I ordered the Edge 530 because it seemed a good option to cover what I cannot cover with the VA3: being able to watch ride information and navigation. Strava segments and such features are also nice to have, I really like the climb pro feature as well...
Now having that said, I am really disappointed with the navigation features of the Edge series (the 830 would not be any better for me just because of the touchscreen):
- I would really like to be able to send a point from the phone to the device. sendpoints is an option, but I find it too complicated to enter a code every time. I just can't believe that Garmin has no option from the Connect app to be a share app for locations from mapping apps. This would also be relevant for the 830, it is much faster to find a point on the phone than on any other device. The device search should only be a fallback imho, even with the 830 touchscreen.
- Routing decisions are very strange (at least in Germany), apps like Komoot take much more natural decisions
- Passing routes from Komoot takes ages to calculate a route, and they do not follow the same path consistently, from Strava it works faster, but I am not 100% sure that the paths are that reliable as well.
- Directions are quite strange. If you have map configured to show driving direction up, the directions will still show north up. Is that normal? I changed to text notifications because of that.
- If two directions come close after another, the directions map will only show the first one, and detect the second one after you have already gone the wrong way.
- If I enter my home adress and ask Garmin to take me there, if I do not follow exactly the route the Edge proposes, it will keep insisting on returning even after the point where the really driven route is much faster / shorter (or whatever you have configured the routing for) than returning. I have not seen any other GPS Navigation (Garmin nüvi, TomTom, Navigon, Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc.) showing this kind of behaviour...
What I also do not like but I can live with is that, if I use the HR from the watch, I would expect the Edge to activate HR Broadcasting on the Watch automatically, maybe via Connect App on smartphone if present. Having to manually broadcast or start an activity on the watch to later cancel it does not reflect the "premium" productline that Garmin claims to have...
So, if I am not willing to use the navigation features of the 530, I am wondering if a 130 Plus would be a better option. Are there any experiences with the 130 (maybe not the plus because it is quite new)?
The only other difference that I see is the "cycling dynamics", but since I do not have power meter (and if I buy one, it would probably not be from Garmin), I am thinking that I would not miss anything.
So, am I missing something or are the navigation issues I mentioned above unsolvable disadvantages of the Edge series?