GPS Wrist Watch Shop

For most of us, the price of a GPS wrist watch is enough to make us want to do our homework. On top of that, no one wants to deal with the headaches that come with owning something that is difficult to use. At the GPS Wrist Watch Shop, we hope to help make your decision-making and shopping experience easier by doing the research for you and offering low prices on all the best watches. We research each product as if we were making a purchase ourselves, reading through mounds of user reviews, searching for common themes, good and bad. We make a list of pros and cons that we have seen mentioned over and over again about a particular product and put them in a product review summary. We also compile user ratings from a variety of websites and use our own formula to give each product our GWW Score. Take a look at our GWW Scores, where you will find links to our review summaries and then visit our GPS Wrist Watch Shop, to find a great price on the model that is right for you.

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / Watches for Runners

If you have looked into ordering the Betty White Safe Watch by Monsignor, you’ve discovered that there is a hefty ongoing monthly fee for the monitoring service. Without the monitoring service, the watch is pretty useless. Monsignor does not post prices on their website and requires a date of birth before they will give prices on the phone. The price I was quoted for a 70 year old, was $99.90 for the watch and a monthly fee of $42.50. The also offer a discount for a 2-year prepay which still makes it over $33 a month, and no refund is available if for some reason you don’t need to have the watch for the entire two years.

We found an alternative to the Safe Watch that could save you a lot of money over time. The Amber Alert, as it’s name implies, is marketed as a GPS device for children, and has a slightly different feature set than Safe Watch, but for certain situations, it might fit the bill as well, if not better than the Safe Watch. If you are looking for a device for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, then the Amber Alert has several advantages over the Safe Watch.

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / GPS Locator Watches

Our Garmin Forerunner 205 Review of Reviews is based on actual reviews by people who have purchased and used the product. We consider reviews from multiple sources and then assess them to come up with the most mentioned pros and cons to provide you in-depth research of how useful its owners find the product. We also provide our GWW scores based on the ratings given by its users to give you a better way to compare products.

The Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS wrist watch is specifically intended to provide useful performance information and to serve as a guide and motivate you in your daily workouts. It has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver and measures speed, distance, calories burned and pace. It also includes training center software which allows users to download different workout data for added convenience.

The Garmin Forerunner 205  comes with a docking cradle, training center CD-Rom, USB cable, AC Charger, wrist strap and a user’s manual with a quick-start guide. It also comes with a 1 year warranty for its parts and labor.

Garmin Forerunner 205 GWW Score: 8.6 out of 10 (572 reviews)

Most mentioned Pros

• Easy to set up and use
• Price/Value
• Accuracy
• Easy to Read
• Durable

Most Mentioned Cons

• Temporary Loss of Signal – at times its users experience a sudden loss of signal due but only for a moment due to environmental obstacles but will quickly resume as you continue on your exercise. Of course this happens with all GPS devices.
• Takes time before it loads – power it up a few minutes before you’re ready to go.
• Size – some users feel it is too bulky

Tags: Garmin Forerunner 205 Review, gps wrist watch

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / Garmin GPS Watches

We’re not the only ones who feel like our GPS wrist watch is truly a running partner. Lots of us would feel lost without one of these on our wrist when we are running.  They can help you be more efficient and consistent as well as being a terrific motivator.

• Daily Dose: My New Running Buddy (dailywd.womansday.com)
• How to burn 74,199 calories (and it only takes one year…) (katson.blogspot.com)

Tags: GPS Watch, gps wrist watch, gps wristwatch

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / GPS Wrist Watch News

 
The Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS will be on display at the Paris, London and Boston Marathons next month and is expected to be on sale to the public in May. One of the observations we often mention in our review summaries on this website, is how every GPS watch that is loved by many, also has a few nay sayers. We often attribute the disparity to differences in people’s technical abilities and patience. It looks as if Garmin may have noticed as well and with the Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS watch, will attempt to bridge the gap. This watch promises to be the “easiest to use” in their very successful line of GPS watches. What’s interesting is that there is still a fairly wide array of features available, but it looks like the most basic features will be at the forefront – distance, time and pace. For some runners, that will be all they ever want to use and Garmin says that will be easier than ever. It’s not the GPS wristwatch for geeks or serious athletes who need to be able to customize their workouts, but we think this watch will find a very large audience. Here are the other features available on this watch:

• GPS-enabled with High-sensitivity receiver
• Heart rate monitor: included in some versions
• Heart rate-based calorie computation
• Lap history: 1000 laps
• Compatible with Garmin Connect (online community where you analyze, categorize and share data)
• Compatible with Garmin Training Center software
• Auto Lap (automatically starts a new lap)
• Water resistant
• Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery
• Battery life: 3 weeks in power save mode; 8 hours in training mode
• RoHS version available

The suggested retail price for this watch is $249.99.

Tags: Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS, Garmin GPS Watches, gps wrist watch

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / Garmin GPS Watches

We are IMPRESSED… Our Garmin 305 Review of Reviews presents a summary of the most mentioned pros and cons that we observed when reading many user reviews. Our GWW Score is calculated based on user ratings from a variety of websites.  The Garmin Forerunner 305 not only scored well above any other GPS wrist watch we’ve looked at so far, it did so with nearly 1,500 user ratings. After compiling our Garmin 305 Review Summary, we definitely think this wrist watch is worth some serious consideration.

Garmin Forerunner 305 GWW Score: 8.96 out of 10 (1,479 Ratings)

Most Mentioned Pros:

• Excellent Feature Set (see below)
• Customizable
• Good satellite reception – there are a few users who had complaints about this, but many, many more who felt it was good even in trees or urban setting. Note however that quite a few users mentioned that it was a little slow to pick up a signal.
• Accurate and reliable
• Easy to Use
• Software & Garmin Connect
• Heartrate monitor
• Good battery life
• Easy to read
• Size – Note below that some users feel this watch is a little bulky.  It appears that this watch straddles the line between being to bulky and being readable. Users felt it was easy to read, but some with smaller wrists said it was too big.
• Multisport
• Motivating

Most Mentioned Cons:

• Slow to acquire a signal
• Signal is unreliable - Not true for most users, but a few had problems. Again, the ratings for this watch are extremely high and the number of ratings was also high.
• Bulky

Features:

• Heart rate monitor
• Bike speed/cadence sensor
• Foot pod
• Garmin Connect™ and Garmin Training Center®
• Virtual Partner® (train against a digital person)
• Courses (compete against previous activities)
• Auto Pause® (pauses and resumes timer based on speed)
• Auto Lap®
• Auto Scroll
• Multi-sport
• Advanced workouts (create custom, goal-oriented workouts)
• Simple workouts (input time, distance and calorie goals)
• Pace alert
• Time/distance alert
• Interval training

Garmin 305 Review of Reviews

Tags: Garmin 305 Review, Garmin GPS Watches, gps wrist watch, gps wristwatch

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / Garmin GPS Watches

We’re looking hard for a GPS Child Locator Watch that gets good reviews, but so far we’re not thrilled with our results. In a future post, we’ll discuss in more detail the GPS child locator watches that are available, but right now we want to tell you the good news…

More than just about any area of GPS technology, when it comes to a child locator device, you’re looking for reliability. There may always be glitches with GPS, but if your child is missing, you want it to work right now. The good news is there is at least one option that can be used in lieu of a GPS locator watch and it’s getting very good reviews. The Amber Alert GPS 2G is a very small device that you can attach to your child or your child’s clothing an provide yourself with peace of mind. Basically, when setting the device up, you link it to one or more cell phone numbers. At any time, you can call or text the device and you will get a text back with a street address of the device’s location. If your phone is web enabled, it will link to a map and give you directions to the location. That’s about as “right now” as you can get!  It goes even one step better… There is a button on the device that when pressed for five seconds will send a ‘request for help’ message to the linked cell phones. This gives your child the ability to contact you immediately when they’re in trouble.

In addition to the cost of the Amber Alert GPS 2G, there is a subscription fee. The price of the device will vary depending on the subscription plan that you choose. Currently plans start at $9.99 monthly. The device itself is available in a variety of colors.

Tags: GPS Child Locator Watch, GPS Locator Watches, gps wrist watch

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / GPS Locator Watches

The perks and problems of a GPS Wrist Watch vary from person to person. Those who are more technologically savvy and those who are patient will probably find a lot more perks than problems. Those who struggle with technology, don’t like to spend time solving problems and searching the Internet for answers or are just impatient, may end up with more problems than perks. Let’s face it, there is no perfect GPS watch yet – they are fairly sophisticated and complicated devices. With each watch we rate, we notice similar issues come up in user reviews across all watches. Some do better than others, but all of them get the wrath of some users. Here are a few common themes:

• GPS and atellites don’t work in water and sometimes don’t work well in the trees or when surrounded by tall buildings. If you workout in these environments, read reviews carefully to see which GPS watches are having the best luck in these conditions.
• Ease of reading the screen and the buttons. Watches are pretty small compared to a computer screen and if your vision isn’t what it used to be, you may find reading the screen or the buttons a little difficult. In that case, you may want to go for one of the bigger watches or read to find out what others with vision issues prefer.
• Ease of use. Many of these watches have lots of features for the most serious athlete, which can make learning to use them rather intimidating. Sort out the ones that are important to you and then take the time to learn them. We recommend not doing this five minutes before you leave the house. Spend some time getting to know your watch. Realize that it may take a little while at the beginning, but once you get it all figured out, it will go much more quickly and easily.
• Connecting with a computer… Mac users used to complain about Garmin watches and the result was that Garmin went to work and made it better.  There are others who struggle with connection and software problems, but it’s hard to single out a particular issue. Just realize that it probably will work easily, but it may not, and you may have to put some extra effort into making it work correctly.

Whatever you do, take the time to read some reviews before you buy. Don’t get hung up on what one user says unless you see it as a common theme for that particular GPS watch. Then order your watch and spend some time learning to love it. It really can add to the joy and quality of your workout.

Tags: GPS Wrist Watch Tips, Perks and Problems of a GPS Wrist Watch

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / GPS Wrist Watch Tips

It’s getting pretty hard to find the Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS wrist watch. There are newer models that push the older technology off the shelves, that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the old technology. In fact, when retailers are trying to get it off the shelves, the price drops and that’s a good thing for shoppers. The Forerunner 201 now costs hundreds less than the new Garmin GPS watches with GPS technology…. if you can still find it!

Garmin Forerunner 201  GWW Score:  7.90 out of 10 (458 Ratings)
Our GWW Score uses a calculation that considers user ratings from multiple websites.

Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS Features:

• GPS
• Measures speed, distance, pace and calories burned
• Upload to computer for analysis
• Performance-tracking features for serious athletes
• Works with Garmin Connect – an online community where you can analyze data and connect with others
• Virtual Partner where you train against a digital person
• Lap history- time, distance, and average pace can be stored for up to two years
• Performance data can be stored and calculated providing an accurate record
• Auto-lap and auto-pause
• Lap timer lets you know when a certain speed is reached or if you’ve fallen below a pre-set level
• Sound alert when you begin traveling slower or faster than your desired pace
• Sound alert when you reach a specified duration or distance
• Customizable screens
• Interval training

Tags: Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS, Garmin GPS Watches, gps wrist watch

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / Garmin GPS Watches and Watches for Runners

Garmin is still trying to get the word out that Garmin GPS Watches ARE Mac friendly. It’s been noted in many user reviews that there are problems with getting a Garmin GPS watch and Garmin Connect to work with a Mac computer, but make sure you look at the dates of those reviews before you rule a Garmin out. A recent post on the Garmin blog says that Garmin Connect loves Mac and has for over a year now. If your device uses wireless uploads (the Forerunner 310XT, Forerunner 405 or FR60), just make sure you have the Mac version of Garmin ANT Agent If your device uses a USB connection (Edge series, outdoor handhelds and Forerunner 205/305 models), just download the Mac version of Garmin Communicator Plug-in.

We have noticed that there are some good reviews from Mac users of late. Let us know your experiences if you’re using a Mac.

photo credit: johannes pape

Tags: Garmin GPS Watches, gps wrist watch, gps wristwatch

2 Comments » Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / Garmin GPS Watches

Our Garmin Forerunner 310XT Review of Reviews takes into consideration our observations about the most mentioned pros and cons by users of the Garmin Forerunner 310xt. We read reviews from multiple websites take notes on consistent themes that we discover. We also have given this GPS wrist watch a GWW Score, which is a calculation that we make based on user ratings from various websites.

Garmin Forerunner 310XT GWW Score:  7.37 out of 10 (170 Ratings)

Most Mentioned Pros:

• great  battery life
• waterproof
• multi-sport
• easy to read / good size buttons
• quick and easy wireless upload
• customizable
• Virtual Training Partner
• accurate heart rate monitor – note that the heart rate monitor is not always included
• picks up satellites quickly
• accurate GPS on land
• Garmin Connect website

Most Mentioned Cons:

• GPS & heart rate monitor don’t work in water (swimming)
• extra costs (quick release bike kit, footpod, cadence sensor)
• fragile faceplate
• bulky
• calorie calculation is off
• takes too long to transition sports
• lack of ability to toggle GPS on/off
• wireless connection issues when updating computer
• elevation accuracy – Garmin put out a firmware update that users reported corrected or improved this problem

Many of the complaints about this watch had to do with users believing that it had been advertised as a watch for triathletes, yet the GPS doesn’t work in water. The watch is waterproof and that was good enough for many triathletes and made many runners and cyclists happy that rain and sweat would not be a problem. The battery life was one of the most loved features, as many other watches don’t go the distance for Ironman triathletes. We also noticed that users who are inclined to utilize customization, really enjoyed the features on the Garmin Forerunner 310XT. As a final note, we suspect that some lower ratings were because of the initially high price point.

Tags: Garmin Forerunner 310xt Review, gps wrist watch

Comments Off Posted by GPS Wrist Watch Shopper / Garmin GPS Watches and Watches for Runners