Sprenzy Shopping Blog

If you read my review of the Garmin Edge 305, you know that I love my GPS cycling computer. Whether you own a Garmin Edge or Forerunner, the Garmin Training Center (GTC) is the supplied software to download and analyze your workout data. While GTC is adequate and a necessary evil, it’s pretty bland and boring. I can only look at squiggly lines for a short time. The GTC graph below is from a recent bike ride, which shows heart rate, elevation and grade over distance.

An alternative and more useful storage and analysis tool is MotionBased (MB). MB is a web application that allows a member to upload GPS track data and mashes it up with Google Maps. Let’s take a look at the free version, MotionBased Lite. After creating an account, workout data can be directly uploaded from a supported GPS device with the use of the MotionBased Agent. The uploaded activity is then sent to your MB Inbox where you can name the activity, categorize it by type and add a comment. After submitting the activity, it is stored in your Digest, which is a listing of all of your activities.

Activity Dashboard

From the Digest, you can access the activity dashboard, which displays a summary view of your workout. The summary shown below is a road bike ride with high-level data, Google mapping and elevation profile. This ride can be viewed publicly. You can then drill down and analyze the data by time, distance, speed, elevation, heart rate and laps. MotionBased also retrieves the weather from the nearest airport during the activity. It may not be the exact temperature or wind conditions experienced during a workout, especially with many micro-climates like the Bay Area, but it’s beneficial data provided by MB.

Map Player

The map player “replays” the route taken during an activity showing time elapsed, distance, speed, altitude, grade and heart rate at each location on the route. Currently, it only works in Internet Explorer with Adobe SVG viewer. The functionality could be very useful and entertaining, but there are many usability issues that render it ineffective. However, the new beta player, which shows up randomly, is a much improved version that works across browsers. Here is the MB Player for the ride shown above. There are still several UI/usability issues, but it’s a big upgrade.

TrailNetwork

From MB, “the TrailNetwork is the community-oriented section of MotionBased where customers can access activities posted by other members. It’s a growing database of activities and routes created by MotionBased customers. The TrailNetwork may be used to discover new activities or to review results of activities for virtual competition.” Unless an activity is marked private, all of your workouts will be displayed in the TrailNetwork. Additionally, each user has a public activities page. Here’s mine: public activities - Chuck415.

The community feature is the best part of MB. You can view and download route information from other members in your area or get new courses while visiting other cities or countries. It’s a great way to find the routes that are popular with the locals. Additionally, you can share your public page and XML/RSS feed with friends to keep them up to date or to simply motivate each other.

Google Earth

If you have Google Earth, you can export an activity and re-live it with a bird’s-eye view. I don’t know how helpful this feature is, but I definitely enjoy it. It’s a great way to share a run or ride with friends. And on days I’m suffering on my bike, I have more fun watching the replay on Google Earth than the actual ride.

Pricing

With the free version, MotionBased Lite, an unlimited number of activities can be uploaded or accessed, but only the 10 most recent workouts have the dashboard. Upgrading to MotionBased Standard allows dashboard access to all activities, sorting/filtering of the Digest, Saved Reports, the Analyzer and no ads. Check out the MB product features for a description of all MB features. MotionBased Standard is $11.95 a month or $95.40 for an annual plan.

Summary

MotionBased is a great web-based service to store, track and analyze your GPS workout data. With MB, you are able to:

• Upload activities and store your history on MotionBased where you can remotely access it from anywhere
• Perform more post-workout analysis than the Garmin Training Center software
• Visualize activities on Google Maps or Google Earth
• Share workouts with friends or view activities from other MotionBased members
• Export any public activity in GPX or CRS file format, which can be loaded as a course on your GPS device

My primary issue with MB is the UI of the site. I think MB can make major changes to improve the site usability. Still, it’s a wonderful service for anyone with a fitness GPS device. The free service, MotionBased Lite, provides all but a few features that paying members receive.

I upgraded to MB Standard because I want to analyze all of my previous activities. Now, I’m addicted to MB and I can’t wait to upload my GPS data after each ride. Between my Garmin Edge 305 and MotionBased, my training is absolutely blissful.

After last week’s post on the Garmin Nuvi 660, I continued my GPS research and started looking into handheld devices for outdoor activities, such as hiking or geocaching. I’ve discovered another Garmin product, the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx, is a very highly rated handheld device.

Here are some useful reviews:

• Outdoor Magazine’s GPS Gear of Year - “With the unit’s intuitive interface, Garmin has simplified use for beginners while simultaneously incorporating a host of complex features that will impress veteran users. And with the longest battery life of any unit we tested, it will never leave you stranded.”

• Patrick-Roeder.de Review - “Overall, the 60CSx has many pros and not so many cons compared to the 60CS. The 60CS is already a very good GPS receiver, but I very much prefer the even better 60CSx. I consider none of the drawbacks/bugs critical or unnerving. Accordingly, I highly recommend the device to anybody, no matter if you consider upgrading from the 60CS or if you plan to buy your first GPS receiver.” This review is also an excellent comparison between the Garmin 60CS and the 60CSx.

• GPSinformation.org Review - “Overall, I am quite happy with the 60CSx and I use it every day.  In my opinion, it is the most versatile GPS receiver, when it comes to outdoor use, highway use and NMEA interface use.  The ease of getting and keeping GPS reception, as well as the ability to increase map memory are very nice features.”

Garmin is offering a $50 rebate on the 60CSx and 60Cx, if you purchase by December 31, 2006. The Garmin 60CSx offers a barometric altimeter, which provides current elevation, ascent/descent rate, minimum/maximum elevation, total ascent and descent, average and maximum ascent and descent rate. The altimeter feature is the only difference I could find between the two models.

I’ll continue adding useful reviews when I find them. Let me know if you have any good reviews or links.

On a recent trip to Seattle, we took the frugal route and rented a car from Thrifty (never again, but that’s another story), which didn’t offer any GPS navigation systems. Fortunately, we were able to get around Seattle by mapping out directions on my Motorola Q. After this trip, I’m seriously considering getting a GPS receiver that I can use in my car and while traveling to other cities. My biggest requirement is a small, lightweight device that is portable. 

After doing a little research, I discovered that the Garmin Nuvi 660 is the device to get. I was able to find this extremely in-depth Nuvi 660 review from GPS Magazine. The 660 is their Editor’s Choice…

“I’m declaring the nuvi 660 the current GPS Magazine Editor’s Choice. Garmin has managed to pack the nuvi 660 chock-full of features without adding clutter or confusion to the interface. Each feature is thoughtfully implemented and well-designed. I really loved using the integrated FM transmitter to play MP3’s over the car’s stereo system.”

“With its recently reduced price, the Garmin nuvi 660 has raised the bar on in-car navigation and is clearly the GPS to beat. I can, without reservation, enthusiastically recommend the nuvi 660 for anyone looking for a full featured GPS with a big screen and lots of features, all in an easy-to-use package.”

The review is great with a description of unboxing, installation, set-up, comparison to the Nuvi 360, pros and cons. If you like details, the review is a must read. If you want a quicker read, here are some other useful reviews.

• Nuvi 660 Portable GPS Review (One Man’s Blog)

• Garmin Nuvi 660 Review (GPS Lodge)

• Garmin Nuvi 660 Review (PC Magazine)

The Nuvi 660 is also a PC Magazine Editor’s Choice…

“Garmin’s nüvi 660 is now the leader of the high-end shirt-pocket GPS market. It’s pricey, but if you want the most fully featured yet tiny navigation device with a 4.3-inch screen, the nüvi 660 is your only choice.”

Beyond the small form-factor and reliable Garmin GPS software, the features that stand out are:

• Bluetooth with microphone and speaker - enables hands free mobile phone calls
• Built in FM transmitter - allows MP3 and audio book playback over your car speakers
• FM TMC traffic receiver - get real-time traffic alerts

The Garmin Nuvi 660 is definitely on the expensive side at $740+. Living in San Francisco, I’ve put less than 5,000 miles on my car in the last three years. If I drove more often, this would be a no brainer purchase for me. But for you road warriors, the Garmin Nuvi 660 is a sleek navigator and travel assistant that will help you stay the course!