Tag Archive | Venu
December 9, 2019  

Garmin’s $10,000 MARQ 5-Watch, ‘Signature Set’, IF You Have A Rich Girlfriend Who Wants To Impress YOU.

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE. E-mail I got from Garmin today.

Click image to access the Garmin product page — to forward to girlfriend.

Click to access my post.

I am sure I am on solid ground here. I can’t be 100% sure BUT I don’t think a wife, irrespective of her wealth or access to funds, will buy you this. She will just know, innately, that it is dumb.

Plus, do NOT excuse me of semism — i.e., a father of three daughters (one of who is a big Garmin fan). The MARQ is not for ladies. It is big and heavy. There is NO MARQ S. It is unashamedly a man’s watch.

So, what do you think.

I did the sums. You are paying $450 for the wooden box and the limited-edition exclusivity.

The five MARQ watches — and I priced them out for you — are: Driver ($2,500), Aviator ($1,950), Captain ($1,850), Adventurer (which used to be the Expedition) ($1,750) & Athlete ($1,500). So, the five watches come to $9,550.

What is NOT included is the Commander ($1,950).

What do YOU think.

I had to smile. Yes, $10,000 is NOT much for 5 watches. Plenty of folks that can afford this without thinking twice. In a world where a person will pay $125,000 for a banana duct taped to a wall, this is quite a BUY!

Click to access article. Google for more.

I have three Garmins right now: two Fenix 6s and a Venu. So, I am NOT in a position to disparage 5 Garmins — though five maybe is overkill.

Why do I have three. Well, I needed TWO — one as a hot backup if one failed. Didn’t want to go even a day without recording my data. The Venu was a bonus — because I like AMOLED screens.

But, 5 MARQs. That would get old pretty quickly I would think.

I am a long-term Garmin shareholder. So, I do care how Garmin spends MY money! Not too thrilled about this. But, Garmin is a Billion dollar company and this is but bagatale.

A friend of mine, another HUGE Garmin fan, asked whether Garmin will really sell any of these Sets. I think they will. In the scheme of things, on a global basis, 100 sets isn’t much. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sell them all.

SMILE.

Enjoy.

Merry Christmas.

Hope your girlfriend buys you one. Please send pictures. All the best.

I do keep track of my Activity Trackers.

Click to ENLARGE.

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by Anura Guruge

October 8, 2019  

The New AMOLED Garmin ‘Venu’ — Delays, Issues & Concerns.

by Anura Guruge

Click to ENLARGE. From U.S. ‘garmin.com’.

Folks are claiming that it is available in Australia.

Garmin AUSTRALIA does have a shorter delivery period.

Click image to access the ‘VENU Forum’ @ ‘Garmin Forums’.

ISSUE: The U.S. availability for the new Garmin VENU is still stated as being 5 — 8 weeks, the SAME it was when it was announced 4-weeks ago, on September 5, 2019. Ideally it should now be saying, worst case, 3 — 5 weeks. Yes, Garmin could change this tomorrow to say ‘1 — 3 Days’. It does happen.

The Garmin Forums, however, have had an active ‘VENU’ Forum for at least the last couple of weeks. There are some interesting posts on that Forum. There are those that claim that they already have a VENU. At least one claims he got it from Australia. As you can see, above, I checked. Plausible. But, it doesn’t make sense UNLESS Garmin is using Australia as a big beat-site.

And to add further credence, on the Forum, ‘Garmin’ has announced that they are rolling out v.3.40 of the software.

CONCERNS: There is also a post, on the Forum, from what looks like a Garmin ‘insider’ that speculates that the delay may be due to the US-China trade war and tensions. They are not sure, but there is a concern. YIKES! Not good. This could hit all of us hard.

At this rate it is going to be touch and go whether the VENU will be available for Black Friday. Maybe that is not a bad thing. You don’t really want it discounted that soon.

In terms of the availability being stuck at ‘5 to 8 weeks’, it reminds me of the infamous Vivoactive 3 roll-out exactly 2-years ago. Same scenario. Makes me nervous because I had a lot of bad luck with the Vivoactive 3.

ISSUE: Because AMOLED displays can be a drag on the battery there is a ‘low-power’ ‘always-on’ display ‘mode’ (which just shows the time) on the VENU. The ‘Fitbit Versa 2‘ has that too. Appears, however, that this always-on mode has issues. Only a few watch faces support it. ‘Crystal’, which I tried on my Garmin MARQ, being one of them. But, I also see that ‘Crystal’ and a few other watch faces are now claiming that they are permanently ON, impacting battery life, even IF they are not your chosen watch face! Yikes. That is bad. I didn’t install ‘Crystal’ on my Fenix 6 because of this.

CONCERN: Will more and more watch faces end up being permanently on because they want to support the VENU always-on display mode? That would be a shame.

ISSUE: I am seeing, on the Forum, sensor (e.g., barometer) and software bug issues very similar to what I saw with the initial roll-out of the Vivoactive 3. That worries me. Yes, the VENU, theoretically, is still in beta-test phase. So, maybe they will iron out these issues. But, I doubt whether they will opt for new sensors this late in the game.

CONCERN: I had two Vivoactive 3s die on me. I just don’t want to go through that with the VENU.

So, those are my issues & concerns.

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by Anura Guruge

September 15, 2019  

Garmin’s ‘Vivomove Luxe/3’ & Vivosmart 4 Now Get ‘Connected GPS’ — Provided You Have Your Smartphone Handy.

by Anura Guruge

Click Images to Enlarge.

All images from garmin.com

What I find here is that these watches did NOT have ‘Connected GPS’ from the get-go.

I have only ever bought Garmin, Fitbit or Amazfit watches with GPS so I have never required ‘Connected GPShttps://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/fitness/connected-gps-now-on-vivosmart-4/‘.

I know that it has been available with Fitbit for a number of years. I have heard people talk about it. Thus, I had just assumed (incorrectly, of course) that Garmin must also have this capability by default.

The ‘Vivosmart’ is a $130 band. I can just about fathom why it doesn’t have GPS. For $40 more, you can get a ‘Vivosport‘, with GPS and a color display. That is what I got my wife.

The hybride ‘Vivomove’ with fixed hands and hidden color touchscreen is a $350 to $550 watch. You would think Garmin would offer GPS — maybe even as a $50 option. Guess not.

I love GPS on my watch. I use GPS, near daily, if I am doing a serious walk/run or hike. I do it to get (hopefully) a better distance measurement, i.e., GPS rather than accelerometer and gyroscope. Yes, GPS still leaves much to be desired, especially if you double back on yourself or walk in circles. But, I convince myself that the milage it shows is within +/- 5%. Yes, I have tested distnace with multiple watches (given that I have had at least 12 over the last 2-years) and vehicles.

Using the phone GPS is not the same. Yikes. I feel bad.

Garmin!

Very frustrating. And I am a Garmin shareholder to boot. Yikes.

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by Anura Guruge

September 10, 2019  

Garmin’s New Vivoactive 4-Based ‘Legacy Hero Series’ Seems A Bit Mickey Mouse To I.

by Anura Guruge

Click Images to ENLARGE.

All images from garmin.com

Not my cup of tea — BUT I am 66-years old and wear a Garmin MARQ Expedition. Maybe if I was 40-years younger and had $400 to burn on a novelty watch (and thinking back, I probably could have afforded such if I wanted (SMILE)).

Nice bezels and nice straps. Not sure about the watch faces. And the price $400.

Also, they don’t each come in both sizes, i.e., 45mm (standard) and 40mm (small). That surprised I. The 45-mm is the ‘First Avenger’ & the smaller is ‘Captain Marvel’. I am too old to know the difference or those superheroes BUT does that size distinction make sense. I am from the Superman era. So, will Garmin make more of these? The mind boggles and as a long-term Garmin investor this kind of bothers I. Not sure what the market is. Can’t be huge. Pretty sure that by Christmas 2019 these two watches will be available close to $300.

Both based on the new Vivoactive 4 — 45mm & 40mm. But, unlike the Vivoactive 4 it is not available as yet. As with the new Garmin Venu Garmin is quoting 5 – 8 weeks. Think: “just ahead of Black Friday”.

Yes, even Garmin Connect has been updated to cater for these watches.

I am sorry, but I am skeptical. Can you … will you wear this to work … in an office? Can you … will you wear this to the gym? Can you … will you wear this to a fancy restaurant? I wouldn’t. But, then again … (SMILE).

So, what do YOU think? Would you buy one? Would you wear one if one was given to you for FREE? [No, nope … I am not making an offer or any promises.]

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by Anura Guruge

August 21, 2019  

Garmin Partners With Amazon PRIME For Music — Download Music To Your ‘M’ Watches From Prime.

by Anura Guruge

Click to access Garmin.

You need a new Garmin APP
from the Garmin ‘Connect IQ’ Store.

Click to access the APP.

This is BIG, especially IF you are already an Amazon Prime member (and I am, though I am not into music on my Garmins).

Thanks to Amazon you can even have a 30-day FREE trial — Amazon hoping to snare you into Prime.

I am NOW a believer in Prime. I wasn’t for the longest time. I always ordered enough (e.g. $25) to get free-shipping. Then, maybe, 6-years ago, maybe earlier I finally signed-up.

Now I am a Believer.

Full disclosure. I am also a long-term Amazon shareholder. SMILE.

But, I watch a fair amount of Prime Video. That, in my book, pays for itself.

Anyway, this is BIG. Worth looking into.

BIG DAY … a week from today. August 28, 2019. Fenix 6, Vivoactive 4, Venu, etc. SMILE.

Stay tuned.

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by Anura Guruge

August 19, 2019  

Fenix 6 Has 1.4″ Display, Vivoactive 4 Might Do So Too — But What Is The ‘Garmin Venu’ About?

by Anura Guruge

The Garmin Venu, with a 43mm case, is YET ANOTHER watch that is supposed to debut next week — on August 28, 2019.

With two buttons it looks very much like the Vivoactive 4 — and there is a Vivoactive 4S for smaller wrists, so the Venu just can’t be just a smaller version of the VA4.

I get a feeling that it is a lower cost, i.e., $150, range competitor against Fitbit — with less sports functionality than that on a Vivoactive 3 or Vivoactive 4.

I (as a Garmin shareholder and owner) think that Garmin has TOO MANY MODELS. It is crazy. It cost real money for Garmin to introduce, maintain and support models — but it is also confusing for consumers and for retailers!

Yes, the Venu puzzles me. Do you have any ideas?

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by Anura Guruge

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