Sportsim Weblog

What about a sport GPS with online capabilities?

Every week we receive new request for live tracking of sport events and for training purposes.  We have conducted some live beta testing this summer, but a returning problem is to find suitable hardware.

Now with Google Maps, Virtual Earth and Yahoo Maps open API's available it’s possible to make nice combined solutions to replay GPS tracks on maps on a web site.

OK, but what about cell phones?

Sure, maybe in 2-3 years? Until then will cell phone location based services just be that – location based with services.  I mean - we want to know where we are, request information about local facilities, and get directions from A to B on maps, and we want it on the fly. This is the focal point for cellphone vendors since it provide important content for the operators.

All very well, but this does not make them suitable for activity monitoring and tracking for sports.

OK, this is what we want:

An athlete GPS watch with GPRS (2,5 G) tranfer capabilities.

Capabilities (short list):

-         GPS watch with display for time, speed, distance, and heart rate

-         suitable for all kind of weather conditions

-         transmit position data every 5 sec

-         sufficient battery capacity and memory backup

It’s possible to manufacture such a device with today’s new GPS chip set technology and if the price is right it’s also an interesting market out there.

Sportsim and others will provide suitable applications for it - thats our job.

So, what can we use it for?

-         live racing -  follow race on web site or big screen

-         family tracking while training – security

-         all data online when finished training session – no more cable transfers, analyze your training when you want - it's already stored and online available!

Have nice weekend J

Gjermund

New Garmin Forerunner 305 - Sport watch?

Only a week ago we had a post on The winning GPS for sports - an article about what we would look for in a GPS sport watch for the near future.

Question: is something already in the pipeline?

Maybe, there is no official information available from Garmin, so this might be a rumour. But, the same thing happened to the pre-launch of the Forerunner 301 that was announced ahead of time from a Norwegian Garmin dealer. Now the same thing could have happened to the Forerunner 305 by an Italian Garmin dealer, so lets take this one seriously. 

Some of the reasons why this might be a reality:

1. Garmin has started to use better GPS chip sets from SiRF and this facilitates smaller sized batteries and improved GPS signal reception to fit a watch sized GPS.
   
   
2. Garmin Forerunner 201 and 301 are somewhat bulky and uncomfortable to wear compare to a Sport Watch from Timex, Polar or Nike.
   
   
3. Garmin has a reception problem on the Forerunner 201/301 series partly because of the GPS antenna location.  A trick has been to wear the Forerunner on the wrist toward the body to make the antenna face as much as possible in a horizontal level facing the sky.
   
   
4. Garmin has learned more about the sports market during the 2 years of selling the Forerunner 201/301 devices.

Of interest and why we think this is a real thing is if you look at the device design and particular the bend.  We think the antenna area is located in that smaller bended part with the Garmin name. This makes sense since you would like the antenna to face towards the sky while using it as a sport watch.

This antenna design is then an improvement from the Forerunner 201/301 antenna design.  Combinding this design with a better GPS chip set would enhance signal reception capabilities.

It’s also clear that the 2 large buttons on top are aimed at activity control (tracking) start/stop and lap function. This makes sense and will make the device more user friendly than the Forerunner 201/301 with smaller sized side buttons.

If this is the real deal, we would like to know more about:

1. GPS signal reception capabilities in cities and forest
2. USB or wireless data transfer
3. Size and weight
4. Is it comfortable to wear?
5. Price!
6. Battery and memory capacity
7. Does it come as a modular system with optional heart rate strap and cadence sensor?

Could this be a winner?

Well this is for sure:

The crew that designed this knows a lot about GPS technology combined with athlete demands on the design level.  In the end will the combination of price and performances tell us if this is a winner or not.

Have a nice day :-)

Gjermund

Will Polar get around?

This article is inspired from today’s meeting downtown Oslo with the Retail Manager of a large sporting goods chain in Norway.  During our meeting we started to talk about Polar and how good they are in their heart rate monitor marketing.  But why are they not into the new wave of GPS devices for training?

The Finnish company Polar is the world leader in heart rate monitor devices for sports.  They have focus in their business model and done and still does a great job in technology development and marketing of their fitness monitors and sensors.  I’ve been to several large international sport events and everywhere there is a strong Polar presence.  They have also a strong presence in online stores, sporting good stores. Polar is a large sponsor of key athletes and athlete organizations.

Well, they are simply the best in what they are doing!

Both Timex and Garmin have realised that it’s a great asset for athletes to compare speed and distance with heart rate on maps.  Polar has partly solved this by introducing a Fotpood Running Sensor and a data link to Nokias 5140 cell phone with GPS capabilities. A good idea, but it's a limited offering compared to what you can do with a full-blooded training GPS.

Polars success has resulted in a large user group world-wide.  Instead of embracing the new possibilities with GPS technology has Polar used energy to explain why they do not believe in GPS. Why? I have no problem agreeing with the arguments against GPS in the Polar S625X monitor FAQ, but it miss some crucial decision-making points:

1. The Footpod has also it’s flaws (need to be calibrated and calibration is difficult when a run alters between street and hilly forest path running)
2. GPS enables you to view and replay your activity on maps and that’s not only visual useful in analyzis but also great fun.
3. When I ski, the Footpood will not work since it relies on footstep input, should I then be happy with a heart rate monitor?  I guess not, so what can you offer me?

Following the argument in the Polar FAQ explaining why Polar do not believe in GPS technology they also appear about 2-3 years old.  Today you can get new types of GPS chipsets from special GPS chipset vendors like SiRF that combines smaller size with lower battery consumption and stronger GPS signal reception.  This is why GPS leader Garmin decided to drop their own GPS chipsets and introduce SiRF chipsets in their new training devices for running and cycling.

Sportsim is one of the few software’s that can combine Polar heart rate files with GPS devices, and we did this because it’s a market request for it.  But it will not be a very important function when dedicated Polar users are influenced by the new GPS possibilities.  How will Polar resell to all of them?  And how will they secure their new-sales rate?  Now, that’s a big challenge without adapting GPS technology, and I would say it’s impossible.

Conclusion

The introduction of GPS technology in sports is a disruptive change in the way active people will monitor their performance. This change will also result in a larger amount of fitness monitors users, because they get more out of the data and it’s a great fitness motivator. This is a great opportunity for the market leader in fitness monitor devices, but they need to get around - soon.

Ok, that’s all for now, take care.

Gjermund

The winning GPS device for sports

Since we started Sportsim in 2001 we have been dreaming about the perfect GPS. It’s funny to think back only 2 years ago when Garmin launched the Forerunner 201 in November 2003 introducing the first GPS suitable for training and 3rd party PC analyzis, but it had a big flaw.  The memory was insufficient for a 4-hour marathon run!  Luckily could Garmin make a quick fix on their firmware to solve the problem.  Later we have seen several other fitness devices coming out from Garmins active product line and the next one will be the Edge for cycling in February.  This year Timex launched their 3D GPS with the Trailrunner.  This is the first time you can download position data from a Timex device.

There are also other producers out there as FRWD, GPS Sports, and Suunto that focus on in-house software. Navman SportTool is an interesting new player this year, but you can't retrieve data and analyze it on your PC, and thats no fun for sportsim users.

Point is:

- this is a growing market, so incumbent and new HW vendors will increase their efforts to flood the market in 2006 with new and better models.

OK, Lets give them some help! What do we want?

First - forget about the additional nicetohave requirements as online capabilities and MP3 player. Let’s focus on what we really want from our training device, right now.

My answer:

- we want a sport watch with added GPS and Heart Rate capabilities and this is how it will look like and function:

2-piece design

1. Sport watch (NOT larger than a Polar or Timex sport watch) with GPS chip, build in memory

2.  Heart rate strap

Basic GPS Function

1st push on big button will engage the GPS,

- Clear symbol and loud noise guidance when GPS receives satellite lock

2^nd push on big button will start time and tracking.

GPS options

Option to follow route with big arrows and guidance noise to indicate direction (similar to car navigation)

Option to follow route back (trackback function if you are lost)

Batteries

2 days – then we can bring it on a short hike, leave the hand held back home - this is way cooler!

GPS Chip

Get signals anywhere - in cities and in forest

Data upload/download

Wireless IR connection from watch to PC

Price

USD 150

Have a nice day :-)

Gjermund

Report from ING New York City Marathon

Yezz, I ran the ING New York City Marathon this Sunday and it was a great experience.

It was my second run in the streets of New York as I also ran in 2003.

Preparations could have been better, but I guess that’s a common story from the ones that are faced with reality on race day.  4.30 AM rang the clock in my hotel room located on Lower Manhattan and I cached a cab up to the 6^th Ave 42^nd street to join a bus to the starting line on Staten Island.  Still a little dizzy from the late comedy show in Greenwich Village combined with an early start I checked that all my stuff were there; Fresh Race Socks, Backup Breakfast, PowerGels, Visa Card, Subway Card, Bib Number, Timing Chip, GPS, Backup GPS, Pain killers, etc…

I had a nice chat on the bus with a girl from NYC, and she told me she had found the Sportsim Course Simulation fun and useful in her preparations.  She was exited to hear that with a GPS and Sportsim software you can setup your own GPS course simulation of your trainings. Next time she will for sure be a GPS user!

When I arrived to Staten Island I observed many runners with GPS devices. This was not the situation in our 2003 software beta phase when I ran with an old Garmin Geko. Then people thought I was running around with a radio and I had to explain what GPS was all about.

Off I went to Frank Sinatra’s "New York, New York" and it was a great feeling. I headed over the Verranso-Narrows Bridge that connects Staten Island with Brooklyn. This year about 37,500 started and about 37,000 finished – that’s amazing.  The important reason for such a high percent of finishers is the New Yorkers themselves.  Spectators are not allowed on bridges, but everywhere else they are present and loud. “Come On! You Can Make It!” “Be Hard!” “Kick Ass” "You Look Great!" “Only 20 Miles To Go!” “Move Those Legs Baby!” “NY Loves You!” –  it’s difficult to bail out of this one once you’ve started. Along the course there are also many live music performers within: Gospel, jazz, rock, hip-hop and more…The organizer estimate about 2 Million spectators!  I believe them!

The start pace was a little slow, with so many runners lined up, but I could pick up pace after about 3-4 miles into Brooklyn.  I had a dream about 3.30 finish time so I paced myself on 8 min/mile on the Timex watch.  I used both a Timex Bodylink GPS and a Garmin Forerunner 301.  The nice thing about the Timex unit is that I can wear it as a sport watch and with ease follow my time, distance, and pace on my wrist.  I wore the Timex GPS on my left upper arm with the Data recorder straight on the strap. The Garmin GPS worked as a backup on my right upper arm. I got fine tracks from both units.

Everything worked just fine until I hit the "hill" on Queensboro Bridge between Queens and Manhattan.  Suddenly my legs start to complain, and coming into 1st Avenue I really felt it. But, it’s not a surprise, because almost everyone gets it on 1st Avenue (at least that’s what I’m telling myself).  My pace rises to 8,3 min/mile and I realise that 3.30 is long gone. But, coming into Manhattan and feeling the extreme load ROAR from 1st Avenue is absolutely worth the pain.   Now I see the first runners that walks and that’s inspiring so I aim for the Bronx .   Coming over the bridge into the Bronx I suddenly thought my legs would collapse, but it was only a bump in the road that created a numb feeling in my legs - have to stay focused now!  Coming into Harlem a Frenchman passed me in a higher pace and mumbled something about my socks, but I could not understand him.  When I saw him upfront he had the same type of socks so I guess he wanted to tell me that I had nice socks or something like that.  I actually felt like shit when he passed me so easy.  I was trying out some funny looking new high socks that are supposed to stimulate the blood circulation. The Hip-Hop and Gospel artists in Harlem inspired me to crush the hill starting along Central Park on the 5th Avenue from 110^th to 90^th street – yes it’s loooong.  I did well, and turning into Central Park I realised that I would anyway beat the 4 hour margin comfortable, and that was great J

It was a race for the books with warm weather, record amount of finishers and very well organized.  In addition I ran with a yellow wrist ban to support Grete Waitz struggle against cancer.  Grete was there and I’m sure it must have been inspiring for her with so many runners supporting her.

Yeah, and the socks, did they work? Hmm, I felt a lot better in my legs after the race so I wonder if this was related to the socks.  During the race it is hard to tell because nothing can stop the pain during the last part.  There could be something in it?  Note: I never needed the pain killers even after the finish when all finishers walks around like old people because of sore legs.

So, do I recommend this race? let me say it like this; if you want to do "The 1 Marathon" - this is the one.  It combines a great city with a great event.

Replay the animated GPS track on map or satellite image with our new beta

- Marathon on Google Maps Replay (beta):

We will post more about the new Google Map service later.

Cheers,

Gjermund