Garmin

218 watchers

StuH May 2021 5:41pm, 18 May 2021 4,154 posts	0 StuH The music versions actually have smaller batteries don't they?
Badger May 2021 6:20pm, 18 May 2021 13,865 posts	0 Badger No, the spec for smartwatch mode & GPS without music is the same for the music & non-music versions. Looks as though the 645 is discontinued with no sign of a 655. I don't think the 6xx series have sold very well since the 935 and 235 came along; you had the options of a capable cheaper running watch or a more expensive but more versatile tri watch (or the Fenix watches).
larkim May 2021 6:20pm, 18 May 2021 14,381 posts	0 larkim I don't think there's a battery difference, just that the battery drains faster. I'm never ever ever going to run for longer than 6 hours so the longer battery in the 245 would be overkill for me. But my Vivoactive is just about lasting 2h15 at the moment so unless I start setting age group records I need a bit longer!!
larkim May 2021 11:03am, 19 May 2021 14,388 posts	0 larkim Am I right in thinking that Garmin Pay is very, very limited in terms of which banks are supported in the UK? I like the idea of having a viable means to pay on my watch for emergency situations, but having checked the Garmin website the list is a bit disappointing. From what I can see only Santander is a mainstream UK bank supporting it, the rest look very niche. 645 is arriving in the next couple of days, but having the usual buyers remorse and wondering whether stumping up an extra £70 to gain the "latest" firmwares & features, track mode, longer battery life and perhaps snappier interface, but losing the nice metal bezel, barometric altimeter, contactless potential might be worth the money.
SjohnA May 2021 11:07am, 19 May 2021 324 posts	0 SjohnA Gamin pay works with the Curve card which just uses your normal bank card to actually pay. Works well. You don't need to put money onto the curve card. It just acts a go between. I use it for amazon and tesco to as you can set up stores for 1% cashback.
larkim May 2021 11:08am, 19 May 2021 14,390 posts	0 larkim Ah, that's interesting SjohnA, I didn't know that. I'll explore further!
DeeGee May 2021 11:17am, 19 May 2021 20,828 posts	0 DeeGee My Garmin Pay holds cards from Starling, Curve and Revolut. Starling is a branchless fintech bank which gives fee-free foreign transactions, Curve is a card that sits on top of your other Visa/Mastercards and allows you to make payments with their debit card but bill them to the underlying cards, and Revolut is a reloadable wallet system, which again I use to avoid foreign transaction fees, which was my original priority when signing up for these products. Starling is my personal current account, but I realise that folk aren't going to change bank account just to be able to pay with a watch. I have all my other Visa/Mastercards on Curve, so I can use any of them to pay using Garmin. This is also handy as my Virgin Atlantic Credit Card isn't yet usable with Google Pay either.
larkim May 2021 11:20am, 19 May 2021 14,391 posts	0 larkim A world I didn't know existed, thanks Deegee. I've maintained a fee free Halifax card for foreign transaction fees already, but the Curve product looks really handy so based on the quality recommendations here (!) I've signed up for that. Feeling better now that the "older" watch will meet my needs best.
SPR May 2021 11:37am, 19 May 2021 34,241 posts	0 SPR £70 more feels a lot TBF. If you dropped the music it would be more competitive but I guess that's important to you.
larkim May 2021 11:51am, 19 May 2021 14,393 posts	0 larkim It's an option I'd like to have, feels like a proper "upgrade" then. I don't listen to music much on runs, and I don't mind carrying my phone in the flipbelt, but I worry about wet weather with the phone (I destroyed a company iPhone with a very wet run once!). Compared to the entry level FR45 at about £120, £189 for the 645 music really does look like a steal, and £260 is the best price I've spotted for the 245 music.