Did Garmin 305 always have a barometric altimeter?
 

Just curious. I'm about to buy one, but I seem to remember that there was some negative comments in the past about how it computed elevations and % grades. Has that improved now? Or am I just mistaken that this was a problem in the past?

Yes, and I don't know about problems. Mine has worked great for almost a year.

Motion-based forum
 

Not sure on your question - I've had mine for about 2 months and it works fine. You might try asking the question here:

http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php

BR

I can't say firsthand because I don't own an Edge 305 but I've read that Garmin has corrected a few problems with firmware updates. I was also under the impression that the unit had problems when you turn it on and don't give it 10-5 minutes to get its bearings. Giving it ample time before your ride begins eliminated problems for some people. Again, second hand info, take it for what it's worth.

If you upload your route to motionbased, the elevation totals will be off, due to the strange way that motionbased thresholds elevation gains. But that's not the fault of the 305. The number shown on the unit is dead-on with other numbers that I've seen.

There is an elevation correction option on the motionbased web site. Why it isn't on by default, I'll never know. With the elevation correction, I am not sure how accurate it is, because I only have an Edge 205.

Edge 305 is no different than the other Garmin GPSr with barometric altimeter. There is inaccuracies in the system. It's going to attempt to take the GPS altitude (requiring 3d satellite lock) and compare it with the barometric altitude and continually re-calibrate itself so that it can make its best estimation of your altitude.

This isn't to say the GPSrs don't do a good job at doing so, but it's important to know that you might get different readings on the same hill at the same spot, and one might be more accurate than the next.

1-2 minutes, tops.

One of the early complaints was about the lack of grade smoothing - the number would jump around so much on climbs that you couldn't glean much from it. They've updated the firmware and it's more useable now, although I don't know exactly how accurate it is.

Thanks, that sounds like the issue I remember reading about, it also sounds like it's not a major problem, so I'll go ahead with my purchase.