MBlog

Garmin at Interbike 2007

Team Garmin rode into Interbike 2007 this past weekend to show off the latest Garmin device, the Edge 605/705.  They had a blast this year getting in some great rides and presenting the new devices.  You can read all about the team's trip at Peg's Posts on the Garmin Blog. 

Offering Heart Rate, cadence, color maps, turn-by-turn directions and Power, the Edge 705 was a huge success.  This device will answer the requests (dare I say prayers!) of many cyclists.  Being able to offer Power with industry partners Quarq and SRM is a huge accomplishment; one we're proud and excited to offer!  This has been made possible with our ANT+ Sport wireless technology which allows devices from different manufacturers to work and communicate together. ANT + Sport is a product of Dynastream Innovations Inc, that was acquired by Garmin in 2006.

The Quarq CinQo power sensor will cost $1,195 available in Q1 2008.  With SRM being the "gold standard" in Power it will sell for a premium, price and availability haven't been released.

Two reps from SRM were stationed at the Garmin booth giving demos with Power.  Check out Garmin's own Peg in the video below.  I think it's a safe bet that if Peg had a bike that fit her, her Power would have been off the charts!

MotionBased Getting a Makeover

Earlier this month Garmin announced a new device, the Forerunner 50. We also mentioned that it would be compatible for uploading to Garmin Connect.  And that's when the rumors and rumblings started.  Such a mystery! What's happening with MotionBased?  Will Garmin Connect take over?  Will MB "turn into" Garmin Connect?  In a nut shell, "Yep." Check out the latest press release announced today to get more details.

While Garmin Connect is the future of MotionBased, the transformation is still a few months away.  We'll begin by launching Garmin Connect for use with the Forerunner 50 exclusively.  This first launch will take place in early October.  FR50 users will be able to upload their non-GPS activities automatically by entering the room where a computer has the ANT software bundle installed.  FR50 users will have their activities stored and available for use with the Dashboard, Activities, Details, Reports and Player functions.

Come December, MotionBased as we know it will be fully integrated as Garmin Connect.  All of your data that was available at MB will still be available at Garmin Connect.  Our entire database of 1.5 million+ activities isn't going anywhere!  You'll still be able to upload your GPS activities in addition to entering your non-GPS activities.  You can also expect a revamped Analyzer allowing for pre-defined and custom splits.  We're also in the process of improving the Player and Dot Racing.

Garmin Connect will fully support a larger variety of OS's and browsers/versions:

• Windows 2000/XP/Vista
• Mac OS X
• Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox 2+, Safari 2+

What else?  Garmin Connect will be free for storage and and access to all of your activities.  We will still have a paid version, Garmin Connect Plus, for those wanting to access the advanced features.  Existing MotionBased customers with annual paid subscriptions will be grandfathered into Garmin Connect Plus.

Be sure to subscribe to the MotionBased blog to keep posted on the latest developments of Garmin Connect and the host of features and improvements to expect during the transition in December.

BTW... the MotionBased team is a little sad to see our name go away (our idea actually). But we've gotten over that very quickly as the entire team prepares to launch Garmin Connect.  It's worth the wait... and the new name.

Garmin Power to You All!

In case you've not heard, Garmin will be running a 30-second spot during the second quarter of this year's Super Bowl.  We'll finally get to see the prequel to the YouTube video that's become so popular.

To put you in the Garmin state of mind, here's some video once again.  This time, you'll get to know Maposaurus, the villain of personal navigation, a little better:

And, if you're craving more from lead singer Steve Grimmett, Garmin Man or Maposaurus, they've given up their valuable time for interviews leading up to the big Super Bowl airing.  You can find them at the Garmin Blog.

Training Center for MAC Available for Download

Training Center for Mac is here!  Well, not here, but you can Download it from Garmin.com.  Mac users now have the ability to store their activities on client software. As well as, send courses to their device for racing and/or light navigation.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• If you've been using the Training Center on Windows and want your history on your Mac, you'll need to upgrade your Training Center for Windows to version 3.2.1 before exporting history!!

• If all of your data is stored at MotionBased and you don't have access to all activities (MB Lite users), you CAN still export activities from your Digest. Simply check the activities that you want to export (limit of 10 at a time) and choose "Training Center History" activity export from the "More Actions" drop down.

Grab Your Garmin, Take On the World

If you're a loyal Garmin Blog reader, you already know that Garmin will be airing a 30-second Super Bowl spot (sometime in the second quarter).  But have you seen the video?  Using excess footage, the Garmin crew created a music video. If this is excess footage, what will the final ad be?  Your guess is as good as mine. I just hope they keep the heavy riffs, big hair, and intimidating licks.  With lyrics like, "Rip him a new highway," "Serves up a sandwich with a side of provolone," and "Wears a suit of latex but he's metal to the bone" the final production can be nothing but sheer genius!  Great inspiration . . . so "Grab your Garmin every boy and girl!"

Go get 'em Garmin guy, and remember, "GPS power speaks the truth!"

Give the Gift of MotionBased

Are you still looking for the perfect gift for your favorite runner?  Maybe you're trying to find that one last stocking stuffer that will be visions of sugar plumbs for your cycling fanatic.

Look no further!  Giving the Gift of MotionBased will warm up your favorite athlete, even during the coldest of winter Holidays.  If ever there was a time to give the gift of MotionBased, it's now.  We're right in the middle of our Holidays 2 for 1 Promotion.  You'll be giving 2 years of MotionBased for the price of one.  Your athlete will be doubly happy with the 2 year subscription to MotionBased!

Finally, if you're looking for a gift for yourself, it's not too late to take advantage of the Holidays 2 for 1 Promotion!

Cool New Releases at MotionBased

In celebration of reaching 500,000 activities to the TrailNetwork we've sneaked out a quick release.  Today, 17 August 2006, we released a few features as well as some bug fixes.  Most notable?  WEATHER.  That's right, folks, MotionBased is bringing weather to a global level.  Weather is a feature that is unique to MotionBased.  We will update every activity without weather to check for new weather information now that most of the world is fixed.  A heat index will be available to much of the world. The UK will have temperatures for all old and new activities.

What else?  One area will be sporting CADENCE information.  Cyclists, you'll be able to view your average cadence in the Lap section of the Dashboard.

Some bug fixes of note:

• Pace units for pace charts have been fixed (Speed section of Dashboard)
• Mac dashboard widget
• Metric units will be available when Emailing activities to friends

For a full list of the Release Notes visit this link to our Knowledge Base.

MotionBased Forum Spam

On July 24, 2006 an automated spam system attacked the MotionBased Forum and sent an inappropriate email to those registered at the forum with the subject heading "New Personal Message: IMPORTANT NEWS and INFORMATION!!!"

We urge those who received this message to ignore and delete this email.

We sincerely apologize for this irritation and are taking immediate steps to prevent this from happening again.

This specific spam attack is known as the "Harrison Ford Spammer" and has been making the rounds at other forum sites during the past month. What the spammer did was send messages using the forums private messaging system. This caused the forum software to send users a notification email via the MotionBased Support email address. We want to assure you that these notification emails were sent without revealing your private email address to this spammer. Your email addresses have NOT been compromised.

To prevent recurrence, we have changed everyone's preference in the forum to not receive an email when a personal message is sent.

You may change it back to your preference by:

• Clicking on the Profile button.
• Clicking on the Personal Message Options link in the left hand navigation
• Checking the check box next to "Notify by email every time you receive a personal message".

We also plan to implement some method of authentication to prevent automated spam systems from attacking the forum in the future.

You should also know that the MotionBased web application is NOT associated to the software running the online forum which requires separate registration and account profile management.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

The MotionBased Crew

Courses at Sea Otter

For the second year in a row, MotionBased is providing the mapping services for most of the races and tours at the Sea Otter Classic taking place April 6 - 9, 2006.

In addition to providing detailed stats, maps and 3-D Google Earth fly-thrus, MotionBased is pleased to announce that we have created Sea Otter Courses that you can download to the new Garmin fitness devices.

Huh? That's right. This is our first step in getting an activity from MotionBased to your GPS device for not only navigation, but for racing and pacing. Because with the Courses feature on the new Garmin fitness devices, the route you download from MotionBased brings along the performance data from the previous activity so you can compare your status from yourself or someone else in "real-time."

Example of Courses - Elevation Profile

We are launching this feature for just a few select routes (look for the blue Courses button) at the 2006 Sea Otter Classic. But watch out... because we plan to enable "Course Downloads" for all activities stored at MotionBased very, very shortly.

Planning to attend Sea Otter? We'll see you there. The MotionBased crew will be there in full force with papa Garmin -- a major sponsor of the Sea Otter Classic. Look for us at the Garmin booth in the Sea Otter Village marketplace. We'll be running demos, talkin' shop, and spreading the good word about Garmin, MotionBased and the latest and greatest feature -- Courses!!!!!

Don't forget to bring your GPS device. It's going to be a Dot Racing bonanza!!

See ya there,
The MB Crew

Mac Widget

They say the way to a Mac user's core duo is through a widget. So we couldn't help ourselves, and fashioned the MB Dashboard Widget. Displaying the most recent 20 activities in the TrailNetwork or a users Digest, it's a quick and easy way to stay on top of the action at MB. Sorry PC folks, it's a Mac thing.

Since the TrailNetwork is the data source, the Dashboard Widget only shows public activities – whether the username is you, a friend, or one discovered on the TrailNetwork. To change the displayed results, click the i in the bottom right, and input a different username.

Download and learn more about the Dashboard Widget.