It is long overdue that I do a tech review of the Garmin Edge 305 cycling computer.  I had been using the Polar 725 but decided to make the jump into the land of GPS.  I have now been using the Edge 305 for about 7 months now and I can say that I really like this computer.  Here are the big wins that I believe the Edge 305 has over the Polar:

• GPS, big win for the Edge 305.  Polar does not have it.  Need I say more.  No more need to update your log with your route, it is just there with the GPS.  Plus if you get lost, it makes it much easier to find your way home.  I find the GPS to do really well even in tree covered roads.
• You can customize how you want your data to appear on the display.  You can have between 1 and 8 data points being shown at any time and can have them in any order.  You customize which data points you want to show and there are a lot to choose from.  Furthermore, there is no limitation like the Polar has where only certain data points can be shown with other data points.  With the Edge 305, you show what you want where you want.  Additionally, you also have 2 data screens to display so you have up to 16 lines of data within a single click.
• The computer can mount either on the handlebar or the bike stem.
• You can configure the computer for multiple bikes.
• Easy setup.  Turn it on and it walks you right through the setup of the device.  No need to read the book to figure out how to do it.  Much easier then the Polar.
• The optional cadence/speed sensor is wireless like the Polar, but it is in a single unit instead of two different sensors like the Polar.  This makes it a snap to setup, but perhaps the more important part is that the cadence/speed sensor uses the rear wheel.  This is great for when you are riding indoors on the trainer.  Try getting your Polar speed sensor to work on the rear wheel, and unless you are on a small frame you are probably out of luck.
• There is no need to really turn off or configure the computer to use the speed sensor instead of the GPS when you train indoors, it just works.
• There are some nice features like auto lap based on a location or a specific interval such as every mile.
• You can race against yourself from a previous time that you did a course.  However, the software does not allow you to create a course from scratch, you need to have done a route before you can make it a course.
• Garmin is providing regular updates to the unit software to improve and fix any issues.
• The Heart Rate strap is a more traditional plastic strap, but seems to work much better then the Polar strap.

With all of the positives above, there much be some negative so here it is...

• The PC Software that comes with the computer is great if all you want to do is look some basic analyzation.  It does allow you to view data points about a single ride, or about an entire week, or about an entire sport (Biking, Running, etc.).  The following key points really show some short comings in the software that were features in the Polar software and that really force you into thinking about purchasing a piece of 3rd party software:
  • There is a graphical view of your ride where you can compare various data points.  However you cannot plot distance and time on the same graph.
  • You cannot create new laps in the PC software, you can only use laps that were created during the ride.
  • If you delete a lap in a ride, you also delete the data that goes along with that lap.  You should be able to delete the lap, but the data should remain.
  • You cannot do a custom selection within a particular ride to get data for that particular selection.  This is a great feature in the Polar software that is very painful to be missing in the Garmin Training Center software.
  • Ability to correct a section of a ride where there were inaccuracies such as an incorrect heart rate reading.
• Battery life between charges is in the range of 8-10 hours.  This is not to big of an issue other then you need to regular charge your device, where as with the Polar you never have to charge it.  The other area where this is of concern is doing long events such as Seattle to Portland which is 200 miles in a single day.
• A number of the computers, including mine, will freeze under certain conditions.  You have to use a special key combination to reset the device which works sometimes.  I have found that doing those key combinations, found on the Garmin site, need to be repeated many times before the device comes back to life.  Fortunately, Garmin quickly replaced my computer without any hastle and I have not had trouble since.

So what is the final verdict.  The computer itself is amazing and is by far better then my old Polar.  The Garmin Training Center PC software is really bad when compared to what you can do with the Polar Precision software.  If you are looking for some basic analyzation then the Garmin software is probably not that bad.  You will not be happy if you are major into data analyzation.  However, even with the weak software I would buy the Garmin since the computer is great and very customizable.  Polar has a lot of work to do to catch up.