Up for review today is the Garmin ForeRunner 405, a sophisticated GPS training watch. This one has some new and interesting features both in design and use, so kick back for a long, detailed review.

To get us started, here’s a quick feature list of the 405:

    * The 405 has wireless sync and data transfer using a proprietary standard called Ant+. This supports other devices at the same time, so the 405 can also work with a paired heart rate sensor and display its data. Data transfer to your PC happens automatically whenever you get within range, via a small USB transceiver. There are also optional foot pods, and bicycle speed/cadence sensors as well.
    * Internal rechargeable battery, with included clip-on charger. The battery is good for about two weeks of non-GPS use or eight hours in training mode.
    * Bitmapped display with white LED backlight, 124 x 95 pixels.
    * 48m by 16mm, 60g. Pretty chunky, but wearable. This is smaller than the Casio Pathfinder.
    * IPX7-waterproof, meaning IEC 529 IPX7, or 1 meter (3ft) of water for 30 minutes. In other words, OK for running in the rain but that’s about it.
    * Mineral glass crystal.
    * Records up to 1,000 laps and 100 waypoints. No map display or map download, due to the size and resolution of the screen.
    * Innovative touch-sensor bezel and user interface

Wrist-angle The 405 is available in two colors: the black/grey shown here, and also a greenish colored version I’ve not seen in person. Considering the technology packed inside it, the watch is remarkably clean in appearance which helps reduce the apparent size when worn. Garmin was able to reduce the physical buttons to only two by using something we’ve previously only seen on Tissot watches - touch sensing. Unlike the T-Touch watches, the Garmin has a metal bezel that serves as the touch surface instead of the screen itself.

In practice, you press a button to activate the touch sensor and use the four cardinal points of the bezel to move forward and back, and also scroll up or down by dragging a finger around the bezel in a circle; gestures familiar to anyone with an iPod. While it takes a little getting used to, the interface is quite natural.

When you flip the watch over, you can see the two metal contacts where the charger clips on, and also that the watch actually extends into part of the band where the antenna is concealed.

Back

On the right is a picture of what you get in the box, including charger, cable and "it looks like a memory stick but isn’t" Ant+ transceiver:Bundle

(As a humorous aside, I managed to lose the Ant+ stick, and had to pay $50 for a replacement. At first, I thought that Garmin had taken the leap of including a memory stick with software on it; that’ll teach me to pay more attention!)

Once you activate the GPS, you get a screen showing satellite strength, just like any other handheld Garmin:

Face-3 As you’d expect from a GPS training watch, the 405 has a SiRF-based multichannel receiver, locks on in less than 45 seconds, and is extremely accurate. The antenna is actually situated on the wrist, under a skin of plastic, and proved reliable even while walking and in urban environments. For those times when you’re running indoors, you can buy the foot pod and it’ll automatically use that data instead.

Once you have a lock and start it going, you see this screen instead, showing time, pace and distance:Face-2

Using the included software, you can define all sorts of workouts to download to the watch, and have it alert you if you’re over and under your pace. In combination with the optional sensors, I can easily see the 405 being the tool of choice for really hard-core runners. Unfortunately, I’m not, so my review of this is necessarily a bit lacking. I did try it out, though, so I do have some data to show you.