| Price | $349.00 | $319 | $219 | $220.00 | $400.00/Discontinued | $299 (on sale) | $399 |
| Product Announcement Date | APR 12, 2011 | APR 29, 2013 | APR 29, 2013 | Mar 21, 2011 | Jan 18, 2012 | JUL 10, 2012 | OCT 4, 2011 |
| Actual Availability/Shipping Date | APR 15, 2011 | May 2013 | May 2013 | June 2011 | Apr 2012 | AUG 2012 | JAN-APR 2012 |
| GPS Recording Functionality | Yes | Yes | Yes | Separate GPS Pod | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data Transfer | ANT+ Wireless | USB | USB | irDA Wireless | USB | USB & Bluetooth Smart | ANT+ Wireless |
| Waterproofing | IPX7 | Yes - 100m | Yes - 50m | Yes - 30m | Yes - 100m | Yes - 50m | Yes - 50m |
| Battery Life (GPS) | 8 Hours | 50 hours | 25 hours | 1 year (GPS separate) | 50 hours | 50 hours | 20 Hours |
| Recording Interval | 1-second & smart | Variable | Variable | Adjustable | Variable | 1s to variable | 1s or Smart |
| Alerts | AUDIO/VISUAL/VIBRATE | Sound/Visual | Sound/Visual | Sound/Visual | Sound/Visual | Vibrate/Sound/Visual | Vibrate/Sound/Visual |
| Backlight Greatness | Great | Great | Great | Good | Great | Great | Great |
| Ability to download custom apps to unit/device | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Acts as daily activity monitor (steps, etc...) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Connectivity | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Bluetooth Smart to Phone Uploading | Via Wahoo Fitness Adapter | No | No | No | No | Yes | Via Wahoo Fitness Adapter |
| Phone Notifications to unit (i.e. texts/calls/etc...) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Live Tracking (streaming location to website) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes (as of Feb 2014) | No |
| Emergency/SOS Message Notification (from watch to contacts) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Built-in cellular chip (no phone required) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Cycling | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Designed for cycling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Capable | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Power Meter Configuration/Calibration Options | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Power Meter TSS/NP/IF | N/A | No | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Speed/Cadence Sensor Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (full support added Sept 2013) | Yes |
Running | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Designed for running | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Footpod Capable (For treadmills) | Yes | Yes (internal accelerometer) | Yes (internal accelerometer) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Running Dynamics (vertical oscillation, ground contact time, etc...) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| VO2Max Estimation | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Race Predictor | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Recovery Advisor | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Run/Walk Mode | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Swimming | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Designed for swimming | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Openwater swimming mode | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Lap/Indoor Distance Tracking | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Record HR underwater | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Openwater Metrics (Stroke/etc.) | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Indoor Metrics (Stroke/etc.) | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Indoor Drill Mode | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| Indoor auto-pause feature | N/A | No | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| Change pool size | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Indoor Min/Max Pool Lengths | N/A | 15m/y to 1,200m/y | 15m/y to 1,200m/y | N/A | N/A | N/A | 20m/22y to 100y/m |
| Ability to customize data fields | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Captures per length data - indoors | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Indoor Alerts | N/A | No | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
Triathlon | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Designed for triathlon | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Multisport mode | No | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
Workouts | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Create/Follow custom workouts | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes (As of Dec 6, 2013) | Yes |
| On-unit interval Feature | Yes | Barely | Barely | Yes | No | Yes (As of Dec 6, 2013) | Yes |
| Training Calendar Functionality | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Functions | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Auto Start/Stop | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Partner Feature | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Racer Feature | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Records PR's - Personal Records (diff than history) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Tidal Tables (Tide Information) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Weather Display (live data) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Navigate | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Follow GPS Track (Courses/Waypoints) | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Markers/Waypoint Direction | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Routable/Visual Maps (like car GPS) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Back to start | Yes | Yes (added Aug 30, 2013) | Yes (added Aug 30, 2013) | No | Yes (point to point only) | Yes | Yes |
| Impromptu Round Trip Route Creation | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Download courses/routes from phone to unit | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Sensors | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Altimeter Type | GPS | Barometric, GPS (FusedAlti) | GPS | None | Barometric | Barometric | Barometric |
| Compass Type | N/A | Magnetic | Magnetic | None | Magnetic | Magnetic | GPS |
| Heart Rate Strap Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Heart Rate Strap Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Speed/Cadence Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Footpod Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Power Meter Capable | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| ANT+ Remote Control | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| ANT+ eBike Compatibility | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Shimano Di2 Shifting | | No | No | | No | | No |
| Bluetooth Smart HR Strap Capable | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence Capable | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Footpod Capable | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart Power Meter Capable | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Temp Recording (internal sensor) | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Temp Recording (external sensor) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Software | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | PC Application | GTC/ANT Agent | Moveslink Agent | Moveslink Agent | PPT/Websync | Moveslink Agent | Basecamp | GTC/ANT Agent |
| Web Application | Garmin Connect | Movescount | Movescount | PPT.com | Movescount | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect |
| Phone App | Garmin Fit | Suunto Movescount | Movescount | Polar Beats | Suunto Movescount | Garmin Basecamp (iOS) | iOS/Android |
| Ability to Export Settings | No | Yes (online) | Yes (online) | No | Yes (online) | Yes (profiles XML) | No |
Purchase | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Amazon | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
DCRainmaker | Garmin Forerunner 610 | Suunto Ambit2 | Suunto Ambit2 S | Polar RCX5 | Suunto Ambit | Garmin Fenix | Garmin Forerunner 910XT | | Review Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |