Garmin fenix - An Ongoing Review in Several Parts

[gaijin]

Thanks a lot gaijin for the great, great review! I never saw a thread here on Digi&ABC attracting so much attention and new members! Already linked it in the little link-collection I'm trying to build up on top of the page. Keep up the good work! (now I have to think which watches to sell so I can get a Fenix ).

cheers, Sedi

Thank you! I'm very encouraged by the participation the thread has, and am very pleased to see all the new members.

I can't wait to see what new tidbit turns up next.

HTH

[gaijin]

Thanks again Gaijin for the detailed information you have been providing on the fēnix, I have been checking this thread a number of times each day to keep up to date.

I am very tempted to purchase the fēnix (once I have convinced my wife that I really need another GPS watch). My only concern at the moment is that the fēnix is not compatible with Garmin Connect. I saw that there is a work around exporting a GPX file from Basecamp, but this seems to miss the heart rate and temperature data.

I saw a great YouTube clip demonstrating the BaseCamp iPhone app, but unfortunately it seems to have been pulled. From memory it allowed the fēnix to directly upload to the iphone, but I cannot remember if that included heart rate, lap info, etc.

I might wait until this iPhone app is released to confirm the features before purchasing. Does anyone know the likely release date?

Keep up the good work.

You're welcome!

The fenix is indeed compatible with Garmin Connect. Here's a duplicate of my post above explaining how I imported data directly into Garmin Connect from the fenix:

Right you are!

I hooked the fenix up to the computer, opened Garmin Connect, chose "Upload" and it showed the fenix in a dialog box with my upload options. I uploaded the test walk track and this is how it looked in GC:



Interesting that the directly uploaded data includes Temperature data where the data imported using a .gpx file from BaseCamp did not.

My fenix is currently configured to output GPX only. I have no HR data logged yet, but when I do I'll try an upload with just the GPX configuration and another with the GPX/FIT configuration to see what data are included in each.

HTH

Note that the data directly imported included Temp data. I don't have any heart rate info logged yet to confirm that it will upload to Garmin Connect, but I have no reason to suspect that it won't.

I am also anxiously waiting for more info about the capability to upload data directly to my iPhone. Garmin says it can be done, but I have not seen how yet.

Stay tuned. More coming.

HTH

[jimmijames73]

The fenix is indeed compatible with Garmin Connect. Here's a duplicate of my post above explaining how I imported data directly into Garmin Connect from the fenix

Thank you for the clarification, that is great news that you can directly upload to GC. The iPhone app looked very impressive, especially with the Bluetooth connection (i.e. no cables or adapters, etc). I am keeping an eye out on the app store for when it is finally released. I am rapidly running out of excuses not to buy this watch!

[gaijin]

"Therefore, probably, if the interval in UltraTrac mode were set to once every 15 seconds, the battery life would probably be greater than 24 hours." I fully understand if you are not interested in doing what I am about to ask but here I go: Could you test batterylife with the above mentioned ultratrac set at 15 seconds? If you dont wanna run a full time test we could interpolate the end result from say a 10 hour test.

Like I said I understand if you dont want to lock of your new toy like that but if you can do it you would make my day!

You asked for it - you got it!

The hypothesis was that by setting the GPS mode to UltraTrac and the Interval to 15 seconds (Sensors stay at the Always On setting) battery life could be extended beyond 24 hours without losing so much detail that it would not be useful for walking.

In my previous battery life test, power consumption was observed to be essentially linear (i.e. power was consumed at the same rate) from 100% to 2% before the watch shut itself off.

I ran a 12 hour test and have projected consumption using a linear trend line.

The results are in! Here's the graph:



After 12 hours power level was still at 53%. Assuming the watch would shut itself off with 2% power remaining, as in the first test, projected battery life for the fenix with GPS set on UltraTrac, Interval set to 15 seconds and Sensors set to Always On is ... wait for it ...

25 Hours 30 Minutes

Looks like it made it! But how is the resolution of the data? Here's the track from BaseCamp:



This is one walk, out and back following the same route (different sides of the same street), with the rest of the time around the house. It's certainly not as smooth as the track generated when the GPS is constantly on (Normal mode), but with the exception of a few minor zigs and zags, it's definitely good enough to serve as a record of where I was.

In UltraTrac mode with the Interval set to 15 seconds, I observed an interesting phenomenon on the home Time screen. Every 15 seconds (coinciding with when GPS was activated for a fix?) the screen would pause for about a second and display this icon in the middle of the screen:



Neither timekeeping accuracy nor any other functions seemed to be affected. It appears the fenix just needed time to complete the instruction set triggered by the GPS fix.

So now it appears we have three battery life times based on configuration:

16 Hours when in Normal GPS mode
25 Hours when in UltraTrac GPS mode with 15 second Intervals
50 Hours when in UltraTrac GPS mode with 60 second Intervals

So, tordnado, what do you think?

HTH

[or_watching]

More GPS power cycle interval options: What the doctor ordered.
A graph: Worth a thousand words.

[or_watching]

It does not appear to be a linear relationship between interval and battery life. Therefore, probably, if the interval in UltraTrac mode were set to once every 15 seconds, the battery life would probably be greater than 24 hours.

Hi.
I plotted your excellent data, and if I did it correctly it does look pretty linear. But as you see it's not a slope of 1, which is maybe what you meant.
I'm thinking the slope is an inverse function of how long the GPS is on each time it tries to get a fix. Meaning that a slope of 0.5 suggests it's on for about 2 seconds. In the real world of a hike in the woods we'd expect (and I've observed on my Ambit) that the GPS *may* take more than the minimum to get a fix. And when the GPS needs to be on longer, then of course the battery life will be decreased.

[tordnado]

Thanks alot! That is really great info. Now the only thing keeping me from buying it today is the looks but you cant do much about that I guess. Since its functions are so great for travelling (world time, finding the way back to the hotel and running) and everyday use I would love a titanium watch with a little more "dressed" looks. But I know myself well enough to realise I cant wait for that! But I hope Garmin is reading this so that they do a bit better in that department next time, the Ambit looks a lot better I think. Once again thanks for all the reporting!

[cobrapa]

No, the fenix can only be configured on the watch itself.

In all fairness, though, the menu tree is very intuitive - not difficult to navigate once one understands the overall structure. For example, compared to the Suunto X9/X10 watches, setup is a breeze.

HTH

Hmm, how about waypoints or tracks? I assume these can be pulled in from Basecamp or another map based utility?

[rockduck]

how can I change UltraTrack interval settings ? I have done soft upgrade to 2.40 . In Tracks options I can choose Normal, UltraTrack, Demo Mode - I can't find a interval settings in UltraTrack.

[jdengate]

how can I change UltraTrack interval settings ? I have done soft upgrade to 2.40 . In Tracks options I can choose Normal, UltraTrack, Demo Mode - I can't find a interval settings in UltraTrack.

I've had a fenix for a couple days now. Fun. This isn't all that intuitive, but here's how:
Once GPS mode is set to UltraTrac (Menu > Setup > System > GPS Mode > UltraTrac), you have to change the interval:
Menu > Setup > Tracks > Interval