life: 8 hours (training) or 2 weeks (power save mode)Water resistant to IPX7 (1 metre of water for 30 minutes)
• Weight: 60 g
• Display: Round 4-level grey FSTN, 124 x 95 pixels
• Size (mm): 45.75 x 70.5 x 16.4
• Distance accuracy: 99% with clear view of sky
• Temp range: -4oF to 140oF (-20oC to 60oC)

Review

This is a powerful gadget… however, nothing is perfect.
A perfect companion for those of us in need for a good duathlon watch. The watch is sleek, stylish and robust. The new bezel control is geeky. GPS accuracy is very good and it acquires satellites pretty quickly when compared to the 305. It is very light and running/frycling with it is a pleasure.

Now, the downsides. The bezel even though is geeky, is hard to control during an event. Either you setup everything before the event or during the event it will feel hard to control. The battery life seems to have been shortened from the 305 as it only works for 8 hours straight when not in power safe mode. It looks like a watch, yes, but it cannot be really used like one since once you lose satellites, the time starts to deviate from real time as satellites are the only thing keeping the clock in sync with reality. Water resistance as not been improved when comparing with previous model 305, so its not fit for triathletes. There are only two modes to it: biking or running.

Everything else seems to work perfectly well and I am quite happy with the gadget. It was in fact, just what I needed. But is it what you need?

As a last note, Garmin decided to shutdown non-Windows users from this watch. It only supports Windows. It uses the new ANT protocol which is open, however, the protocol used to send messages from the ANT stick to the clock is closed, not allowing easy third-party implementations. Current drivers are only for Windows and although they have announced Mac support in 2008 it has been delayed from 3rd quarter of 2008, to the 4th quarter, to November 2008 and now to December 2008. Same thing happens with their Garmin Edge 705 and Forerunner 50 so it seems that at least now, as someone said in a forum: Garmin is a Windows-shop only. I am trying to reverse engineer the protocol in order to get it working on Linux (and afterwards on Intel-Macs), still, its unofficial and it won’t be ready in the next few days, if you know what I mean. News regarding this issue from a more technical perspective can be found in personal blog.

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~ by pmatos on October 28, 2008.