Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/422004
AFTERMARKET Company develops GPS and camera devices for powersports applications BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR Though many may associate Garmin with in-car GPS systems providing turn-by-turn directions or handheld devices designed for hikers, Gar- min also has a firm grasp on the powersports industry, developing a variety of products for off-roaders, snowmobilers and motorcyclists. Garmin was on-hand at this summer's West- ern Power Sports Snow Showcase to present its latest products for all segments of the industry. VIRB The VIRB and VIRB Elite are part of Garmin's first-generation line of point-of-view video cameras. The product is designed to go head- to-head with competitors such as GoPro, but the camera has extra features because of Gar- min's GPS roots. "The big thing that sets us apart is we're a GPS company, so this Elite has GPS sensors built into it. It's got Wi-Fi. It's got an acceler- ometer. It's got a barometric altimeter. So basically while you're filming, you can get all kinds of positional data that you can show on the video. So say you're skydiving, during the video you can see the speed at which you're fall- ing; you can see the ele- vation drop; and you can see your heart rate go up if you're wearing a heart rate monitor," explained Brandon Long, inside sales representative for Garmin. For motorcyclists, the GPS functions can show a rider how many G-forces he or she is pulling on a turn. Or for an off-roader, it can show how much air the rider got off a jump and how that affected speed on the ground. Dealers can also bring the camera to track days, to show customers how to improve their times. And, the data can be overlaid onto the video when published or shown to others. "There are all kinds of cool info that you nor- mally wouldn't get on one of these. It really helps you tell the story of your video," Long said. The GPS function also allows riders to set the camera, so that it only records when the vehicle is in motion, starting as soon as the vehicle moves and stopping when the vehicle stops. Though that feature is used to save battery life, Garmin equipped the VIRB with a long-life battery that offers three hours of 1080p shoot- ing or five hours at 720p, with six to seven hours on standby. Also, because the VIRB has a rugged, durable, water-resistant IPX7 shell, it can be hardwired to a vehicle's battery to con- serve power while being used on a vehicle. "You can mount it on your bike and hard- wire power to it, and then you won't have to worry about the battery at all while you're rid- ing with it. It will charge while you're riding," Long reported. Though a Dive Case is required for submers- ing the VIRB in water, the IPX7 shell allows the camera to be exposed to up to 1 meter of water depth for up to 30 minutes without harming the unit. "It's waterproof right out of the gate. You can slap it on your helmet and go riding as soon as you bought it, go through a thunderstorm no problems at all," Long said. Also setting the VIRB apart from its compet- itors is its 1.4-inch Chroma display, showing riders exactly what they're shooting. And the VIRB Elite allows riders to also view the image from their smartphone, offering access to the shot even when the camera is out of reach. And both versions of the VIRB use ANT+ wireless capability to connect to a number of Garmin's other devices, allowing a user's GPS to start and stop the camera from the GPS instead of having to touch the VIRB for each clip. The VIRB also has a 16-megapixel camera, a slide switch for shooting and a camera button for taking still photos. And the camera comes with two universal mounts with interlocking teeth. Helmet, wrist and shoulder mounts are also sold separately. "Dealers are inevitably going to have custom- ers that say, 'Well, I've go $500 in GoPro accesso- ries already; why should I switch just over battery life and GPS capabilities?' Well, this actually comes within the box — it comes with a univer- sal mount; it'll work with any GoPro mount that you may already have anywhere. So they don't have to completely re-accessorize if they want to try the new camera." The VIRB retails for $299.99, but Garmin reports that most customers are willing to pay extra for the $399.99 VIRB Elite. "WPS is probably 2:1 VIRB Elite over VIRB sales," Long said. MONTANA AND MONTERRA Just as the VIRB is universal and can be used by all kinds of enthusiasts, so can the Mon- tana and Monterra GPS devices. Though both were designed as handhelds, they can also be mounted to a variety of units, including snow- mobiles, side-by-sides, PWC or boats. They can also easily transfer back to a daily driver vehicle. "These are basically handheld units, but they've really come on strong the last year or two with off-road sporting people — snow machines, quads — because it's got TOPO (topographic) mapping abilities, so you can get elevations, contours of the land, trail mapping. And you can throw it in your car or truck and get turn-by-turn navigation as well, so it's a true hybrid unit, dual functioning for your truck, your quad, your snow machine. You can put it on your boat; you can load lake view mapping on it, too," Long said. For the enthusiast who plans to use the Montana or Monterra on more than one vehicle, mounts that remember settings can be placed on each vehicle, allowing the GPS to easily transi- tion from the street to the trail to the water. "The different mounts that you can buy for it save all of your data, so you can have it on your snow machine and have it loading TOPO maps; you don't care about turn-by-turn direc- tions," Long said. "You just want A to B? Well, you get off your snow machine, take it off, put it in your truck, and it'll flip over to road maps and all the settings you saved for the truck. So it's extremely versatile." The Monterra, the newer of the two, also has a UV sensor that lets users know of their expo- sure level to sun, especially at higher elevations, where the exposure is more severe. And it uses Garmin hits the dirt, snow and curvy roads 34 • December 1, 2014 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com See Garmin, Page 36 built into it. It's got Wi-Fi. It's got an acceler- ometer. It's got a barometric altimeter. So basically while you're filming, you can get all kinds of positional data that you can show on the video. So say you're skydiving, during For motorcyclists, the GPS The VIRB is Garmin's first point-of-view video camera. The handheld Monterra GPS can also be mounted to a side-by-side, PWC or boat to provide topographic and lake view information.