mHealth Sports Technologies
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About running; Training, technique, performance, speed work, the race, injuries, recovery
Bluetooth and ANT+ Sensor Tech for Mobile Phones Today
42October 30, 2010
*NEWS: iPhone 4S includes Bluetooth v4.0. See latest posts for details. *
Today’s post will attempt to outline the available connectivity solutions for sports applications across the major mobile platforms including Android, iPhone and Symbian. When you add up the number of daily smartphone activations around the globe, we’re talking over a half-million new handsets every day. Hard to believe especially when you do the extensions for the next calendar year: 1,8 billion! While I have no statistics on the number of people using their handsets for fitness logging or sports tracking, I have read that nearly 30% of the general population are runners. Statistics…meh. Nevertheless, we can draw a conclusion that there might be a lot of folks willing, and wanting, to use their new phones to track their fitness. So before I break down our options, I want to address something that gives you an idea of More >
Follow Team HTC-Columbia on Tour de France (link)
0July 4, 2010
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
Google’s MyTracks app to Provide Real-Time Tour de France Data
13July 2, 2010
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, More >
Polar WearLink Transmitter for Nike+
5June 9, 2010
Polar officially (finally!) announced heart rate monitor support for iPod users through Nike+ software and accessories. I’ve been hearing rumors about this for the past year but got the official word last Sunday via @ChrisPolarUSA on Twitter.
A look over the WearLink for Nike+ spec sheet and pricing details reveals versatility and value. With a MSRP of $69.95, you’ll get a heart rate transmitter for your iPod Nike+ set-ups that’s compatible with existing Polar hardware using familiar coded 5 kHz transmissions.
No word yet on what impact, if any, this might have on Sports Tracking Technology’s popular Sports Tracker app. Many a Sports Tracker fan knows their app was the first to officially partner with Polar Electronics using a nearly identical Polar WearLink transmitter back in January 2009. It was an extremely limited offering in three international markets that sent unlucky but ardent Sports More >
Zephyr’s HxM Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor -Review
89June 1, 2010
ANNOUNCEMENT: Share your HxM experiences and get answers to questions in our new RunningDigital Forums
I’ve been an advocate and constant user of heart rate monitors (hrm) since my first Polar in 1991. Back then, use of these systems were mostly isolated to professional athletes and University sports programs. Today, heart rate monitors are used by millions of people for a variety of reasons. When used properly, every aspect of your training can become more effective; From progress, to recovery and even safety.
Polar Electronics was first to popularize personal heart monitors with a simple chest-strap/wristwatch combination. Over the past 20 years that user-experience hasn’t changed much. Of course today’s models are far more capable and sophisticated than those of the past, but as more and more monitoring data got stuffed into our wristwatch computers, the learning-curve to use those