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LAST POST: Sep 15, 2010 11:08 PM by graemej

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Honest Opinion on iPhone App

MattApple
2 posts

Hi guys,

 

I'm new to this forum and to miCoach. I would like your honest opinion on a few things here. I've registered and downloaded the app, and had a play around on the web site. I haven't actually used it in anger to record an activity yet though. I like the look and idea of the coaching plans, but some of the grumbles I've read on general functionality are putting me off using it. For the moment anyway.

I come as a dedicated RunKeeper user, which on the whole is pretty ace. It very rarely doesn't record an activity, which I take it is something MC does quite a bit?

The other thing I'm missing with RK is HRM support / integration. From what I've read it sounds like the "Zone" HRM watch cannot be used with the iPhone. Is this correct? From what I've read this certainly seems the case. A shame as the "Zone" watch & HRM looks a good piece of kit. RK allows you to add Heart Rate post workout, if desired, but I would like to see it plotted against speed / distance too. I'm not bothered about a step counter, I can live without that.

 

I guess I am asking a few questions here:

 

  1. Are the apparent GPS issues likely to be corrected in a hurry?
  2. Can the "Zone" watch & HRM be used on their own, without any other gadgetry?
  3. Does Zone display average Heart Rate post workout??
  4. Can the "Zone" integrate with the iPhone app? There doesn't seem to be any functionality in the app / a dongle for the iPhone to support this??
  5. If not, I presume you can you use them simultaneously? So iPhone to record pace/distance via GPS, Zone to record Heart Rate?
  6. Does the app / website allow you to add average Heart Rate post workout?
  7. If the answer to 4 is no, is this a planned upgrade / feature implementation??

 

Thanks in anticipation

 

Matt

Aug 17, 2010 11:48 AM
  • |
  • Posted on Aug 17, 2010 11:48 AM

  • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

    mick7020
    4 posts

    hi,

     

    i cant answer most of your questions as im a new and fairly basic user.

     

    the best i can say it that when you do the assessment run do it twice......once to understand what they want then do it for real.

     

    I am going to use the coloured zones, and have done the marathon programme. having run london marathon this year in 4.14 i want to do it in under 4hrs now.

     

    To get an independant answer try these forums as well, joggingbuddy.com or runnersworld.

    Aug 17, 2010 5:36 PM

  • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

    boaz
    49 posts

    hwy,

     

    Let me try to reply to your questions (to the best of my knowledge).

     

     

    1. GPS ISSUES - I can not speak for every user but so far the Micoach Iphone app has recorded all of my runs and appears to be accurate.

    2. ZONE - The zone watch and HRM can be used on their own, in fact they have to.

    3. I dont own one but it is my understanding that the Zone displays post workout breakdowns of all your activity

    4. The zone does not sync with the iphone app or the website, it is a standalone HR monitor basically. At the moment there is no app/dongle that syncs HR with the iphone app. Allegedly this will change in the near future.

    5. Correct, you can use them independently and at present this appears to be the best (only?) solution

    6. I have not found a place to add HR to an existing work out neither in the app or on the website, presumably this will be added soon.

    7. I think this is a priority for Adidas.

     

    Of course your alternative is to buy the Pacer. Unfortunately this does not sync with the iphone app at the moment but it does present with accurate HR. In theory (i have not tried this) you could run the iphone app in free mode in order to record your route and elevation whilst using the pacer to record HR and give you instructions on the go.

     

    Hope that helped

     

    Incidentally, the iphone app has been very impressive so far, having used it just a few times so far.

    Aug 17, 2010 10:24 PM

    • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

      sc0ttb88
      1 post

      Hi,

      I am new to running but have cycled for a few years and always worked out I the gym with weights etc. I have had an old Polar F60 HRM for years and it works well at keeping an eye on the heart rate but I always found it difficult to sync to the PC (uses sonic something to transfer data through a microphone!)

      Anyway, I’m looking at the micoach kit. I use the iPhone 4 app at present and it’s great except it obviously doesn’t take into consideration my HR from my watch. If I get the pacer bundle, without using the iPhone, will this track my HR, pace (via sensor on shoe) but it doesn’t have GPS to track your route? I understand from this thread that it won’t work with the iPhone app at present, if it did I would probably go for it although now I am looking at Garmin GPS watches and other alternative products…

      Very hard to decide!

      Aug 18, 2010 1:34 PM

      • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

        boaz
        49 posts

        I posted this elsewhere but the site FAQ states:

         

        when using mobile and pace Both workouts are synched and will count toward overall stats. To remove duplication, save the GPS route from the mobile workout and add this as the map to the Pacer workout and then delete the original mobile workout.

        Aug 20, 2010 11:38 PM

      • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

        graemej
        10 posts

        I feel the same way.  It would be a no-brainer decision for me if the app had HRM, or if the pacer and app data were merged on the website. I am going to probably buy the Garmin to track my baseline data. Providing an option to merge the data on the site just seems like the easiest and quickest solution.

        Sep 2, 2010 2:35 AM

        • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

          graemej
          10 posts

          Buyer beware.  I bought the Garmin Forerunner 305 and used it for the past week.  I was pretty impressed until I discoverd it doens't use the HRM to calculuate your calorie burn - the whole reason why I bought it over the Pacer.   It uses distance and speed like the micoach app.  I spent $200 on a gps watch that does almost exaclty what the iphone does.  The forerunner would be useful in tracking cycling, but the running aspect the basic funcationality (althouth more accurate) is the same as the iphone. Dont buy the Garmin Forerunner, just use your "FREE" micoach app.

          Sep 15, 2010 11:08 PM

  • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

    yege
    85 posts

    Hi all,

     

    A little late to this party, but from what I've managed to find out:

    you can use pacer and mobile together as well as zone and mobile together.  However a few caveats:

     

    For pacer and mobile, you'll have to do some post workout shenannigans to use the mobile route but delete the mobile workout and then attach the route to the pacer work out (phew!!).  This link and post from a moderator (MariaT) has some good tips: http://forum-micoach.adidas.com/message/7175#7175

     

    For zone and mobile, set the mobile to use heart rate and use the zone for the real-time feedback.  You'd have to do this if you were a mobile user and running indoors.  With this setup you'll get the coaching and music (a must for me!!) from the mobile and get realtime data during the run - I guess you'd also get pace data with the mobile when syncing? dont know as I dont have either setup (see note)

     

    For me the issue comes with which is best?  Pacer and mobile seems the best option but has post work out tomfoolery to contend with, whereas the zone and mobile is simple but you're missing the actual live HR data on your synced data, however as stated above perhaps the pace data is still kept?

     

    Shame that there's no bluetooth link with the zone to sync that puppy with the mobile realtime (ala another sports brand who have an integrated app with iPhone...) then there's no question for me that zone and mobile is the way to be.

     

    NOTE: I don't have either device as yet, this is just my observations based on other peoples experiences, and my one insane reasoning behind perhaps getting a zone and mobile combo going, as I'm getting miffed with pace based and GPRs issues in my area.

     

    Hope that helps someone out there in internet land.

    Aug 26, 2010 11:33 PM

    • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

      MattApple
      2 posts

      Thanks for all the replies guys. Much appreciated. I'm debating wether to purchase the Zone at the moment, but for the meantime I'm carrying on using RunKeeper with a regular HRM. Until Adidas release any updates allowing Zone + iPhone app integration, I'll stick with what I've got. I'll keep an eye out for app updates and hope that these teething issues get sorted before I consider using MC properly

       

      Thanks Again

       

      Matt

      Aug 31, 2010 8:10 PM

  • Re: Honest Opinion on iPhone App

    graemej
    10 posts

    I really like the iCoach approach, but I need an HRM.  My plan is to use the app for training purposes, as the verbal feedback is really valuable to me.  But for tracking my progress, I am thinking about buying the Garmin 305 (which are on sale and the same price as the pacer).  The Garmin will also track my bike rides better, as it has a cadence sensor. Hopefully in the future the app will include the HRM. iCoach app has so much potential, but the GPS and HRM functionality just isn't there yet.

    Sep 2, 2010 2:31 AM
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