Originally Posted by
gregf83
It still matters to me. All my powermeters are ANT+ and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I don't really need a tinkertoy solution relaying data from powermeters to a cellphone when I can just pick up the data directly on a Garmin.
I also need the ability to change the slope on my SRM and I'm reasonably certain the 4iiii solution doesn't support that.
Even if the 4iiii solution worked, there aren't any cellphones out there I want mounted on my handlebars.
Cellphone manufacturers are sophisticated and would have zero problems building a waterproof rugged phone with good battery life if they wanted to or thought there was a sufficient market for it. The reality is the market for bike head units is relatively small and Garmin fills that requirement reasonably well for now. The incremental cost associated with making an iPhone rugged and long lasting is a burden most consumers are not willing to bear.
The phone is sort of like a horse designed by a committee :-), they keep getting bigger and bigger IMHO, which is good for some things I suppose, but offers little benefit when using them for a cycle computer. The iPhone shuts down at 32f or so too which is a pita.....you end up putting it inside layers in the winter time.