goose70

It's phone upgrade time. I currently have a B-berry torch, so any of the above will be a significant upgrade for me. Although work-function, not cycling, is the most important consideration, I am curious about whether folks here have found a significant advantage in any of these devices for cycling apps. (I'm not even sure what cycling apps are available, but I'd like to take advantage of any useful ones that may exist.)


I realize this is a pretty open-ended question, and I am starting to do some research on the topic, but any info here would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bah Humbug

I'm very sorry to hear that. Do you need someone to talk to?

kv501

Not a Blackberry. Cycling apps (let alone good ones) are few and far between and it's.

The iPhone and any Android phone have all the mainstream cycling apps available. You can also get ANT+ adapters if you use a heart rate monitor, etc. One thing to consider if you will be biking with it is that the G4 is huge. I don't like the idea of having a small tablet computer in my jersey pocket but you may be fine with it. The iPhone 5 is a lot lighter than the the 4s, so that's another plus for the iPhone in my opinion.

Bottom line is to avoid the BB. I wouldn't bet my house that they'll even be around in 2 or 3 years, and fewer and fewer people/companies are even developing apps for BB10.

matthewk459

Everything phone related apps, hardware, accessories, interfaces, etc are made for iPhone first, then Android, then homing pigeons, then smoke signals, then Nokia, then cans connected by string, then Blackberry.. Blackberry, as a product and likely a company is dead.

calyth

The only cycling app that I know of on the Z10 is Endomondo. No Strava yet. Maybe when their next software update rolls out, then android apps spec'd to Android 4 would be fine.
It's also a little different than the Torch that you use, so just a FYI if you end up getting it.

I'd stay the hell away from Samsung. Their hardware quality control is just not good at all (I've had a Galaxy Nexus with a broken wifi antenna in 10 days, even though I've not drop that phone.) Also, if you're a North American and getting the phone from the carrier, good luck on software updates. HTC One is nicer hardware wise, and if you do care about software updates, and willing to wipe your phone for it, go for the Nexus 4.

Both the iPhone and Android should have enough bike apps for your needs.

I myself am using a Z10 and frankly quite happy about it. Apparently I'm not a big apps user, only cares to track my cycling when I actually bike longer than my normal commute, so Endomondo was sufficient for my needs.

calyth

LOL. Nokia will die before BlackBerry.

Most consumers only see BlackBerry's rather lacklustre consumer offerings; they're rarely aware of the reasoning why they still manage to be around.

matthewk459

I get why they are still around, but the offerings from Mcafee and Samsungs new sandbox stuff for corp solutions will quickly resolve that. Also given that the NSA has granted iPhone their highest security certification it won't be long until BB is no longer relevant. The only thing which may keep them alive is their management console for iPhones, but again their handheld devices are likely dead, and if their only offering is a management solution for another company's hardware, they will be dead as soon as it's copied.

kv501

Uh oh. Now you did it, eh.

i_live_in_sf

I have a GS3 which is the same size and it fits nicely in my jersey pocket. Last ride I went on strava used ~18% battery for 2.5hrs of riding.

Bottom line though, you can't go wrong with either the iPhone or the GS4.

calyth

Highest? That's not what the NIST says. Level 1 is the basics, though granted, you don't see a lot of software getting past level 1. Also, it's misleading to say that the security cert is the highest level. It's a combination of software and hardware. While the cryptographic module gets certified, as long as someone could take the phone apart and put it back together without being detected, it would basically never get past level 1 certification.

The sandbox solutions generally offered satisfies what small and medium business needs, but rarely do they have the fine grained controls that enterprises asks for (e.g. finance).

BlackBerry is in trouble, but it's not underwater like people would love to say.

Apple has no interest getting into enterprise. I've used their management tools before for Macs, utter crap, and not very reliable no less. If anything, they've done everything to get themselves out of the server market (goodbye Xserve), and the pro market (the new Mac Pro isn't particularly thrilling to people that needs to upgrade it with more storage, better graphics, etc). Frankly it's a surprise that they started getting FIPS certified.
Android is nowhere on that list either, and has little built-in management mechanisms.

But in any case, in the cycling use case, no. I wouldn't recommend the Z10 at all. But if he needs a single phone, and needs it for work, that could be different.

rpenmanparker 

Your comment suggests you ride with your smart phone in your pocket, not exposed on the handlebar or strapped on your arm. Last time I tried using a cycling app while riding with my IPhone 4, it couldn't see the GPS signal reliably when in my jersey pocket. The results were very sketchy and inaccurate. Same problem when hiking. I came to the conclusion I would have to mount it on the bar or my arm, but haven't done that yet. Is that problem a failing of the 4? Do newer models pick up the GPS better? What is your experience with this? Anyone else?

nelson4568

HTC ONE....ive had berries and apples. the ONE is the best i've had so far

kv501

I have a 4s, and there have been a few times I've been without my Garmin and used the phone instead. When I do it's just to track a ride and not for GPS directions, so I put it in my middle jersey pocket. I can't say I've ever had a problem with the tracking. It's not 100% as accurate as the Garmin, but it hasn't ever lost parts of my rides or given me wonky data.

That would be another downfall of the G4 for me if I had to mount it on the bars. That thing is just monstrous and I don't know where you'd put it without it getting in the way of something.

merlinextraligh

Take a look at this report for Credit Suisse

https://www.schwab.wallst.com/RESEAR...9LLODI7BMK4FFR

in 2012 RIM had 13.7 billion in revenue, and 2.2 billion in profit. Projected 2015 revenue is down over 60% to 4.6 billion, with a loss of 753 million, and a negative 10% margin.

Every analyst has them as underperform/ avoid, or similar.

They're circling the drain. Only question is when they're flushed.

kaisersling

I use IPhone for cycling. Primarily I use Strava, occasionally mapmyride and for listening to music on solos. I have been pretty happy with it for these purposes. My one complaint is the relatively short battery life when using GPS. I get maybe 3 hours out of it even when shutting all battery draining features, while my buddies Galaxy seems to go all day even with his blue tooth on (but his phone is huge and heavy).

calyth

Sure, and they said similar thing for Apple, before, and immediately after Jobs took over.

I'm not going to pollute this thread further with the tech talk, other than this - When I climb on the bike, all the fibres in my body tells me I'm out of breath, tired, and going to bail. When I manage to actually bike over the crest, it's a combination of how well my technique is (did I pace myself well, etc etc) and how well I shut off that internal negativity.

Apple did that before, I don't believe that they are the only one who can do this.

merlinextraligh

1) It's not pollution of the thread. If you're seriously considering buying a Blackberry it's relevant to consider the viability of the company.

2) People aren't writing apps for Blackberry; Corporate IT departments are dumping Blackberry. People aren't buying the product that was supposed to save the company, the BB10. Their tablet was a disaster. There's nothing in Blackberry's history, or current condition that would lead one to believe tehy're going to be the next Apple.

There's good reason to believe that Blackberry is going to continue to decline, which would be a pretty good reason not to invest in a Blackberry phone.

calyth

No disputes there that there's no active development for cycling apps on BlackBerry 10 right now.

RPK79

I'm personally fed up with using GPS apps on my phone (android based). Its battery life is poor, it drops sections of my route, and endomondo seems to crash on every single route I take over 30 miles. I have my eye on a cateye stealth 50 for its GPS capablity and cadence sensor (something my current computer lacks).

Long Tom

I use an iPhone 4 with MotionX GPS app. Instead of a seat bag, I got a similar-sized bag made by Timbuk2 at REI that straps to the top tube.... it has a clear plastic pocket for the phone so I can monitor the GPS app as I ride for time, mileage, average speed, etc. However, it's hard to see in sunlight.

It's nice to be able to save the tracks, and also to look at the speed and elevation graphs.

MotionX lets you download sat maps for areas you choose, which I found very useful on a wilderness backpack hunt last fall. To clarify: it will download maps on the fly for the AO you are in IF there's cell signal. If you are going somewhere there isn't, you can pre-load all banner of maps.

Not saying it's the greatest but it does work pretty slick. Plus the same device is a phone, plays Zombie Gunship, and I'm typing this post on it.

calyth

Weird. Where do you place the phone? Are there any covered / lots of trees in your long ride? I've only notice some GPS problems when all the phones near my home tower were having a tough time locating themselves.

Using the GPS on the phone is a good way to kill the battery, it just has to wake up constantly to do a bunch of calculations. Might be good to have spares if you use the cell phone route. The GPS bike computer usually suffers from poorly designed UI though.

pallen

I would recommend a Windows Phone over Blackberry and Windows Phone is fairly slow to get apps. I have Cyclometer for my Nokia - it used to sync to Strava, but Strava did something to the API to cut that off. Now you upload via email or something like that. I haven't tried it yet. I mostly use my Garmin instead.

RPK79

I keep the phone in my jersey pocket. I ride primarily on open highways so as far as I can tell there is nothing that should be blocking the signal.

calyth

Most of the GPS fixes on the phone are AGPS, and relies on the AGPS server from your carrier to get that near-instant fix. Phones may also use wifi networks and/or tower locations to get a rough fix.

If that stuff is broken, you'll find your phone having a hard time locating itself. I wouldn't be too surprised if the settings broke and your carrier didn't notice on the open highway - lack of phone GPS users plus the fact that these things relies on user report is like the perfect storm for deadspots.

If you have more than one phone acting up at the same place using the same carrier, give them a call, and tell them to check it out at that location. It could be misconfigured hardware for that tower.

RPK79

I'd rather just get the cateye and I would appreciate it if you didn't give my wife reasons for me not to get the cateye.