Peg’s Posts: Meeting a hero

I keep a copy of the Dec. 2006 issue of Runner’s World at my desk. It’s the annual “heroes of running” issue and one page is carefully marked so I can refer to it often. The story is on Molly Barker, who was honored as a hero for her role as founder and vision keeper of Girls on the Run, a program that instills self-confidence and educates young girls through a curriculum-based running program. This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Molly at a local conference for women involved with this organization. Molly confided that she’d been wanting to check out a Garmin fitness watch and I think I know which watch would fit this go-getter gal to a “T”.

My pick for Molly: our newest fitness watch, FR60 LTD, shown here gracing the wrist of U.S. record-holder Deena Kastor at this year's Chicago Marathon. FR60 just might be the hottest fitness watch on the streets, trails or even in the gym this winter, thanks to its ability to track and store your indoor or outdoor workouts. The pink and white colors and slim styling of the newest FR60 fit right in with Molly’s girl-powered personality. Or, she might like the lilac model or the sleek black FR60 with silver bezel, like my SoleMate and speed session friend Cheryl just bought. Styling aside, the next feature any girl on the run would love about FR60 is that you can literally take it out of the box and take off with it. Very easy to use, doesn’t need to be charged and it’s non-GPS, so you don’t have to wait for it to acquire satellites. Distance and pace data comes from a tiny, highly accurate foot pod that snaps on your shoe laces. The LTD version also comes with our premium soft strap heart rate monitor. For those who haven’t tried this one, soft strap = very comfy, even for long, sweltery runs.

Caddy Confidential: Tips From The Tips

You can't help but be excited about playing a two-man scramble where the head pro boasts about putting the pins and tee-boxes in "places you'd never imagine." Such was the case at the season ending "Tilly's Terror" that a buddy and I played in a few weeks back at Swope Memorial. And with par fours that normally play 380 yards playing 450 yards, we felt like we had a bit of an advantage with our Approach G5. 

When we saw that the "tee box" for the first hole was set behind the practice putting green (pictured below), we knew our G5 would come in handy because we'd be playing from spots we normally hit our drives way, way past.

The 175 yard sixth hole was playing 220, the 330 yard seventh hole, over 400 yards, etc, etc... The Touch-Targeting feature was our secret weapon as we were hitting from spots heretofore unseen. Equally helpful was the Manual Pin Positioning feature - we used it extensively to get at the pins tucked in the corners of Swope's hilly greens.

Garmin Buzz at AOPA Summit

It's day one of the AOPA Summit and our booth is packed with people wanting to see the aera.  Although the aera is our big show announcement, we definitely don't want to overlook two other announcements that were made this morning. First, if you're planning to install new avionics to your aircraft between now and Christmas, you should check out our Soar into Savings rebate program. You can get up to $7000 in rebates on equipment like the G600, GNS 430W/530W, GWX 68, GDL 69/69A, and more. We understand the economy is tight right now, and this rebate will help you stretch your dollars a little further.

Second, we announced a new online eLearning training program where you can access online training for the GPSMAP® 396, 496, 695/696, G1000® for VFR flight conditions, and G1000 for IFR flight conditions.  The training is very interactive and will walk you through each product step-by-step. You'll be a pro on the product before you know it. The online eLearning program may also be used with flight schools who are training multiple students.

One last thing, I've run into numerous people who have asked if the G3000 is on display at AOPA Summit. The short answer is no. We decided not to bring it to this show, but don't worry, it will definitely be at future aviation shows and there will be plenty of time for pilots to demo it between now and when it's flying in aircraft.

Victor's Vectors: See the aera at AOPA Summit

Tomorrow is the opening day of AOPA Summit and we've heard from numerous customers who plan to attend the show so that they can see our new touchscreen portable GPS, the aera. If you're one of the many that will be at AOPA Summit, make sure you visit us at booth #1213. Since announcing the aera, many of our customers have asked how the new product line compares to our traditional GPSMAP aviation handheld series. If you're familiar with the GPSMAP series, it may be helpful to know that the aera 500 has similar features to the GPSMAP 296, the aera 510 has similar features to the GPSMAP 396, the aera 550 has similar features to the GPSMAP 495, and the aera 560 has similar features to the GPSMAP 496. For a direct side-by-side comparison of the aera product line, click on the jump to see a chart and a short video.

Getting ready for race day

It's a big weekend for Porsche Carrera Cup Japan (PCCJ) fans.In case you weren't aware, Garmin sponsors Porsche Carrera Cup Japan car #88 with driver Sho Hanawa. This weekend, drivers will be at the Shanghai International Circuit, which features enough straight stretches to offer smooth rides, yet throws up some treacherous curves to set up tricky moments. Unique snail-like turns at two points of the track may also pose a special challenge to drivers, and prove to be sufficient opportunities for overtaking maneuvers. Go Garmin!

Garmin's aviation portables enter a new era with the aera

Are you going to AOPA Summit later this week? If so, you'll want to plan to visit the Garmin booth early during the show so that you'll be among the first to see the new aera series. The aera is our newest aviation handheld series that is all touchscreen and multi-mode so it can transition between aviation to automotive mode with one touch. It comes in four different flavors -- 500, 510, 550, 560 -- and has the type of features you'd expect in a Garmin portable like XM WX, terrain, obstacles, SafeTaxi, AOPA Directory database, and more. On the higher-end models, you also get one-year of free aviation database updates. In addition to the aviation features, all aeras have the same capabilities of a high-end Garmin nuvi automotive navigator. Now you can literally go from your airplane to your car with one-touch of the screen. Watch the video to learn more.

Jake's Journal: Live from New York, it's marathon week!

Any time a work trip begins with the best in the business telling you how much they love your products, you know it’s going to be a great week. That’s exactly what happened when, an hour after I’d landed in New York, I was listening to U.S record-holder Deena Kastor praising Garmin’s fitness watches to representatives from New York’s top retailers and the New York Road Runners who had gathered for Garmin’s running summit at Equinox Fitness on Broadway. The gathering of industry experts was just part of a busy marathon week in New York City, where Garmin is sponsoring Ryan Hall in his quest for victory in Sunday’s race and Edward Norton and his Maasai Marathon team’s fundraising efforts for African conservation (visit MaasaiMarathon.com to learn more or sponsor Edward and his team). Ryan and Edward have both been making headlines while training with Garmin Forerunners. You can see some of Edward’s training runs on Garmin Connect by going to http://connect.garmin.com/explore?owner=maasaimarathonteam

So what does Deena love about her Garmin? Depends on which one she’s wearing that day. When training with the GPS-enabled Forerunner 405, Deena appreciates the same information that benefits runners of all age and speed – knowing exactly how far and fast she’s going at any point during the run, no matter where she is in the world. And then there’s that flash of pink on her wrist at Chicago, the limited-edition Garmin FR60 that was launched along with its blue counterpart this week in New York. Deena told us how she showed her FR60 to a fellow Garmin user this week at a charity run, and the new fitness watch was quickly added to the woman’s wish list. She’s not alone. With FR60 joining the multisport Forerunner 310XT and calorie-counting 405CX in our booth at the expo, hundreds of Garmin gifts were purchased for (or by) runners from around the globe. Guess I’m not the only one having a great week.

Making the most of your zumo

If you’ve ever spent any amount of time on a long stretch of highway, you know that the ride can get a bit monotonous. Miles give way to more miles and while the sound of the open road can be relaxing, it’s nice to have options to break up the journey. Fortunately, our zumo 550 and zumo 660 both offer Bluetooth support so you can pair your compatible phone and third-party headsets for on-the-go entertainment. The zumo acts as a central hub for all your media. If you’ve paired your phone with your zumo and you have a Bluetooth-enabled headset, you can take calls while you’re on the road.  While most of us ride to get away from phone calls and distractions, it is a nice option to have if you want to get on the road instead of waiting for a call or if you need to make plans when you’re on the move. You can also use the headset to listen to preloaded music or audiobooks on zumo’s built-in MP3 player.  And, of course, you can hear turn-by-turn routing information to make sure you’re always heading in the right direction. To learn more about pairing a Bluetooth headset with a zumo, view the video below and visit our product page for details. 

Garmin Celebrates FLIBS Golden Anniversary In Style

It's record high heat at the 50th annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and the Garmin booth is the place to be to escape the heat. We've got our newxHD radars, VHF radios, and huge 15 inch touchscreen displays in the booth and customers are wowed when we show them the plug and play system integration available with our NMEA 2000 and Garmin Network products. Our new GPSMAP 400 and 500 series portrait plotters that add high sensitivity and a faster processor for map panning are also a favorite for the boater concerned about space at the helm but who want NMEA 2000 compatibility. So if you're at the show, stop by the Garmin booth (1305) in the electronics tent and we'll show you around.

 

Victor's Vectors: Big savings on avionics

Listen up if you're a bargain hunter! We've just launched a " Soar into Savings” program where customers can earn up to $7,000 in rebates on a variety of panel mount avionics. The rebates apply to customers selecting a combination of the G600, GNS 500W series, GNS 400W series, GTS traffic series, GWX weather radar series or the GDL 69 or 69A. The rebates expire December 31, 2009, and rebate submissions must be postmarked by January 31, 2010.