Iride01 

Wind noise going over microphone of the device will probably be an issue (I actually do have some experience with this). You'd have to take if off the mount and speak into it. Then you might drop it and you also might miss your turn cue if you are on the "phone" while following your course. <grin> Unless you are comfortable in a very aero time trial position, then you might be close enough for it's mic to pic you up well.

Why not just keep a BT earpiece with mic in your ear or in your pocket to pull out and use when you have to call someone while riding?

Seattle Forrest

I swim for hours at a time with my Garmin. It counts strokes for me. Wouldn't try that with my S21.

njkayaker

I've used the technology for over 10 years. It's VOIP. You don't realize you are talking about VOIP. That technology also has gateways into the normal phone system.

What you are talking about here is VOIP "voice over IP/internet".

Phones now can switch between a voice connection and an internet connection (which is VOIP). The only way you get this switching feature is with a cell-phone plan.
This is a hybrid between standard cell-phone service and VOIP, It's relatively new. Phones needed to be set-up to support it (that is, it isn't available on every phone).

You are talking about needing two devices. Both of which can make phone calls but, but the cycle computer cell-phone needs another cell phone to work.

Your idea is to have the cycle computer act like an iPhone (that's one plan) and use WiFi to connect another iPhone to use as a hotspot (that's a second plan).

The only way you avoid two plains (sort of) is to have a pure VOIP service like Skype running on the cycle computer.

What you are talking about is VOIP.

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You are talking about either of two things:

1. A cycle computer that is a cellphone. This would require a plan. This would generally be a second plan to the first one people already have for a regular cell phone. This is kind of silly.
2. A cycle computer that can use pure VOIP, which would require a second device. This would not require a second plan but it requires the second device and a data connection (which you won't get in as many places). This is kind of silly too.

Seattle Forrest

A lot of people in here are really triggered that somebody would want this.

Everybody assumed the guy wants to talk while he rides. It's unthinkable that a person might want to leave their expensive phone at home and still have the capability to make a phone call in an emergency or inconvenience.

njkayaker

It's not "unthinkable". It just doesn't end-up making much sense.

The problem is that it would make the already-expensive cycling computer even more expensive and require an additional fee for cell-service.

The might be some people willing to spend that extra money but, likely, not enough to make a market for it.

If people didn't want to bring their expensive phone, they could just get a second inexpensive phone.

One of chaadster's ideas would still need the phone in addition to the cycle computer "phone".

Steve B.

It's an interesting conundrum for folks who buy the Karoo. Unlike Wahoo and Garmin, it doesn't use BT to connect to the phone (excepting call and text notifications from the phone). They've skipped BT and use WiFi, from whatever source. If you feel you need data connectivity, you can either do the HotSpot route to a phone, which potential reduced battery life on the phone, or add a SIM card to the Karoo, at whatever that costs. I've been researching the SIM card route to find the cheapest option as I can see sideloading some Android apps for real-time weather (wind, alerts) and radar. Arguably the lack of BT makes the unit somewhat more reliable than a Garmin, whose BT reliability issues go back years and have never really been solved. HH decided to skip that nonsense it seems. But when you end with up with even a cheap SIM card, you are really close to being a cell phone, all that's missing is the ability to make a call and talk to someone.

njkayaker

The Karoo is interesting. It's basically an Android phone without the cell-voice support (I said this before). If making it a phone made good sense, Karoo would have done so. (One reason companies might not want to do it is liability.)

I think supporting data-only might be easier to do. I'd guess the Karoo only supports GSM. I think it also only supports the older data network (which is slated to go away).

On the Garmins, transferring routes over BT is much slower than WiFi.

There might be more missing than that. A DSP, a speaker, QOS issues.

Steve B.

The route grabbing of the Karoo is possibly better than the iQ RWGPS app that Garmin uses. With a WiFi it's very fast to download a route. What HH has done is very smart and it works well.

njkayaker

When I looked at the Karoo a while ago, it required yet another website to download routes.

Pinning routes on RWGPS and using an IQ app seems straight-forward to me. WiFi is an option for this.

Seattle Forrest

Huh. That's interesting. You should tell the people who designed the Apple Watch how little sense it makes.

Steve B.

The primary computer/tablet/phone interface for a K2 user is known as the Dashboard. Its similar to Connect, just many fewer features currently. When you establish a link to a 3rd party planning app (RWGPS in my case), the routes I've created in RWGPS are seen in the Dashboard, you can easily access these routes when you power up the K2 and go to Routes. You just pick one and download.

njkayaker

The market for Apple watches is much larger.

It's also not a cycle computer. It can be used beyond just for one activity.


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adamrice 

The Apple Watch with cellular uses the same number as your iPhone (and only works if you have an iPhone, and adds another $5 charge to your phone bill). It's a fair bet that this only works because Apple controls both devices and has a lot of clout with cellular carriers. I wouldn't be surprised if this were more than a company like Garmin (let alone Wahoo or Hammerhead) could pull off.

ClydeClydeson

Can't find a GPS that works as a phone? I also cannot find a hammer that works as a washing machine, or a flyswatter on which I can watch the hockey game.

njkayaker

Hammerhead didn't include a beeper in the first version because they deemed it would be a dangerous distraction.

Seattle Forrest

The market is huge and you're telling me that's because nobody wants what it does. Do you ever read the stuff you write? With the crazy fonts and everything?

Seattle Forrest

And god dammit, why has nobody built a phone with a camera yet??!?

ksryder

OP simply asked if any current bike computers are capable of phone calls. The answer is no.

Everyone wants to pile on as to why we don't need it and why OP should feel bad for even asking. I probably don't need 90% of what all the various gadgets and gizmos that I own can do, that doesn't mean I don't want them or have fun with them or use them.

Anyway, beyond the "maybe someone wants to be able to make a call or text without taking their phone on the ride" aspect (which seems plenty valid to me) I can also think of accessibility issues for people with various physical limitations. I've had a couple opportunities to pilot a tandem with a blind rider and see some of the accessibility technologies he was working with--including an experimental technology in which there was a camera mounted to his glasses and he was linked to someone in a call center who would narrate the visual image for him while he was riding.

Is there enough demand for this type of thing to justify selling it? Probably not, but that doesn't mean there's not valid use scenarios for them. Plus as has been mentioned, there are plenty of smart watches and tablets that have the capability to pop in a SIM card and function independently of a phone, so I doubt it would even be that difficult.

njkayaker

Given that the Apple watch isn't a cycling computer, you aren't making sense.

Why do you think an Apple watch is a cycling computer?

njkayaker

This doesn't seem relevant. This was dealt-with without needing a phone cycling computer (and which might not have been usable for this anyway). It's not like you can't use the phones most people already have for these sorts of niche cases.

This explains why there isn't one.

Absolutely no one said it couldn't be done or that it would be difficult.

​​​​​​Quite a few people use their phones as cycling computers.

Ed Wiser

The operating system of cycling computers is build just for cycling. The Hammerhead Karoo2 which is android and has a SIM card slot could be set up as A phone is some one wanted to do it.

njkayaker

The Sigma Roc cycle computers also use Android. I'm not sure what Wahoo or Lesyne uses. Garmin uses its own thing.

If one were a company creating a "clean slate" high-end cycling computer, using Android is a fairly-obvious choice (Android lets you leverage existing software and hardware).

The Karoo is pretty-much a "micro sized" Android tablet. It only supports a data connection (not voice). The first version was the same sort of thing. Neither of them have a speaker (that can reproduce voice).

One might be able to side-load a VOIP app onto it and use a BT head piece.

With two versions, Hammerhead still didn't think it was worth-while making it work like an actual phone.

Ed Wiser

I have a Karoo 2 so I know what it can do.
As I have said I just use my Apple Watch as I can do it all handsfree.

Seattle Forrest

You'd be less confused if you stopped assuming you know what other people think.

Seattle Forrest

Watch out, you just triggered the NJ guy.