The verdict is in: Timex Global Trainer...Not!
Ok, so I'm a few years behind - I only last week finally watched Borat, and learned the proper delivery of "....., Not!" I giggled through the whole show, and my wife rolled her eyes in disgust...not at the movie, at ME since I thought it was so funny!
Oh, sorry, I digress. The new Timex Global Trainer GPS watch ...is getting returned to REI for a refund. Readers Digest version, this GPS is not ready for prime time. There's just about nothing that it does better than the Garmin 310xt (the ability to configure every parameter on the PC being one biggie). As for problems, there are a bunch. Here's the text of the mail I sent Timex today:
Hi folks,
Sorry to say, I'm going to return my Timex Global Trainer. I had hoped for a better experience, but I think I just ran up against too many v1.0 problems. Here's what went wrong:
- Straw that broke the camels back - Yesterday I was running in a 50 mile race. I was using that race as a training/pacing test run for a 100 mile race on the same course, so I was hitting the lap button each aid station, etc. Around mile 23 I looked down, and the TGT had reset itself (time back to zero, distance back to zero). Wow, NOT what I needed to see. I ran the next 2 miles until the main turn around aid station, and tried to get it going, but it informed me that the memory was full (insert foul language here). While running along I tried to delete things, then just said screw it. I managed to switch it into watch mode and just ran the rest of the race with the biggest plain watch ever. The users manual MUST be enhanced to tell people that the device only holds 20 or so hours of workouts, and that after that it'll just die. In the very next version of the firmware you guys have got to switch it so that the current workout gets saved, and the ones from 2 weeks ago get overwritten - you can assume that this is what pretty much everyone would prefer.
- To add insult to injury, I couldn't easily retrieve what did get saved yesterday. I've had this problem a couple of times. I do a "download from device" and it tells me it's downloading 9 workouts, but only displays two old workouts. Bad. So I do it again, and again it says it's downloading 9, and now it shows four, but they are all a week old. Bad. What I've done in the past is delete these ones, and that seems to make it possible to download the later things. So I did that again this time, and ended up deleting the first five workouts, and now it downloaded my last few. I can't tell if it's a communication problem, a problem with the device, or with Device Agent (I've downloaded the most recent version).
- Pace during running bounces around WAY too much. I've heard people complaining about this with ForeRunners, but I've had 4 of them, and never had the problem. But with the TGT, in wide open areas, three quick glances down often reveals a 4+ minute spread of paces - I've had this with very low smoothing, and the low level of smoothing. Yes, I bet if I were to crank the smoothing to its highest level it might be smoother, but I need more "pace right now" numbers.
- Can't set up distance based intervals - I've written to you before about this.
- My device won't charge more than 90%. This is probably just a display issue, but it's disheartening to leave it plugged in overnight, when it's only a month old, and see that it's only at 90%.
- Adding a timer is convoluted. Shutting the timer off is next to impossible in the middle of a workout. This really needs a complete redesign. I've written to you about this one as well. Also, if I recall, in the middle of a workout just adding the timer to the display didn't activate it, I think I had to "reboot" the device to get the timer going. Not good. I just re-looked at the manual, and it tells you how to create a timer...but not that you have to manually add a timer to a display to activate it.
- During yesterday's run I would have liked to be able to click the Mode button to get it to stay on the time screen, but it kept flipping back to the performance screen (as per your manual). I was finally able to reconfigure the device, while going up a hill in the middle of a race, to get the power off mode to be the watch. I looked (twice) for this setting in Configure | Watch, but eventually found it in Configure | Mode.
- A suggestion - never display milliseconds, it's just noise.
- A suggestion - beep when GPS lock is secured, it's a pain to watch the little satellite icon.
Sorry if this comes off as overly negative, my intent was to give some feedback for future versions.
Mike
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Comments
You have given timex some _very_ valuable real world feedback, I hope they are grateful.
- cary
sucks - As the timex ironman is the best selling watch in the history of the world you would think they had the $ cash to pull off and solid entry in to the market. Sounds like it is not much better than the old stupid "system" they had which required a data recording pod and a gps pod.
Vince
Thanks for the feedback. I actually just recently purchased the watch from REI and have used it several times myself. I fortunately have not had an issue like you have in a race yet, and am hoping that this Sunday at Lake Placid, i will not either, as I am really looking to use this to ensure I pace correctly on the run.
I've used it in several trial runs and have found it to be okay with the pacing and not jumping around as much as you've mentioned, (although it does happen.) I have found out that it seems that the weaker the battery, the less likely it can pick up a GPS signal.
I have about six workouts on it which i was going to download tonight and play with the software. I was hoping it was more user friendly but it looks like you've had some issues.
I don't want to totally write this product off as I have always liked the TIMEX watches and am hoping they can produce a winner here. I also hope that with some of the minor flaws that they may experience and get feedback from like athletes like yourself, that they do the honorable thing and upgrade or fix the watches for FREE of those who bought the watches right from the start.
Has anybody had a really positive experience with this watch?
PLEASE PLEASE do not fail me this Sunday...
As an aside, I got a pleasant reply from my main to Timex, saying that those sorts of things shouldn't happen (the wording they chose left it unclear if they thought it was a bad watch unit, user error, or just an immature design). But they did add that they would be passing my feedback on to the design folks, and that in future firmware versions that hopefully things could be improved.
Mike