Quote:
Originally Posted by Avincent52
Can someone please explain Garmin to me?
They seem to have achieved Apple-level market dominance.
But without Apple-style innovation or design.
From what I can tell a Garmin 500/510 compares to my $50 Specialized Speed Zone thusly.
a) Both tell me how long and how fast I've been riding and minor calculations like average speed.
b) the Garmin twice as big
c) Before the recent price drops, it cost 5-6 times as much.
d) You have to upgrade to a bigger, spendier model to get decent turn-by-turn directions (but even those aren't quite Apple Maps quality.)
e) It sometimes fails when you lose a satellite connection because you're riding on a tree-shaded road
f) It sometimes fails 30 miles into a ride for no apparent reason
g) The company doesn't really seem to care all that much.
h) The Garmin does tell you where you've been after you're done. (But your Iphone with Strava does that for free, if you're really interested.)
I can see the advantage of the new 520 if you're way into Strava.
But as a guy coming from the outside, a Garmin seems more like a Zune than an Iphone.
So I'm asking seriously: What was the appeal of these devices a decade ago that allowed Garmin to establish this kind of market dominance?
And right at this moment, does it make sense to get on board the Garmin train, or is this the final days of the Garmin empire?
|
It just has a good way to organize your data in the cloud after you upload them. Battery life is pretty good and the product is fairly reliable. I also have the GSC-10 sensor (captures the data from the wheel as well as cadence) when the GPS is not visible.