My last post highlighted that you’d be able to follow team HTC-Columbia using Google’s services, but no address was yet available. Also, I learned that the HTC Legend is the phone model being used by the entire team to gather data for this project.

Here is Google’s live link: http://www.google.com/mytrackstour

…one for HighRoad Sports live data: http://highroadsports.com/velostream

…and SRM’s TdF live page: http://www.srmlive.de/Data/Telemetry.html

I’ll get to the headline news in just a moment, but first an announcement on Google’s MyTracks Android app:

Very soon, Google’s MyTracks sports tracking application will be updated to support both ANT+ and Bluetooth devices, making MyTracks one of the most versatile apps in its category.

Back to the headline… Exciting news surrounding Tour de France coverage! Google and High Road Sports have entered a collaboration, together with partnerships from HTC and SRM, to bring spectators of the Tour de France closer than ever seen before.

High Road Sports announces a new technology and marketing collaboration with Google Inc., supported by partners HTC and SRM, that brings a worldwide audience further inside the experience of racing in the Tour de France.

Fans and viewers will be able to follow Team HTC-Columbia riders in real time with speed, heart rate, power output and other data provided by SRM, presented and enhanced with Google’s leading applications – Google Maps, Street View, Google Earth, Android, and My Tracks.

As the title sponsor of Team HTC-Columbia, HTC has worked closely with SRM, Google and High Road’s technical team to develop HTC Legend smartphones that operate with HTC Sense with Android™ 2.1. These smartphones will collect real time racing and location information and transmit it wirelessly to Google’s servers.  The phones run Google’s mobile application ‘My Tracks’ which reads the racing data directly from the SRM sensors on the bike.   Racing information is then enhanced with Google’s leading applications and made public to all interested viewers and users via API’s made available by Google.

Google is encouraging Press, TV and web developers to take the data and build rich applications that make use of the data at this year’s Tour de France. The read only API can be accessed through the contacts listed below.

“I’m thrilled about the opportunity to leverage Google’s My Tracks application to deliver real-time racing information to fans watching the Tour de France,” said Dylan Casey, Product Manager at Google and former professional cyclist with the US Postal Service team. “This is a unique, engaging way to help cycling fans all around the world get a sense of what the riders go through during each stage of the race and follow the performance of the world-class riders on Team HTC-Columbia. We’re fortunate to work with such great partners – High Road Sports, HTC, SRM, and ANT+ – to make this possible.”

“Professional cycling is such an advanced technical sport and we’re excited for Team HTC-Columbia to be embracing innovative wireless and location-based technologies like Google’s My Tracks and HTC smartphones to deliver unprecedented rider data to the team, media and cycling fans around the world,” said John Wang, chief marketing officer, HTC Corporation.

“Google and HTC are ideal partners to further develop the sport of cycling and present it to a worldwide audience in an engaging way,” says Owner of HTC-Columbia Bob Stapleton. “The interest of such innovative partners  is very encouraging and we look forward to continuing to develop this project in the future.”

Source: High Road Sports

I purchased my Android mobile with Google’s apps and services integration as the main draw. The announcement above is exactly what I had been hoping for; Mobile sports tracking is about to get center stage attention.

MyTracks already combines a number of Google services to make it stand out in a competitive category. Google Docs, Maps, Maps Editor, and Google Earth all seamlessly integrate with the MyTracks application. Together with support for ANT+ and Bluetooth devices, you can immediately expect heart rate data to be added, as well as the potential for all sorts of new vital statistics to add to your recorded workouts.

Thanks to Rodrigo from the MyTracks team for the alert on the news!

The list below contains the apps, hardware and services I’m currently looking at for use with my HTC Desire Android handset surrounding running. I also will continue to keep up with Sports Tracker using my Nokia N79 Active Edition. I do not have access to an iPhone.

Here’s a list of features that I want in a sports tracker app:

1. Easy access to data during my run. Pace, distance, time and heart rate should be easy to read on a single screen.
2. Map access during my run. Preferably cached to SD card to save on data. OpenStreetMaps allows you to contribute your routes to improve your local map accuracy.
3. Heart Rate Monitor compatibility. Zephyr’s HxM has an SDK that allows quick integration with any Android app, though only supported in Android 2.1 or higher. Other heart rate manufacturers also provide SDK’s.
4. Data should be importable and exportable. Standardized .gpx, .kml and .kmz file types can be used with a variety of services and allow you to keep all those hard-earned workouts together, forever.
5. Direct uploading to a website. You should be able to choose how and when your workout data is uploaded, too.
6. A website that allows you to dig into the data of your workout. Using a variety of metrics, workouts should be organized in a log, preferably in a calendar for ease of access.
7. Configurability. From how often waypoints are recorded, to satellite sensitivity, to user details and lap statistics.
8. Voice feedback. Useful on your run to minimize touching your handset. You should be able to choose what data you want to hear, as often as you need it.

I’ll continue to edit this post with basic notes for each app as I get the opportunity to use them. Please share in a comment what you are using or if I have overlooked something interesting you’d like me to add.

*SportsTrackLive www.sportstracklive.com Currently my favorite. Highly configurable with loads of options. Currently the only app to support Zephyr’s BioHarness, which brings functionality and data never before seen outside of sports labs. Complete review to be published with my next post.

*Endomondo www.endomondo.com Lots of good features in a great-looking app. Missing some important configurability.

*Run.GPS www.rungps.net No other app in my list has as many tools. Highly configurable, missing nothing. However, it does this with too many menus to navigate through, especially during a run. Needs a graphics overhaul, imho. Heart rate is supported in two premium versions: Run.GPS Trainer UV Full for €15 and Run.GPS Trainer UV Pro Full for €39.95.

My Tracks (Google) mytracks.appspot.com This simple app does everything I’m looking for, save for heart rate data. Plus, it integrates with Google services like Docs and Maps Editor. *(Stay tuned for more on MyTracks as I just learned it will soon support heart rate monitoring using the Zephyr HxM.)

RunKeeper runkeeper.com Heart rate support will be added soon. (I’m stopping here tonight for lack of time. I’ll continue to add more info soon.)

SportyPal www.sportypal.com Heart rate monitor support will be added soon.

JogTracker www.jogtracker.com

CardoTrainer www.worksmartlabs.com

runstar runstar.se They are looking into adding heart rate data at the moment.

Biotrak http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~jleehey/Biotrak/

Buddy Runner www.buddyrunner.com

SoftRace softrace.net

SmartTraining awwa500.blogspot.com (Japanese)

AllSport GPS by Trimble portal.trimbleoutdoors.com

runtastic runtastic.com

Handy Runner handyrunner.com integrates with RunningAHEAD athletic logging services

zephyropen (Google code project) code.google.com/p/zephyropen Open source SDK for Health Monitoring Devices. Using Zephyr’s HxM.

OnTri www.ontri.com

eRunners Body www.physiosensing.com

Running Calc isakson.info

*Heart Rate Monitor androidheartmonitor.com For use with Zephyr’s HxM.

Frwd B Series Heart Rate Monitors for Mobiles (discontinued distribution outside of FINLAND) www.frwd.fi

Kyto Electronics Heart Rate Monitors (Bluetooth) www.kytocn.com model HRM-2805

Zephyr Technology Heart Rate Monitors (Bluetooth) www.zephyr-technology.com models HxM and BioHarness

*(These apps currently support heart rate monitoring using Zephyr’s HxM. Many of the other apps above have said they’re planning to add support for the HxM soon.)

It comes as no surprise to those who know me that I’ve been a Nokia/Symbian fan since the 90′s. Every mobile I’ve owned, save for my first in a 1991 Fujitsu, has been Nokia. Over the years that meant I had a lot of “firsts”; 1st mobile browser, 1st camera, 1st multi-band, 1st BT earbud, 1st to load a 3rd-party app, 1st to use my mobile for music and video, 1st to make VoIP calls… All of this before any iPhone was even rumored.

Oh, the iPhone. In the year leading up to Apple’s iPhone launch, all those who knew me as “that Nokia dude” asked me if I was going to get one and what my thoughts on it were. Made sense, I’ve also remained a Mac user over the years. Well, armed with knowledge from a vast community of ardent Nokia/Symbian loyalists, I knew better. My answer always politely leaned, “The iPhone is a cute effort but I’ll stick with Nokia, thank you”. Why? Simple: Nokia is the largest, most innovative, most user-friendly… A company with a reputation for these and a lot more points was surely baking an answer to the iPhone that no loyal customer would want to miss out on. Nearly four years later it’s clear that I was wrong. For all the Nokia/Symbian fanboys that taught me to laugh at the competition, sorry, the joke was on us. The iPhone, love it or hate it, changed everything and Nokia is now choking on a contrail of silicon dust that’s not just coming from Apple’s charge forward. Nokia are still good, they just aren’t doing anything market-leading to earn my business. Time to try the competition!

So last month I broke form, went against my sensibilities and decided to buy a mobile not made by Nokia. I bought an HTC Desire. Before it was delivered, regret was everything I feared. Touch-only UI, “new” OS, buggy apps, poor multi-tasking, less-than-Nokia quality… I was leaving free(not) Ovi Maps and my beloved Nokia Sports Tracker for Frozen Yogurt with little green robots from Google. What was I thinking?

My HTC Desire arrived and within 15 minutes I felt like I was using a device I might have dreamed about as a little kid lost in sci-fi novelette fantasy. From purely my user experience, this mobile corrects and exceeds every standard Nokia had set for me. A month of use later and exploring the Android community, I have to say I’m thoroughly thrilled with my Desire. In fact, the only thing negative my new mobile has brought about is my attitude toward Nokia and it’s die-hard community of “Stick with us, a fix is on the way!” loyalists. I realized yet another lesson in life: Brand-loyalty makes fools of us. Save your loyalty for family, friends and… perhaps football:-) Am I an Android fanboy now? For now, yes. Google has taken what Apple revitalized and made it friggin’ exciting!

Why am I writing this post in a blog about running? My mobile is a part of my training and I use it to track my performance and health. Required tools to do these things are not only offered in the Android Market, but in a competitive one with many capable applications and accessories. With what I’m after, Nokia/Symbian really offered just Sports Tracker and Endomondo. You may perhaps debate Google’s part in a closed-versus-open argument when it comes to OS development, apps and tools. With what I’m after, Android gives me access to all the things I want, NOW, without a wait; Something Nokia/Symbian simply cannot do at present.

Nevertheless, my only wish in making this switch to Android is that I could have Sports Tracker along for the ride. I was really hoping to see their talents in the Android Market, nearly a year since leaving Nokia. An Android Sports Tracker presence would be all-benefiting.

My next few posts will highlight my Android running companion in all of its parts. Reviews of the latest sports software and services to available heart-rate hardware. Sport-friendly accessories will get coverage too, such as headphones and comfy arm-pouches.

If you’re in the market for a new mobile, I hope you get the chance to try before you buy. HTC, and Android, are doing some incredible stuff right now.

A new version of Sports Tracker became available today in the Ovi Store for S60 touch-screen mobiles. Soon after the app was added to the store I received a call from Jussi Kaasinen, one of the developer/owners of Sports Tracking Technologies Ltd (STT for short on my blog) I was informed of the new release and asked to share some details of our conversation as official Sports Tracker news. There aren’t volumes of information to report, nevertheless its great to hear from our friends after such a long winter of silence.

Beginning with platform support, Jussi said that in addition to today’s release we should expect new versions for all S60 mobiles in the coming weeks. He says, “We are now giving all necessary attention and support to S60, as there are millions of existing users out there to serve.” The STT team wants to be sure all of us who have been there through the years are taken care of first. He also said that other platforms will be supported at a later time, but refrains from any details or promises as those versions are still in development.

Moving on to user data Jussi explains that, as promised, great care has been taken to insure no loss of data, aiming for a totally seamless transition to the new service. This includes user name, profile, settings and all details of your workout history. The STT team had hoped that the new website would be ready for today’s release version, unfortunately its not quite ready to launch. Soon!

The next bit of news surely leaves us with a lot of questions; Polar heart rate monitors. Jussi only says that the STT team includes the heart rate features in the new versions to provide continuation to exisiting N79 Active users, “…who have changed their primary device to a touch model (and there’s quite an impressive number of them- based on the huge number of folks who have contacted us recently).” We’ll just have to wait for more STT/Polar news.

Jussi and the rest of the team are thrilled and thankful for all of the loyal Sports Tracker users who have been longing for news and support. He said his inbox has thousands of emails in it (naturally impossible to reply to them all) but is continually energized and touched by all the comments of support for Sports Tracker. Especially those of you who were inspired to become active as a result of using the app/service for the first time.

Jussi and I will stay in touch to bring you more information and updates as they become available.

I just received a call from Jussi Kaasinen of Sports Tracking Technologies and will share the details in a post later this evening. A new version of Sports Tracker has been added to the OVI Store.

Thanks to Vaibhav Sharma of TheSymbianBlog, we had news yesterday from the Ovi Maps team that Nokia Sports Tracker Beta (NST) is “evolving” into a Maps component, called Ovi Journeys. I’ve been anticipating a move like this ever since Nokia made a statement that they would be “…giving Sports Tracker wings…” a couple months ago.

For those of us who have been following NST closely from the beginning, the last time the it’s developers (Ykä Huhtala and Jussi Kaasinen) engaged their audience directly was about a year ago. Since then there’s been a virtual blackout, save for server change/downtime announcements. And yes, I am including the Polar for Nokia heart rate monitor experiment. In today’s fast-paced and crowded application market, many notable apps have been refined by developers directly responding to user feedback. However, if our guys at NST are listening, no one would ever know.

When Ykä and Jussi were last publicly asking about what NST users were thinking, it was surrounding the Nokia Vine Project. Those of us who had fallen in love with SportsTracker saw Vine as a probable successor to the sports-centric app. It made perfect sense when you considered the most universally applicable aspects of NST; Geo-tagging captured media along a recorded route. All the runners, cyclists and skiers using NST combined would be dwarfed by a well-impemented social geo-networking service using the same tools NST provides. Admitting this to myself, I was waiting for Vine to take over NST sometime soon in December 2008. Then, suddenly, Vine went dark and its embeddable tracking widget stopped working in January 2009.

February rolls around and Nokia announces NST will be adding heart rate monitors in a joint venture with Polar. Looking back, this had to be one of the worst handled bits of news for NST. Initially I was elated that my favorite app was not only showing signs life, but seemed to have more momentum than ever. The addition of heart rate stats confirmed NST as the king of the mountain. Packaged and promoted correctly, I saw NST as a potentially better athletic tool than anything Suunto, Garmin or Polar currently had. You got route recording, vital statistics, maps, camera, music, phone and everything else typical of a S60 device versus an expensive wristwatch with all kinds of accessories to buy.

So, what happened? The NST/Polar for Nokia (N79 Active Edition) announcement had an incredible public response initially. A cute YouTube video promoting the package gets hundreds of thousands of views. Nokia Beta Labs (NBL) Sports Tracker forum lights up as the most actively commented application. Questions came often and from everywhere looking for release dates. NBL moderators told us the NST devs were overwhelmed with their workload and would no longer be able to respond to questions, but that the team was “silently listening” to all feedback given. Eventually, we learned that the N79 AE and Polar for Nokia accessory was just an experiment, a test if you will. No details were ever given to the status of the project and NST’s devs became more silent than ever before. Only three test markets (NO, FI and ZA) would see a very limited release of the N79 AE and the Polar for Nokia accessory would only make it into the hands of a lucky few.

Then, on July 30 of this year came this announcement from Nokia Conversations: “Nokia is not killing Sports Tracker, but giving it some wings and will discontinue the Nokia Sports Tracker beta towards the end of 2009 migrating it to Sports Tracking Technologies…Given more breathing room, the Sport Tracker guys will be able to start developing other related sports apps.” 10 weeks later and we have yet to hear from our guys at NST about anything.

Back to the news which broke yesterday calling Ovi Journeys an “evolution” of NST.

I don’t care how you spin it, as good as Ovi Journeys sounds as a more practical implementation of NST’s basic tool-set, please don’t call it an evolution for the app. To the contrary, it’s the death of Nokia Sports Tracker Beta and is Nokia’s way of salvaging their stake in the popular app. An EVOLUTION for NST would be a more stable mobile app, adding richer workout analyzations and fitness calculators/tools to its web services and for it’s developers to re-establish open dialogues with their loyal users.

With nearly 3000 km recorded in the last calendar year alone (running only) using NST, tons of forum feedback, bug reporting, assisting other users, promoting the service and proud owner of a N79 AE, I’m self-qualified as a loyal user. How about some news from Sports Tracking Technologies? Please.

I’m not sure when I first began using the term “beta” with my Nokias, but I think it was Opera for S60 Symbian on my Nokia 3650. However, I really ramped things up on the beta-front when I bought my E61. Back then (2006), I was excited for the E61′s connectivity, namely WiFi. Not for the most-used app’s like web-browser and email, but for VoIP calling which I had been using for years via PC. The E61 was one of Nokia’s first handsets to get WiFi and it was rumored that VoIP calling was possible on it, so I bit.

Not so fast. What it took a bio-chem engineer with little IT knowledge to get a VoIP account set up on that E61, months before a fix via firmware update helped everybody else, was countless hours of frustration and just as many handset hard-resets. Most importantly though, my quest to find a workaround led me to a whole new world. I began to see that there were lots of new developers with budding applications and tools which were designed to unlock the potential of my handset, be it VoIP or something else; A file browser which gave me access to previously hidden folders/drives, or a GPS logger, a scientific calculator or translating dictionary. No I didn’t need an “app store”, Google was fine.

Early 2006 there were hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny apps for Symbian and Java. Many of which used the term “beta”. I soon discovered that many devs never intended to finish their “betas” due to copyright and/or compensation ambiguities/workarounds. These were the “eternally beta” selections; Basically, these are mostly stable apps with flexible developers. And a SMART developer could apply user feedback to instantly help his fan base, or his “donation” pot, grow a bit larger.

Enter Nokia Beta Labs. With a small handful of apps to begin with, including Nokia Sports Tracker and Gizmo for S60, Nokia seemed to have a brand new playground for me. Just don’t look up “beta” in any dictionary for its useful definition. No, Nokia Beta Labs is a beta project in and of itself and every application on their site comes with its own rules and stories which, too, are constantly changing. Some apps have devs extra curious to their user’s wants and needs, while other dev teams might be surprised to find out that their app is a part of Nokia Beta Labs in the first place. Regardless, I can’t figure why a dev team wouldn’t want to be all over their user feedback. Granted, as a Contributor of the Month recipient at Nokia Beta Labs myself, I have seen a heaping ton of worthless feedback. Yet amongst the noise you’ll find some fantastic ideas and realistic user participation/expectations… full of excitement.

So the term beta, as it historically applies to software applications remains as vaguely defined as ever: Use at your own risk, Use may be revoked at any time, May cause damage, May not be used in a production environment, May be eternally in beta, May not be used in your region. Beta may be a marketing tool; Spread the word, get’um hooked. Nevertheless, if it means unlocking my handset’s potential, with a chance to help mold an app or simply glimpse at what’s around the corner… If it looks like it will add functionality… Back up my phone and load it on.

If today’s beta projects ever had a shining example of what to do and how to do it, then it might be Gravity for S60 Twitter client. Near perfect execution by just one developer, Jan Ole Suhr of Mobileways.de. Conversely, perhaps the worst example of a beta-phase execution is in my beloved Nokia Sports Tracker; In 2007, it had no competitive counterpart. Now, its two developers, Ykä Huhtala and Jussi Kaasinen, besides an occassional note about server changes/status and the rare app update are going to find it difficult to stand out after their separation with Nokia. Their style of, as quoted on the Nokia Beta Labs website, “Quietly listening” to feedback will have to change.

No matter what, “beta” should imply and encourage momentum, if not velocity, in ever-growing application markets. It should be the budding developer’s calling card and handshake.

UMapper Map of the Week

Once more, I want to thank Andrei and the guys over at UMapper for recognizing my Nokia contest entry for their Map of the Week. They gave me the same honor a few weeks ago for one of my routine Sports Tracker workouts.

UMapper can be used by anyone for logging and embedding custom maps just about anywhere. I started using their service to embed maps of each of my workouts when I began this blog, and I like that I can choose from many different map providers, each with multiple viewing options. I also like that I can add graphics, information and media to my maps and see those changes reflected anywhere I have embedded a particular map.

All UMapper features are quite user-friendly, especially for WordPress bloggers via UMapper’s available plug-in.

-David Hroncheck

A Detour for Some Fun

The guys over at the Nokia Innovations Newsdesk started a contest, “Track a Heart, Win a Nokia N79 Active”. They’re asking participants to use the Nokia Sports Tracker program, available for most Nokia handsets, to trace the shape of a heart on the earth. To enter, go to the Sports Tracker website and create an account, then join the group “Location Artists”. Install the Sports Tracker application on your Nokia mobile and start “drawing”. Your workout routes show up as a continuous line, what you do with that line can be artwork with some planning. Here’s a screenshot of my workout for the contest:

My workout page for the N79 Active contest

The planning for my entry too a couple hours using Google Earth. I first looked locally for the most natural heart shaped route, then I printed out the map for easier planning. The way the Sports Tracker application works requires your artwork to be drawn in one continuous path. So it’s not possible to stop your line and begin again elsewhere.

The way I’m using Sports Tracker nearly every day to record my training, I have become quite familiar with it’s features, mostly by trial and error. I noticed that any pause in satellite data would create a straight line (usually) to the point where the satellite signal is picked up again. I also have made mistakes by pausing the application mid-route when I wanted to register a lap instead. These issues and more were resolved a long time ago, but I thought I might be able to turn those problems into a technique for the “Location Art” contest; And it worked.

Once I planned my design, I mapped out a single-continuous route. For easier reference to my path, I saved all the key waypoints in the necessary order as landmarks within my Nokia Maps application on my mobile. I began a new workout at the first scheduled waypoint and, basically, connected the dots (waypoints) as I continued, always referring to the next landmark in my Nokia Maps application. The lines I drew which crossed over the tops of buildings and over water (though it is currently ice anyway) were made possible by pausing the Sports Tracker application at one waypoint then resuming at the next, resulting in a straight line.

Problems. After testing this technique a bit I set out for my first attempt. Sparing you the fine details, I failed. I completed the route, my heart rate high just from adrenaline, and I immediately checked the output. FAIL. My heart looked like a spider web. Not all my waypoints were successfully recorded. I just spent 4,5 hours biking 39,5km and it didn’t work. Oh, and I missed my first scheduled running workout since Christmas…Bad.

Success. The next day I headed out earlier with some ideas on how to insure a better result. Another 4,5 hours and nearly 40km later, I stopped the application and checked the output. It still was missing some waypoints that I had visited, nevertheless, the results were pretty good. Feeling rejuvenated from relief, I resumed my training program when I got home by running some hill repeats; Back to life.

No matter how I fair in this contest, I feel pretty good about having done this little project. I’m more familiar with my city’s streets and found some new shortcuts. I’ll also forever visually regard certain areas of my city relative to this project; “That restaurant is at the bottom of the seven“. Anyway, it was a rather fun detour Nokia provided me with this challenge.

Grand prize is a Nokia N79 Active, featuring the new Polar BT Wear-Link chest strap. Some runner-ups will receive the Polar BT Wear-Link chest strap, compatible with a new version of Sports Tracker on many Nokia devices. Good luck to everyone who enters!

Running Digital Thanks UMapper!

One of the advantages of using Word Press for blogging is their easy to use library of third-party plug-ins.  It’s right in line with my focus on flexibility and personalization, offering something for everybody. For my needs, the most useful plug in I’m using comes from UMapper.

All the maps of my workouts, filed under the tab “My Training”, were embedded using the UMapper plug in. I get to choose between a variety of map providers when creating a new map, then I upload the KML data file exported from my Nokia Sports Tracker application. If needed, I can manually add more details and markers, resize, align and insert my completed map anywhere on my blog. It’s very easy to use.

Yesterday I was notified by UMapper that my use of their product was recognized for their “Map of the Week” feature. Here’s what they had to say:

“From time to time we see some very interesting usages of UMapper. David Hroncheck from Running Digital uses innovative tracking technology for his endurance running training. This week’s featured map shows visualization of one of those exhausting runs!”-UMapper Feb 1, 2009

So, thanks to UMapper for showcasing my use of their product!

-David Hroncheck