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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [sub-3-dad] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I hope this means that they are re-thinking their power meter technology.

Why? I've been running power with a CS600 for the past year and a half and have had zero problems. Never dropped out. Works on the road, on the trainer, in my cross races, and is arguably as accurate as most anything else out there. After initial set-up, with no tweaks whatsoever, it read, consistently, 3% high compared to a computrainer lab. Presuming about 2-3% energy loss from the drivetrain, we're spot on at the wheel.

The unit may be ugly compared to an SRM, but to be able to use any equipment I want, and run power for ~$500-600, I can't think of any better product.
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [Chris@Polar] [ In reply to ]
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Looks like a great product. I have been wanting to get a CS series bike computer to go along with my S625x. I don't know if I want to swith to WIND yet. I like having HR in the water.

To the Haters: think back, Polar has been the market leader for a long time.

Gym machines have been Polar compatible.
Why didn't SRM or PowerTap license Polar technology when they first came out to be 'compatible?'
Wasn't that the big complaint with those systems at first?
Wasn't Polar the first ones out with coded transmitters?
Wasn't WIND out before ANT+?

Sure now they have all gotten together and agreed that the enemy of their enemy is their friend and are pushing ANT+, big deal. Why weren't you bitching at them for not being compatible with Polar when Polar was (is) much more the 'standard.'

IMHO, Polar HRMs are the best HRMs. Garmins are great distance measurers, but their HR straps suck compared to the WearLink and Wearlink+ transmitters. My S1 footpod works great, and is more than accurate enough for training.
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [xc800runner] [ In reply to ]
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"...the unit may be ugly..."

Bingo!




#######
My Blog
Last edited by: sub-3-dad: Oct 12, 09 9:07
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [wvarta.PolarRep] [ In reply to ]
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that looks like a badass new toy!! Im gonna have to get one down here asap! You reps already have them as a demo??


"Fear is what drives you in the last part of a marathon in an Ironman. The body is depleted and the mind is fuzzy. Short course racing is driven by power and finese at the end of a race, Ironman demands so much more and is driven by will and mental strength." Chris McCormack

10/28/08 Dev Paul had 400w FTP!!!
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [Raptor] [ In reply to ]
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I think you may regret switching over to Garmin next yr for tri's. Just wait a bit longer to see what other problems the 310xt will have. There have already been things said by them which they ended up taking back by the time the watch was released and honestly, its a huge freaken block to have on your wrist. It looks like its made out of plastic too! I think if you fall off your bike and that thing hits the ground it will split open!

With Polar you have it all for not a bad price! You know its solid, you know its accurate, and you have a good warranty (Garmins 1 year sucks ass) Yea Garmin has that Ant+ thing whatever it is but between Polar's Flowlink and thier Infrared Device to transfer data its bad ass... Whats so important about Ant+ anyway?? isnt that for Mac/Apple only? Whats the number like 6% of the world that uses it!?

I dont work for Polar nor do I know what this new technology they are coming out with is but I tell you from what I have seen in 2 yrs working at 2 locations that sold both Garmin and Polar, I had many many more complaints/returns on Garmins than any other watch sold... Either way its your decision but I think you should really sit down and do the pro's and con's and see which way it falls, dont go because of one piece of technology...


"Fear is what drives you in the last part of a marathon in an Ironman. The body is depleted and the mind is fuzzy. Short course racing is driven by power and finese at the end of a race, Ironman demands so much more and is driven by will and mental strength." Chris McCormack

10/28/08 Dev Paul had 400w FTP!!!
Last edited by: Flaco: Oct 12, 09 12:16
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [Flaco] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I think you may regret switching over to Garmin next yr for tri's. Just wait a bit longer to see what other problems the 310xt will have. There have already been things said by them which they ended up taking back by the time the watch was released and honestly, its a huge freaken block to have on your wrist. It looks like its made out of plastic too! I think if you fall off your bike and that thing hits the ground it will split open!

With Polar you have it all for not a bad price! You know its solid, you know its accurate, and you have a good warranty (Garmins 1 year sucks ass) Yea Garmin has that Ant+ thing whatever it is but between Polar's Flowlink and thier Infrared Device to transfer data its bad ass... Whats so important about Ant+ anyway?? isnt that for Mac/Apple only? Whats the number like 6% of the world that uses it!?

I dont work for Polar nor do I know what this new technology they are coming out with is but I tell you from what I have seen in 2 yrs working at 2 locations that sold both Garmin and Polar, I had many many more complaints/returns on Garmins than any other watch sold... Either way its your decision but I think you should really sit down and do the pro's and con's and see which way it falls, dont go because of one piece of technology...
ANT+ has nothing to do with mac or apple, it is the communication protocol that is used to get the HR strap and the speed/cadence/power/etc sensors to communicate with the reader. The good thing about ANT+ is that there are different brands of products that are following the same protocol, which allows you to combine products.

For example, I have a powertap and powertap uses ANT+. Of course with the software, the HR strap and the display unit I can see all my information and store it. Now, the powertap (or SRM) display units are bike mounts only, no watches. So what if I want to go for a run right after my bike ride and want to use the same (or just one) device so I can have all my training in one file? You can't do that if you are using Polar. You'd have to take off the HR strap, put your wrist watch on, and you'l have two separate files. Garmin on the other hand makes devices that are also ANT+, so now I can simply put a 310XT on my bike (or around my wrist), use if for my cycling training but continue to use it as I am running (even swimming). Does the design suck? Obviously. Is it easy to use? Probably not. But once you have it figured out having one device to do it all is just awesome.

It really makes things much easier for multisport users, and Polar is not supporting this trend by not supporting ANT+. Therefore Polar is fishing in the same pond - the CS500 brings nothing new, it's redesigned and contains some things nobody cares for, and by not supporting powerdevices (and the continuously increasing number of people using powermeters) they are gradually giving their business away to competitors.

As to the new standard that may become the gold standard as claimed, I really don't care about that. I want compatibility. Polar doesn't give this to me, others do. And that's a shame, because my S725 was a great device, but it has simply become outdated.


_____________________
Don't forget to attack!
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [Chris@Polar] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:


Regarding the protocol response to the Ant+ Q's - Although I believe we have invested in the development, this is not a proprietary Polar technology. Clicky here.


You're going to use bluetooth?

SRMs, Powertaps, Quarqs, and a soon to be delivered Metrigear (hopefully) are already using ANT+. As are many heart rate straps, cadence, and wheelspeed sensors. Computers from Garmin, Specialized, Bontrager, and Saris, too.

You claim that Polar is moving towards "a protocol we believe will be the gold standard, and will pretty much open the door for a bigger convergence"... it looks like the convergence is already happening, and it's not relying on Bluetooth.





Erik
Strava
Last edited by: mcdoublee: Nov 27, 09 9:26
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [wvarta.PolarRep] [ In reply to ]
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Am I the only one that feels as though a computer the size of a dinner plate might be a "tad" on the BIG side of things?

-----
coming soon...
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [Chris@Polar] [ In reply to ]
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  Hi,
there is an "official" reply on the same question from Polar USA in the slowtwitch.com Forum. Take a look at

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/Slowtwit...VIEW_P2537848/

Expecially the post 8, 9, 11 and 19 are very interesting...

Kind regards and a happy new year
LukeNRG
the link you provided didn't work when I just tried it but I did search the Bluetooth.com site for Polar and found this published...

go to Bluetooth.com and see this article about the new "gold standard" you will also see Polar mentioned as well as heart rate monitors and bicycle acccessories:

http://www.bluetooth.com/English/Pro...Story_One.aspx


"Once vendors equip the newest mobile phones and PCs with dual-mode Bluetooth chips, an ecosystem of millions of these hosts and body-monitoring sensors could encourage engineers to launch new types of health and fitness products. “Bluetooth low energy is a step forward to having a common standard in the fitness and sports category,” says Polar’s Suvilaaks. “As soon as people see they have Bluetooth low energy in their mobile phones, I think they will start to connect the dots, especially among mobile phones, the Internet and devices like ours.”

Market researchers say new low energy products could be a windfall for fitness companies. Infiniti Research Ltd. predicts the total health care market for classic Bluetooth enabled devices now stands at US$1.5 billion worldwide. Of this, current Bluetooth enabled fitness and workout products, including calorie counters and pulse meters, account for about 19 percent or US$285 million. By 2013, low energy applications could help this industry segment explode, with shipments of low energy devices topping out at about 15 million units.

“These devices will provide multiple types of information – from running, cycling and swimming speeds to your body temperature and whether you’ve burned enough calories to reach your goals,” says Amit Gupta, a manager at the research firm. "

don't know when exactly this was put on the site... but it looks like it will take a LONG TIME for this technology to be put into the marketplace, IMHO.

Chris, how long do you think it will take to get Polar products to be compatible with popular power meter products, do you have any guess at this time?

3x IMFL now retired
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [mshalett] [ In reply to ]
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Hi mshalett
currently we have Bluetooth with our TEAM2 system http://www.polarusa.com/us-en/b2b_products/team_sports I think the short term the answer was here Bluetooth low energy is a step forward to having a common standard in the fitness and sports category,” says Polar’s Suvilaaks. “As soon as people see they have Bluetooth low energy in their mobile phones, I think they will start to connect the dots, especially among mobile phones, the Internet and devices like ours.” Long term.... Anything is possible concerning interacting with other brands of training equipment.
Right now the focus is on the new CS500 which launches soon here in the USA(hello MAC owners :), and we have to trust our product development team

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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [wvarta.PolarRep] [ In reply to ]
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Dear Polar,
I don't want my bike computer and running watch to be compatible with my phone which is bluetooth, I want it to be compatible with my power meter which is ANT+

You tried this with IrDA and it didn't work. No one went with IrDA, they went with USB. I had the RS800 and CS600 with Power and it is all garbage because right now there isn't a Irda device available that works with Windows 7, and Polar isn't supporting customers who have $1000+ in electronics last year and right now and now can't upload them to their new win 7 computers.

Polar, give it up, go with ANT+, be part of the wave not the sinking buoy! Oh, and support the customers that bought your products you have out now that don't work.
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [sub-3-dad] [ In reply to ]
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I think you're absolutely crazy with this comment and apologies to the Polar employees above, but I am in agreement with everyone that has already posted that Polar keeps missing the boat. The number of ways that I feel you've missed the boat are as follows:

1. Over time I have owned two Polar units - what I have heard about the Polar units and their "superior software" has always been more of a guess to me, because I've never been able to connect my damn watches to the computer - Sonic link was never a big winner for me, especially when I switched to a computer with no external speakers. I was unbelievably excited when I managed to pick up a new S725x off of this site with the infra red link so I wouldn't need sonic-link anymore, but that didn't work any better, the software support on the website was absolutely horrid and no matter how much time I spent working on it, it didn't get there. Wife bought me a Garmin 310xt for Christmas and I sold both my watches on this website to other STers to offset the costs.

2. Ant+ - I am so excited by the fact that there are potentially new powermeter companies coming out with products, such as Metrigear, that recognize that many of us already have the computers we want for our bike (my 310xt for me) and will simply provide the tool without the computer to lower our costs - GREAT. It is compatibility that we all want - I don't want a watch to have a watch and a bike computer, as it doesn't add value for me. Also, as someone pointed out, eventually this is all going to be integrated and it will need to be Ant+ so not sure why Polar would try to come out with a new "Gold Standard" when it's already out there and everyone is using it.

Sorry for the rant - as you can tell, I was actually quite a big fan of polar products with my first product being purely for running and second product being triathlon, but once I went with my new Garmin 310xt, which syncs up to my computer the minute I walk in the room, I can't think I'd ever go back.

Also, side note - your link to the gold standard brings me to an invalid server ;-) Hopefully that's not a sign of the standard.

In Reply To:
Everyone seems to be missing the point that Garmin are inferior products.

From my experience, they use what I call 'Duct-tape design methodology':

Take a bit of this, a bit of that and attempt to stick it all together. In essence a flawed bottom-up methodology.

Although I have never worked with either company, the finished product seems to me to show evidence that Polar actually have a top-down approach that includes feasibility and design phase in their development process. The finished product is cleaner.

As I said, compatibility only becomes an issue when their complete product portfolio is not up to scratch - in this case the power meter is an issue.
The analogy with VHS and Beta is verging on nonsense: We don't put different tapes/discs into the unit every day like a media player. We set it up and we're done.

-----------------------------------------------------------
"Chrissie wins because she trains really f'ing hard and races really f'ing hard and was blessed with a huge f'ing motor" Jordan Rapp
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [rhair] [ In reply to ]
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IrDA won't work with windows 7? Not good news. I need to switch my training peaks over to my new computer and I use the 625x with power via IrDA on my windows xp computer. So you're saying it's not going to work? Even if you install the driver for the IrDA onto the windows 7 computer?

http://www.mountainmettle.com
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [Spindogg] [ In reply to ]
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I have a netbook that stores all of my training data and I have zero issues with IRDA working.

Bob
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [wvarta.PolarRep] [ In reply to ]
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"The CS500 also a DRINK REMINDER timer which you can customize the message, maybe like DRINK UP, FUEL UP, PwerGel Time, etc. Enjoy the video links."

THAT alone will worth the purchase!
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [Spindogg] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
IrDA won't work with windows 7? Not good news. I need to switch my training peaks over to my new computer and I use the 625x with power via IrDA on my windows xp computer. So you're saying it's not going to work? Even if you install the driver for the IrDA onto the windows 7 computer?


Sorry IrDA won't work if you are using a dongle. If it is a built-in IrDA it seems to work. I upgraded to win 7 two months ago and after days of customer service with win 7 (very helpful) and polar (no help) and tons of searches, I found the only way to get a IrDA dongle to work is to run polars training center in XP Mode on the Virtual Computer program on windows 7 ultimate. For those that didn't know, win 7 ultimate has a program that actually runs a virtual computer on your computer that runs XP. However, this program requires very specific processor requirements, is a memory hog, and interacts with other programs on your computer just like it was a network computer. IMO this was a work around that is not feasible for 95% of the people.

In researching this, I found that polar actually says it doesn't work on win 7, but then gives instructions and drivers for you to try. It doesn't work, I tried on 3 computers. Microsoft couldn't get it to work either, they spend 5 hours on my computer trying everything. Then later in research I found a spot on Polars site discussing that they are no longer supporting IrDA dongles... I found this interesting as that is the main connection method they use.
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [rhair] [ In reply to ]
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G'day Guys,

I've used the Irda dongle with Window 7 (Pro) without any issues what so ever. Using it to download rs800cx, Cs600, and Cs600cx. Use the software and have training data all the way back to 2002, and have used the hardware successfully before that. I have and use Garmin and Suunto they are both good products as well but tend to prefer Polar in most situations. The software when coupled with WK0+ is tops. (WK0+ is great for converting various formats to polar format to put everything in one log)

Also I've never used the polar power meter, and it would be nice if everyone would work together.

I'm curious if the Cs500 will be able to downloaded to Protrainer5? As I've heard it wouldn't, anyone know for sure?

Peace
Peter
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Re: Polar CS500 coming in Spring 2010 SNEAK PREVIEW [alex_m] [ In reply to ]
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Dear Alex,

The Polar CS500's are in and they aren't quite the size of a dinner plate, maybe a small saucer. If you have a modest sized carbon stem you'll get a little bit of overhang. A lot of older riders find the small screens
really difficult to read.

This unit was designed for superior screen visibility of all data in one location. For riders over 45 years of age it is helpful because you don't need to pull out the bi-focals mid-ride to see your data.

The other drawback is the lack of ANT+, since Polar is not part of the ANT+ system like Garmin and Suunto are.

I still think they are going to be very popular with triathletes who use heart rate and cadence as pacing tools as opposed to watts, in other words "old school" pacing technology.

You are right however in that if you are used to a tiny Cateye it looks quite large.

Sincerely,
Rusty Squire, President
Heart Rate Watch Co.

Garmin Man

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