Garmin or fancy android phone

[chicago]

The Verizon guy ("can you hear me now?"-no not that one) said telephone GPS isn't as good as a regular, dedicated instrument. That was about 1.5 years ago, so maybe some are better.

He's also the one who talked me out of the Droid because he said the jostling on the bike would be detrimental. Turns out my step-daughter has dropped hers many times & it keeps works. Who knows?

I carry my iPhone in my bento box all the time, never had a problem. Plus, I dropped that thing 100x as well... but I have a good cover... no problems.

To the OP... it's a toss up. I have a super sweet Garmin that I don't use Why?, because the battery life sucks on it. If I don't charge it the night or day before, it's not good. Plus I can't use it on out of town trips where we need to camp, etc... cause I can't count on having a charge near by. I don't have a droid, but I have an iPhone and I think I would go for the phone.

I never thought I would say this since I paid like $300.00 for my Garmin... but you know, my $50.00 cateye does the job as well... and is the computer that is currently on my bike... never needs a charge and is always ready when I am

[OakLeaf]

If you need navigation, a non-GPS bike computer is no help.

I'd contact Garmin about that battery.

Phones need a charge every day even if you're not using them. On a multi day trip away from outlets, your options are solar or external battery pack.

[bluebug32]

I bought my husband a Garmin 705 when he got his doctorate three years ago and he still uses it on every ride. In that period of time, he's been through three smart phones. I'd say a Garmin is a better investment!

[zoom-zoom]

I have a super sweet Garmin that I don't use Why?, because the battery life sucks on it. If I don't charge it the night or day before, it's not good.

Do you keep it fully charged when not in use? Reason I ask is that EVERY person I know who has had issues with Garmin batteries has let them run down frequently. The type of battery Garmins (and cell phones) use start to lose capacity if they are allowed to run down too often.

I recently replaced my original Forerunner 305 when it started getting flaky and the top half had started to separate from the bottom half. But I'd had it 3.5 years and had really put it through it's paces between my runs and rides. Almost daily usage for probably an average of 60-90 minutes/day. Rain, snow, sleet, hail...

When not actually on my wrist or on my bike that thing lives on the charger, not in a drawer.

[NadiaMac]

hi there,
I'm late to this thread, so apologies for any repetition. My BF has been using both android (with strava for mapping/stats) and garmin edge 500 and there are pros and cons. Battery life of the edge exceeds the android, but he's getting 3-4 hour rides in with the android so that's not bad. Edge by contrast gets you about 16 hours (or multiple rides between downloads). Android gets the satellite signal a lot faster than the edge in our area-- it can take a few mins with the edge while android is almost instantaneous (we attribute this to the larger antenna in the cell phone). Also, Android works fine from within a bag (like a running "fanny" pack) while the edge doesn't work well unless it is mounted on the bike or on a wrist strap. Uploads with the android (using strava) are a lot easier-- push upload and it goes with no hassle. I imagine mapmyride is similar. Edge requires a cable for the download. He's compared the precision of the mapping and the android is winning there, at least in our area. Mind you, he's being very particular and fussy and looking at things like which side of the street or trail was he on, and the devices are quite comparable if you aren't looking at this level of detail. FInally, the garmin edge mounts better on the bike, replacing ones regular bike computer. The android I guess can be mounted, but is kind of large for this application.

He's largely gone to the android for short rides and runs (eg, his commute, up to 2-3 hour runs/rides) and the edge for longer rides.

Also want to point out that the android uses GPS for the tracking, not the cell signal. We were recently in a rural area with no cell or data signal and the android did fine mapping our hikes and rides. We had to wait for data signal to upload the data though (could have done the edge with data cable and laptop, if we had had a laptop with us).

Good luck with your decision and have fun with the new toy when you get it! I have a garmen edge 500 and enjoy it more than I thought I would...

[bluebug32]

The battery life on my Garmin 500 is outstanding, much better than it was on my 305.

[TrekTheKaty]

I got my new edge 500 yesterday. Almost ran off into a ditch while trying to relay heading, temperature and grade info (show off!)

[bluebug32]

I got my new edge 500 yesterday. Almost ran off into a ditch while trying to relay heading, temperature and grade info (show off!)

Isn't it great? I'm so happy with mine.

[chicago]

[QUOTE=zoom-zoom;586984]Do you keep it fully charged when not in use? /QUOTE]

I do not... seeing that our winter's are long and that would just be silly, LOL!!

... but honestly, I just don't use it. I worry about it getting stolen, being in the rain, battery life sucks... my cateye wireless does just as much, handles the rain, no worries of getting stolen, and never loses it's battery.

I know, it's sad even for me... I was so excited to get my 305... but honestly, it's not worth the hassle. I have it in my bike bag at the bottom never getting used.

I'm doing RAGBRAI this year (camping), but won't have access to outlets all the time, so there goes any chance of using the Garmin

[Geonz]

I love my garmin 605 -- it doesn't have the heart rate & such features but that's not my thing (I know when I"m working hard ) . I did find that I use the training stuff (like "laps") more than I thought. It is also *quite* easy to stick the cable between it and the computer and load it with a ride, though it's not all that smart (if I get off route, it doesn't do a good job of getting me bac on).
HOWEVER... what I really want a smart phone for... and I had one 'til it got wet... I *do* ride long and wide. For that month, I could take out the phone and go to a weather app and see the radar.

[zoom-zoom]

I do not... seeing that our winter's are long and that would just be silly, LOL!!

... but honestly, I just don't use it. I worry about it getting stolen, being in the rain, battery life sucks... my cateye wireless does just as much, handles the rain, no worries of getting stolen, and never loses it's battery.

It's definitely a use it or lose it device in terms of battery life. I don't let Winter stop me from working out outdoors (even with our average 96" of snow over here on the other side of the lake, heh). Can't wait to get out on my cyclocross bike with studded tires this next Winter (ok, actually I can wait...I'd love for it to stay like this year-round) so that I can do more than just run outside once the snow falls. I use it on the indoor trainer, too, since the cadence/speed sensor also will track distance from the rear wheel.

I've not had rain issues with mine. I wouldn't swim with it, of course, but I've gotten it good and soaked on many occasion and had no issue. I definitely wouldn't want to use a smartphone under the same conditions that I use my Garmin.

[OakLeaf]

One (or more) of the non-fitness Garmins has an optional weather and traffic subscription. IIRC it's expensive, but a lot of the long distance moto types swear by it over fumbling with a weather-sensitive phone, for the same reasons you mention. It doesn't have the bike computer features, but if you don't use the training stuff anyway, you don't need to limit yourself to bike-specific GPS.

[beccaB]

I'm thinking I'll stick with my bike computer that I have and get the fancy phone but not do GPS on it for biking. Maybe I'll get a fancy Garmin down the road, but for now we use the information on my husband's to keep track of rides. I don't do the really long ones by myself anyway. I have a wrist watch that measures heart rate but I can't get it to give me results if I'm working hard and I have to press a button with one hand while the other hand is still on the bike and that's hard for me to do. I never use it anymore.