Wearable GPS -- Garmin

Garmin has two popular sorts of wearable GPS devices in a wrist-watch form: the Forerunner and Foretrex. The Forerunner is marketed to the running crowd while the Foretrex to the outdooring crowd. Simply by looking at the availability of software and the presence of user groups, it's clear that the Forerunner outstrips the Foretrex in popularity.

Recently, Garmin released the Forerunner 301 which is advertized to work well with the web-based performance analysis and mapping tool provided by Motion Based. This is because the 301 integrates a heart rate monitor. The 301 monitors heart rate, speed, distance, pace and calories.

Motion Based creates custom reports of workouts including charts and analyses. It also displays routes and simulations on Scalable Vector Maps (SVG) on the web. The great thing about SVG on the web is the small size, clarity and sharpness when zooming and potential for interactivity.

For more information on the Forerunner and applications that are compatible with it see:

• Phil Torrone's Geek Gym
• Yahoo's Forerunner's Group
• GarminF Users Group who have created a list of compatible software

On the wishlist for women joggers is real-time, secure web-based tracking so that when they are out alone running, someone can keep an eye out on them.

More on GPS and photo linking to come!