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Garmin Sports Ecosystem

I suspect most Garmin sports device owners would agree that the hardware is mostly very good; and, the software is mostly ok to awful.
The hardware and firmware is usually introduced about two thirds baked but gets progressively better with continuing updates. Software on the other hand just never gets good and stays feature thin. Print anything in TC?

I'd like to suggest that Garmin ought to look to Apple and think about software being the glue that keeps customers attached and coming back. Forcing us to use alternate vendors for full featured software leaves us more than willing to move on to another hardware vendor when their mousetrap is a little more attractive. I suspect that's a when not if. Android free turn by turn anyone?

0 Dr Phil over 15 years ago

I am one of those who do not fit in the 'most' grouping. I buy the hardware. not the software. That there is any software to enable a modicum of post activity analysis is a bonus, certainly nothing I was aware of when I bought the device. And that comment goes back to the purchase of my first FR305 some years ago.

OS X is not what keeps me coming to Apple. It helps, but I like the design and functionality of the hardware more. The bigger attraction is that it is not attacked as much as Windoze platforms. That is the biggest attraction.

Who else has hardware the same as Garmin? All other GPS devices require strap on units and mostly the software has even less functionality. Polar is probably the best of the rest, but at a price.

Garmin may not be perfect, but it's pretty good at what it does.

0 mtbikernate over 15 years ago

I've never been the sort of person that does much with Garmin's software. I've always been a mapping nerd, and so I have always been aware of other, better programs. Garmin's position as king of the hill has seemed vulnerable at times, though, and good software would be a step in the right direction of keeping that spot.

Strange about the apple assessment. Apple is a software company. The only thing different about their hardware is the enclosure it comes in. All the circuit boards inside are the same as what my homebrew PC has. Apple is no different than MS, to be sure, except Apple restricts the hardware you're allowed to use with its software.

I do find my iPod touch to be very easy to use, however, and a GPS that worked as well would be nice. I do sometimes get frustrated with button clicks to do certain things, especially the little joystick.

0 Former Member over 15 years ago

I very much think of Garmin's software as a "proof of concept" rather than a "real" product that is actually intended to be used by the majority of users. The investment to make and keep it competitive with third party products would be enormous.

On these forums, we see folks who use not only Garmin's GTC and Garmin Connect, but also SportTracks, Ascent, WKO/TrainingPeaks, RaceDay, and/or Golden Cheetah (and I'm probably missing a few more) on Windows, MacOS, Linux and Web-based platforms. People have selected the app(s) that work for them. It wouldn't be enough to compete with any one of these, Garmin would have to take on them all.

You're right that this strategy risks that the software becomes more important to the user than the hardware. In my opinion, the primary way to mitigate this risk is to continue to make the absolute best of breed hardware, release innovative products on time, and aggressively fix whatever problems slip through. Garmin has room to improve in these areas, but I think the general consensus is that the hardware is solid.

A second thing for Garmin to do is to embrace the third party products that complement their hardware. I don't want to discount the developer information that exists today, but some of what is there is out of date; and there is some information that isn't yet published (like the .FIT file format documents I mentioned in another thread). The old developers.garmin.com forums have been merged into forums.garmin.com, but there as well as here I don't see that it is working as a communication channel between Garmin and third party developers. Speaking as an occasional Golden Cheetah developer, a better mechanism to allow third party developers to access technical resources is sorely needed.