Sunday, March 18, 2012

Update on the Garmin fenix backcountry sportswatch


UPDATE: Read my hands on Garmin fenix review.

We’re getting much closer to the Garmin fenix release date, with one source saying Garmin will ship it to dealers this Friday, and GPS City expecting to have it available next Monday. The company has posted some videos going though the menus (one is shown above), the manual has shown up, and Garmin has posted their first firmware update for it.

There are also some fenix FAQs on Garmin’s site now. Here are a couple of interesting tidbits from them:

  • Sunscreen can damage the wristband (my wife and dermatologist are going to love that one)
  • “Ultratrac is a GPS mode setting used for long distance and long-term tracking. The detail of the track log is greatly reduced because the device will only drop one track point per minute when using Ultratrac. This setting is perfect for the ultra-marathoner and can significantly increase the device’s battery life.”

This is probably Garmin’s most unique handheld release since the massive Montana showed up a little over a year ago. The minimalist fenix goes the opposite direction, marrying backcountry use with the size of the popular Forerunner sportswatch line. How will it be received? Only time will tell.

I hope to have a unit in hand by sometime next week, and will try to get up a quick post looking at some of the functionality ASAP.

About Rich Owings

Rich is the owner, editor and chief bottle-washer for GPS Tracklog. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus.

Comments

  1. I would gladly embrace this if it offered the training features of the FR305 and other FR watches (e.g., 610 and 910). At least a subset such as interval training would be appreciated. Apparently it will track pace and distance, but there are no training features. I think that this is the watch that would potentially convince many long-time FR305 (their most popular watch) to upgrade. Why go with the lesser battery life and many less outdoor features of the FR610 when the Fenix is so close. Thank goodness my FR305 is still going after four years. Garmin almost had me upgrading!

  2. Garmin’s take on waypoint averaging from awhile back:

    http://garmin.blogs.com/softwareupdates/2009/04/waypoint-averaging.html

  3. how much???

  4. How much??

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