Benefit to GPS - phone pairing?
 

One of those questions struck me (as I was riding my bike!) this weekend. For my normal use - downloading routes and/or training plans occasionally, uploading after rides while charging the GPS - would there be a benefit to having a GPS that pairs with my cell phone? My normal usage is about 1.5 hours daily commuting, with rides of four hours or more on weekends, which depletes my old GPS battery perhaps 25-30% on a commute, and 40%+ on the weekend. As a result, I'm plugging the GPS in every day or three to charge it, and just do the file exchange while it's plugged in.

I haven't found it necessary to read my text messages while riding, get a visual indicator of incoming phone calls, or any of the other "benefits" a paired GPS would offer me. Not that that'll stifle discussion and marketing. :)

- If the device allows a Live Track function, you can have somebody be notified, usually as an e-mailed link, to follow your location - or the devices location, yuk, yuk. Good if you mt. bike solo, have cell service, do this at night in winter ?.
- Completed rides saved and sent to a smartphone via BT for the phone to then send the completed ride up to an activity tracking app. Does it instantly if there's cell service, or you can wait and do it near a WiFi connection you've set up. It's wire free.
- If using a Wahoo, easy to create a navigable route in RideWithGPS, than wirelessly port the route to the device via the smartphone app. On Garmin same thing if you've created a route on Garmin Connect, it shows up on the Garmin Connect app and can be sent to the device.

I switched from a Garmin 500 to 520. I always had to plug the 500 into the computer to upload, which conveniently charged it too. The 520 pairs to the phone so it uploads automatically as soon as I'm done. Which means I sometimes forget to charge it.

520 does have the live tracking, which, like most things involving smartphones and blue tooth, works most of the time but is not 100%. My wife does like having this feature particularly when I'm out on solo rides. The logic of what sets it off puzzles me. I've set it off 4 times just by stopping in my driveway, and these were not particularly abrupt stops. But when I actually fell over on my bike, it did not go off (I was already stopped).

Live Track, accident detection/ reporting, messaging (Maybe life is better without), weather alerts, possibly other integrations from IQ apps (Garmin).

Note, live track and incident detection are distinct features. One allows someone to watch your progress throughout, the other sends a message if you've fallen and can't get up (or if you've been mis-detected as being in that state).

I can't think of any other purposes for realtime connectivity. I do like the automatic post ride upload. I can review how the ride went immediately upon pressing save.

I use a dedicated GPS for biking, not a cycle specific one but a recreational grade one that uses AA batteries. I load maps and data into the GPS at home on my computer. Occasionally transfer tracks or waypoints from the GPS to my computer. But I can't imagine a reason to want my GPS to send any data to my cell phone.

For my next tour, I have put a bunch of waypoints into Maps.Me app on my cell so it is easier to plan routes, etc. on a 5.5 inch phone screen while on a tour instead of trying to do that on the tiny little GPS screen. But I am doing that all from my computer before I leave town.

As [MENTION=369317]jimincalif[/MENTION] notes, wire free also means charge free. :/

Maybe it's my fat fingers and old eyes, but all the routes I've created ended up being created on a laptop or desktop. That's why I don't see a benefit to "wirelessly port(ing) the route to the device via the smartphone." While I'm sitting at the computer with a large(ish) display and a mouse, why not just send the route to the GPS which is connected and charging?

I haven't hooked my GPS to a computer in probably close to a year.

I have an 12 port USB charging station where all my devices get charged - five lights, GPS, cameras, etc.

Routes get created on the computer and both rides and routes are synced through my phone without a need to plug the device into anything. I can do it in my kitchen while I get bottles ready or in the car at the ride start. .




-Tim-

I am (unfortunately) tethered to my phone most times, so it's nice to see an alert pop up with an email or text message--and whether or not I need to stop to answer it. Just the other day, I actually got to use the reply feature for something that needed tending to, but not more than a one-word answer.

10/10

I use a Garmin watch. Absolutely love the phone integration, more off the bike than on it.

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If you have a cell phone with data service (does anybody not use some form of data ?), the transfer of the completed ride data to the cloud based activity log, is essentially free.

As well, I pretty much never create a new course/route on the Garmin Connect mobile app. I do it on the Garmin Connect website, for the reasons you describe. Once created it's then listed on the mobile Connect app and can than be sent to the device via BT. I don't need to to bring the unit upstairs at home to hook up a USB cable to my laptop (My Garmin lives in the basement and I charge it there) and is why I don't create a route in RWGPS. I grab the route on the Garmin mobile app and send to the device. Very easy.

Phone integration seems to me to be kind of in the oxymoron camp when it comes to bike computers. Live track, accident detection etc... are all easily done at low power on the phone WITHOUT needing to go through the hassle of pairing it to the GPS. My Edge 1000 drives me nuts with the errors I get from it dropping the BT connection.

J.

For those of us who are sometimes on-call, pop up text and phone messages is a nice feature.

Live tracking, live segments and accident detection I could do without.


-Tim-

Some of us are able to enjoy rides because we can get text and call notification, not in spite of it.


-Tim-

You missed my point and are agreeing with something I didn't say.

I am sometimes on-call for work and loose money if I miss a text or phone call. Being able to see a text or phone call on the GPS allows me to pull over and take the call without loosing money. Without it I would not be able to ride as I don't always hear a phone in the jersey pocket due to traffic, wind, etc.

In this case GPS/phone integration enhances my rides, not detracts from it.


-Tim-

Sorry Tim, I read that completely wrong....I am way off. I will delete my post. Sorry about that, I did get that very backwards.