Garmin or fancy android phone

[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...