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Bad menu usability

The menu on the 735 (IMHO) sucks
Click on the top-right button and it puts you in the last activity profile (e.g. run). While in this "pseudo" activity mode, it starts looking for sensors and GPS (if the latest activity is outdoors activity) - I guess Garmin did this to save time when you actually go into the activity.
From there you can go up to choose another activity (e.g. swim) or down for all the other stuff (settings, history, training, etc.).

This sucks since
a. Totally not intuitive. To change activity type you need to first click up, then start scrolling to look for it - and if you went to the other menu you have to go back and start all over.
b. Even if you want to go to change some setting or look for history, it will beep and start looking for gps as soon as you get into the menu - just annoying

If anyone at Garmin is reading this, please consider simplifying the interface by splitting these two menus (similar to the Fenix3) or at least eliminate this annoying activity mode

0 chimpware over 9 years ago

Took me a little to get used to, but I like it now. You choose the activity, or the last one is chosen and then you can do down into the settings to change the Activity settings for that activity or choose Navigation and it uses that Activity. If you think about it as choose the Activity first and then what you want to do (including just activating the activity) it works pretty well.

There is also a short cut menu for certain items like the clock, music controls and locking the device if you log press the up arrow button on the left (center most button).

Coming from the fenix 3 I thought the same thing when I started using the 735, but now that I am used to it I like it, much simpler.

0 timgrose over 9 years ago

Umm well a GPS watch looking for GPS sounds helpful to me!

These menu styles came in with the 230/235/630 and they did actually change them early on to reduce the number of "enter"presses by one to start an activity.
Agree generally that they do take a little getting used to once you have, it never seems too hard to "get going"....

0 DGUTSTADT over 9 years ago

Fair point - I come from F3, it feels more natural. however I still think separating the activity menu from the settings menu is better usability
GPS watch should look for GPS, but not when I am going into settings to change something or looking at history of activities.
It may work well in the 230/630 when you are predominantly using a single sport and want to get to it quickly; it is awkward for multi-sport where you switch activities a lot

And don't get me started on the shortcut menu. why does it have watch face and music control? why not other stuff? and during activity why is it only changing the data page your are on? that makes no sense at all. It all just feels very random.

To give an example (I can come up with many more): in a swim after warmup I want to turn on alert every 1:40 for 100y intervals. Can't do it since there is no access to the settings menu. Good thing I can change the watch face though! (yes, i am being sarcastic)

0 chimpware over 9 years ago

Why in the world would you want to change the watch face while swimming????

Sorry could not help myself;)

0 timgrose over 9 years ago

If you stop the timer in any activity profile you can access Activity Settings and indeed general Settings.

Unfortunately you can't get to the Navigation menu so if you want to do a course or navigate to a Location make sure you set it up before you start. You could access Navigation mid activity on a 920 but I think there maybe some technical limitation here as the 630 is the same.

0 kalamarios over 9 years ago

Why in the world would you want to change the watch face while swimming????

Sorry could not help myself;)

Because he is doing drills (kicking etc) and he is bored out of his mind and he wishes that there was a pacman CIQ app as well :-)