Another example of a tech company that would not exist without the military
Because the military invented GPS?
The military (sort of) invented the Internet too, so no tech company would exist without the military.
Garmin's –$40B Pivot
221–230 of 317 posts
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#222The title on HN got mangled. It’s ~$40B (APPROXIMATELY $40B), not minus.
Sure it's mangled, but it's clearly a dash (–) and not a minus (-).
Typographically the latter character is not a minus sign, it’s an ASCII hyphen-minus, which is usually designed to look more like a hyphen than a minus sign. An actual minus sign typically looks more like a dash than like a hyphen-minus.
- hyphen-minus
− minus sign (should have equal width to +)
– en dash
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#223Interesting 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've been using a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch for years, and what I've found I like the most about it is actually the Garmin Connect app on my phone. I don't think Garmin gets enough credit as a software shop. Connect is a great application for tracking your workouts over time. A fair number of runners even use Garmin's workout plans from the app. Even compared to running apps exclusively for iOS and Android I think…
> I don't think Garmin gets enough credit as a software shop.
They make avionics systems. They probably have a good culture of making well tested, reliable software.
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#224I'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…
I live in a part of the country where most people still have 3-5 kids. Some of their parents had like 8.
Everyone is very active outdoors here and as a family. The gyms are family gyms and have daycare services while you work out. Fitness is VERY popular here as are fitness trackers and Apple is a distant third to Garmin & Fitbit.
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
With my Apple Watch, I don’t need my phone when I’m running, swimming or at the gym. I can receive and return texts, make and receive calls and listen to music either stored on the watch or streamed over cellular.
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.
I'm pretty happy with the level of "smart" integration on my Garmin watch. For me, that's "shows me a preview of incoming SMS and Telegram messages" and the contact name when I receive a phone call. Plus the syncing of fitness activities. I do go back-and-forth on whether I want it to buzz or not, but that roughly overlaps between when I'm wearing the watch in the first place, so that has worked out well in my particular case.
It fits well into my general philosophy of smartphone notifications, where real humans are allowed to buzz or make noise (phone calls / text messages) and everything else waits silently in the notification drawer until I choose to look at the phone.
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
The C172 with a G1000 setup was around $20/hr more at the local flight school than a C172 with a six pack. Def not needed for X-country but I always felt safer flying it through busy airspace. Garmin really does make fantastic avionics.
Wow $20 more, that's a lot. At our place they were the same price (though the steam gauge one was a newer type). They still had to have it because some exams require it.
It was, but I spend a lot of time flying near DC, so it was nice to know exactly where airspace boundaries were. A luxury, for sure.
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#227Interesting 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…
From my perspective -- someone who wants the things a smart watch does -- I can't figure out what a Garmin is for. They don't really do the job of a regular smart watch and aren't designed for wearing all the time, so it becomes a secondary device you need to manage and charge separately, not to mention pay for. Meanwhile, an Apple Watch can do all of it. IME, the battery life of Garmin's isn't a game changer... if y…
Echoing a comment I left in a different thread: from my perspective as a Garmin watch owner, I can't find any reason why I'd want to switch to an Apple watch. (Admittedly my phone is an Android, so there's some inherent bias there. But the general point stands that I can't think of anything I'd want in a smart watch that's not a feature of my current Garmin.)
I'm pretty happy with the level of "smart" integration on my Garmin watch, which boils down to "show me a preview of incoming SMS and Telegram messages and the contact name when I receive a phone call". Plus the syncing of fitness activities. I do go back-and-forth on whether I want it to buzz or not for text messages, but that roughly overlaps between when I'm wearing the watch in the first place, so that has worked out well in my particular case.
It fits well into my general philosophy of smartphone notifications, where real humans are allowed to buzz or make attention-grabbing noise (phone calls / text messages) and everything else waits silently in the notification drawer until I choose to look at the phone.
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#228I have a Garmin Descent Mk2i which I use for scuba diving, and it's a fabulous all-purpose fitness and adventure watch. I've used to for hundreds of dives, navigation on multiple backpacking trips, cycling, and tons of other stuff. I even wear it daily, and it nicely supports notifications from my phone. When Garmin originally launched a scuba watch, I was kind of surprised. It's a small market, and there were a lot…
I have one of those as well and it's generally a good device but it has a few weird software defects which make me wonder whether Garmin employees do any real diving? Like in the Multi-Gas activity profile it will automatically prompt you to switch gases based on calculated PO2, but the message covers the entire screen so you can't see your depth! And there's no way to disable those alerts.
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#229Earlier quoted context omitted.
> real resting heart rate in the 60s What makes one measurement "real" and the other one "not real", if you're mainly using it as a personal metric? The reason that the traditional definition of resting heart rate exists is people didn't have 24/7 heart rate monitors, and doctors had to measure what they are able to measure. And they still can't measure it well, because patients often have white coat syndrome and the…
What I mean is, you can be pretty unfit and still have a resting heart rate in the mid 30s when you are asleep. The same unfit person takes a resting heart rate just sitting in a chair doing nothing for a minute or two and it's probably not going to be anywhere near 30. I've known people who have had resting hearts in the low 40s, but actual resting heart rate when awake is closer to 70! I think Garmin uses resting h…
Citation needed. I'm not aware of anyone who is unfit and has a sleeping heart rate in the mid 30s. Let's see some hard data on that.
Garmin watches calculate resting heart rate as the lowest 30 minute average.
https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=F8YKCB4CJd5PG0DR9ICV3A
Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot
#230Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Apple Watch is also a terribly designed device for running. Too much of its functions rely on interacting with the touchscreen, something you are either unable to do with sweaty hands when running or don't want to do as it draws your attention away for a prolonged amount of time and hurts your form. Garmin's unwavering commitment to physical buttons and how you can customize what they do is what makes them the go…
Genuinely curious, what do you need to change mid-run on your watch? I set an apple music playlist to start, open a run on WorkOutDoors, and go. I really am only interested in heart rate, distance traveled and pace. And if I need to stop for anything walking back to my apartment after a session I have apple pay. Granted, I'm not a serious runner, I only do it as a supplement for my muay thai training (i.e. I'm only r…
FWIW there are a lot of features that are really great on a run, but you might have to switch screens or even manipulate the screen. For instance, zoom in and out on a map. Or instruct your watch to re-route you to the fastest way home, or start guiding you the reverse way you came so you end up doubling your distance when you get back home. You might have other sensors feeding info and the data doesn't all fit on one screen. Maybe you want to control music playback and find playlists subpar (you might want to change based on how you feel in the moment, or pick another podcast because you added time onto your run or the other one ended up being boring, etc.).
Play music and run is fine for lots of people, though, so I'm not surprised it works for you.