Display Dissapointment

Do check out FELLRNR though; there are no adverts and he does it for the love of science. His GPS experiences match mine almost exactly with the Fenix3, Fenix3HR and other brands.

My biggest gripe about FELLRNR, and why I don't trust his results for the fenix 3, is he has never disclosed the parameters he used on the fenix 3 during his testing.

Every Second or Smart Data Recording? Don't know.

GLONASS On or Off? Don't know.

Refreshed EPO.BIN file? Don't know.

Auto Pause On or Off? Don't know.

3D Speed On or Off? Don't know.

3D Distance On or Off? Don't know.

Auto Climb On or Off? Don't know.

Auto Lap On or Off? Don't know.

Compass Mode On, Off or Auto? Don't know.

Altimeter Auto Calibration On or Off? Don't know.

If FELLRNR truly had a "love of science," wouldn't one expect at least a modicum of disclosure concerning test parameters?

One can question the degree to which any of these parameters affects the recorded GPS track, but my experience shows that all of them have, under various conditions, at least some effect.

HTH

Thread subject: "Display Dissapointment"

People are complaining that for such an expensive device they still get a display that is nowhere near as brilliant as their cheapo smartphone or an apple watch.
The argument is based purely on ignorance as you could never have such a display always on and expect any kind of reasonable battery time.
I understand that some might have had problems with Fenix 3 GPS but if it's really worthless you can just change your watch on warranty or demand your money back.
.. in the mean time the people who are more interested in actual training than the most beautiful GPS track will be very satisfied unless they really have a bad unit.
It remains to be seen how the Fenix 5 performs and if Fellrnr will enable 1 second recording. :)

One thing is certain, Garmin have quadrupled the processing power and extended battery life while giving the screen higher resolution and many more colors.. BRAVO!

And back to the screen... IT ABSOLUTELY ROCKS !!
It's not a smart watch just because you might want it to be and it has some smart functions.
The screen is ALWAYS ON and it's absolutely brilliant in conditions where the smart phone sucks.. in bright light, sun and when illuminated by a headlamp.
It's amazing as a training watch display.

Fellner

Well I am friendly with Jonathan but don't value the same things he does in a watch as for example despite the GPS "issues" Garmins rate well overall ?

Any watch with mapping rates really well such as the Epix and Leikr because he places a really high VALUE on mapping but both are both sales duds and more or less out of production and both have many other serious shortcomings

The F3 rates and 18 overall with no watch getting more than 20 and with 1000 waypoints and ever possible navigation feature ever placed on a watch other than a base map I am certainly not going to get lost

Shoe reviews are much the same as there good or bad based on the reviewers needs and in my case despite not being a "Trail running shoe" the new balance 940 is the best shoe because of the way it fits and gives MY ARCH the best support :)

...I think the biggest problem here is that Garmin is lacking stiff competition - so theres no reason for them to chew into their profit margins to produce a superior product because what they offer is already the best in the market...

This pretty much sums it up.

Garmin will eventually have to step up their game at some point if they want to survive, but for now what they offer is enough, since all other tech "giants" (Apple, Samsung, LG) still focus more on "smart" features and fluff other than fitness.

Garmins weakness IMHO w 3HR is the screen as well. Yes it is great in bright light as that "amplifies" the screen. It is not great in overcast - and due to the display technology - it is absolutely not great when you have diminished vision that comes with age as the contrast between "turned on" and not turned on pixels are not high enough. (Fuzzy compared with other display technologies)

You can scream and shout as much as you want - but ask ANYONE with age related vision impairment and they will tell you EXACTLY how much contrast means for readability. There are multiple threads here with the same complaints from people " up in age " :) - so yes display is GREAT if you have 20/20 vision or you have a bright day. If you do not have 20/20 vision and have an overcast day - the 3HR display is not super for me. Font sizes matter as well of course. I do hope that the larger fonts in the 5X and the slightly larger resolution will tweak display contrast enough for me to actually see it on an overcast day.

I did try Apple Watch S2 - and I have no problem with the screen there not being on all the time. But the watch is not a sports watch :) and getting your data out of the watch is not easy. If Garmin made an Apple Watch app with all the features of the Garmin Watch :) I would probably use the Apple Watch S2 (or S3) because I can actually read the screen any day and any time. I got about 3 day battery life on the Apple S2 with 1 or 2 training sessions - which is a bit too low for me. But maybe next gen will be 5-6 days. :)

You can scream and shout as much as you want - but ask ANYONE with age related vision impairment and they will tell you EXACTLY how much contrast means for readability

Just a thought, but perhaps Garmin's target market for these watches is largely people under 50?

Well

61 years old 20/400 bifocal user who does many events that start and finish under headlamp and the I find the display GREAT

I would have to think there is the possibility that people who have trouble seeing the screen just have not gotten the correct eyewear ?

Almost 59 with bifocals here, and I LOVE the display, in all different light conditions.

One thing I've found is helpful is choice of colors. When it's dark, I find a white background is better than black for example. And for watchfaces, you can find one with the size of the data you want to see to be larger if that's an issue.

Just a thought, but perhaps Garmin's target market for these watches is largely people under 50?

haha - my vision started degrading at 39... :)

but thanks - i'm not 50 yet - quite a bit distance to go.

But as I said - Apple Watch screen is much more readable in all lights. It is just not a Sports Watch. Right now if i'm out and I need data - I wear my Polar V800 on the other arm. That display is perfectly readable ... But I do like the data from the Garmin better.

I'm a 53 year old who uses reading glasses but doesn't run with them and find the F3 display to be great for it's intended purpose. Readability in terms of contrast isn't a big deal to me as long as I limit my data screens to 2 data fields I have no problems.

The only time I have an issue with the F3 display is with treadmill running because it isn't front lit enough by the fluorescent lights at the gym so I only have 1 data field per screen on my Indoor Run profile.