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Garmin's –$40B Pivot

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Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#191

Post by NoboruWataya »

world2vec wrote: post #143

Slightly offtopic but my girlfriend's smartwatch is falling apart and can't stand it anymore. Her birthday is coming soon and was thinking about a Garmin smartwatch. She runs a lot, gym almost everyday. Loves tracking fitness data and workouts but she's petite. Anyone with good recs on what to check?

If it's just running and gym she does, basically any watch will work capability-wise. Some specific lines have extra features geared towards other sports like diving, golf, etc. Other than that it will really come down to budget and aesthetic preferences. I would suggest just going on the website and having a look. The size of each model is also listed which is probably relevant if she is petite - some of them are pretty chunky. Forerunner and Vívoactive lines are both pretty suitable I would think.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#193

Post by nluken »

scarface_74 wrote: post #144
nightski wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's funny, phone related features are the first things I turn off on my Garmin watch when I set it up. The last thing I want is my wrist buzzing off when I am focused lol. In fact, any notifications on my wrist are just flat out obnoxious. I'll take my multiple weeks of battery life for a single charge on the Forerunner 965. The data and analytics are fantastic as well.

There is a “Do not disturb” feature on the Apple Watch.

The point of that comment wasn't to suggest that you couldn't also silence notifications on an Apple Watch, it was to illustrate that the ability to receive these notifications isn't as relevant to Garmin's watches' target market as it is to the Apple Watch's.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#194

Post by rcMgD2BwE72F »

transpute wrote: post #49

Garmin: - sells an accurate blood pressure cuff with WiFi data sync (sans phone) - is an active R&D contributor to OpenEmbedded Linux - includes optional health data sync to vertically integrated cloud - provides open FIT [1] protocol for local data sync [1] https://developer.garmin.com/fit/protocol

Yet I can't use my new Forerunner 55 watch without connecting it to Garmin servers. They make sure it takes about an hour to have a reliable GPS position unless your make it regularly connect to an active Garmin account, either via Garmin Express (dekstop) or Garmin Connect.

I switch to GadgetBridge but without updating the AGPS files, no reliable GPS.

How open of them.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#195

Post by doctorpangloss »

maskull wrote: post #2

I'm amazed apple has got by with a 3/4 day charge for 10 generations while garmin has had products with a 7+ day charge for years.

That's because the analysis about Garmin is wrong. None of that stuff matters.

Garmin's competition is having kids. Moms and dads will buy Apple Watches because it is more compatible with the having kids lifestyle. In contrast you don't need a dive computer or a bicycle thing when you have no time for hobbies. So an Apple Watch with a diving app meets the demand for aspirational hobbies, which of course, aspirations have a much larger audience than going out and doing something.

That said, people having fewer kids is ultimately what is helping them the most. Every hobby got more expensive, there is more demand. If you believe that more dogs and cats, less home buying, more video game playing and TV watching, etc. is also related to the trend of fewer kids - if you read what experts say about this, and if you can believe that LOTS of stuff people spend money LOTS of money on is DIRECTLY CAUSED by the decision to have or not have kids - then expand your mind and look for it everywhere.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#198

Post by RicoElectrico »

danudey wrote: post #177
NoboruWataya wrote: post #14

Interesting article. My partner bought an Apple watch a couple of years ago and I was shocked at what a poor value proposition it was. Very expensive and wouldn't even hold a charge for a day. I guess you get used to it but having to charge my watch every day would drive me mad. Obviously there are things it will do better than a Garmin (and things it can do that a Garmin simply can't) but overall it didn't make sens…

> I guess you get used to it but having to charge my watch every day would drive me mad. The upside of the small battery capacity is a relatively fast charge time. If you put a watch charger in your bathroom you could put your watch on the charger when you go in for a shower and it'll be charged by the time you're finished showering, getting dressed, etc. I find it's a time that I have my watch off anyway, so it's no…

Most smart watches (and even Xiaomi smart bands) are in similar ballpark of 200-ish mAh. All should in principle charge as quickly.

It's just that Apple Watch is power hungry.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#199

Post by DarmokJalad1701 »

jeffbee wrote: post #114
wkat4242 wrote: post #16

They also provide a lot of EFIS (Electric Flight Information System, or "Glass Cockpit") for small GA aircraft. I think AeroDyne and Honeywell are also in this market but I mainly see Garmin there. Like the G1000 (higher models are available on business jets I think). It's pretty good too, you get a lot of features that were limited to airliners in the past. Like seeing terrain contours around you. Not that I fly IFR…

But the margins on that business are not exceptional. Operating income on "outdoor" segment of their business, the one that includes the epix and fenix series watches and so forth, is higher than aviation segment.

Aviation also represents recurrent revenue through subscriptions for database updates which could be on the order of $1000/yr and upwards.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#200

Post by rcMgD2BwE72F »

dcchambers wrote: post #192

Love my Forerunner. I have zero interest in general-purpose smart watches but for Marathon training a fitness watch that I only use for tracking runs and workouts is a godsend.

Kinda hate mine, now. My Forerunner 55 can't find a good GSP fix in less than one hour, even in wide open skies. And I've returned it so they sent me a new one, which has the exact same problem.

The reason is that they want me to regularly connect the watch to their app/software (which requires an account) to update AGPS files. And there's no workaround.

I'd just like to be able to use the watch I bought, without having it connect it to Garmin servers every now and then. Why isn't it possible?

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