As [MENTION=101834]njkayaker[/MENTION] said, the Garmin Edges don't need to be tied to a smart phone. The Bluetooth connection just gives you some nice to have extras. One I really appreciate is LiveTrack, which enables my wife to see where I am at any moment. In theory you can have crash detection as well, but I found that over sensitive. If you don't have a smartphone then you have to connect to a computer in order to download your rides - although I think the latest ones can do it over wifi. Since they have to be plugged in from time to time to recharge it isn't such a big deal.