4. Packed With Features, But Are They Easy To Use?

The Garmin device is ready to display speed and distance info just after you turn the device on. The Timex requires you to change out of the watch mode before you begin your workout. (You also have to wear another device, not shown here, for the GPS to function).

Before I set off to run along the Brittany beach in Saint Lunaire, France, I tested the heart monitor strap of both units. After wetting the sensors and strapping each one separately around my chest, the heart beat icon began flashing right away on each device. They registered about 55 heart beats a minute when I was sitting down typing away on my laptop.

Once at the beach, I fired up the GPS function for both of the devices. The Garmin Forerunner began syncing with the GPS satellite as soon as I pressed the power button. With the Timex Bodylink, I first had to press down on a button on the GPS unit and wait until the button stopped flashing red and lit up green indicating the GPS link was established. I repeated the process over a dozen times; it took anywhere from 30 seconds to over a minute for both the Garmin and Timex devices to sync up.

Once the GPS links were established, the differences between the two systems became more obvious in their use. What I wanted was to simply track my speed and distance as I jogged. With the Garmin Forerunner, I only had to turn the device on and wait for a GPS satellite connection link before I was ready to press the start/stop button and begin my jog. Time, pace (measured in miles per hour) and distance were clearly labeled. Switching to another application, such as the navigation or interval training option, only required that I press the Mode button. As I ran, my pace and distance were clearly indicated.

Using the Timex Bodylink was a less-straightforward process. First, I had to clip the GPS component to my belt or use a wrist strap to activate the GPS link. Once the separate GPS component's signal lit up in green, I had to switch from watch mode to chronograph. Once in chronograph mode, I could press Start/Split on the bottom of the watch to activate the timer speed, distance, pace and other performance tracking functions; I had to press another button, Stop/Reset, when I stopped. Having to press separate buttons for starting and stopping is not terribly intuitive. I also had to read the manual to figure out how to use the Chronograph mode, which was not necessary with the Garmin device.

While running, I was not completely sure about what I was seeing on the monitor. For starters, pace is measured in minutes per mile or kilometer. While the pace settings may be more appropriate for some, I am more comfortable with miles per hour or kilometers per hour. Distance, speed and other performance data is not as clearly labeled compared to the Garmin device, although it became easier to use as I became more acquainted with the device.

After my workout, the Summary mode clearly listed my average and best pace, maximum speed, distance and over ten other metrics. Some of the performance readings I did not understand - although I suppose I could have looked them up in the manual to find out. I still have not figured out what "AVG HR In/ C3:110-132" meant...

Conclusion

At the end of the day, I want a device with an easy and simple interface to gauge my speed, distance and heartbeat when I jog or ride my bicycle. I may one day want to take advantage of more sophisticated features in a sports GPS device, such as for interval training or to know when my maximum heart rate has been surpassed. For the time being, though, I want something easy to use and set up, with a very low learning curve. The Timex Bodylink is accurate, gets the job done and serves as a nifty looking watch as well. However, the Garmin Forerunner 305 has done a better job of dumbing down the interface, while the more complex functions are not that hard to learn, either.

Hopefully, the interfaces of the Timex Bodylink and Garmin Forerunner 305 - not to mention devices from competing vendors - will become easier to use with successive product generations. Also, look out for even more non-sports features that will come packed in these devices in the future. Timex and Garmin representatives did not offer any specifics or timelines, but more features, such as MP3 playback, cell phone and email capabilities, and other conceivable mobile applications will likely wind up in these devices.

A woman roller skating with radio earphones wrapped around her head along the Venice Beach California boardwalk was a vision of the future over two decades ago. Today's sophisticated sport GPS devices will likely seem just as outdated 20 years from now.