Originally Posted by
Looigi
Live tracking with a Garmin 510 or 810 is via bluetooth to your smartphone. As such, it does consume the smartphone battery. IDK if it's more or less than Glympse. I suspect it's similar or more.
I have a Garmin 510. Live tracking with the Garmin uses fraction of the cell phone battery that Map My Ride/Strava/Endomodo et al do, because the phone isn't having to simultaneously transmit, locate, and map. It's just transmitting coordinates from the 510.
FWIW, The one advantage that Map My Ride has over the other systems is that if will notify my wife with an audible alarm when I start a ride/run/workout, even if she isn't actively using the app. This is handy if I take a ride while she's at work, or if we're in different cities.
So I use the 510 to map and track all my rides (It is synced with my HR and cadence moinitors), but also use MR when I specifically want to give my wife a heads up that I'm out on the road.
While we're at it, though, I upload my rides to Strava, because there are more serious riders/racers/clubs there. I get a better feel for how I'm progressing compared to the guys I want to ride like.
Horses for courses. All the apps have their niche.
BB