Garmin Connect is this mixed media and software platform produced by Garmin that is supposed to be compatible with many of there different devices. As we have seen a strong push for smart watches and wearable technology, companies are jumping onboard and producing their own wearable goods. Garmin has a few small and portable GPS’s and a multitude of smart watches and smart bands. They all provide users with different uses depending on their needs: some are designed for golfing while others are designed for running. Like many other tech companies Garmin invasions all of these devices coming together under one unified software/social media roof. So they created Garmin Connect.
Garmin has been in the business of making GPS’s for some time, and are quite well known for that. The company was founded in Kansas in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao. They went on to produce their first GPS called the ProNav and then in 1991 the United States Army became their first customers. Getting a large military contract was good for them as it provided with a lot of money that enabled them to further their company as a whole. Now they make a variety of different devices including smart watches and bands, most of which are compatible with Garmin Connect.
So what is Garmin Connect? Garmin Connect is a tracking and analysis platform that is pair with elements of social media. What it tracks and analyzes are your fitness routines: how far you ran, how many steps you took, how many calories burned, current heart rate, and much more. It then takes all of this information and breaks it down to you via pretty charts and graphs. Garmin Connect will also display a variety of other types of information such as a map, what the weather is, and even lap slips. Connect is made for runners, hikers, swimmers, and cyclists. You can track you average lap times, how much time you shave off of your laps over time, how far you swam in one month, and much more. Garmin also wants your Connect experience to be extremely personal, so you can fine tune your dashboard and choose exactly what you want to see. Connect will even be your personal trainer and help you stay motivated and plan workouts around your schedule. If you get board of your current running route, then Connect will help you plan a new one. Users sync their compatible Garmin device with an application via their Windows PC or Macintosh computer. Garmin Connect is also social media based, so you can share your progress with friends or offer them words of encouragement to keep going with their fitness related activities.
Garmin makes a variety of devices to be compatible with Connect. Their most prominent ones are their Vivofit, Vivosmart, Forerunner, and Fenix devices. These devices are used for a variety of different things. Garmin’s Vivofit and Vivosmart are the most attractive in terms of price as they cost $129 and $169 respectively. They offer basic tracking features like how many steps you took. On the opposite end of that the company has their Fenix and Forerunner devices which are considerably more money and provide a range of more features such as built in GPS capabilities, heart rate monitors, and even altimeters and barometers. These devices are able to pair with Garmin Connect and will upload and share their recorded information.
Garmin wishes to bring a streamlined media system to their users to allow them to track their progress and view their recorded fitness information in a clear and direct way. Additionally if you are not at your computer, Garmin has created a mobile phone and tablet application for both Android and iOS devices. However it seems that maybe they have stretched their resources too far as both apps have pretty poor ratings in their respective app stores. It seems that Garmin still has some work to do with Garmin Connect, however it is definitely a great platform for users of their devices to track and analyze their active lifestyles. The platform seems very ambitious and is Garmin’s way of taking fitness and exercise into the 21st century. So if you have one of the compatible Garmin devices then it is very worth checking out as Garmin claims that you are “missing out on half of your devices features”.
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