After two months of using the 405, I have some additional observations. Based on my experiences, I would lower the star rating to 3 stars. The decrease in rating is due to incredibly poor software and support from Garmin. The hardware is still extremely impressive, despite the software failings.Software and Support:
The Garmin Connect (which allows you to track your training progress) is nothing more than a beta with limited functionality and slow response times. Moreover, it is still very buggy. The software which automatically uploads the computer data to Garmin Connect just suddenly stopped working a month ago.
Hold times to get in touch with Garmin telephone support is 45 minutes. Email support is terrible - it has taken afull MONTH to have two email exchanges with support. All this and the problem has not been fixed.
Moreover, the software is poorly designed. You have to constantly monitor Garmin's website for software updates (there is no "Check for Update" feature). If a problem occurs in the software, there are no features to aid in resolving the problem.
Hardware:
First impressions: the form factor is nice, but you need to be aware that the watch is somewhat "thick". If you are wearing a button down shirt, the 405 will not fit comfortably under a sleeve cuff. However, looking at it from above, it looks like a normal watch. Wearing it while running will probably not draw a second look from other runners. This is also a downside since you want people to notice your shiny new 405.
Setup - this took only a few minutes and was very easy. TThe 405 walks you through a brief tutorial. Overall, setup was very easy.
Navigation - this takes a few minutes to get the hang of. Once you have the buttons down, it is quite easy to navigate. The sensitivity of the touch bezel is adjustable for your taste. I've played with the 305 in the store and the 405 actually seems more intuitive to navigate.
Initial lock - finding the satellites takes a few minutes the first time. It will lock on much faster if you are not moving. Subsequent times to find the satellites was much quicker.
Use - After you have turned on the GPS and gotten a lock, all you need to do is press start to begin your workout. It was very easy to use. I basically forgot about it while I was running other than to check my pace every mile or so. Kept a lock the entire time (keep in mind this was in Chicago's Lincoln Park - roughly 2/3rds of the sky is clear (except for trees) so achieving constant lock-on should not be a problem for any GPS. I have not tested this downtown).
For those worried about water resistance, my first usage of my 405 was in the pouring rain. It didn't seem to notice (or care) about the rain. It can handle a good amount of water without issue.
Syncing - you need to download the software from Garmin (it's actually a web plug in). However, the manual was clearly rushed out the door. Not only does it contain typos (at one point it refers to the wrong step) but it is not clear from the manual that you need to download the USB drivers. DO NOT put the ANT USB key into the computer until you have downloaded the specific ANT drivers from Garmin (so you have to download two different pieces of software - the plugin and the USB driver). If you plug the ANT key into the computer w/o the Garmin USB driver, Windows will find what it thinks is the correct driver (which is the wrong driver). The syncing will not work if you do this. Just a heads up.
I wish I owned a 305 to compare it to. In the Garmin store, the 405 did not see that much smaller than the 305, although the 405 was clearly more elegant. Functionally, I hear that they are extremely similar. You just need to personally evaluate whether the 405 is really worth the increased cost over the 205/305. Personally, I plan on keeping the 405.
Battery Life - After playing with it for 30 minutes, taking it on an hour's run and syncing it with my computer, it only used 12% of the battery life.
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Product Description:
113541BLK000 Features: Monitor your time, distance, pace, and calories with a single sport watch-personal trainer as it stores all of the data so that you can review your improvement later Switch between monitoring your speed to viewing your GPS monitor by tapping the touch bezel Don't worry, you'll always get great reception for your GPS thanks to the unique design provides the antenna a larger view of the sky If you have to pause, or begin a new lap, you don't have to spend time resetting everything to the Auto Pause and Auto Lap features take care of that for you Record up to 1000 laps worth of lap history and customize your workouts, with multi-sport, advanced, and simple workout schemes to track your energy output Your best workout buddy, it'll give you warnings when you deviate from a set pace, and alert you when you've reached time or distance goals Compatible with power meters so that you can view data from 3rd party ANT+Sport-enabled power meters Share your data with other Forerunner 405 users easily with the wireless transfer capabilities or automatically download it to your computer with the USB ANT Stick Specifications: Weight to dimensions: 211 ounces to 188 x 278 x 0646 inches Barometric altimeter: no Display size diameter: 106 inches Battery to battery life: rechargeable lithium-ion to 2 weeks (power save mode); 8 hours (training mode) Waypoints to routes: 100 to 0
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