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Apps Versus Garmin
Posted by
sook54
,
01 February 2011
·
345 views
My Garmin died when it got very wet during the brief but intense downpour on the occasion of the Sydney Summer Twilight series Yab Nur run a few weeks ago. Being a bit of a cheapskate these days (since I've gone back to halftime work) I've been 1. begging, borrowing and stealing Mr Sook's Garmin whenever I can, and 2. trying out a couple of iphone apps in the hope that I'd be able to save a few hundred dollars in replacement costs.
First thing to say is that I now really appreciate the Garmin 405 interface. I don't have an armband for my iphone so run with it in pocket or spibelt, meaning that it's not easily accessible. A watch really makes sense because it's there right on your wrist to stop/start etc, as well as monitor regularly. With the iphone apps I tried - imapmyrun+ and runmeter - you can turn on audio commentary for each km.
Overall the runmeter app definitely outscores the imapmyrun one. I was hoping the latter would work because it would mean I could integrate my training and log all my workouts via their online interface (which I already use occasionally to plan and check route distances). But I have found it was just too inaccurate, both the GPS and also the spoken calculations on pace. E.g. on Sunday it measured my long run at 25km when it was actually 28!
Runmeter does have a remote function - you use a slow doubleclick on your headphone remote to stop/start it. And you can also set it to a sort of autopause function - neither of these are possible with imapmyrun+, where the only way to control it is to actually press stop/start on the iphone itself, which in my case means fumbling around to get it out, put in the phone passcode etc.
Neither of the apps are any use at all for the most important function I use on my Garmin - timing and logging interval sessions. There just seems to be no substitute for that yet.
I think the GPS in the phones is just not as good quality as the Garmin one - that and the ability to track intervals and the ease of use mean that I'll be continuing to filch Mr Sook's Garmin until I can afford to replace my own.
First thing to say is that I now really appreciate the Garmin 405 interface. I don't have an armband for my iphone so run with it in pocket or spibelt, meaning that it's not easily accessible. A watch really makes sense because it's there right on your wrist to stop/start etc, as well as monitor regularly. With the iphone apps I tried - imapmyrun+ and runmeter - you can turn on audio commentary for each km.
Overall the runmeter app definitely outscores the imapmyrun one. I was hoping the latter would work because it would mean I could integrate my training and log all my workouts via their online interface (which I already use occasionally to plan and check route distances). But I have found it was just too inaccurate, both the GPS and also the spoken calculations on pace. E.g. on Sunday it measured my long run at 25km when it was actually 28!
Runmeter does have a remote function - you use a slow doubleclick on your headphone remote to stop/start it. And you can also set it to a sort of autopause function - neither of these are possible with imapmyrun+, where the only way to control it is to actually press stop/start on the iphone itself, which in my case means fumbling around to get it out, put in the phone passcode etc.
Neither of the apps are any use at all for the most important function I use on my Garmin - timing and logging interval sessions. There just seems to be no substitute for that yet.
I think the GPS in the phones is just not as good quality as the Garmin one - that and the ability to track intervals and the ease of use mean that I'll be continuing to filch Mr Sook's Garmin until I can afford to replace my own.
