GARMIN 010 00466 00 Forerunner 205 GPS Receiver
Just when you thought Garmin had cornered the market on powerful, affordable, and effective wrist-mounted GPS devices, here comes the Forerunner 205. The release of this device is a major achievement from a design and technology perspective. This isn’t just marketing-speak; the Forerunner 205 is the most accurate, most reliable wrist-mounted performance and GPS tracking tool we’ve ever tested. Yes, it’s that good. While no device this compact can do everything (yet), the 205 pushes the boundaries of what is possible from something strapped around your wrist. While the 205 doesn’t offer heart rate monitoring, or connectivity with Garmin’s wireless speed and cadence sensor — for that, you’ll need to step up to the Forerunner 305 — but it’s a great way to get basic GPS location and performance data.
View Garmin’s Forerunner demonstration video.
Choose from 12 data fields to display on the 305’s screen. View larger. |
The design cleverly integrates the GPS antenna and aims it towards the sky when you’re running or walking. View larger. |
The Virtual Partner function makes your workouts more competitive. View larger. |
Choose from three workout modes that help you target your training goals. View larger. |
The 305 features rudimentary mapping and location marking functions. View larger. |
Design
The 205’s design is a radical departure from Garmin’s previous generation of wrist mounted GPS devices, which reached a pinnacle with the Garmin Forerunner 301. While the 301 delivered accurate heart rate monitoring, good performance tracking, and decent GPS reception, it didn’t quite deliver in the design department. The form factor was bulky and wearing it wasn’t much different than duct taping a full-sized GPS device to your wrist.
Not so with the 205. Garmin’s engineers obviously burned the midnight oil and have come up with a waterproof design that, while certainly not as small as a sports watch, feels just as comfortable. The curved casing allows the unit’s antenna to face the sky when you’re running, while the widescreen display is perfectly positioned for viewing when you need it. And the display certainly deserves a few kudos. While it’s smaller than the display found on previous Forerunners, its resolution is far higher, offering incredible clarity and crispness.
Garmin has smartly given the 205 a simple button layout and the buttons have a nice tactile feel with good pressure response. The right side houses the menu selection and enter buttons, while the left houses a power/backlight button and a mode button. This simple and elegant solution is a big improvement over the sometimes confusing button functionality of previous Forerunners. View button layout.
The underside of the 205 is pretty nondescript, except for a row of contacts that interface with the included charging and data cradle. The cradle is small and unobtrusive and its single mini-USB port connects to either an included AC adapter, or a USB cable that connects to your PC. In addition to data transfer with the USB cable, you can also charge the 205’s embedded lithium-ion battery via a powered USB connection from your computer.
GPS Performance
The big news about the Forerunner 205 is that it features an integrated, high-sensitivity SiRFstar III GPS receiver. What does this mean? It means that the 205’s ability to both track, and maintain a lock on, your position is better than anything before it. After an intial battery charge, our product tester had the 205 on his wrist and was tracking speed and distance with GPS satellites within 3 minutes. The next time we used the 205, satellite acquisition was nearly instantaneous. A run through dense trees didn’t faze the unit either; tracking remained true and steady. Performance on a bike was equally impressive. Whatever witchcraft has been cooked up by the designers of the SiRF technology, we like it!
The simple docking cradle makes charging and data connectivity a snap (Forerunner 305 model shown). |
While the Forerunner 205 isn’t billed as a GPS navigation device, it does have some rudimentary mapping, waypoint marking, and routing capabilities. In addition to marking locations along your journey, you can zoom in or out of a simple map that displays your current direction and path. There’s also a “go to location” feature that routes you back to your starting location, or to any location you have defined. Once you have defined several locations, you can save this information as a route, allowing you to travel the same path in the future. As you’ll see below, the 205’s new “Courses” feature gives you new levels of control over how you define your favorite runs and rides.
Training Functions
The 205 is first and foremost a training tool, and its ability to organize a ton of data types into a user experience that is intuitive and simple is no small feat. Whiz-bang technology aside, if you can’t use it and make it a natural part of your exercise routine, it’s worthless. When it comes to these factors — and here’s the take home message on the 205 — this device is successful where many other devices fail.
The heart and soul of the 205 can be found on the data screens, which give you real-time information about all aspects of your workout. In fact, the 305 can display a dizzying array of data, such as calories burned, distance, elevation, grade, and heading, as well as multiple lap and pace modes.
Thankfully, the device makes it easy to define how much or how little data you want to view during a workout. You can arrange the data that’s most important to you and then make that data appear front and center on the device. Indeed, within a few minutes of skimming the manual and fiddling with the device setup, you’ll have your most important data displaying just the way you like it.
Garmin’s Virtual Partner function was cool feature of previous Forerunners and they’ve decided to keep a good thing going with the 205. If you’re the type that performs best when you’ve got a competitor egging you on, you’ll love this function, as it allows you to set up virtual running or biking companions that compete against you.
If you’re looking for an complicated workout with a variety of intervals and intensity levels, or just a quick three-mile jog against your best time last week, the 205 has you covered. Navigating to the Workouts menu on the device yields three options: Quick Workouts, Interval, and Advanced Workout. A quick workout is just that; set the distance and time, distance and pace, or time and pace of your planned workout and off you go. Interval workouts are just the same, but they allow you to add repetitions and rest between them. When you really want to get fancy with your exercise, you can step up to advanced workouts, which include goals for each workout step, as well as varied distances, times, and rest periods. You can use the Garmin Training Center software to set up these workouts and then upload them to the device.
PC Connectivity and Software
Garmin has been outfitting their devices with USB connectivity for some time now — a welcome move for those who struggled with serial port connections in the days of yore. Thanks to USB, the 205 integrates seamlessly with the Training Center software and we quickly had workout history uploaded and stored on the PC (Sadly, Training Center is not Mac-compatible).
In a first for the Forerunner series, the Training Center software also lets you define courses on your PC that you can upload to the device. When course information is combined with uploaded workout information, the Forerunner becomes a complete guide, telling you where to go, when to make a turn, and what kind of workout to do when you’re on the road or path. Back on the PC, the software’s ability to overlay workout data on maps of the course makes it easy to see where the course offers up the tough hills and the easy recovery spots. Plus, the ability to track historical performance on a given course is a great way to measure your improvement.
The 205 is also fully compatible with Garmin’s MotionBased service, which takes your training to another level by connecting your data with the Internet. While we weren’t able to use the service, the promise of sharing courses, maps, workouts, and performance data with other users is intriguing. And if you’re a serious endurance athlete, you’ll be glad to know that the 205 is also compatible with TrainingPeaks.com, an easy-to-use web based training system designed to help athletes train for any event.
Pros
- Radically new design is better in every way
- Amazing accuracy and fast satellite acquisition time
- So simple to set up and use, you will actually use it
Cons
- No Mac OS compatibility
- Okay, it’s bigger than a sport’s watch — but so much more powerful
What’s in the Box
Forerunner 205, Garmin Training Center CD-ROM, docking cradle, expander strap, A/C charger, USB cable, owner’s manual, quick start guide.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great Tool for Any Runner
I have been running for quite a few years now without any form of GPS. I used to drive my routes to see how far I had run. I purchased this GPS while I was training for my first marathon and I love it. It tells me my distance, time, and pace with a glance at my wrist. Also, if I get lost in a new city, it will guide me back to my starting point. The training database that is pre-loaded into it allows you to set up tempo runs and intervals on the fly and will even beep at you if you fall below your pace; I haven’t had to use the computer based training program yet to set up any runs. This GPS is a great training tool for beginners and veterans alike.
After reading some of the other reviews, I was skeptical about the reported battery peoblem, but after a good six months or more of abuse, I haven’t had any problems yet.
1 Star Such a let down!
I kept this product for 1 day before returning it. The nike/ipod sensor had better distance accuracy than the gps unit. I live in the city and run among high rise buildings so maybe that is the problem. The provided software was archaic and the data was not mapped correctly often showing me 2 streets away from my actual location. Further, the distance readings were inaccurate by up to 1 kilometer (in the 3 runs I did whilst having the unit for 24 hours). I also tried the online interface and I was unable to upload any data successfully. I returned the unit the next day.
5 Stars Better Than Imagined
I had no interest in the heart monitor so I was determined to find a Forerunner 205. It is a little big but once I start running I never notice it. I started out running on trails I knew very well and was pleasantly suprised to find that distances on the Forerunner were within ten feet or less from what I knew to be accurate over one mile stretches. Now I can run without worrying about the route I take or whether or not I got the correct distance to figure my pace and run times.
I absolutley love it and I don’t think I would have held out for the newer smaller unit that you can swim with or the comparable unit with the heart monitor. The 205 works perfect for me.
5 Stars Much better than 101/201, Better than 405 & Polar…
I bought the 201 when it first came out. It was head and shoulders above the Timex product with the remote arm pod and I would have rated it 5 stars back then because it was the best of it’s kind. I even used it to go geocaching.
The problem is, I have to strongly recommend against anyone buying it today – I was “lucky” to have lost this kayaking a couple of years ago at which point I upgraded to the 305. It is SOOOOO much better that I have to now rate the 201 as one star in comparison. The 205 is the same but without heart rate.
First, the 101/201 had a very unusual shape. The 205/305 is a bulky watch but the looong 201 prevented you from wearing gloves – a real problem when skiing, cycling, etc.
Second – and more importantly, the 205/305 have the SIRF Star III Chipset which means it can lock on and hold the lock better.
Imagine if you will – you’re all ready to run and pumped up – whoops, you now have to wait an extra few minutes to lock your position, otherwise it cannot tell you your speed, location, etc.
My old 201 locked on far faster than my running partner’s Timex (He had to hang it on a tree while he was getting ready since it often took 5 minutes or more to lock.) the 305 can lock in 5-10 seconds most days while the 201 would lock in ~2 minutes *most* of the time but occasionally would take up to 5 minutes. If you were ~100 miles away from your prior location, the 201 would take up to 10 minutes to get a new lock. ARRRGGGGHH.
Also the 201 would lose lock all the time when running in even moderate tree cover or heavy clouds. With the 305 I can even get a lock in my house most of the time.
Finally, the 201 cannot lock IF YOU ARE MOVING! The 305 can lock even if you’re riding a bicycle. I think I’ve even gotten a lock while driving.
Yes the 205 and 305 cost more but with the huge difference in functionality I find it astonishing that Garmin would continue to sell the 201 given how much better the 205 and 305 are.
p.s. Don’t bother with the 405. Interesting concept but not practical. Read the reviews.
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)
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)
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!
2 Stars Problems with the 205
I am a runner and was excited to receive a 205, but now my 15 month old 205 no longer works. I have had problems with the buttons on the watch. First the “enter” button quit working, but I was still able to use the watch. Now, unfortunately the power button has quit working making the watch unusable. According to the Garmin web site it will cost me $69 to have it fixed since it is out of warranty.
Prior to the watch going bad, I really liked it. It’s performance exceeded my expectations, but apparently there is a manufacturing problem with the switches, I have seen others with the same problem. I don’t know if they have fixed the problem or not, so I guess buyer beware.
Buy/More Info
