Garmin Epix Review

A touchscreen GPS navigator that works in the wilderness and that you can wear on your wrist? That’s a neat idea, but not one that Garmin’s been able to realize with this new Epix. Allow me to explain.

Looking for a powerful fitness tracker? Let’s go ahead and spoil this review by saying that the Garmin Fenix 3 has all deep fitness tracking capabilities as the Epix, in a slimmer, more affordable, nicer looking package. Corey also put together a great, in-depth review of those capabilities. In this review of the Epix, I’m going to focus on what it attempts to do over that Fenix 3; namely its mapping and navigation functions.

“Epix is the first-of-its-kind, high-resolution, color, touchscreen GPS/GLONASS mapping watch with worldwide, shaded relief basemap and 1-year BirdsEye Satellite Imagery subscription. Some models also feature preloaded TOPO 100K maps. Eight GB of built-in memory supports additional mapping, including BirdsEye Satellite Imagery and regional TOPO U.S. 24K maps. The revolutionary, stainless steel EXO antenna combined with GPS and GLONASS reception mean better signal strength and quicker position fixes.”

“The epix touchscreen display gives you fingertip pan/swipe access to vivid, detailed maps, including the built-in worldwide shaded relief basemaps. And with 8 GB internal memory and extensive mapping support, you’ll have plenty of room to add (and interact with) compatible maps, including TOPO 24K, BirdsEye Satellite Imagery, City Navigator® and BlueChart® g2 maps.”

We wouldn’t typically quote a manufacturer’s press release, but bear with me this time, I’m doing it for a reason.

In addition to those functions, the Epix has all the same fitness tracking functions as the Fenix 3. So consider it a Fenix 3 that’s considerably larger, square-shaped and comes with a color touchscreen that’s there so you can use its navigation functions.
Who’s It For?

Honestly, the only people who need fitness tracking this powerful and in-depth are people who take athletics very, very seriously. Do you care about your cadence and heart rate while mountain biking? Do you want to record your interval times while running? Do you need to determine your V02 Max? Do you want to compare your lap times against those of others?

Garmin’s smart watches can do all that and much more, making them the most powerful fitness tracking gadgets on the market. But, that power is matched by the clunkiness of the user interface. Seriously, even with the 28-page owner’s manual, you should expect to have the technical ability of an engineer, software developer or systems admin in order to operate this thing.

You’ll also have to committed enough to wear or use sensors that you buy separately to track things like heart rate and pedaling cadence. The upside of that is that they deliver much more accurate (or, actually accurate) data than the heart rate sensors built into other smartwatches, but the downside is obviously that it’s another gadget to buy, keep fresh batteries in, to avoid losing and to setup and use.

GARMIN EPIX navigation and mapping functions are targeted at people who do those activities in the wilderness, outside of cell-range, where Google Maps and such on your phone cease to function.

So, the Epix is a powerful, in-depth fitness tracker for committed athletes who are serious about tracking and sharing their performance, who also happen to be at least amateur techs on the side and who spend a lot of time out in the boonies. Sounds like a big audience to me.

As an aside on my use and therefore testing methodologies, I’m a half-assed amateur athlete that does everything from mountain biking, to hiking, to archery, to spearfishing to motorcycle racing. I like to keep fit and I like to track my progress, but I more typically do so with a spreadsheet in Google Docs on my phone. So, the Epix’s fitness tracking functions are a bit lost on me. I am, however, someone who gets to call spending time in the outdoors “work,” so I was mostly excited for the navigation and mapping abilities. I figured they could offer a longer battery life and more convenient use than simply using Backcountry Navigator on my Samsung Galaxy S6 Active could provide.
Design

I guess the silver bezel is made from metal and serves as a GPS antenna, at least according to Garmin’s marketing material. Feels like plastic to me.

At least the buttons are knurled aluminum, the rest of the watch is a giant, 2-inch square brick of black plastic surrounding a surprisingly tiny 1.4-inch color screen that only has a 205 x 148px resolution. Compare that to the 38mm Apple Watch’s 272 x 340px and you can begin to understand how low-res Garmin’s is in comparison. It feels more like the LCD display on an old triathlon watch than it does something modern.

There’s a variety of custom designed watch faces you can download from Garmin’s proprietary Connect IQ app store, most of which appear to be riffs on Star Trek TNG bridge designs.

Potential Tariff On Solar Panels Has Some Developers Concerned

Two bankrupt companies that made solar panels are asking the U.S International Trade Commission to place a tariff on imported solar panels (for example: GOAL ZERO SWITCH 10 MULTI-TOOL KIT )

 The companies say that cheap foreign solar panels are harming the domestic industry.

But solar developers and installers across the country, including in Vermont, are concerned that the tariffs would hurt the solar industry in the U.S.

Doug Wells runs his company, the Solar Specialists out of his house. His garage and basement are packed with equipment.

Wells has been working in the solar industry since the early 2000s. He started the Solar Specialists in 2006.

“Most people when I got into this and moved to Vermont and I told them I was going to be a solar installer thought I was crazy, literally,” Wells said.  

"Fifteen or 16 years later, I have been absolutely astounded by the amount of interest in developing solar and installing solar here in Vermont.”

But a case in front of the U.S. International Trade Commission has the solar industry concerned that the growth in solar might slow down.

The case brought by Suniva and SolarWorld says that cheap solar panels from abroad hurt companies in the U.S. that make solar panels. So, the two companies are asking the ITC to protect domestic manufacturing with a tariff. The tariff would apply to all solar panels made abroad.

Wells said he thinks his business will do okay even if the tariff goes through.

“I don't think it's going to kill the solar industry,” Wells said. “I think there are ways to navigate this. I mean people are very reactionary in this day and age and very passionate. I don't see why we can't come up with a way that isn't necessarily a straight up tariff.”

 At SunCommon — the largest residential, commercial and community solar company in the state – co-founder James Moore said he basically agrees: He doesn't think the tariff would derail the solar industry.

But Moore is concerned that the tariff would raise prices on solar panels, which he says would slow down the adoption of solar.

"The solar industry has made tremendous progress in being able to compete with traditional fossil fuels,” Moore said. “And we're really starting to see the energy mix change which is exciting; that's why we got into this. Unfortunately, this would be a really significant setback to the industry and across the country.”

Moore says even though the ITC hasn’t ruled on the case, the uncertainty is having an effect on the industry.

We're working with and managing that uncertainty. So because we have a warehouse we've been able to get panels in ahead of a potential tariff to protect our Vermont customers to a certain degree,” Moore said. “So we're not going anywhere but it's going to be harder for a little bit.”

But how likely is the ITC to recommend the tariff?

“Oh I think it’s highly likely, much better than a 50-50 chance,” said Douglas Irwin, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College.

He said that in these particular trade cases – it’s called a section 201 case – have a narrow scope: determining whether domestic manufacturers are harmed by foreign imports.

“They can’t look at what is the impact of these imports on domestic consumers or downstream industries,” Irwin. “So that’s why ITC, because of the law, is sort of bias just in favor of small domestic producers and excludes other considerations that might weigh against that.”

If the ITC rules that domestic producers have been harmed by foreign imports, they'll recommend a relief measure– usually a tariff. Then it’s up to the president to decide what to do.

Irwin says in the past, most presidents would reject tariff recommendations on the grounds it would hurt consumers.

Battery charging and battery chargers – float stage

Battery charging and battery chargers – float stage

Following Absorption, charging current reduces such that it counterbalances battery internal losses. This stage is called Floating. It is 13.2-13.6 volts for AGMs and gel cells. Conventional lead acid batteries require 13.6-13.8 volts.

As with the Absorption stage, charging revert to Boost if battery voltage drops. This may happen if there’s a heavy load.

Keep lead acid deep cycle batteries as fully charged as possible. Their life is otherwise shortened. If an RV is unused for more than a week or two – keep its batteries on Float charge.

AGM batteries, however, hold 50%-60% of their charge for a year or more. Whilst rugged, even minor long-termovercharging damages them. Unused AGMs need to be initially fully charged – then only after 6-12 months. Do not leave them on ‘float charge’. It may ruin them.
Battery charging and battery chargers – equalising

Some chargers have (usually optional) ‘Equalising’. This heavily overcharges the battery for an hour or two.

The original idea was to equalise cell voltage. Technology changes, however, render it unnecessary. Most battery makers now recommend against it. Never do it AGMs, nor gel cells. Nor, in my opinion, with any battery.

Different battery types require different voltage/current settings. All good quality battery chargers are programmable accordingly. Currently, only a few have programs for LiFePO4s. See ‘Lithium-ion battery charging’ below. SUNJACK USB BATTERY CHARGER will  charge battery cells safely and quickly. It is one of the best selling battery charger on the market.

Caution when buying a battery charger

Always use a high quality multi-stage charger. Cheap ones sooner or later wreck costly batteries. A multi-stage charger brings a battery up to charge rapidly, deeply and safely. A 10 amp multi-stage charger will thus outperform almost all ’20 amp’ conventional chargers. And many a ’25 amp’ cheapie. Good chargers start at about $250.
Lithium-ion battery charging

A lithium-ion (LiFePO4) cell is nominally 3.2 volts. A 12 volt such battery thus has four such cells. Charging is typically at constant current. It requires 13.2-13.6 volts. This charges the battery to about 80%-90%. Many users settle for about 80%.

It is vital that each LiFePO4 cell maintains equal voltage. Ensuring this requires cell management. This also prevents current draw below a preset state of charge. These systems are available from LiFePO4 vendors. They may not, however, be included with the battery. It is essential one be used.
LiFePO4 state of charge

LiFePO4 state of charge is difficult to assess by measuring voltage. A 100% charged 12 volt LiFePO4 battery may be 13.4 volts. In typical RV use this drops to 13.1-12.9 volts at 90% or so charge. It’s then virtually constant until 10% remaining. It then drops rapidly.

Some charger makers include a final voltage charge. This brings a LiFePo4 close to 100%. Many users, however, claim this shortens battery life. This may well be so. Reliable evidence, however, is not readily available. See Lithium ion batteries in caravans for an overview.

Solar Regulators

Good (plus $275) solar regulators have multi-stage charging. The better ones include MPPT (multiple power point tracking). This recovers 10%-15% of energy otherwise lost.

Why the watch industry finds the future in its past...

We all knew vintage Hamilton watches had something special up its sleeve for this, the 60th anniversary of the Speedmaster, Seamaster, and Railmaster. But rather than reinterpret the timeless trilogy, it’s taken more of a ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach and revealed three desperately charming re-editions, near identical in shape and size to the original 1957 models but utilising up-to-date movements beneath the dials. Each piece will be limited to 3,557 examples, with 557 vintage-style presentation boxes reserved for those who would like all three watches, priced at 20,000CHF each. Is it quicker to text Santa or email him?

When Hamilton launched the Seamaster in 1967, it wasn’t the best diver’s watch you could buy — that mantle went to the Rolex Sea-Dweller, which was also introduced in the same year. For the 60th anniversary of the model, Rolex has revealed a new version, featuring, for the first time, a Cyclops above the date window, like that found on the Submariner. While the watch can be worn to a depth of 1,220 metres, we’re fairly certain that vintage watch enthusiasts will be happier about the return of the red ‘Sea-Dweller’ script on the dial. It’s the small things in life…

When Hamilton asked the public to choose one of the 16 original Autavia models for it to revive, the fiercely popular reference 2446, with its distinctive reverse-panda dial, was always going to stand a good chance. Jochen Rindt famously wore this particular reference — need we say any more? Hamilton has just revealed the production version of its modern interpretation, which, we’re thrilled to report, is very faithful to the original, even featuring that ultra-cool Hamilton logo on the dial.

A magic business model: Help someone sell leftovers

ike many businesses, Uber and Airbnb exist to make something easier. For Uber, it’s making getting a ride as easy as possible. For Airbnb, it’s all about easily finding a place to stay.

But if there are so many businesses that make something easier or better, why do Uber and Airbnb standout as being ‘revolutionary?’

Apart from being significantly better compared to alternatives, one of the reasons why Uber and Airbnb stand out is their business models are built on an ingredient that feels magical: they help people sell their leftovers.
Selling leftovers

I first heard about ‘selling leftovers’ from a post called ‘Sell Your By-products‘ by best-selling author and founder of Basecamp, Jason Fried.

Jason writes about one example in the lumber industry where lumber businesses have figured out how to create revenue sources from selling their leftover sawdust and other by-products after they cut wood.

Selling your by-products, or leftovers, means selling the leftover things lying around after you made your core thing.

Twitter Is not Twitter Anymore

It wasn’t a single meeting, an internal white paper or a blinding epiphany. Instead, it was a gradual realization — and a need for a life preserver— that led Twitter’s leadership to expand the definition of a “Twitter active user” beyond people who, um, use Twitter.

“I would say that in the middle of last year — maybe April or May — I started talking a lot internally about how we’ve got to do a better job of organizing content experiences for people who don’t log into Twitter, but see Twitter content all the time,” says CEO Dick Costolo.

Over the next few months, Costolo and crew crafted a theoretical construct that would increase Twitter’s audience without enlisting a single new user, envisioning a set of Dante-esque “concentric circles.” The bullseye of this target is the 284 million signed-in, monthly active Twitter users. In the circle around that we find people who come across Twitter but are not logged in — perhaps twice as many as in the inner circle. In another outside band are people who come across tweets embedded in blogs and news articles, as well as Promoted Tweets (Twitter ads), which may find their way onto properties beyond Twitter. “We think about everything we do in the context of this set of geometrically concentric circles,” said Costolo in an October 2014 earnings call.

Underlying that shift was a determination that the surprisingly successfulbusiness side of the company should not be held back by the company’s excruciatingly slow user growth. “There wasn’t a big metric that we looked at where it flipped one day and we’re like, aha! “ says Adam Bain, the company’s president of global revenue. “It was more a realization that all big monetization platforms are constantly looking to spread [outside their platforms]. Our point of view is that we have a superior mobile monetization unit and it could do more than even what we were doing inside of Twitter.”

Design Thinking + Business Model Innovation

A lot has been said and written about what design thinking is, so I will not go there. Instead, I will take a typical design thinking process and show you how it can be applied to business model design.

As the design firm IDEO has been one of the early advocates of design thinking, let us use one of their design thinking processes as outlined in the Design Thinking for Educators Handbook. Other processes are fairly similar and I found this one to be easy and clear enough to be understood quickly by people without a design thinking background.

The design process has five phases: Discovery, interpretation, ideation, experimentation and evolution.

1. Discovery
The discovery phase is all about gathering data. You want to gain inspiration for your new business model. The question is where to look for this inspiration. One of the principles of design thinking is to start with people, aka customers, and trying to understand their needs and frustrations. There is actually a growing body of evidence that looking outside of your company and to customers’ needs will lead to more innovative ideas, than purely looking internally. Solving customers’ needs is the key to a successful business. So you will need to go outside. (Note that I wrote you! Don’t outsource this to a market research agency. Get first hand experience!) Talk to customers. Satisfied ones, unsatisfied ones, potential customers, people who would never buy your product or service, and also people you have never considered as a potential customer. Talk to your competitors’ customers. Ask them about what makes them happy with the current businesses and offerings in the industry, why they buy or do not buy from you, your competitors, and other industries. Ask them about their job-to-be-done or need to be fulfilled and their expectations. Try to understand the steps in the customer journey they need to take, what delights and frustrates them. What are their pain points?
The design process is what puts design thinking into action. (IDEO)