Sunday, March 18, 2012

Is the Garmin Approach S4 a golf smartwatch?

Garmin Approach S4 golf GPS sportswatch

Garmin ventures into smartwatch territory with their new Approach S4 for golfers

Garmin has announced the Approach S4 golf sportswatch, adding a high-resolution touchscreen interface and the ability to receive notifications from a compatible paired iPhone (iPhone 4s and above running iOS7.0 and above) using Bluetooth Low Energy technology. Those notifications, which include the ability to display texts and emails, make for a very attractive feature and one that has Garmin treading into smartwatch territory. There’s no word yet on plans to bring this feature set to Android. read more

Good satellite days and bad satellite days

Bad GPS satellite covergae

Having a bad satellite day?

You may not realize it, but GPS accuracy varies from day to day. Satellites occasionally go on the fritz, but the biggest issue is the arrangement of the constellation relative to your position. read more

Magellan eXplorist 350H review

Magellan eXplorist 350H review

Hands on with the Magellan eXplorist 350H

The Magellan eXplorist 350H is the latest in the eXplorist family, this time packaged with features to appeal to hunters: Pre-loaded topo maps, hunting specific waypoint icons, Game Managements Units(GMU) and Digital Globe satellite imagery. read more

Garmin Forerunner 220 and 620 add color screens, new features

Garmin Forerunner 220 and 620Garmin has announced the Forerunner 220 and 620, adding color screens and a host of new features. At 1/2″ thick and around 1-1/2 ounces, the company calls them two of their thinnest, lightest sportwatches yet. Both watches feature Bluetooth Smart technology for live tracking (via your smartphone) and wireless upload to Garmin Connect or the Garmin Connect Mobile app.

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Garmin Oregon 650t review

Garmin Oregon 650t reviewHands on Garmin Oregon 650t review

The Garmin Oregon 650t is the company’s top-of-the-line handheld GPS receiver. Offering an 8 MP geotagging camera and preloaded 1:100,000 scale US topos, the 650t also offers all the other goodies found on the 600 series, including a bright capacitive touchscreen and extensive customization options.
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Garmin Edge Touring series focuses on navigation

Garmin Edge Touring and Edge Touring PlusUPDATE: Here’s our hands on review of the Edge Touring Plus.

Garmin has announced the Edge Touring and Edge Touring Plus, a series we first caught wind of a couple of months ago. Unlike other Edge models these are focused more on navigation than fitness. read more

Earthcaches

Gunung Raja Earthcache

Gunung Raja Earthcache; via Flickr/CamSwitzer

As geocachers we are accustomed to all different sorts of geocache: from clip lock boxes to fake screws; from nano containers the size of a little finger, to large ammo cans; from suburban geocaches to ones atop mountains. It’s this diversity that gives geocaching its broad appeal. read more

Its official – Garmin VIRB and VIRB Elite announced

Garmin VIRB action camera

UPDATE: Read my hands on review of the Garmin VIRB.

Just a few days ago, when a new Garmin product cleared the FCC, I speculated that it was an action camera.  It turns out I was right, as the company has made it official and announced the Garmin VIRB and VIRB Elite. read more

Garmin VIRB and VIRB Elite – GoPro competitors?

Garmin VIRB and VIRB Elite - GoPro competitors?

Is the Garmin VIRB series a GoPro competitor?

This past April we learned about Garmin trademarking the names Monterra and VIRB. The Monterra turned out to be real, and now the VIRB and VIRB Elite (pictured above) have cleared the FCC. read more

Downloading split tracklogs

TopoFusion split trcksA year or so ago I changed my tracklog settings to one point per second, which gave me more accurate trail mileage and ascent numbers. The problem is that most tracklogs are limited to 10,000 points, which means it rolls over to your archives in less than three hours. So you get home, try to download your track, and find that part is in the active track and part is in the track archives.  read more