Garmin Edge 820 Discussion Thread

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WheresWaldo
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by WheresWaldo

I'm sure they aren't either It wasn't directed at Garmin either. :smartass:

@glepore, I will let you know how they work when I get them on Monday

kwakekeham
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by kwakekeham

There has been a bunch of comments on the resolution. I'm actually really surprised because my biggest complaint of the 800/810/510/520/1000 I've used was never resolution. I suspect it'll be the same when I see an 820 in person and that is the really really really poor daylight viewability.

It is unfortunately the same reason for both "problems". The Garmin colour devices all using very rare to source, mainly custom, Transflective LCD's. Almost every single cell phone uses Transmissive LCD's. The reason you can barely see your cell phone outside at max brightness transmissive displays -- the only light source is the LED backlight. With the Garmin's there is a "hole" in the corner of the pixel to let light down to a reflective diffuser.

The iphone "1"/3/3GS used Transflective screens and have amazing daylight viewability compared to newer phones, but this was "pre-retina". They tried it in the iphone 4 and it worked, but was significantly more dull as the percentage of "hole" area went down from something like 11% to 6% (Could be wrong on those numbers), so the 4s ditched transflective and so did every other competitor -- actually most competitors hadn't bothered and iphone was the only decent outdoor viewable phone.

The contrast ratio for a colour transflective LCD is about 6:1 through 8:1 in outdoor use. While transmissive can barely get enough light out to come close to competiting with the sun. I mean it's a giant ball of fire.

So if you want resolution, you'll have to trade off to poor daylight viewability unless you move to another tech or move back to B/W. The only ones currently are Mirasol (almost dead and I think sold by Qualcomm now), eink (colour suffers brightness issues, and high res colour never made it to developer samples that I know of), and Sharp memory LCD (8 colour, RGB on or off only, no in between). In the B/W realm where the Garmin edge 500 and old 910xt are kings of daylight viewability (using reflective LCD tech) there is also the sharp memory LCD used in both Wahoo ELMT and the SRM PC8 (I believe, could be wrong on one or both).

Like several. I'm not pleased with the reuse of the 520 form factor. Smaller screen isn't great for mapping, but it is usable. I missed touch from 510 and my k-edge out front mount makes it a little annoying to press the start button which is apparently solved on the 820.

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Ozrider
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by Ozrider

I just got mine, and so far Im impressed. The screen resolution seems fine and its easy to read outdoors in sunlight.
It's intuitive to set up, much like an iPhone. It has many more features than my 705 or 500 which will take a bit of time to get used to and try out.
I will be testing it out on tomorrow mornings ride which will allow me to assess battery life, how easy it is to use on a ride, how the screen readout compares to other devices and ease of download after a ride.
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WheresWaldo
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by WheresWaldo

@glepore

First ride with the bifocal Tifosi and the Garmin is razor sharp. I am going to have to learn how to tilt my head just a bit and look through the bottom of the glasses. I had to drop my head then focus on the Garmin before since all the fields were fuzzy. I am not sure why I didn't do this two years ago, vanity I guess. Just one ride and I am hooked.

Now to wait for @Ozrider's assessment.

glepore
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by glepore

@waldo-thks, another satisfied user. If only Garmin could come up with a screen that was usable with polarized glasses, or as sharp as wahoo's...

I used a rflkt for the first time in 2 yrs yesterday as my800 hadn't been charged, and was shocked at how much better the non-touchscreen was.
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Ozrider
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by Ozrider

I got to use the 820 for the first time on a ride this morning.
I chose the 820 as it has more features than the 1000, in a smaller lighter casing (and this is WW after all)
Having been in the technology dark ages with my "ancient" 705 this is a big step up.
First thing on powering up on my pre dawn start, the screen was nicely illuminated so I could easily read it, but not bright enough to be distracting. As the sun was rising the screen illumination adjusted automatically.
Even in bright sunlight the screen was easy to read.
I'm nearly 50 and could easily read the 5 fields I display while riding.
Battery life seems good, specially considering it is connected to my phone via Bluetooth.
Things I like about is so far :
- screen is easy to read in all light conditions
- touch screen operates with gloved hands fingers without having to buy special gloves
- incident detection
- recovery indicator - showed I needed 17hrs recovery at the end of the ride
- automatic Strava upload at the end of my ride without having to use my phone to record Strava
- weight saving over my 705 or a 1000
-Indoor trainer mode
For people already using s 520 or 1000 it probably isn't a big step up, but for me as a 500/705 user it is easier to navigate and use and has many new features to explore.
So far I'm really happy with my purchase.


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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL (6055g/13.32lbs) Trek Madone 5.9 (7052-7500g)Jonesman Columbus Spirit (8680g)
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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

Thanks for the report Ozrider. How do you like the touchscreen? Is it like your iPhone with very fast response? I have the 510 but hate the slow pressure-sensitive touchscreen. I like touchscreen user interfaces so I'm interested in the 820. Thanks.

Ozrider
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by Ozrider

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Ozrider
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by Ozrider

The touchscreen is pretty good. Not quite as good as an iPhone, but a big improvement on the 520.
It works well with gloves.
I was wearing mid-weight winter gloves.




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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL (6055g/13.32lbs) Trek Madone 5.9 (7052-7500g)Jonesman Columbus Spirit (8680g)
Chase your dreams - it's only impossible until it's done

jeffy
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by jeffy

disappointing they have made it smaller, the 810 was a great size - 'big enough' for map use to be good. but not giant like the 1000
cynically it seems they have made the 820 'small enough, just' for map use to be ... ok

i imagine Garmin know exactly how many more instore conversions / buy-up they'll be
(intend to buy 810 -> actually buy 1000 vs intend to buy 820 -> actually buy 1000)

Shrike
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by Shrike

Ozrider wrote:The touchscreen is pretty good. Not quite as good as an iPhone, but a big improvement on the 520.
It works well with gloves.
I was wearing mid-weight winter gloves.




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Wouldn't be hard considering the 520 doesn't have a touchscreen :lol:

964Cup
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by 964Cup

Does anyone have experience of the battery life of the 820? The main reason I've stuck with my (ancient) 800 is that the battery really does last all day, even when following a mapped route as well as recording data. I'd be reluctant to go with anything that delivered less than, say, 14 hours real run-time. I'd be happy to keep the backlight off and bluetooth off, but would need multiple ANT+ channel recording and active navigation.

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sugarkane
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by sugarkane

if the touch screen isn't that good enough or the res not up too your expectations why not get one of these.... Image :roll:

the only thing you need to see while your riding is your 3s power.. every thing else is pretty much irrelevant to be honest

uraqt
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by uraqt

I thought the new Garmin were using color epaper screens? Or is that just the watches?

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Butcher
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by Butcher

I too purchased an 820 and after a couple of rides, I would say the touch screen is not as good as the 800 [which is what I came from]. Matter of fact it was down right terrible until I did a reboot [It's Garmin so I would expect to have some glitches being so new]. Sometimes it takes a couple of swipes to get it to change. That is with bare skin, not with gloves.

The screen is much smaller and I'm certain I will get used to it with more rides. The screen is much clearer than the 800. I never did like the 800 and felt that the 705 was better [than the 800].

I have it mounted on a Tillquist standard length mount [I sure wish he made those again] and the lap and start/stop buttons are in a terrible place to access. There is enough room to stick my big thumb between the stem and unit, but it takes concentration to do it. That is probably my biggest gripe. So if you have the unit even or lower than the stem, it may be better to get a mount that will accept an Edge 1000 so you get more room to push the buttons.

I purchased the 820 because of the newest features that I could not access with the 800. I have had the Vector pedals for some time and now I get to see some of the features that the pedals have. One bonus feature is that the 820 was able to update the firmware of the pedals without my main computer. It even prompted me to do so. I have not accessed any apps yet, but there are a few out there that seem to be interesting.

As for battery life, I have not had a long ride and I also have the back lighting to 100% [no time out] and the GPS/Glonass on, but after 2 hours, it was at 82%. There is a battery life saver, but I do not ever think I would need/want that. The charge port cover does not hang up when installing like the 800 did.

Best of all, my wife has not found out that I have made that purchase yet.

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