After a recent post, “Rant 1 – 2019 – The Problem with sports watch reviews, freebies and tech bloggers” I started to think a bit more about the issues of the INDEPENDENCE of reviewers/bloggers in the sports gadget market. We all have our favourite sources of online news, scandal and general tech-titillation. I’m no exception.…
I don’t usually write about smartphones but this news is peripherally relevant to GPS sports watches as it heralds yet more companies taking dual-band GNSS accuracy more seriously. These initiatives MIGHT herald copycat technical imprvements in the sports watch realm. Well…that is…someone might finally soon START doing it! ie Garmin Here are the specs for…
MIO recently trailed a new announcement (here) and today it’s properly official: mioPOD The new mioPOD is what the first generation of Mio devices should have morphed into in 2015/6 when their super-innovative optical HRM bands somewhat stalled in the marketplace as the larger GPS companies and smartwatch companies started to take over the leadership…
Hammerhead has just released one of their larger, monthly software updates, this time there is integration with Shimano Di2 and Garmin Varia. (v1.95.686.3) The Di2 capabilities on the Karoo vary depending on the exact components you have. Di2 can just be shifting but the higher-end shifters also have buttons on top of the hoods which…
Tour de France 2020 Next year’s TdF is a sneaky all-France affair with no detours into foreign countries. We also see the removal of the Team Time Trial, which I quite liked. For those of you with a vague interest in the TdF and more of an interest in a French holiday, I can…
Today you will get the latest major firmware update (V4.0.11) to the Polar Vantage sports watches ie BOTH the M and V (V-Titan) models have new features but there are some differences between the models This Version 4 release has been broadly publicised in advance for several months on Polar’s roadmap page. A quick look…
Here are two related stories based on Whoop, knowing my readership I’m hoping that at least one of them will be of interest to most people. Whoop & Broadcasting HR The first two versions of Whoop couldn’t broadcast HR using any standard method. That’s changed with the v3 released earlier this year as Whoop 3…
via @John This has been up on the net for quite a while but it looks like the Garmin HRM-PRO is real (it is). But I’d missed before where it said that ski power will be introduced as part of the new XC ski-related metrics. The ski season starts soon…hurry up with that belt Mr…
V2.196 – 18 Oct 2019 This post is continuously updated and normally replaced monthly. It gives you an indication of which GPS Run, Bike and Triathlon sports devices are available NOW, which are DISCONTINUED and which are likely to be superseded SOON. This month’s edition (October) has an significantly updated section at the end on…
It had to happen. The UCI seem to have sanctioned a ZWIFT eSports World Championship for 2020. It’s a nice idea I suppose and we’ve talked about it here and many, many other places. One of the beauties of watching the TdF on TV is the banter and in-depth knowledge of the commentators, as the…
Just over a year ago, Norwest Equity Partners invested an undisclosed sum into Wahoo Fitness. Clearly, this was always going to be more about a significant business expansion rather than building a slightly better HRM. I’m pretty sure that’s right as Wahoo released the ‘slightly better HRM’ a few months before the investment (Tickr FIT)…
A report with Reuters suggests that Fitbit is up for sale. The company has hired an investment bank to explore options. One option is to sell out to Alphabet (Google). Fitbit has recently been making some good corporate partnerships to ship its devices and services but I suspect is finding selling its watches to the…
STRAVA Fitness – now on the app STRAVA very recently further rolled out their FITNESS feature on the app. It looks nicely implemented but, apart from one nuance, STRAVA Fitness looks to provide similar information to that found in many other platforms. Despite this lack of novelty…it’s a good thing. STRAVA is showing messages on…
It looks like a new feature has been planned at STRAVA for quite some time, it’s called TOP STOPS. STRAVA has got a lot of data about you. Just think, it’s more than the segments you ride and the flybys you had. It’s more than the gear you say you’ve used and the routes you’ve…
Now, THIS NEWS is going to annoy some people BIG TIME. For the rest of us, indeed most of us, we won’t even notice the difference. Problem: STRAVA appears to have specific issues when you use their app to directly record your workouts AND specifically if you also have sensors attached. Well, actually it’s wider…
Mio Pod It looks like one of the first optical HR companies is back with a bang…I mean band. This is Mio global who made the MIO Link (Velo, Fuse) and similar HR straps. They used a Phillips sensor and were GOOD at the time and I think I still l have them in a…
Garmin Fenix 6 – Firstbeat Insights You get all of this clever stuff thrown in – shown in the image from Firstbeat. And it is clever. I’ll talk about the more interesting features further below in more detail. Be mindful that optical HR from the wrist might cause issues with the accuracy of the…
You’ve got your STRAVA account and you’ve set up the HOME ZONE so no-one can find out where you live and steal your bike. Phew!! All’s good, right? Your data is private and safe? Well…emphatically …NO. Before STRAVA even gets your file from, let’s say, Garmin, you will probably have already given Garmin MUCH more…
Garmin Vivoactive 4 Specifications | VA4, VA4s, Venu | VA3M Comparison
Suunto have just announced the Suunto 9 Baro Titanium IRONMAN Limited Edition watch, there was an earlier Red Bull edition. That’s like the existing Suunto 9 Baro Titatnium with some new IM branding. #Sweet…if you like that sort of thing. I’ll update the details here if i remember or you can click through to this…
