I'll give it some time on the market to see if it proves out, but those two things were the primary blockers for me. I prefer not to run with my phone, and I need any watch to be fully water proof not just splash resistant.
Are any of you with an AW2 using any running apps other than the built in Activity or Nike? When it was released I know Strava hadn't yet updated their watch app for the new model but others like Runkeeper and MapMyRun were close to releasing updates for the new hardware.
I'd be very interested in the AW2 with either Strava or iSmoothRun native apps on it. Add at least another hour or 2 of battery life in GPS mode and I'm all in.
I don't think either are out yet with AW2/stand-alone support.
I've read but not verified that the Apple Workout app doesn't make the GPS data accessible to other apps, so it seems Nike Run Club is the only game in town for the moment if you want to export your data. RunGap app on the phone seems to do this well, I've exported to both Garmin Connect and to Strava.
I so rarely run with my phone that I'm really not familiar with the app landscape, so if there are other options do make suggestions.
So far I pretty much concur with TX1265's assessment. The FR235 is definitely a more capable running watch. The AW2's abilities with the current NRC are pretty basic stuff. No intervals that I can see. No footpod capabilities at this point. Supposedly bluetooth accessories are possible, but I'm unsure if they work right based on others posts elsewhere.
On the flip side the AW2 of course completely smokes the FR235 in terms of smartwatch capabilities. No surprise there.
Note that I've had my AW2 Nike edition for just a couple days at this point, so not a lot of experience with it yet.
EDIT: I just remembered the Polar Beat app and tried it... but the watch app crashes every time I try to launch it. *shrug*
Thanks for that gpb. I actually went and looked at Strava and iSmoothRun shortly after making that post. I would like to hear from anyone who has used the first gen apps on the first gen watch though too.
Before getting my first Garmin watch I used iSR to record all of my runs and for a while was using a Magellan Echo watch paired with it so I could look at a watch while still using the app that had all of my data. If he (meaning the guy who's the developer of iSR) gets the stand alone functionality of his app working well it will bring a lot of things that the Apple and Nike apps are missing to the AW2. The biggest being export to other platforms, custom workouts, and customizable screens.
Used the 235 since release. Grew tired of the issues with the 235. Also wanted more of a 24x7 use watch so I got an AW2. While is does not do everything that the 235 can do, that's where the better software/3rd party apps of the AW2 more than make up the difference.
While using the 235, I ran ismoothrun on my phone. This app can do most of what the 235 can do. To me, it turns the AW2 into a better 235. You can customize the data you want to see while running, get audio alerts, the ability to export the data to anywhere you want, and more. As mentioned by gpb11, is does not use the watch GPS yet. I think the only ones what do as of now are the apple workout app and another one called Pear. The watch just acts as a display for the phone app, which is good enough for me until it can run on the watch alone. Add that to the AW2 being a better watch for the rest of the day while you're not running, for me it's no contest on which one to use. Plus we know the AW2 and the apps will be updated and continue to get better, while the 235 will..., well, we know what happened there.
You're right. I forgot they just updated the app to use the GPS. My mistake.
I think Pear had a 30 day free trial. I never used it, and if it's $30 per year, I doubt most others will either. I'll wait it out for ismoothrun to update.
Never quite got the 3-2-1 Go way of starting. So when a race is about to start you either miss 3 seconds or try and start 3 seconds early?
Enable auto pause, start the app a minute before race starts. DONT MOVE. Time will start when you set off!?
OR...I'm sure I read somewhere that you can skip the 3-2-1 by either a force touch or a press of the two buttons?
Similarly I've read you can pause by physical press of the two buttons....so if running in rain / gloves etc, there is a manual method to signal the end of the race.
(Don't have an AW...might get a series 3 in 18 months time once the standalone apps are more mature and by which time I've had decent value from my Garmin)
