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Garmin Forerunner 970 Review: Top Of The Line For Top Price

The Garmin 970 is their new top model Forerunner, a line focused on fitness and running. The 970 replaces the 965 and brings with it a lot of new features but it makes some key compromises at the same time. You can watch my full review in the video above or read on for the highlights.

Stays Slim

The Forerunner line are designed to be light and thin so as to be comfortable when you’re wearing while running or during other sports activities. No exception, the 970 is 47 x 47 x 12.9 millimeters with a 35.3 millimeter display. Gaining 3 grams (now up to 56) the 970 is still light but being slightly heavier is a trade off you’ll likely be okay with.

The lens is now a more scratch resistant material (sapphire crystal) but a bulk of the added weight comes from two big hardware additions.

Light, Listen, And Sound

The 970 now has a built in flashlight with 3 white light modes and a bright red light mode. As bright as most new cell phones a flashlight is one of those features on a watch you didn’t realize you needed until you use it all the time. Garmin have also introduced a microphone and speaker to the 970 so you can now make and take calls with the watch. You can also have it read out kilometer markers or when an activity is starting but a less talked about feature are the new voice commands.

Those work completely offline and let you set alarms, countdown times, activate the flashlight, and a whole bunch of other watch functions with a long press and speaking the command. Voice commands work fairly well, though it can be a bit buggy, I imagine as Garmin improves the feature with software updates over time it will be even more useful.

New Sensors

The 970 now comes with Garmin’s generation 5 Elevate heart rate sensor – a bit more accurate than the gen 4 – and capable of taking electrocardiograms or ECG. The ECG function may be useful in detecting atrial fibrillation, known as Afib, which is an irregular heart beat. The ECG feature isn’t available in all regions and honestly it’s one of those features you’ll use once or twice when you first get the 970 and then probably never bother with again.

garmin forerunner 970

The Elevate 5 heart rate sensor can also measure skin temperature and ambient temperature if you take it off for about 10 minutes. There’s a glance dedicated to temperature and when you’re sleeping the 970 uses the temperature readings to better determine your sleep score.

But the biggest jump up for the Forerunner 970 is the new price. The 970 is now $750 (up from the $600 the 965 was sold for new) and as big of an upgrade for Garmin the 970 is, the price will probably keep a lot of people away. You can still get the 965 new at a discount and other manufacturers sell watches with built-in maps for a lot less if you’re wondering if you should buy a Forerunner right now. Garmin decided the Forerunner 970 was going to take a big leap forward but I don’t think anyone was expecting them to do so this much with the cost.

Stop Your Macbook Keys From Getting Shiny

Macbooks are expensive equipment that are fragile in some key places. Anyone who’s owned one is familiar with the keyboard shine that happens over time. While it’s not entirely preventable, it can be slowed down with some regular maintenance.

Here’s how to stop Macbook keyboards from getting shiny.

Why So Shine?

The reason this familiar gloss happens on Macbooks and happens relatively quickly compared to some other laptops is that Apple uses ABS plastic for its keys. ABS stands for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene and this type of plastic, compared to others used for key caps has some advantages. It is durable and cost effective compared to alternatives.

What causes the shiny keys, more noticeable and faster than keyboards made with other plastics comes from a few factors. The first is physical – the matte finish of the keys wear down over time from being typed on and since the matte fishing is particularly fine and as thin as possible, this can happen quickly. You’ll also notice it on the keys and parts of the space bar you tend to use most, because that’s where there’s the most and most frequent impact from typing.

The second cause is where you can really slow down the progression of increasingly shiny keys.

Keys To Prevention

Our fingers and hands are producing oil and sweat all day. They’re also really good at picking up dirt – all things that can accumulate on your keys and make them shinier over time. Try, before each time you sit down at your Macbook to wash your hands first. This will help remove excess finger oils and dirt. Also, don’t eat over your keyboard to prevent additional grease, grime, and dirt from accumulating.

ABS plastic is also particularly sensitive to heat and UV light. Typing outdoors and under the sun especially can slowly degrade the plastic, which you’ll begin to notice as shine, over time. When possible, try to avoid using your Macbook in extremely hot conditions or outdoors in direct sunlight.

Using a cleaning solution like iKlear, which a lot of apple stores use on their display models once a week keeps oil and grease to a minimum and reduces the amount of shine it will accumulate. Macbook keyboard shine isn’t entirely preventable but you can slow it down, and now you know how. If it’s something you’re really worried about you can get a keyboard cover but eventually, the impact of typing – will wear your keyboard out, even if dirt and grease can’t get to it.

Visible By Verzion Has An International Problem

Visible by Verizon, the monthly prepaid cellular service has a two big problems: their customer service and international coverage. Here’s what can happen to your IMEI if you use Visible’s Global Pass abroad and how it may potentially brick your phone from network coverage.

What’s An IMEI?

IMEIs are International Mobile Equipment Identity which are essentially a number unique to each individual mobile phone, they are something all phones have. Most newer phones have 2 IMEIs to support dual SIM functionality, which basically means you can use more than one physical or electronic SIM card at the same time. So what do IMEIs have to do with Visible? Well, network carriers can block IMEIs which means you can’t connect or use their service.

This could happen in the case where you report your phone stolen to your carrier, to prevent someone else from activating it on Verizon, T-Mobile, Visible.. whichever your current carrier is. These blacklists are a way to prevent stolen phones from being used on specific mobile networks and reporting a stolen phone to your carrier is generally a good practice.

Global Pass On, Off, And IMEI Blocks

The issue can happen where you activate, then deactivate Global Pass when you’re abroad. Doing so can automatically security flag your IMEI, getting it blacklisted from your Visible service or use on other U.S.-based carriers. An IMEI blacklist also means Visible won’t let you use another phone on their service, making things even worse.

visible by verizon review

Visible doesn’t have a phone number to call or email address, you can only really get in touch with them through a live chat. It’s very slow and you’re often waiting more than 5 minutes per response and more support cases in my experience take over half an hour for even the simplest requests.

Unblocking IMEIs Ain’t Easy

Visible will ask you to prove the phone is yours and not blacklisted by a previous carrier or manufacturer (for example if you bought the phone directly from Apple.) This can be a lengthy process of you getting in touch with your old mobile providers or maker of your phone, getting the needed evidence, then waiting for what is usually a negative response. Visible seem to keep placing the blame elsewhere for their own block.

Mint Mobile for example, who have their problems no doubt, at least let you get in touch with someone on the phone to sort out issues. Even an email address for Visible customer service would be useful – they send you responses but you can’t email them. Which means you have to waste your time waiting for a chat window when you could literally be doing anything else.

It’s a shame because Visible has good deals, good service in many places, and a solid set of features for the price. But it’s not worth the hassle if you ever have to deal with their customer service or plan to use their service abroad.

Does Using A Microfiber Cloth Destroy Your Macbook?

There’s a secret between your keyboard and your Macbook screen – finger grease. That’s not surprising but the secret is if you don’t keep those two things separate, eventually the oils from your hands will wear away your laptop’s protective screen coating. As the protective coating of your screen breaks down from skin oils, it becomes less reflective, distorted, and significantly reduces resale and Apple Trade In value.

The Solution

As you can see in the video here, the solution is to place a thin microfiber cloth on your keyboard before your close the lid, every single time. This helps keep a natural (and soft) separation between the keys and screen making sure your finger grease doesn’t contaminate the screen. The key is to pick a sufficiently thin but strong microfiber cloth. Below is one I can recommend.

Regular Cleaning

You also want to regularly clean your Macbook or laptop keyboard, ideally once a week. Apple Stores use this iKlear cleaner so a spray plus a wipe down using another microfiber (not the one you use for screen-keyboard separation) is recommended to prevent the accumulation of grease, oil, and dirt that can damage a screen.

As laptops get thinner, the amount of space between the screen and keyboard has shrunk. Even more pressure is applied when you stuff your laptop into a backpack so the strategic use of a microfiber cloth can increase the longevity of your Macbook or any other laptop.

How To Protect Yourself In London From Phone Snatching

You may have seen recent videos like this one from London, England where brazen thieves on e-bikes snatch people’s smartphones out of their hands in broad daylight. It’s a quick crime that’s been reported over 73,000 times in a recent 12 month span. Despite the headlines though it’s an classic crime and the tactics to avoid it are nothing new.

What’s Phone Snatching?

Phone snatching is a type of theft that’s just what it sounds like: someone grabbing your phone out of your hands and making off with it. In London the increasingly common tactic is several thieves working together on e-bikes in busy areas who quickly and quietly come up on someone texting, talking or just holding their phone. It’s a quick grab and by the time you notice they’re speeding away down the street.

london phone snatching

Phone snatching also occurs on metro platforms where thieves can grab your phone just as the doors close. Again, the tactics is snatching, whether it’s a phone, purse, or backpack so here’s how to protect yourself.

Avoid Being A Phone Snatching Victim

There’s often a spotter looking out for people texting, talking, or simply walking with their phone held in hand. The crooks are looking for distracted people so the first line of defense is when you’re not using your phone, keep it in your (front) pocket or purse. When you need to text or make a call “pull over” away from the center of the sidewalk so there’s some physical barrier like a way on your back. This cuts off the angles someone can attack you from or just have a look around and get to a less crowded spot.

Same thing goes for when you’re taking photos. When you are looking at your phone it’s most vulnerable so try to be mindful of what’s going on around you. Also, knowing where phone snatching rates are highest in London can help you increase your own awareness.

What To Do If Your Phone Is Snatched

Now if your phone does get snatched make sure to report it as soon as possible. Then, as quickly as you can, log into Find My Device on Android or iCloud for iPhone to mark your device as lost. You’ll also want to update your phone service carrier as well. If your phone was unlocked when it was snatched then be sure to change all of your passwords as soon as possible. That includes email, iCloud, social media, and cancel all of your credit cards and report them stolen if they were on your phone through Google or Apple Pay. I would also let your friends and family know in the meantime that your phone was stolen and to ignore any suspicious calls or texts from you until you’ve had a chance to reset all of your passwords and get a new phone.

Prevention is key to avoid being in this situation so no matter where you are in the world, be mindful when you take out your smartphone, know the local areas more prone to snatching theft, and create a backpack security system.

Beware Of Traveling To Certain Countries With A Garmin InReach

The Garmin Inreach is a small device that uses satellites for communication and very common gear for hikers, bikers, and other people who travel far from the reach of cell towers. GPS communicators are small, less expensive, and more common than they’ve been in recent years. All of those factors mean many are traveling with them without being aware devices like the InReach are banned in many countries, including India.

You can watch the video above to see what happened to one traveler who was detained at an airport in India.

What’s An InReach?

Devices like the InReach are useful for maintaining communications where you might not have any reliable cell phone coverage, like when climbing mountains, hiking in the woods, or are diving for example. Having reliable communications is important for safety when you just can’t rely on a cell phone to make a call or send a message.

But bringing a satellite communicator with you internationally to certain countries is where a lot of travelers get into trouble.

Where Satellite Communicators Are Banned

On the purchase page for the InReach buried in the fine print, Garmin note that InReach uses the Iridium satellite network but that some countries require government permission or require a government issued code to activate satellite communication. Other countries completely restrict the use of satellite communicators, like India, Thailand, Vietnam, China and Georgia. Additionally, the United States embargoes satellite communicators from countries like Afghanistan, Cuba, and Russia.

Verify Your GPS Device

Those of you planning to travel with any kind of satellite communicator should check with the embassy of the countries you’ll be visiting to see if there are any restrictions. I would recommend you add some details like what specific device it is and why you’re bringing it, for example “I’m going to be hiking this popular trail or climbing this mountain,” and wait for a response.

new delhi airport

If your communicator is restricted, don’t bring it. If registration is required, make sure you get all of the proper permits and paperwork before you travel. And if they say it’s allowed, I snap a screenshot of the reply on your phone just so you have it in case there’s any question or trouble you come across.

Don’t make assumptions about the countries that allow or don’t allow satellite communicators. And in some places, like Mexico and Romania, services like SMS messaging are restricted. So make sure that you know any limitations and compensate for them so you can keep your outdoor activities safe. In countries where satellite communicators are restricted or banned, you may be able to rent one from a local authorized dealer. Some local bike shops, car rental locations, tourism offices, and hiking stores may be able to help.

iPhone and Samsung users also have the option to use the built in satellite communications in emergency situations. It doesn’t work as well as a dedicated satellite communicator and not available in every country but if it’s your only option, it’s better than nothing. In India having a Garmin InReach with you could lead to an arrest, detention at the airport, and in general a bad time. I can see though how people can make the mistake, these are small, useful, commercially availalbe and popular devices. But now you know to be careful when traveling with one so you don’t end up ruining your next trip.

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About Anil Polat

foxnomad aboutHi, I'm Anil. foXnoMad is where I combine travel and tech to help you travel smarter. I'm on a journey to every country in the world and you're invited to join the adventure! Read More

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