Garmin is a leader in the world of mobile GPS and runners know them well. As we hit the summer months and people look to get into shape and enjoy the weather outside, I wanted to take a couple new devices for a spin.
Garmin recently announced one of the first combination GPS watch and daily activity trackers as well as their next generation
midlevel running watch
. I spent the last month with both the Garmin Forerunner 15 and Garmin Forerunner 220 devices and am in better condition than when I started thanks in part to both of these devices.
You may recall back in May when I reviewed and then purchased the
Garmin Vivofit
activity tracker. I still wear that device, the battery is still going strong (it lasts up to a year with no charging), but it doesn't have GPS to track specific exercise sessions so something else is needed for when I go running.
Let's take a closer look at these two devices with the text of my reviews on the first two pages and images following them.
Forerunner 15 Hardware
The Garmin Forerunner 15 looks to be an upgrade of the Forerunner 10 with some added functionality you can find in the Vivofit. It's a rather chunky little device, but is also very light (43 grams), comfortable, and attractive.
The model I tested is blue and black with blue color highights around the front face and on the large run button. You can also buy the Forerunner 15 with a black band and green highlights or with a red, teal, or violet band. The colors are intended to give it some style and appeal to a broad market.
There are four buttons around the display. The lower left is used to scroll through daily activity data appearing at the bottom of the display, marking a new lap, and returning to the previous screen. The upper-left button is used to toggle the backlight and to turn the device off. The upper-right button, blue on this model, is used to start and stop the timer as well as to choose the selected menu item. The bottom-right button is used as the down button to scroll vertically through lists.
There are plenty of openings in the watch band to fit any wrist size. To charge, connect, and update the Forerunner 15 you snap the device into a charging cradle that attaches to the pins on the back connected to a USB cable.
The display bothers me a bit since I am surrounded by very high resolution mobile displays all day, but when you consider the functionality and battery life, then it makes perfect sense. It is a 2.5 x 2.4 cm mono display with a resolution of 55 x 32 pixels and is not a touchscreen.
It is waterproof and sweatproof so you can take it just about anywhere. The battery lasts for eight hours when using the GPS receiver and about five weeks when used in watch/activity tracking mode. I was able to easily go through a week of runs without charging, but I did connect to sync the data to my Garmin Connect account and Runkeeper.
Device and Connectivity Software
There is software on the Forerunner 15 to make it very easy to go for a run and track your run with the GPS receiver. You simply put on the FR15, press the blue run button (upper right) when you are outside and within sight of GPS satellites and then press start. When you are done you simply press the run button again to stop the timer.
While you're running, the time, distance, pace, calories burned, beats per minute and heart rate zone are recorded. The last two require that you have a hear rate monitor connected to the FR15. The FR15 connects to heart rate monitors via ANT+ and not Bluetooth. There is no Bluetooth radio in the FR15, which is why you can't connect it to a smartphone for wireless syncing. I used the
MIO Link
to connect to the FR15 and record my heart rate.
The activity tracker acts similarly to the Vivofit with steps taken being counted and your goal dynamically adjusting, based on your activity each day. You can view the steps you took and the distance on the watch.
Like the Vivofit, if you remain stationary for too long a prompt appears on the display. In this case, the word MOVE appears.
The FR15 does not connect to the Garmin Connect app on your phone, like the Vivofit and other Garmin GPS watches. You must connect via the USB cable and charging cradle and then the data is synced to the Garmin Connect website. From the website you can view, manage, and share all of the data that is captured. This includes exporting your run data to use with other apps or to archive it.
Some long-time Garmin users are not happy with Garmin Connect, but as a new user I find it to work just fine. I am able to view all of my data, export my run files and upload them to Runkeeper, and share activity with friends.
There is also a Garmin Express PC application that is used to perform software updates and manage the hardware itself. I have seen a couple of updates during my test period as Garmin works actively to keep the device up and running for you.
Usage and experiences
The Garmin Forerunner 15 is not the most fashionable wrist-mounted device so if you're dressed up for the night you may not want to be wearing it around. However, the blue and black looks like a rugged watch and I liked wearing it around daily. It doesn't track sleep so you won't be wearing it to bed.
I like to run, but have pretty basic needs for tracking my runs and the Garmin Forerunner 15 satisfies me in that regard. The other Garmin units, like the 220 and 620 capture much more data for the avid runner. I just want to know my pace, how far I am running, and my heart rate. I haven't yet evolved to be an avid data tracker where I need to know all my biological information, and I have simple training plans that don't include splits, intervals, and such. I may move into that type of training in the future, but right now I'm just happy to get out and hit the road three to four times a week.
I understand the Forerunner 10 was one of the most popular GPS watches Garmin ever sold and think the FR15 will succeed as its replacement.
Pros and cons
To summarize my experiences with the Garmin Forerunner 15, here are my pros and cons.
Pros |
Cons |
Long battery life |
Low resolution display |
Lightweight and comfortable |
Need to connect via cradle and USB to sync data |
Easy to manipulate buttons |
|
ANT+ support for heart rate monitor connectivity |
|
Accurate daily tracking functionality |
|
Reasonable price for advanced functionality |
|
Pricing and availability
The Garmin Forerunner 15 is available now for $169.99. You can also buy a bundle with a heart rate monitor for $199.99.
The competition
There really is no current direct competition to this device since there are either dedicated GPS sport watches or dedicated life activity trackers. Amazingly you have to go back a couple of years to the MOTOACTV to find a device that has both of these types of functions, but that one is no longer actively supported and has rather terrible battery life.
Specifications |
45.5 mm high x 57.2 mm wide x 15.7 mm thick |
25 mm x 24 mm display with 55 x 32 pixels resolution |
Weight of 43 grams |
Water resistant up to 5 ATM |
Stores up to seven activities |
ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart wireless technology |
5 week battery life in activity mode and 8 hours in training mode |
Conclusion
I really like the idea behind the Garmin Forerunner 15 and I think it was a good move for Garmin to make the product. However, I am disappointed in the lack of Bluetooth to sync to my phone; a feature that you can find in their Vivofit and other Forerunner watches individually. I don't like having to connect to my PC for daily activity data, but don't mind making that connection for uploading workouts.
The Garmin Vivofit can't be beat for worry-free daily activity tracking and it's a major relief to never worry about charging it up. The Forerunner 15 also offers excellent battery life and, considering the additional functionality it offers, I wonder if I can trade in the Vivofit for a Forerunner 15.
Garmin has a large selection of dedicated GPS watches. (Go to the next page for my review of one of them.) Even though you can get the previous generation Forerunner 10 for $40 less, I would recommend the Forerunner 15 even if you never plan to use the daily activity tracking functionality. If you have basic needs for training data collection, then the Forerunner 15 is a great choice.
I highly recommend you read the DC Rainmaker review (his reviews on all fitness gear set the standard) and the Engadget review for more opinions on the Garmin Forerunner 15.
Contributor's rating: 8.5 out of 10
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