Garmin or fancy android phone

[beccaB]

Those are all good thoughts I hadn't considered. My husband has the lesser Garmin that doesn't give a gps to you at the moment, I think it's the 500. this is a really big birthday for me, and a milestone, considering my mom was in the end stage when she was the age I am now. I am so thankful to be healthy and alive and able to take good care of my health. in other words a celebratory purchase of the higher end Garmin wouldn't be totally frivolous.

[OakLeaf]

Supposedly the newest 4G phones get mondo battery life. If I were due for a new phone I'd be looking very, very hard at a LG Revolution or Samsung Charge. Even so, they claim some 6-7 hours usage time, which even if you finished a ride by then, it would stink to be scrambling to plug in your phone. And it's possible that they only get that kind of life when they're actually receiving 4G signal, which in most places people ride bicycles, you wouldn't be.

My HTC Incredible (first generation) gets just about exactly five hours running iMapMyRide with NO accessories - that's with keeping it on the car charger on the way to the ride, no HRM, no cadence, no power meter, and with the display OFF, just recording the ride to download later (and for the live tracking which I haven't yet been able to get to work). I can easily get 13-14 hours out of either my Garmin 705 or 310XT.

[Velocivixen]

@beccaB, okay, you said it is a "milestone" birthday, so now I want to know how old you'll be?

I have no insight into your original question though. Keep us posted.

[beccaB]

@beccaB, okay, you said it is a "milestone" birthday, so now I want to know how old you'll be?

I have no insight into your original question though. Keep us posted.

The big 50. And I'm not one of those people who gets depressed on birthdays. It's the greatest blessing around!

[TrekTheKaty]

Another advantage or garmin--if you lose gps, then the cadence sensor will "fill in" mileage. I'm probably not explaining it correctly. When i download, mileage is correctly, even if i lost a signal.

[Bethany1]

rubysoho,

Do you have the "stand alone GPS" set on your phone? Go into settings, press location and check the box. I couldn't get my apps to work until that box was checked. LBS guy showed me that feature. You should get a green sattelite icon on the top of your screen.

I don't ride for hours so I don't know about the battery life of my Incredible. I don't think the GPS is the most accurate but if you just want to keep track of some info it works great.

I also have a Bontrager Node 1 sensor on my bike which I like, but it doesn't have GPS.

If you need a heart rate monitor, I did see apps for one in the Market. Just press your finger on the screen and it tells you what it is. How accurate it is, I don't know as I didn't download it.

If you don't want to deal with a phone I'd go for the Garmin.

[Bike Writer]

BeccaB congrats on your approaching milestone birthday! That is a big one. I don't have a Garmin but do have a BB. Since I can't compare I would suggest a GPS unit for navigational purposes if you get lost a lot.

My BB has the app MapMyRide on it and it also has a GPS navigational system that is a paid by the month feature so if I got lost I could use it to find my way through the GPS, mapmyride does not give live mapping data visible on the phone, it just saves the route and you can view it on your computer. This might work different on a Droid or iPhone. MapMyRide offers a live feature but I think it works on a computer, as in you let people know you'll be riding and they can "follow" you live on their computer. Handy if you are alone and something dreadful happens, at least people would be able to find you. If you have smart friends or family that know you use this application and you ever got abducted you could turn it on and you could be found. I know, my mind works pretty out there sometimes.

No matter what navigational feature I use on my phone it sucks the life out of the battery so for long rides that could work against you.

For the purposes you are wanting to use it for, I'd go with a GPS only unit. Plus if you don't want the absolute latest and greatest phone most phone service providers offer an upgrade pretty cheap as long as it's not the newest phone out there. When I first got my BB three years ago my provider was going to charge me $100 for it, I squealed that I've been with them for over 15 years and I could get one for $50 from another provider. I ended up with a free Blackberry. It pays to speak up if you have been a loyal customer.

[zoom-zoom]

Another advantage or garmin--if you lose gps, then the cadence sensor will "fill in" mileage. I'm probably not explaining it correctly. When i download, mileage is correctly, even if i lost a signal.

Yep, I can ride my bike on the trainer all Winter and still track my miles, since the sensor records wheel revolutions.

[Veronica]

Thom's been using his new Samsung Infuse to record our hikes. I've been using my Garmin - guess whose battery runs out first?

Veronica

[blue_angel]

I have both a fancy Android phone and a Garmin Forerunner 305. The Garmin has the added benefit of being easily mounted onto your bike and working with a cadence sensor. No Android app lets you do that. To be honest, I never use the GPS function on the Garmin, except for when I download my workouts into the software, so I can't speak to that particular aspect, which might be what you care about more than mounting and cadence.

Either way, you'll get something great. And congrats on your milestone birthday!

[TrekTheKaty]

I recommend a garmin. I use the heart rate, cadence, speed and mileage features, along with downloading info to mapmyride (iphone, if we think we're lost). I have a garmin 305 (left over from running days) that DH just confiscated for Strava. Lately, I've been using mapmyride on my iphone. The ant+ handlebar mount is another $100, so i can't see my info while riding (jersey pocket). I also worry about battery life on long rides, so I'll be buying a Garmin 500(?) soon.

[tprevost]

definitely the Garmin! We splurged on new Garmins a few months ago (had the 305's before that) and the new ones are fabulous!!! Wish we had made that purchase a while ago!!!

[Owlie]

I have neither, and I know someone mentioned this up-thread, but I'd be concerned about those apps eating your phone's battery life and not having the phone in an emergency.