New Garmin Touring GPS Announced
Posted Friday 30th August 2013 –
Garmin yesterday announced the release of a new GPS device, the Garmin Edge Touring and it looks like it might be the ideal GPS device for sportive riders. Whilst Garmin have said it’s not a replacement for the Edge 800/810 it’s lower price point will certainly make it an attractive alternative for sportive riders who are mainly looking for a device for navigational purposes.
The Touring looks similar to the Edge 800/810 using the same casing but features different firmware to offer a slightly different feature set than the existing units. It loses some of the performance orientated features of the Edge800/810 (for example there’s no support for cadence sensors or power meters even on the Ant+ version) and focusses more on route planning and navigation features. The unit comes pre-loaded with Open Street Maps as well as a host of Point of Interest (POI’s) and providing turn by turn navigation similar to a car GPS.
One nice new addition which will have Edge 800/810 users a bit jealous is the new round trip routing option, simply choose a distance you want to ride and the device will plan 3 loops at that distance for you to choose from which sounds great for people who don’t want to spend time in front of a computer planning routes before they ride.
The new device comes in two versions, the Touring at £199.99 and the Touring Plus at £249.99 with the main difference being the inclusion of ANT+ support on the Plus model.
The full Garmin press release with more details is below –
Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the Edge Touring and Edge Touring Plus cycling computers, its first navigators created just for cyclists.
EdgeTouring_HR_801.4Edge Touring and Edge Touring plus work like a GPS navigator for a car, packed with bike-specific features and preloaded maps and POIs to help cyclists to find their way. They provide both on-road and off-road navigation and can provide round-trip ride options based on a set distance. Cyclists simply enter an address or search for POIs and Edge Touring will give clear turn-by-turn directions to destination(s). The Edge Touring and Edge Touring Plus will debut at the Eurobike exhibition in Friedrichshafen (Hall A5, booth 201), where they will be prominently displayed.
“The new Edge Touring and Edge Touring Plus give cyclists the freedom to know they can find their way,” said Andy Silver, Garmin’s EMEA Product Manager – Fitness. “Easy to set up, easy to use and preloaded with bike-specific maps, they will let riders navigate safely and securely to their destinations.”
Designed for Navigating by Bike: Edge Touring comes preloaded with bike-specific maps that make it easy for cyclists to stay on the route and find their way back again. Whether cyclists are riding from A to B, asking Edge Touring to provide a Roundtrip Route, or following a ride that they have planned or downloaded from Garmin Connect or Basecamp. Edge Touring will guide them on their ride with clear turn-by-turn visual instructions. Users can choose between Cycling, Tour Cycling and Mountain Bike modes to calculate the most appropriate route. Edge Touring will then guide cyclists on suitable roads or bike paths to their destination.
Navigate your way: Edge Touring gives you the freedom to choose. Cyclists can navigate from A to B by simply choosing a destination or they can use the new Routeplanner function to manually create routes directly on their Edge Touring using favorite locations and other points of interest from the preloaded maps.
New Round Trip Routing: Input the distance you want to ride and Edge Touring will do the rest. It will calculate up to 3 routes to choose from, including their distance and elevation profiles. Cyclists can compare the routes, choose the one to follow and press ride for turn by turn directions the whole way.
EdgeTouringPlus_HR_762.3Designed for Simplicity: Edge Touring comes with a new, simple user interface, which allows quick access to key navigation and ride-related functionality. The Garmin Cycle Map for Europe comes preloaded on a simple plug and play micro SD card. There is no need to fit additional complex sensors – Edge Touring is ready to go straight out of the box. Switch on, press start and ride.
Designed for Riding: Robust, water resistant and with a 2.6’’ touchscreen that works in the wet and with gloves – Edge Touring is designed for the elements. It weighs less than 100g and fits easily on the stem or on the bars. The rechargeable battery will last up to 15 hours, and it is also compatible with the optional Garmin powermonkey eXplorer external battery pack which will give an additional 20 hours of ride time. Edge Touring displays key ride data such as time, speed, average speed, max speed and distance. Cyclists can view from 1 to 10 fields on a clear customisable screen. Edge Touring comes with a quarter-turn bike mount and can be easily transferred between bikes.
Replay and Relive Your Rides: Edge Touring records how far, how fast and where cyclists ride so users can replay, relive and share each ride in detail once it has been uploaded to Garmin Connect.
EdgeTouringPlus_HR_801.1Explore More: Cyclists can share their own rides or search for ones others have completed on Garmin Connect or look for Adventures on Garmin’s free Basecamp software. Once they have found a ride they like, they can send it to Edge Touring and follow. Users can also create own new rides by simply clicking the points on a map in Garmin Connect or Basecamp and send it to their Edge Touring. New rides can also be downloaded from third party sites to follow.
Edge Touring Plus – The Premium GPS Navigator For Cyclists: Edge Touring Plus provides all bike-specific features of Edge Touring, and in addition is ANT+ compatible, so it will work wirelessly with an optional Garmin heart rate monitor to help cyclists know how hard they are working. Edge Touring Plus will even display key data such as range or remaining charge from ANT+ compatible eBikes. It also includes a barometric altimeter for accurate elevation, gradient, ascent and descent data.
The Edge Touring and Touring Plus are available now and have suggested retail prices starting from £199.99 and £249.99 respectively.
