Revision as of 18:31, 23 September 2014

Most smartphones have a GPS built in and support various applications that allow them to function as sports watches. There are quite a number of advantages and disadvantages to using a smartphone compared with a dedicated watch, some of which can be alleviated with a companion SmartWatch (see below).

1 Smartphone Pros

• If you already have a smartphone, this is the cheapest option.
• The GPS Accuracy of Smartphones is generally better than a dedicated running watch. (See below for details and caveats.)
• Carrying a phone allows you to call for help. You can also use apps like find my friends to allow people to track your location for safety.
• You may be able to use the smartphone as an MP3 player. (I still prefer a dedicated MP3 player.)
• A smartphone means you always have a camera, which can be handy.
• It is possible to use a Heart Rate Monitor and a Footpod with a smartphone.

2 Smartphone Cons

• A smartphone is heavy, bulky and has to be mounted on your upper arm, making it hard to see the display (a SmartWatch helps solve this).
• A smartphone mounted on your arm makes you a potential target for theft, reducing your safety.
• Most touchscreens do not work well with gloves, in the rain, or with sweaty hands.
• Few smartphones are waterproof, so a specialist case will be required to protect it. (See caveats below regarding cases and GPS Accuracy.)
• The battery life of a smartphone can be an issue. I've found that typically a fully charged phone will only last around 4 hours with the screen active.

3 Heart Rate Monitors for Smartphones

There are a number of options for adding heart rate monitoring to a smartphone.

• The Polar H7 heart rate monitor is compatible with iPhone 4S/5 and many Android phones, and it's my recommended approach for getting the best and heart rate monitoring. It supports many apps, including iSmoothRun, Runkeeper, Mapmyrun(+), EndoMondo (Pro), Runmeter, and others. It also works nicely with Heart Rate Variability apps. (Error: Could not parse data from Amazon!.)
• For optical heart rate monitoring, the Scosche RHYTHM+ goes around your upper arm and is less intrusive than a chest strap. However, this device requires recharging periodically as it only has seven hours of battery life, and optical heart rate monitoring is not as accurate as a chest strap. In particular, it will not provide Heart Rate Variability data.
• The Wahoo Key is a $55 dongle that adds Ant+ support to an iPhone 4S/4/3GS. This allows you to use the <jfs id="B0029M3NSS" n="Garmin HRM">, Error: Could not parse data from Amazon! and other Ant+ accessories. It works with most apps including RunKeeper, MapMyRun(+), EndoMondo (Pro), Runmeter. Note that the dongle may cause problems finding a waterproof case.
• The Garmin Ant+ Adapter is similar to the Wahoo Key but it has limited app support.
• The Zepher HxM is a $79 (+shipping) heart rate monitor that works with Android and Blackberry phones.
• Some Sony Ericsson android phones have Ant+ support built in.

4 Android or iPhone?

I have run extensively with both android and iPhone SmartWatches, and have noted these possible advantages for each. Both platforms can perform admirably, with great GPS accuracy possible.

4.1 Android Advantages

• There are a much wider variety of android phones to choose from, so it's easier to find a form factor that you like. Generally speaking, a smaller phone is easier to run with. (The iPhone 6 does come in two sizes now, but nothing alike the variety of android phones.)
• The physical ergonomics of most android phones is better than the iPhone. The iPhone tends to be slippery where you need to grip it, and has hard edges that are a little uncomfortable to hold while running.

4.2 iPhone Advantages

• The running apps seem to be better on the iPhone than on android.
• iOS is far more secure than Android, with 97% Of Mobile Malware On Android and the remaining 3% on Nokia 's defunct Symbian. None are reported on iOS or Windows Phone.

What about Windows Phone? I like the Windows Phone operating system a lot, but I've not had the opportunity to test one account. I suspect that the selection of a running apps will be more restricted than the other platforms however.

5 SmartWatches

Some of the problems of using a Smartphone can be alleviated with a SmartWatch. With the phone mounted on your upper arm, it's hard to see the display or control the app, but the SmartWatch can act as a remote display and remote control. A SmartWatch also allows you to turn off the display on your phone, which greatly prolongs battery life. My favorite iPhone app, iSmoothRun, supports several smart watches including the Pebble and the Magellan Echo.

• Pebble. This is a small, lightweight SmartWatch that uses e-ink technology to provide long battery life, though not as good as the Echo. It works with a number of smartphone running apps, though the support is better on iPhone than android. The pebble also functions as a general purpose SmartWatch for receiving text notifications end of the like. (Error: Could not parse data from Amazon!).
• Magellan Echo. The Echo is designed as a sports focused SmartWatch, rather than the general purpose pebble. One of the coolest features of the Echo is that it uses a standard watch battery to give 6 to 12 months of battery life, so there's no need to recharge it. The Echo works with iPhone and a limited number of android phones, and a new version called the Echo Fit has just been announced that adds daily activity monitoring. (Error: Could not parse data from Amazon!.) You can get the Echo with a heart rate monitor bundled, but I'd strongly recommend getting the Polar H7 instead.
• Adidas Fit Smart. The Adidas adds optical heart rate monitoring to the SmartWatch equation, but unfortunately it only works with Adidas' own smartphone app. This product has only just been announced (July 2014), but it's a product to keep an eye on. I think that having a SmartWatch that provides optical heart rate monitoring combined with a good smartphone would be a really nice combination for many people.

6 Recommended Running Apps

My favorite iPhone app is the iSmoothRun, which offers great functionality and ease of use. It exports to many social networks, plus Dropbox, supports smart watches, and has great configurability. I've tried a number of Android running apps, but I never found anything I liked as much as iSmoothRun on the iPhone. To use an Android phone with the Pebble smart watch I used Pebble Runner, which was rather basic, but worked.

7 Optimizing GPS Accuracy

There are several things you may need to do to achieve the levels of GPS Accuracy that I have obtained.

• The choice of case is a critical. I've found that a cheap case works far better than a thicker case, especially if the thicker neoprene becomes soaked in sweat. I had to restart my testing of the iPhone 5s as a thicker case was destroying the accuracy when it got soaked with sweat.
• The phone needs a good view of the sky, so holding it in your hand, or strapping it to your upper arm works well. Clipping it to a waistband can reduce GPS accuracy.
• Close all other applications other than the running application. This does not appear to be a major problem, but it may help slightly.
• Even if your smartphone and your application are accurate, check that the exported data is also accurate, as I've seen some problems in this area.