GPS Watches. What's The Deal?

People who are not familiar with GPS watches might have heard about them and be curious. If you are a runner you will no doubt have heard people talk about their "Garmin Watches", but what is so special about the Garmin and this wonderful GPS watch gadget people keep talking about?

If you are talking about GPS running watches, then a GPS watch or the sacred "Garmin" can be explained simply as a running watch with a GPS receiver tacked on. The receiver allows an ordinary sports watch to link up with the GPS satellite system ("Global Positioning System" for those unfamiliar with the acronym) and thereby track their location on earth with a very high degree of precision. The advantage of a GPS watch if you are a runner is that a GPS-enabled watch can measure your speed, pace, calculate distance travelled, how high you have climbed and many more features that can be derived from knowing your position at any given time.

The Garmin is currently the best GPS running watch available and one of the only models that is designed specifically as a GPS watch. Other GPS watch systems tend to have a GPS aerial tacked onto an existing watch system. Commonly an external GPS device attaches to the user's body and transmits it's readings wirelessly to the wristwatch where all the number crunching is performed allowing you to view your speed, pace and distance.

Advanced GPS running watch systems tend to come bundled with a large number of features. Learning how to use a running GPS watch of this description can be a burden in itself. Some of the more useful GPS watch running features include.

• Speed/pace, distance display
• Auto pause/Auto resume/Auto Lap
  
• Distance and Pace Alerts
• Finishing Time Predictor (handy for races)
• Virtual Partner Feature
• And many more

Not all GPS sports watches are designed for runners however, many cater to adventurers and bushwalkers. The Suunto X10 is an example of an outdoor GPS watch. It features barometer, termomoeter, compass and all those cool features that are useful for the outdoors. While it can measure speed and distance too, it utilizes the GPS network more to track waypoints, allowing hikers to know exactly how to reach their destinations without fear of getting lost when in unknown terrain.

GPS watch systems may certainly seem weird and wonderful, but once you become familiar with one, you'll probably find yourself using it more and more. Especially if you are sport oriented. Eventually you will consider it part of your normal every day routine.