[kris-o]

Maybe it is not a popular thing to say but i kinda like the Ambit3 design - even the antenna bulge.
On the "lazy days" it keeps reminding me - "hey, i am not your regular watch - make use of my functions, move your ass! ;-)"

 

[Artivis]

Fenix 3 absolutely looks good, and imho in the area of design it outstands Ambit 3 atm. I have them side by side (as you have seen on the earlier pictures) and A3 Peak looks a bit like a plastic toy watch compared to F3.
The other positives on Garmin side (imho again) are:
+The display is sharper, better looking and a bit larger (the colours being an added value, and the black background is more 'black' then in A3... where it is 'brownish' black)
+The phone integration is waaay better then in A3.. for example you can read a whole sms message on screen!! shocking!! (hello Sunnto guys.. it can be done!), integrates with the calendar (you can see your tasks on screen..current day), can control music play on your phone (no use for me, but it can be done), shows weather reports (not perfectly located yet but ...) and ... listen to this... it works with Android phones!! (hello again Suunto..btw I use iPhone)
+ Map screen.. well they took away the basemap functionality from F3 (which sucks) but at least it can show you your activity runned/hiked/biked path on screen (imho mapping/navigating features in A3 plainly suck..I promise not to call Suunto guys again)
+Connect IQ is great, you can customize your watch much,much further then Suunto ever allowed (tbh here you need much greater programing skill in C division to do so or you have to wait for someone else to do it for you)
+WiFi .. sync and upgrade..great ! ... but the watch has problems with finding networks atm
+Ability to upload your activity to many sport services.. this part of Suunto policy just makes me go mad.. but to cut things short.. you don't like Garmin Connect, fine, upload your activity directly to other services and just don't use it.. but if you don't like Movescount.. well... you got a problem
+Ability to configure the watch in the watch.. no need for phone/PC/Mac.. and now you can backup your configuration data which was a drawback of F2 (just a 'bit' more complicated then it should be, as if they couldn't add a backup/restore option). This is one of the drawbacks of A3 as during the Christmas Movescount outage you not only couldn't sync your activities but also you couldn't configure your watch (beyond the basic settings if you owned an iPhone).
+Again imho F3 is more comfortable to wear, lighter and better fit (not with the steel bracelet though which is pretty heavy)
+All the other little things (like daily steps count or sleep tracking) which are there but I wouldn't miss them it they were not

So in my opinion Fenix 3 outstands Ambit 3 in almost every way... except one (which I think, unfortunately for Garmin, is most important) - GPS accuracy (also altimeter accuracy as was pointed out to me)
I am not ready for a final opinion, as I didn't have much time lately to test F3 on certified tracks, but I think atm that Fenix 3 is less reliable GPS wise then Ambit 3.
They did remove the problems with 'spiking' on the track (which original Fenix and Fenix 2 had) but the 'smoothing' algorithm seems to cut too much of the track and generally the outcome is shorter then the real distance. Ambit 3 is not perfect here also, it tends to cut corners but still it comes very close (50m max) on 10k course... this is acceptable. Now on Fenix 3 I got the error around 150m-200m which is not good at all. Especially areas with worsened reception (high buildings, forest) are where the problems show.
The other thing I forgot about earlier is altimeter accuracy... something wrong here as well, it shows for example that I have moved around 10-50 m vertically during sleep, Ambit's solution to use internal accelerometer to check if we are changing works much better. Hope again it is a software glitch and can be fixed.

I will wait and see see if Garmin can fix the GPS and altimeter accuracy by firmware updates... if they do Fenix 3 would be a great choice and I will stick with it.. if they don't I think I will not trust them again and I will stick to my Ambit3 until Ambit4 arrives, so atm I am keeping both watches as I just can't decide which one to ditch ;-)

 

[bruceames]

So in my opinion Fenix 3 outstands Ambit 3 in almost every way... except one (which I think, unfortunately for Garmin, is most important) - GPS accuracy

The altimeter in the A3 is reportedly more accurate as well (although it may not be an issue with many).

 

[raducanmihai]

@Artivis: Thank's for sharing your opinion. Having both devices makes you much less susceptible to fanboyism. Of course, personal preference is still there... but you're only human

About Garmin Connect vs. Movescount: You can also not use Movescount and link your account directly to a number of services (Strava, 2Peak, SportTracks, etc) so I think it's more seamless than manually uploading your moves to third party services. But of course you are limited by Suunto's choice of partner apps.

 

[bruceames]

@Artivis: Thank's for sharing your opinion. Having both devices makes you much less susceptible to fanboyism. Of course, personal preference is still there... but you're only human

Please let's not denigrate the opinions of those who don't have both watches. Thank you.

 

[raducanmihai]

I'm sorry if I offended anyone but I don't denigrate anything. I count myself among those who don't have both watches. I realize that myself, by buying Suunto, I'm more inclined to favour Ambit 3 and minimize Fenix 3's features or overestimate it's problems.


I value more the opinion of those who have both watches for obvious (and not so obvious) reasons.

From Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Artivis]

About Garmin Connect vs. Movescount: You can also not use Movescount and link your account directly to a number of services (Strava, 2Peak, SportTracks, etc) so I think it's more seamless than manually uploading your moves to third party services. But of course you are limited by Suunto's choice of partner apps.

Yes it is true, you can link Movescount to Strava for example, and when Movescount functions ok it will sync your activities.. but:
- it doesn't always sync (I have it linked)
- it doesn't sync some types of activities (non GPS activities for example, like treadmill or my squash games)
- if Movescount fails (like during last Christmas) you just can't upload your activities at all (ofc there are ways to get the .fit files out of the watch but it is a workaround and not very simple)

Garmin has an open architecture which allows you to do what you want with the files (watch shows as a drive on pc/mac). Many popular sport services can import directly from Garmin watches or if you want to use your phone to upload, you can set up an automatic sync using tapiriik.com for example. I am not saying that Garmin Connect is better then Movescount but Garmin gives you more options.

@Bruceames ... yes you are right about the altimeter, I will correct it in my earlier post

 

[HIKESOLO]

Yes it is true, you can link Movescount to Strava for example, and when Movescount functions ok it will sync your activities.. but:
- it doesn't always sync (I have it linked)
- it doesn't sync some types of activities (non GPS activities for example, like treadmill or my squash games)
- if Movescount fails (like during last Christmas) you just can't upload your activities at all (ofc there are ways to get the .fit files out of the watch but it is a workaround and not very simple)

Garmin has an open architecture which allows you to do what you want with the files (watch shows as a drive on pc/mac). Many popular sport services can import directly from Garmin watches or if you want to use your phone to upload, you can set up an automatic sync using tapiriik.com for example. I am not saying that Garmin Connect is better then Movescount but Garmin gives you more options.

@Bruceames ... yes you are right about the altimeter, I will correct it in my earlier post

If you really want to get fancy, link Movescount to Sporttracks.mobi. That WILL import all activities, not just GPS activities. You can then use Tapiriik to auto transfer from Sporttracks.mobi to Strava, Runkeeper, and many others (including Garmin Connect!). So it's possible, but yes you have to rely on Movescount working and pay like $2 to Tapiriik for their syncing service. But it's DOABLE. I had a Fenix 3 that froze on me in the middle of an activity and I lost the entire activity...so to each his own.

 

[kris-o]

I use RunGap for IOS - it supports Health, Garmin, Endomondo, Strava, RunKeeper, Dailymile, Nike+ and some more.
It has a lot of options. I think i paid some minor amount for it but am generally happy. Have it linked to my Garmin, Strava and Suunto accounts and keep them synchronised.

 

[ls8]

...ofc there are ways to get the .fit files out of the watch but it is a workaround and not very simple...

I am interested. Can you point me to further details, please? Thanks!

 

[HIKESOLO]

Kris-O - can you export activities to Movescount from rungap? I imported all of my Garmin activities into that app since that is my most complete source. I'd like to send some of those activities to Movescount. Is this possible with that app?

 

[kris-o]

If i remember correctly, this direction is not supported. For this purpose i used MX activity mover - i think you can export single activity (one at a time) for free but you have to pay some small amount for bulk syncing.
I synced all my old Garmin Connect trainings (once i bought Ambit3) and now i use RunGap for the Movescount->Garmin/Health/Strava direction.

Also - RunGap works for TCX, GPX export.

 

[HIKESOLO]

If i remember correctly, this direction is not supported. For this purpose i used MX activity mover - i think you can export single activity (one at a time) for free but you have to pay some small amount for bulk syncing.
I synced all my old Garmin Connect trainings (once i bought Ambit3) and now i use RunGap for the Movescount->Garmin/Health/Strava direction.

Also - RunGap works for TCX, GPX export.

Thanks for the reply! Yes, that's the direction that seems the toughest. I also used MX Activity Mover at the beginning when I switched to Suunto, but didn't move over certain activities. Now that they are littered throughout Garmin Connect it will be tougher for me to pick and choose. Rungap would have been nice to just scroll through my iphone and do them one at a time. Moving forward it seems like a great easy option to get my moves into other programs. I like to keep Movescount AND Garmin up to date in case I ever switch between the two. Looking more and more likely I will just switch with Suunto. I just wish their "activity tracking" actually counted steps as this is one part of Garmin Connect I really enjoy, trying to get in as many steps as possible while I'm losing weight. Kind of dorky but it's motivating.

 

[kris-o]

MX activity mover lets you scroll and select but you do not see too much of an activity - just a title (if i remember correctly).
I am in the same boat as you - keep my accounts in sync - i was hoping for Fenix 3 but now i am leaning towards Ambit 4 and hope it has ANT+ and BTLE
Steps are counted by Iphone in my case and, personally, i think that seeing the general activity level is enough

 

[HIKESOLO]

MX activity mover lets you scroll and select but you do not see too much of an activity - just a title (if i remember correctly).
I am in the same boat as you - keep my accounts in sync - i was hoping for Fenix 3 but now i am leaning towards Ambit 4 and hope it has ANT+ and BTLE
Steps are counted by Iphone in my case and, personally, i think that seeing the general activity level is enough

Yep, Suunto needs to really think about bringing ANT+ back into the mix for Ambit 4. I think it's worthwhile to stick with A3 and wait on the A4 though. I wear my Suunto Core as my daily watch and only put on the A3 for activities so I guess in my case a separate step tracker would be ideal. I would love if Suunto introduced an activity tracker bracelet similar to the Vivofit and it sync'd with Movescount. That would truly make me a happy Suunto fan. (Better yet a Core WITH the activity tracking features).

 

[kris-o]

Haha, i also own Core (Lime Green) - i bought it during my ski trip to Livigno 4-5 years ago and simply love it.
I am too lazy to switch watches though, so now i stick to A3 Peak Sapphire … but i do miss the Core

Have you thought about Fitbit (one or zip) or Whitings Pulse Ox?

 

[santoshrane]

People taking about GPS accuracy should read this. So far I don't have the Fenix 3. I'm taking a careful step other side, if I take one. So far I am convinced.
Garmin Fenix 3 vs Suunto Ambits 3 Peak GPS Compar…:

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[raducanmihai]

I can't read Fenix's screen in that video so I don't know what's going on with it, I can only guess. That guy has another video where screen is more legible.

By the way, that video is about GPS acquisition speed in a challenging environment. You have no way of knowing which watch is more accurate from that video or which watch tracks better.

 

[margusl]

In such environments activated GLONASS can have measurable advantages, so faster fix for Fenix is kind of expected.
But.. this setup is not quite fair, first, there's about 45deg difference between antenna directions. In addition there's no background information - when was almanac updated or when and where was last fix acquired. There's also difference between fix and fix, I beleive many here have seen noise and drift at the beginning of the tracks with whatever device. Outdated almanac, considerable distance difference between uses, tree coverage and starting to move right after a fix, all add to this.

 

[santoshrane]

Is there no one on this forum who has both watches and can verify the time to fix... Accuracy being second... My order comes by 15th April.. So got to make up my mind before that

My story is that I love the Suunto Ambit 2. In my entire 24 hrs I spend max 2 hours either cycling or running. 22 hrs watch stays on my wrist... Other physical activity would be playing with my dog n climbing stairs and walking... So the watch that kinda stays on my wrist it better be a James Bond... Alerts..colors.... Auto time.. Good looking..
So that's why fenix 3

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