The Garmin f?nix is the first GPS navigator+ABC wristwatch to include Garmin GPS navigation. Designed for outdoor enthusiasts, it satisfies the lofty requirements of the serious adventurer. It’s very easy to use and packed with many of the same features found on our popular outdoor handheld GPS products. As a true GPS navigator, it can guide you off the trail and back to the safety of your vehicle, trailhead, campsite or home. All while conveniently strapped to your wrist. You can create
Garmin Fenix-So so watch & poor customer service,
I’ve been disappointed in my Fenix. In the three weeks I’ve had it it has locked up twice and taken several hours to unlock. It appears when you begin to move to quickly thru commands the processor becomes bogged down and takes an extended time to recover. I am traveling to Peru and asked support if I needed an elecrical power converter to recharge my Fenix in Peru. Support told me I had to purchase a separate plug for $32.99 to safe gard my Fenix in Peru. The plug looked just like the one that came with the watch. I asked if the plug was the same as the one that came with the watch, they said buy it. I asked if the one that came with the watch, would convert the power in Peru because it looked just like the one they were suggesting I purchase. They said they coulnd’t tell me that because it was proprietary information. They said the only way to safe gard my watch was to purchase the plug. I reviewed electrical conversion on line and learned how to read and interpret the faceplate info on the plug that came with the Fenix. Turns out the provided plug will convert the power with no issue and I don’t need a second plug. I found it inappropriate that Garmin wouldn’t discuss the fact that my watch would support foreign travel and only wanted me to make another purchase. Other devices I have from other companies all confirmed the converting requirements for their equipment, Nikon, Sony, Apple. Only Garmin said supporting my product with appropriate information was proprietary. I called the vice president of Garming in charge of customer service, was placed on voice mail without talking to anyone and my call was never returned.
Was this review helpful to you?
gps no longer accurate,
I’m a little disappointed lately because the gps is not accurate since I updated my fenix software from 2.70 to 2.80, I have a regular route of 16 km. for the quite sometime. but when I did my usual run last week, I noticed that the lap beep way ahead of the 1st kilometer mark. to cut the story short, my usual 16.27 Km. run ended at 16.98 Km. I did it twice and I get the same result. It never happened before until I updated the software, I hope the Garmin people will do something about this, I can send them the gpx file if they wish so they can compare my previous runs and make some adjustments. looking forward that this will be fixed in the next update. thanks
Was this review helpful to you?
it’s a GPS in a Watch,
I’ve been using my Fenix as a everyday wrist wacht for over 3 weeks now. I work in the Brazilian Agriculture and I’m also a Pilot and a GPS enthusiast, you could say a Garmin enthusiast. My father and I are pilots, we go boating quite often and we use Garmin products in various situations since 1993 (even when we don’t need a GPS).
I’ve always expected the day Garmin would put it all in our wrist, or at least a good part of what Garmin has to offer. I’m in the farm, driving around our crops and wonder what area did we harvested already, my Fenix will tell me, and don’t need to get back to HQ to grab my GPS. A doy long boat ride in my friends cabin, leave the tracking on (UltraTrac mode to save you battery) and you will have your way home even after dark (I have evicted getting lost in our lakes at least a dozen times). Before the Fenix I would have to pull my Garmin 76 CSx from my backpack, leave it somewhere safe, where people wouldnt mess with it, and so on. And also to get that fuzz from the jealous guys who doens’t know what a GPS can do, besides giving the image of a nerd/geek to girls you’ve just met!
So, cutting to the chase, you have routing, tracking, waypoints, trip data (avg speed and so on) altimeter, compass (it goes from magnetic compass to GPS heading once you start moving, just great!), termometer, barometer, navigating capabilites, I’m using in our single engine plane as a back up (it gives me vertical speed, headings, bearings, courses, altitutes, ETA, ETE, distance to destination and so on)! It does it all, and it also works as your daily watch, that gives you sunrise, sunset, moorise, moonset, moon phases and your heartrates! After a run, using basecamp, it will give you a graph with you instant speed over you heartrate along your run, you can check how fast your heart accelerates when you go from walking to running, and how fast does it slows down after you star walking again (my “big” GPS doesn’t do this).
Garmin made it!… made all this into a nice size wrist watch. It looks cool (sporty) but doesn’t get TOO much attention, which is good. Because of it’s size, it DOES have it’s limitations. The (i) screen is obviously small (it’s watch after all), the (ii) processor is a bit slow, just don’t rush into pressing buttons and it will never fail or freeze, if it does, just restart it, it happened to me once, enough for me to learn how to properly opearate it, and (iii) it takes a little to understand how the menu works, what’s the logic behind it, but after awhile you will master it!
Technical stuff:
– battery lasts long enough for me! over 14 hours on most intense tracking or too long when the GPS is off.
– the flashlight is pretty strong and it does help you! in the farm, where electricity goes off, my Fenix will light a living room and help you to find your flashlight.
If I lose my Fenix, I will get another one in the same day!
Was this review helpful to you?