GPS Devices for the Fitness Conscious

I must admit, when I first saw these wrist-mounted GPS devices, I thought they were only GPS navigational devices. While they do have some GPS navigational features, they do a whole lot more.

The Garmin Forerunner 205 (and 305) features an integrated, high-sensitivity SiRFstar III GPS receiver. The super-sensitive GPS tracks your every move, even working on tree-covered trails and near tall buildings. While the 205 doesn't offer heart rate monitoring, or connectivity with Garmin's wireless speed and cadence sensor -- for that, there’s the Forerunner 305 -- it's a great way to get basic GPS location and performance data.

The Garmin Forerunner 305 - Speed and Distance Monitor & Heart Rate Monitor features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, new courses feature, and robust ANT wireless heart rate monitor for optimal performance. The heart device monitors your heart rate, speed, distance, pace and calories burned. The courses feature lets you download recorded courses and compete against previous workouts.

Both devices integrate seamlessly with the Training Center(*) software and a workout history is quickly uploaded and stored on the PC. The Training Center 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.

While the 205/305 aren’t billed as GPS navigation devices, they do 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.

Check out other Garmin Forerunner watches in the webstore.

(*) Training Center is not Mac-compatible