Garmin VIRB Cameras out in SEP
Tue, 08/20/2013 - 12:14pm
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17 years
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Just came across an article in Wired.com about this new Garmin product (excerpt below).
Garmin Goes After GoPro With 2 New Action Cameras
(By Christina Bonnington)
"Garmin is already well established in the GPS and navigation world. Now the company is moving into uncharted territory with two new action cameras.
The VIRB line of cameras are rugged and waterproof up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. Each can record three hours of 1080p video on a single battery charge, and can capture 16-megapixel stills while recording. ANT+ integration means they can also connect to a wide variety of other sensors, like a heart-rate monitor and existing Garmin watches and bike computers."
Could be fun--
I love my GoPro (when my son isn't using it), but so far, GoPro owns the market, particularly with the under-30 crowd. Recent coverage of X-Games Los Angeles? Did you see anything other than GoPro cameras?
Another aspect of GoPro's success is the ecosystem -- the entire package -- they'll sell you a number of different ways to mount your GoPro on just about anything you want, and if GoPro doesn't make a mount that will work, someone else does (google GoPro dog mount as an example).
If Garmin wants to break into this market (and others have tried) they should ship a large number of these things NOW to the snowboarding and ski areas in New Zealand, as well as to the surf and skate spots along the US west coast. Give a box of 50 to the (Discovery Channel) Mythbusters crew to use instead of the GoPros they use extensively.
How many marketing and sales people does Garmin have at corp HQ with goatees, tattoos, and body piercings? Those are the kinds of folks they'll need to break into the GoPro market!
Nuvi 2460, 680, DATUM Tymserve 2100, Trimble Thunderbolt, Ham radio, Macintosh, Linux, Windows
VIRB
I have the Garmin VIRB XE camera. I chose this over the GoPro as it links directly to my Garmin 590LM GPS unit. With the touch of the GPS screen I can record video or take a snapshot. While reducing distractions is important when driving it is even more important when traveling on two wheels which is my primary transportation when traveling. -JEP-
So Many Roads.....