Digifit and Bluetooth Smart

I have had ANT+ fitness gear for a while now.  I talked about getting some here, but never actually posted what I eventually bought it seems.  Although I bought it ala cart and different generations of the components, I essentially bought this bundle. Which works amazingly well with the iPhone.  The heart rate and stride sensor for running, heart rate and speed/cadence for biking.  I wish ANT+ would have been more successful.  It's a great technology, and doesn't chew through battery the way standard bluetooth does.  Unfortunately the dock connector for my iPhone 4s is getting flakey, which means that the transceiver needed to talk ANT+ wouldn't always work.  It was getting to the point where I would spend 10 to 15 minutes each run or ride trying to get the stuff to talk.  On top of that I'm due for a new phone in November, and it won't have the same connector.

So that lead me to find a replacement setup that would be iPhone 5 (or what ever the next model is going to be) compatible. It quickly became apparent that the new setup was going to be BlueTooth Smart (aka BlueTooth LE or BlueTooth 4.0).  It offered dongle-free connections and no longer required line of sight to the sensors to work.  It also puts me in a good position if Android ever gets off their asses and gets full BT 4.0 support (which according to the various news sites is 'soon-ish').  So should be in a pretty good place with the new gear and not tied to the iPhone exclusively.

The first thing I bought is the Polar H7 Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate Sensor. It's got a pretty comfy strap, has reasonable reviews and reputation.  I considered Wahoo fitness's version of the device but the reviews were a little less favorable and a little more expensive. So far it's been performing very well, but I did learn that it matters what way you snap it into the belt.  If you put it in backwards it won't sync.  So if you have a Polar H7, and it worked one day, and not the next, try popping it off and putting it on strap the other way.  Maybe you have it backwards like I did.

The next thing I bought was a Wahoo Fitness Blue SC Cycling Speed & Cadence Sensor for iPod/iPhone for the bike.  It's pretty straight forward to install, installed a lot more securely than the Garmin unit I had before.  The shape fits the tube on my bike better I guess. The magnet by the pedals fits better too.  It's a nice unit and was the most affordable name brand I could find.  So far after a week's worth of rides it's been doing great.

The last thing I bought was the Polar Stride Sensor Bluetooth Smart. I don't know how well this one works yet, because it's not supported by many apps yet.  The Polar app does (of course) but I don't want to start down that rode just yet.  Support for the sensor is in indefinite coming soon category.  Hopefully I can get in on the beta and begin counting my strides again.