Seeing the popularity of certain fitness and activity tracking/metrics software, do you think that the GPS watch sector would have done things differently if it meant that more profit was to be had?
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Re: GPS & Metrics applications popularity [original]
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what do you mean? Deny people their data and force them to use a proprietary software package to analyze their activity? I don't know anything about file formats, but it always appeared to me that Garmin and Polar might have been attempting to do that way back when.
Either way, the advent of open source and freeware would lead my to believe it wouldn't have lasted very long either way. If you know how to use R and an open source GIS you could analyze to your hearts content.
I don't use polar, but Garmin does have its own suite - Connect, which in my opinion does provide a little bit more in terms of data analysis than say Strava (free anyways). Strava does do a hell of a lot better in the social aspect.
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Either way, the advent of open source and freeware would lead my to believe it wouldn't have lasted very long either way. If you know how to use R and an open source GIS you could analyze to your hearts content.
I don't use polar, but Garmin does have its own suite - Connect, which in my opinion does provide a little bit more in terms of data analysis than say Strava (free anyways). Strava does do a hell of a lot better in the social aspect.
Use this link to save $5 off your USAT membership renewal:
https://membership.usatriathlon.org/...A2-BAD7-6137B629D9B7
AlyraD wrote:
what do you mean? Deny people their data and force them to use a proprietary software package to analyze their activity? I don't know anything about file formats, but it always appeared to me that Garmin and Polar might have been attempting to do that way back when. Either way, the advent of open source and freeware would lead my to believe it wouldn't have lasted very long either way. If you know how to use R and an open source GIS you could analyze to your hearts content.
I don't use polar, but Garmin does have its own suite - Connect, which in my opinion does provide a little bit more in terms of data analysis than say Strava (free anyways). Strava does do a hell of a lot better in the social aspect.
Exactly. Automatic uploads and running the data through filters and spreadsheets to compose analytics/graphs is a task that would be tedious if done personally, but people will pay to avoid, so it seems like Timex and Polar (some of the early GPS adopters) could have helped themselves a great deal by offering analytics platforms.