|
Garmin Forerunner 405 with Heart Rate Monitor and USB ANT stick - Green | 
 enlarge
| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: £259.99
Buy New: £194.99
You Save: £65.00 (25%)
New (10) from £194.99
Rating:  14 reviews
Media: Electronics
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 0.8 x 2.1 x 4.1
MPN: 010-00658-23
Model: 010-00658-23
UPC: 753759075378
EAN: 7537590753786
ASIN: B0012XQ7CO
Release Date: March 15, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
| |
| |
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Over-Engineered June 18, 2008
Mookie (UK)
92 out of 94 found this review helpful
The main improvement on the 305 is that this new generation of Forerunner actually looks like a wristwatch, so you'll be more inclined to keep it on for everyday use (allowing for the fact you need to charge it regularly). It's predecessors were too bulky and unwieldy for that and were strictly for training use only.
The battery life is also much improved - my 305 needed a re-charge after 2 hours training. This one has been going strong on 1 charge for a couple of days and 3 training sessions. It also features a handy power-save mode which again adds to it's usability and all round utility.
Now the negatives. The 305 was simple to operate. It had the usual menu buttons and side buttons to let you scroll through the functions. The 405 'improves' on this with a touch-sensitive bezel you run your finger round to operate - a bit like an iPod's click wheel but not half as user-friendly. I've only had the thing for a few days but my impressions are this is over-engineered and has actually taken the usability of the Forerunner backwards. It's simple enough to decipher but easy to inadvertently switch modes and functions, and not half as easy to operate 'on the hoof' as Garmin perhaps think it is. They should've stuck with the push button interface of the 305.
The charging adaptor is a plastic clip that just isn't as robust as the little docking station charger that came with the 305, it's also easy to not connect properly or inadvertently disconnect.
And what of the 'wireless' download feature? I dont see the point of this at all. It's considerably slower to upload your data than the 305 was. The 405 comes with a ANT USB stick that fits in your USB port then wirelessly downloads from your 405 when it is brought within 3m range. This USB stick will be hard to replace if you lose it, and losing it will reduce your 405 to a 200 quid digital wristwatch. A USB lead is easier to replace. This seems like a pointless innovation, and the fact you have to log onto the Garmin website to download the driver is infuriating. The manual suggests this is as simple as logging onto a webpage and pressing 'download'. Not for me it wasn't. Firstly the webpage wouldnt upload for a couple of days, then when it did actually finding the download in question took a bit of investigation - only to find that wasnt working either. Garmin assume everyone has easy access to high speed internet connection. What exactly is wrong with supplying the download on the user disc?? Especially when Garmin go to the trouble of supplying you with 6 different sets of paper instructions, each in a different language!?
Get past this and, as ever, the Forerunner remains an excellent training tool.
In summary, if you already own a 305 and it meets all your requirements then my recommendation is stick with it - unless you absolutely must have the very latest in Garmin technology. Its a better bit of kit.
EDIT: After 3 months of trying my hardest to persevere ive given up on the 405 and switched back to the much better 305. The final straw was taking the 405 on a half-marathon during which there was a light rain shower. The thing couldnt handle it and lost all functionality.
I cant believe Garmin didnt trial this product as fit for purpose, yet that appears to be the case. In too much of a hurry to get it out for last summer's market perhaps?
Anyway, this site wont let me revise my initial (and overly generous) 4 star rating, otherwise id drop it to 2. Avoid.
 Garmin Forerunner 405 July 25, 2008
G. Fielding (Glossop, Derbyshire)
40 out of 42 found this review helpful
I agree with Mookie that although the 405 seems an advance on the 305, in terms of actual useability looks can be deceptive. Yes, it looks like a normal wristwatch, however as a fell runner, the touch dial bezel is just annoying whereas the 305 was very easy to operate at any time without the threat of too many taps or the wrong dial being hit. It took me a while to get the hang of it but even then, I found it infuriating to be honest whereas with the 305 it was out of the box, charged and on my wrist working perfectly.
I will actually be selling my 405 and buying a 305 again because I only use it for fell running, consequently the aesthetics of the watch dont really matter to me. I bought the 405 because I read the hype and assumed that it would be a real advance and be as easy if not easier to use, but I just dont feel that that is the case. These reviews are always subjective so some people will disagree, but my advice would be to stick with the 305 if you dont mind the bulkier face.
 Hopefully a more balanced view November 1, 2008
Dominic Shields
28 out of 31 found this review helpful
I have been running seriously since August 2005 and in that time have owned a Forerunner 101, a 301, a 305 and now the 405 with HRM, I have 900 runs/races uploaded to Motionbased, I have competed in 83 races this year wearing a 305 and for the last month a 405. Apologies for the long preamble but many reviews make me wonder whether the reviewer has actually used the device in anger.
Firstly the 405 is a vast improvement on the 305 in three ways
1. The size (obviously), I only ever take it off in the bath or shower, if this was the only improvement that would be sufficient for me.
2. Connectivity to the PC/Laptop - the 305's USB cradle was a constant struggle with intermittent connections, the ANT stick has performed flawlessly for me.
3. Reduction of the button count, the 305 has seven (yes seven) external buttons, the 405 just having the two external buttons is ergonomically much better.
Now - the Bezel - it seems people fall into two camps, those like me who start running and concentrate on the job in hand and those who during a run or race have to explore every conceivable menu option on the Garmin. I don't have any Bezel issues because I don't mess about with it - I haven't seen the rain affect it either.
In summary I think this is a superb product, if I was being hyper-critical then I'd like a firmware revision to implement distance alerts (not laps, I don't want laps) as in the 305 but that's it.
Update - tonight I had some insight into why people find the device hard to use as I watched someone new to Garmins have a total nightmare with the device simply because he appeared to have not taken the time to find out how the thing works. You can't make up for that by simply hitting buttons and the bezel at random. I have worked as a computer programmer for 19 years and it still amazes me how people think they can win an argument with an electronic device. You won't, you have to work with it.
Update 2 - Software You can still use the old-style Motionbased as well as Garmin.Connect which I am hoping is a work in progress as its well short of being an improvement to its predecessor. As for Sporttracks being brilliant and light-years ahead of Training Centre, that's so obvious it amazes me that many people appear to need convincing of this.
Update 3 - I can't quite believe that I omitted to mention the time to satellite lock which is dramatically faster than the 305 and seems far more tolerant to being moved around during the process.
Update 4 - I was showing the 405 to a non-runner the other day and remarked on the bezel angst and he said "Presumably they [the critics] haven't ever seen an iPod".
Nice, if pricey, bit of kit July 9, 2008
R. W. Mackenzie
24 out of 24 found this review helpful
There's no getting away from the fact that this is an expensive bit of kit and, for most people (me included), probably totally unnecessary. I upgraded to this from a Polar HRM without GPS and have been mainly using it for running for the past month or two.
As a bit of kit, it's great and works very well. The heart rate monitor is fine and the GPS seems to work accurately and well where I live (you can check the accuracy by uploading your workout into google earth).
You can customise up to three screens on the watch with up to three bits of information each (including speed, time, distance, heart rate, pace/mile). A slight downside of this is that if you have three bits of information, two of them are quite small.
I like the interface with the software that allows you to programme a workout (say warm-up, 10 x 400m speedwork with 1 minute easy) and then upload it to the watch, which then beeps at you at each change. As I said at the outset, I don't NEED this (I can count to 10 even when knackered), but I like it. The software also allows you to compare workouts with each other (e.g. speeds and heart rate graphs).
My minor niggle is a lack of battery life, which means I end up charging it every day to avoid running out of power (but the power clip device is natty and works fine).
I like the ability to monitor the distance and speeds I've run at, and I think this will help my training. Certainly, it's given me more motivation in the short term, even if my wife thinks that I've turned into a sad stato.
Fantastic Product! June 20, 2008
M. Devine (Beaconsfield England)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
I've only had a 405 for a few days, but here are my initial impressions:
I like;
It's small and does what it says on the tin.
You can easily configure the display you see as you run (speed/distance/heart rate).
Once it's working it is very easy to upload your data to a PC.
Seeing your run (with all biometric data) on Google Earth (desktop software) or Google Maps (online site) is amazing.
It finds GPS satellites quickly and reliably.
I don't like;
It took me an hour to get the ANT stick upload working, although that might be me!
The battery life is on the low side (4-5 hrs running use after a full charge). GPS usage seems to burn the juice for all devices as I have the same problem on my BlackBerry.
Overall I would say this is a fantastic device and would definitely recommend it. It makes all competing products seem like the previous technology generation.
|
|
|
|
www.ebay.co.uk
Copyright Thalasar Ventures
| |
