gps

Ok, on the way home from the airport I stopped by the Pineville REI and picked up my new Garmin Edge 705.

There are a few things you notice right off the bat. When you open the box the first thing you notice is just how big the unit is. Almost alarming in size, until you remove it from the box and actually hold it in your hands. Then all you really notice is the width of the unit more than the length.

For anyone wondering what software is used to keep track of rides here at The Incidental Cyclist it is SportTracks by ZoneFiveSoftware.

Coupled with a GPS receiver, power meter and/or a heart rate monitor SportTracks will automatically track the distance, time, pace, power output and exercise intensity of your workouts. You’ll be able to take a high level view and track your progress over time, or dive into the details of a specific exercise to analyze your pace, elevation, power output or heart-rate performance. Activities can be organized into categories, or summarized by location.

The Cerevellum head unit and module system promises to revolutionize the bicycle cyclometer industry, but will it deliver on the goods?

Garmin has provided Edge users (both the 205 and 305) with an update to Chipset G. Chipset G is Garmin’s name for the SIRF Star III GPS chipset. The latest firmware version from SIRF is 3.2.5. Please note that is is a SIRF Chipset Update and not a unit firmware update. Improvements include better jamming mitigation and enhanced ephemeris collection in difficult environments, something that helps to get a "warm fix" in the morning. No additional information is available about what is included in the SIRF update. You will not see any additional information in Garmin’s WebUpdater. The Chipset G update applies to all Garmin products using that particular chipset, including some of the Nuvi products.

According to an article on GPSLodge.com, Garmin has confirmed that the Edge 605/705 units will not be available for the Christmas buying season and has been delayed until the first quarter of 2008. This news has also been posted on the Garmin store website.