Best phone for training?

VacuumJockey

My coworker runs a lot. Like an hour a day. In a forested terrain close to her house. So she likes to bring her phone along, just in case, as well as an iPod for tunes.

Now her phone is getting a bit long in the tooth, and she wants to save some weight by getting a cool new phone for music and GPS. So far, so good. We're trying to narrow down the possibilities, and this is where I need some help:

• If she wants to map her route, will she need a GPS phone or can Google Maps handle it without GPS?
• What platform has the best software for running/training?
• If you have any useful anecdotes or tips concerning smartphones as running aids... please, I want to hear them.

(I should probably add that the young lady is one of the few women who does not like the iPhone at all. Go figure, but there it is.)

JAEF

That's pretty terrible. That Nike+ shit is perfect for the 3GS. Is that program not available on iPods? Or I guess it wouldn't be able to do GPS tracking. Possibly some Android phone?

I know Verizon offers some pay-per-month program called Bones in Motion for most of their phones that will do workout/GPS/route tracking etc. Looks like it's available for several carriers.. http://bimactive.com/ba/ui/ba.php

Mr_Grinch

I'm on my phone right now, im using a htc diamond, running windows mobile. On this I have a fantastic piece of software for running, cycling and more. Its called Run.Gps, it uses the gps signal to track speed, distance and altitude. You can hook up a bluetooth heart monitor too. It also records your route so you can upload it to gps-sport.net which is similar to nike+ but more detailed, ill link to my account when i get to a pc.

You can upload routes to follow for cycling and running and itll give you pretty much any stat you could ask for. You can also add manual training info which comes in handy to keep track of my climbing and swimming.

Theres also an android version which is identical. My recomendation would be a HTC Hero running Android and Run.gps for her exercise needs.

::Edit:: On a PC now. For reference I've used (and own) an Ipod Nano and the Nike + thingy that fits on to your shoe. It is good but it's not as accurate as GPS. It calculates speed,as far as I'm aware, using the velocity it's swung at and how often it feels your foot hit the ground. You can calibrate it so it's more suited to you and more accurate. Personally I prefer GPS.

The downside to GPS is if you're in a built up area you can lose signal. Run.Gps gets around this by estimating your speed during any loss of signal. Generally running and cycling around built up areas and quiet areas I don't lose my signal much if at all, but if you're around massive high rise buildings YMMV.

Run.Gps does cost, but I think it's only about £30. If you want to show your friend a profile then mine is at:

http://www.gps-sport.net/users/mrgrinch

You should be able to view all my cycling and a few runs (I'll be honest, I've fallen out of love with running recently, blame the British weather). I also need to get around to manually inputting all my swimming sessions and climbing sessions I've forgotten about. You can at least see how much information it records. Check out my cycle home yesterday:

http://www.gps-sport.net/trainings/cycling_179766

GPS Dilution shows how often my GPS signal fluctuated. You can see on that cycle, short of it first establishing itself when I'm inside the train station, it was solid. You can also see from my speed where I had to slow down for crossings or stop for traffic lights. It also gives you a map of my route (just in case anyone wants to know where my house is!).

Hope that helps a bit.

stigweard

The only problem with that is no phone can handle gps properly under a canopy. It's hard to find sub $400 hand held gps that will, or at least it used to be. How dense is the forested area where she runs?

That software is pretty damn slick.

Mr_Grinch

My run is fairly shaded, wait a tick, I'll see if there's a picture:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=yo31+8fe&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=9.872943,18.193359&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=York+YO31+8FE,+United+Kingdom&ll=53.970347,-1.073015&spn=0.0006,0.00111&t=h&z=19

If you look to the right of the road there's the river, then to the right of that there are trees. I run underneath those trees. It's not a thick canopy but it's covered for a large portion of the run. I do lose my signal when under a bridge but very rarely under trees.

I've also been geocaching in covered areas and it tends to cope reasonably well. I mean, if it's a densely forested area then, as Stigweird says, a phone's GPS really isn't going to be ideal but if it's just a few tall trees then she should be ok.

The alternative is to get a phone and then get an additional GPS receiver. I've got quite a powerful one I picked up for £30 that I can sync to my phone via bluetooth if I'm in a REALLY built up area but I tend not to have to use it.

The alternative is grab a cheap phone and go for a device by Garmin. I have a friend who uses one for cycling and the GPS on it is ridiculously good. You do pay a premium for them though.

Mr_Grinch

Oh and as for anecdotes, well obviously I've given you info in my last two posts about my experiences but what you need to look out for are:

a) Phones you can get an armband for. If she's running under cover there's NO WAY a GPS phone would pick up a signal if stuck in her pocket too. My HTC Diamond fits perfectly in an original Ipod case. I can also squeeze it in to my old Nano holder by cutting the bottom off the holder.

b) Googlemaps (when not using GPS) isn't going to be able to record her route with any degree of accuracy. It establishes your position by triangulating where it's at based on Cell Towers.

c) If her ipod is a nano she could pick up the nike+ thing just to try it. It's only about £20 here and it works well enough for what it is. It gives distance run and calories burnt, it also allows you to specify playlists and you can have a "powersong" you activate with a button to keep the adrenaline pumping when you need it most. Personally I prefer the GPS software though. Using my phone I can sync my run/cycle to the gps-sport.net site immediately after I've finished but obviously the nano doesn't have a net connection so you have to wait till you're home.

Anyway, let us know what she decides

VacuumJockey

Mr. Grinch, that's just awesome. I will definitely be checking your suggestions out. I believe that the canopy won't be a problem in her particular case; her route is lightly forested, but it's by no means a wilderness.

I found this during my searches. If it works well, we may try this out for a while; there's a bunch of new Android phones coming out this winter, so the young lady is quite willing to postpone her phone shopping for a while.

Mr_Grinch

Cool, I'm not quite sure how much AmazeGPS is geared towards running but it looks an awesome piece of software.

I'd definitely recommend Run.Gps at some point in the future though, there's a trial version if she wants to give it a shot without paying for it.

I've just spotted your location, I envy you being able to run in Copenhagen, beats the windy, wet streets of Britain!

japan

I have a Nokia 5800 and Nokia Sportstracker (free). The website doesn't have a download for the 5800 for whatever reason, but it does exist and can be found with a simple search.

GPS performance has been good, I haven't had a problem with it getting/maintaining a signal, but I haven't tried it on my bike yet. I was actually specifically recommended this phone for bike use by some people on the bike forum I hang out on.

EDIT: I almost forgot, Polar make a bluetooth HRM chest strap that works with sportstracker. At the moment it's only available with a specific Nokia phone (N97, I think) but it works with any Nokia running sportstracker if you can get hold of one.

Ayulin

Mr_Grinch wrote: »

Theres also an android version which is identical. My recomendation would be a HTC Hero running Android and Run.gps for her exercise needs.

Alternatively, try My Tracks from Google. It's free, but probably not as full-featured as Run.gps.