Saw the guys from Garmin at the Miami Marathon expo today and they confirmed that a new multisport watch that is waterproof is coming out this year (potentially in May). Said it was close in size to the 305 but a little less bulky, sounds like something to look forward to for sure…
Sorta like Mac software is coming out too, right?
The problem with a Garmin Multisport watch is that it’ll be useless for anything longer than an Olympic distance. My 405 lasted 5-6 hours at max with monkeying with anything and lord help the battery if the light came on. For an IM the 405 was potentially useless.
Bob
Don’t know how you used your 305 but mine will easily go 10-11 hours.
Blah, made a mistake and left half a sentence there…I have heard the 305 was fine for 10-12 hours, but being submerged for 1:00 - 2:20 for an IM swim was a bit tricky. Not many people have a second watch as backup.
Bob
they said one of the enhancements to the new device in addition to being truly waterproof and ok to swim with is going to be a longer battery life, it it does everything they are saying it should be good to go for full IM from start to finish…
I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve heard many time about upcoming products from Garmin that never materialize. Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love my 305 and I’ll be one of the first in line if this ever becomes a reality. But, I’ve learned not to get my hopes up.
I have a pseudo in-law who has any early version of it. He was telling me about
it before he knew I would have any interest or was even in triathlon. He confirmed
it the next time I saw him, but I really should have had him bring it so I
could see it. 
-Jot
Have you heard about the 405?
I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve heard many time about upcoming products from Garmin that never materialize. Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love my 305 and I’ll be one of the first in line if this ever becomes a reality. But, I’ve learned not to get my hopes up.
I could not agree more! In fact, this sounds like everything the 405 was supposed to be and obviously isn’t. And look how long the 405 took to actually become available. It goes to show you something about a companies new product if they still make and sell the old one. And the old outsells your new fancy one!
My 305 wouldn’t turn on this morning and I couldn’t remember the ctrl-alt-delete button pressing sequence and was sooooo afraid I might have to get a 405. I would pre-order a waterproof, iron-distance capable, slightly smaller, ANT+ enabled replacement the second it was available.
sounds like the perfect device providing the battery life is adequate.
What we all want:
- All the features of the 305
- WaterPROOF
Features we hope for:
a) smaller
b) battery life equal to 305
c) ant+
d) mac support from the start
e) support for power meters
f) easy bike vs run setup that isn’t an afterthought
I suspect we’ll get:
1,2,a,c
I think a and c are probably mutually exclusive
I think a probably kills a lot of others on the list
-Jot
for some value of we that may or may not include you
.
i don’t get the hang up about Mac support. There are after-market alternatives that are far superior to Garmin Training Center (like Ascent) for downloading workout data from Garmin devices.
What we all want:
- All the features of the 305
- WaterPROOF
Features we hope for:
a) smaller
b) battery life equal to 305
c) ant+
d) mac support from the start
e) support for power meters
f) easy bike vs run setup that isn’t an afterthought
I suspect we’ll get:
1,2,a,c
I think a and c are probably mutually exclusive
I think a probably kills a lot of others on the list
-Jot
for some value of we that may or may not include you
(c) requires some additional radio hardware, making additional demands on size and battery.
I think that electronics are shrinking in size faster than battery life is improving, so I think that even if Garmin could work out (a) and (c) (although I would give up (a) to get the other items), (b) and (c) are probably a bigger problem and for a longer period of time.
Chris
Saw the guys from Garmin at the Miami Marathon expo today and they confirmed that a new multisport watch that is waterproof is coming out this year (potentially in May). Said it was close in size to the 305 but a little less bulky, sounds like something to look forward to for sure…
I actually saw it while running in Overland Park Kansas about 6 months ago. Small group of runners were testing it, I thougt it was a new Suunto, it looks like the Suunto maybe a little more bulky.
You’re exactly right.
I meant a and b were mutually exclusive (smaller and equal battery life).
Typo. Must mean I need more beer. 
As for Mac support, the understanding I have is if they go ANT+ the “other options”
isn’t true. Read the recent topics on that. Getting the data into the computer is
the problem not the software you use.
That being said, I have a PC too, so wouldn’t sweat it too much.
-Jot
.
Waiting for the picture to come through.
I’m hoping it’s Faris with that big stein.
-Jot
i don’t get the hang up about Mac support. There are after-market alternatives that are far superior to Garmin Training Center (like Ascent) for downloading workout data from Garmin devices.
Having a 405 since it came out, I still cannot get the data off the device through ANT+, because they have not released the software for Mac yet. The most recent thing I heard is that it is in Beta and almost ready for release. I’ve been completely frustrated by Garmin’s lack of interest in getting this to market quicker and also their empty promises along the way.
I hear you…I’m going to take this opportunity to make a mac rant…
Mac has what, 10-15% of the personal computer market? Why would Garmin spend time and money catering to this niche group?
If you have a mac and want to download your data…buy a used PC laptop for $50 on craigslist (10% of the money you spent on the 405?) and download it. Or, get a PC emulator and load actual windows on your hardware (not windows for mac). It takes 2 hours.
Bonus: your colleagues won’t get frustrated with your weird-mac-formatted word documents.
Mac has what, 10-15% of the personal computer market? Why would Garmin spend time and money catering to this niche group?
True, but the market for Macs lines up with the market for triathlon gear, especially high-end, electronic triathlon gear. I’m willing to bet the Apple market share of the regular posters on this site is much higher than the total personal computer market.