Any info on a final version of the .79 beta?

Forget it - I guess even Garmin has forgotten it! 

I switched back to 9.75 and IMHO this version has less dro issues for me than .79!

I find it very odd, developers must have had reason to believe they had a solution to at least some of the drop-out issues and their own “testing” must have confirmed this. They go to the trouble of publishing the beta, exposing themselves to criticism if it didn’t work. But, from my use and reading over 100 usage reports from beta testers, the version didn’t , on balance, make any difference. Garmin seemed to have abandoned the whole idea early on, no comments from Garmin at all, no requests for files, logs, anything and then it all closes 6 months later without any thank you, explanation, nothing. And so (some?) x30 users still experience dropouts, (some?) x40 users still get them, they come and go, are very real for some users and non-existent for others? Garmin could / should at least publish their thinking on this issue and tell us what WE are doing wrong?

PS Maybe they will nail it on the x50 series, or x60, ……..

If Garmin cared they would have reverted to the version before they introduced the dropout issue and tried their "upgrades" again with better regression testing. 

So I did a long ride yesterday, first one after updating the Varia radar firmware. No drops! Could it be that the actual problem was with the radar, and .79 or even .75 are without issues? 

That makes me feel just a tad better. I'll need to check again after a few rides, though.

No. drop outs as as well without Varia radar. But, looking at the different experiences here, it might well be that the number of external components, including smart phone, all with the communication protocols a bit different, might have a positive correlation with the number of drop outs, just a guess.

Further I fully concur with the negative emotions here, and in other places, on the performance of Garmin software developers, let alone that when a new version (x40) comes, support for older versions is basically nill.

About the "performance of Garmin software developers": personally I would phrase that differently. The dropping of support for the "old" Edge 830 looks like a typical management decision. Even not necessarily from the SW department itself, could also come from higher up. Some or all of the SW developers themselves may even disagree with that attitude/decision.

Don't shoot the pianist. Aim the bullets at the company's management.

Absolutely agree. This is more a management decision I guess. I think even models like the x30 series would be able to provide more features and functions if the software would be still developed.

But selling a new device is more beneficial in regards of earning money and I assume that's the strategy of Garmin. I would appreciate less models but longer support and feature updates!

Personally I'm fine with Garmin, or any company for that matter, stopping new features implementation, or even taking old devices out of support. It's the lack of information that's bothering me, especially since a beta process was started and we're left with a firmware version that's not clear how it should be handled. Clearly Garmin values new sales more, and this should be taken into account when buying a Garmin device, wrt. expectations on new features and adding functionality, but at the very least I'd expect support issues like the sensor dropouts to be handled properly. More so since the "old" EDGE 830 is still being sold as new by Garmin.

Be clear: I don't blame the software developers themselves, but, indeed, Garmin management that puts untested software on the market (not only beta) and then pulls the plug. Even, possibly, to the frustration of these software engineers.