We’re happy to announce that we have a new developer forum for the Garmin Communicator API project (as well as other development projects).
The new forum is located at http://forums.garmin.com under “Device Communications”. Here’s a direct link. You may use your Garmin login, or create a new account.
In the meanwhile, the old Communicator API forum is on read-only mode.
Please note that the Communicator Plugin API forum is a developer forum and should only be used for development questions about the API. Any other questions or concerns about Garmin products or services should be made under the appropriate category on the main forum page or by contacting Garmin Support.
We’ve released a new version of the API that has added more fitness support, Windows Safari support, and plenty of bug fixes.
Check the Release Notes page for details.
For links to the distribution, and more information on the API, click here.
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Posted by dchow on August 13th, 2009
News Category: General
We’ve been working hard on our new web application, Garmin Connect. The 0.5 release of the site is geared for the new Forerunner 50, sporting ANT technology to wirelessly transfer and upload activities from the device to the computer to the web. Other fitness devices containing tracks and routes will be supported in our 1.0 launch.
In regards to the Communicator Plugin, we’ve been working on full Mac support. In other words, Leopard. We’ve also been working on support for our new devices, like the Edge 705, which features turn-by-turn directions, color display, and power data (from ANT + Sport™-enabled third-party power meters). We’re shooting for that release in mid-November. We’ve also made Communicator Plugin API improvements that will be included in the next release.
More info to come…
Until then, Happy Halloween! (Tracking trick-or-treat routes might be interesting…)
NY Times published an article on web tools and mapmaking, and included MotionBased as one of these tools. MotionBased is a web application that translates GPS data into functional analysis and online mapping for endurance and outdoor athletes. Communicator allows users to upload activities from their devices to the MotionBased server for analysis and mapping. Developers can take advantage of the Communicator API and provide these services on their own site.
(Source: With Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking)
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Posted by dchow on July 27th, 2007
News Category: General
With all the interest that the Tour de France generates, it was an obvious choice to get a Beta version of our new Activity Player out there for the world to use. Since Team Milram already uses our Edge 305’s to track their rides, it only made sense to give them early access to the Player.
Check out Stage 3 of the Tour de France. The other stages are available at the bottom of the page.
All it took was a few lines of html and an xml file (not for the faint of heart) to get the Player up and running. We’re hoping to simplify this even more in the near future, as well as polishing up the interface and adding a few other features.
Until then, keep a watch out on the Activity Player API page for more updates!
Just stumbled on this potentially useful resource for comparing Garmin software and firmware versions over at GPSInformation.com. The Communicator Plug-in is one of many included in this list.
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Posted by dchow on July 16th, 2007
News Category: General
Since the recent release of the Communicator Plug-in API, various sites have customized it to their sites in different ways. The plug-in allows data transfer between websites and Garmin devices, and plenty of options are available to developers to integrate the plug-in seamlessly into their sites.
Some ways developers can customize the plug-in:
- Use the CSS stylesheet to customize the look and feel of the plug-in to match their site
- Allow users to select individual activities to transfer
- Disallow/allow duplicate entry transfer
- Integration of Google Maps to display locations
- Progress bar status
- Route, track, and waypoint transfer
- One-click automated transferring
- Plenty more…
Options are easily turned on or off by setting variable values accordingly.
The Garmin Developer website was announced Tuesday at the Where 2.0 Conference. This develop zone site is dedicated to software developers and content providers who want to make their website, applications and data content compatible with Garmin navigation systems. The Garmin Developer website provides both free and licensed Garmin resources and a library of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), toolkits and web services in four main categories: Device Communications, Web Services, Smartphone/PDA Services, and Location Based Services.
Watch the announcement from Where 2.0, and hear Aaron Roller’s MotionBased story and why developers should start programming with Garmin Developer today.
The big news for the Where 2.0 crowd was the announcement of the Garmin Communicator Plugin API. It’s a browser plugin and JavaScript support code that allows developers to easily transfer location data to-and-from a website and Garmin device. Historically, this has been a pain point for developers that want to communicate with a Garmin device, but now with the Communicator Plugin API, it can be done with little development effort. Even better, it’s free and available to everyone. A simple registration process returns a ‘key’ that activates the Communicator Plugin.
The Communicator Plugin is already in action at MotionBased, a division of Garmin International Inc. It can be found on My Activities > Upload pages (account required), where it retrieves track log data for online mapping and performance analysis. The Communicator is currently in beta, and will eventually replace the MotionBased Agent for all device communications.
Geocaching.com has also integrated the plugin so that users can easily transfer selected geocaches (waypoints) to their Garmin device by clicking the ‘Send to GPS’ link. “The Garmin Communicator Plugin API has made it possible to transfer cache listings to a Garmin device directly from a web page,” said Jeremy Irish, Groundspeak’s president and co-founder. “This plugin drastically simplifies the process and saves time that is better spent on the trail.”
There was also a lot of excitement surrounding Garmin’s API announcement of Web Services, Smartphone/PDA Services, and Location Based Services. Developers can learn more about these offerings on Garmin Developer, or get a general overview from the press release – Garmin Publishes API Library and Opens Communication Between Third Party Websites and Garmin GPS Devices.
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