Garmin Forerunner 101 Wrist-Mounted GPS Navigator and Fitness Computer

Enough said - AAA batteries was the primary reason I bought this. Truth is, I rarely keep gadgets long enough to worry about the batteries, but I like passing them on to family and friends and I'd like them to get something that they can use for a couple of years too... Plus, I like putting in a fresh set of batteries every week and not having to worry if it's fully charged... (I use rechargeable AAA's).

All the other reviewers have already covered the basics of the watch. Very easy to use, backlight is amazing at night. History and data compilation are interesting.

What I really wanted to convey is that I was on the fence about this for over a month. Was it worth the money? Would I use it enough? Without a doubt - YES! If it broke today I'd buy a new one tomorrow. The best thing about it is freedom.

I'm pretty anal - most serious runners are. I stick to the exact same path so I can get statistics, make sure I'm sticking to my pace, make sure I ran the distance I intended, compare my run with previous runs. After a while though, it can get a little boring. All of a sudden, I put this on and I'm free from all that. I can run anywhere, I run spontaneously - but a glance down at my wrist and I know how far I've run, I know I'm keeping pace, EVERYTHING. And that little training buddy is pretty cool too - although I usually just like the raw data screen...

I hope in future versions they'll integrate a heart rate monitor. I have one now but can't bring myself to wear two devices at a time...

-jr


Why AAA Batteries (101) Best Internal Batteries (201)   April 7, 2004
 20 out of 22 found this review helpful

I chose to buy the Forerunner 101 rather than the 201 precisely because of its power system. First, rechargeable AAA batteries are relatively cheap, and they last forever. They are also small, and while traveling I'd rather lug around two extra small batteries than a recharging cord. Moreover, in a pinch, you can always find a store that sells standard AAA batteries. Additionally, who wants to wait for the internal batteries to recharge - I'd rather always have a fresh set of rechargeable AAA's on hand.
With this said, it was a tough choice deciding between the 101 and the 201. If only the 101 came with the uploading capabilities of the 201. That, in my mind, would have been the best of both worlds. In the end, I opted for the 101.


The Forerunner 201 for those on a budget   March 28, 2004
 78 out of 79 found this review helpful

The Garmin Forerunner 101 is exactly the same as the popular Forerunner 201, with a couple of small changes. Being the case, I won't review the actual product since everything that needs to be said about it's GPS features can be found in the reviews for the Forerunner 201.

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.