Garmin Forerunner 101 Wrist-Mounted GPS Navigator and Fitness Computer

The most notable difference with the 101 is that it uses 2 AAA batteries istead of being rechargeable like the 201. At first I thought this was a big detraction to buying it, but it's really not that bad. Battery life is decent, although not as high as with the 201, which gets up to 13 hours of use on a full charge. But if you're not a marathon runner and just run a few miles on your runs, this shouldn't matter much. The only hassle is having the batteries go dead during the middle of a run, which really sucks if you're into knowing exactly how far you've gone. You have to keep an eye on the battery life before going out. The batteries don't really effect the weigh or size of the product though.

The second major difference is that this unit does not interface with your PC. This also isn't too big of a problem because, currently, the Garmin software is really lacking. Hopefully they will improve on it with time, but the PC software is nowhere near as nice as it could be at this stage. You can view a graph of your altitude for your run, and graphs of your pace and speed, and that's about it. Otherwise the software is really crummy. You can't even zoom in on your map like you can with the actual unit.

If you're serious about running, I would highly suggest the Forerunner 201 over this product, mainly because the price difference is so negligible. You can find the 201 for only about $20 more than this model, and the extra money is well worth the rechargeability of the 201 and freedom from the batteries. But if you really can't afford the cost, you're not going to be hurting too much with the 101.


My Favorite Gadget - Perfect for Walkers   March 27, 2004
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I just received this item and used it today for the first time. It's very easy to set up and use and is very accurate. I'm training for a Breast Cancer 3-Day 60-mile walk and this is perfect for my outdoor walking. (It will also work well for running, biking, etc.) I used to only walk places if I checked out the distance in my car first. Now I can walk anywhere I want (on or off-road) and I can keep track of my distance (and speed) without mentally adding up the miles. The Forerunner 101 uses 2 AAA batteries but the Forerunner 201 has an internal rechargeable battery (and you can download information to a PC). I chose this one because I wanted the flexibility to be able to just pop in new batteries whenever I need them instead of waiting for a recharge. Also, on my 3-day walk I won't have access to electricity. This is definitely my favorite gadget of all time. I can't believe it is so affordable.


Great Gift for any Runner   March 26, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I live in the "country" and run various routes and always wanted to know how far that I really was running. I also travel alot with the military and I love this tool. I do not need to "guess" how far that I am running in the various cities that I visit. The ability to store large amounts of running history, years worth, is a great feature! The only thing that I regret is that I wish the watch was only $99 when I bought mine :(... but I have enjoyed every mile / minute of this watch. You will not regret buying this watch!


Don't get this model   March 24, 2004
 5 out of 10 found this review helpful

I have the 201 model, and am able to re-charge the batteries. The 101 model requires separate batteries. You should know that this device eats batteries. It's better to have the 201 with the built in rechargeable battery (this gives you 11-12 hours of GPS watch time).