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Will any of the big named bicycle computers expand the tech?

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Will any of the big named bicycle computers expand the tech?

Old 09-07-21, 06:43 AM
  #26  
burnthesheep
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I'll play along:

-nicer bike computers start having a built in pitot tube to give an aero estimate

-a better heads up solution........it just seems all the "glasses" and such over the years have always wound up being just 3.5 out of 5 star review kind of things despite big prices.

-somehow advanced safety tech beyond Varia rear face radars. I know it isn't ideal to make cyclists own having all the safety and let cars run amok, but just give me even more. This I have seen being worked on by 3rd party companies to feed into the big brands via buyups.

-make the national highway transport organizations integrate a sensor in all new vehicles that can sense from at least 1/4 mile away approaching bicycle beacons emitted by newly sold bike computers and lights and such........can't say any longer "didn't expect them"
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Old 09-07-21, 09:42 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Troul
built in bidet & eye washer could be really handy.
^ little known second use for a bidet...
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Old 09-07-21, 09:49 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Why doesn't Garmin sell a GPS that has phone and text capability? Forget all the 'smart' stuff and ability to run apps, if there was just ability make a phonecall? Is there such a thing as a dumb phone any more that can only make phone calls and do simple texting? I imagine would have to built into a 1000 series form factor model though.
Not many people would want to have to pay for service for a second phone that they won't use very often. It likely wouldn't be worth it for Garmin to have to certify the device with each cell company either. And it would make battery life worse.
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Old 09-07-21, 09:53 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by burnthesheep
-somehow advanced safety tech beyond Varia rear face radars. I know it isn't ideal to make cyclists own having all the safety and let cars run amok, but just give me even more. This I have seen being worked on by 3rd party companies to feed into the big brands via buyups.
007, anyone? Forward and rear-facing 2.25" rockets to thin the herd of bad drivers?

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Old 09-07-21, 09:55 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by Troul
built in bidet & eye washer could be really handy.
as long as you don't mix them up.
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Old 09-07-21, 09:58 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by fooferdoggie
as long as you don't mix them up.
crappy vision would stink.
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Old 09-07-21, 10:09 AM
  #32  
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At some point it just becomes easier to put a cycling app on your phone and ditching the computer altogether.
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Old 09-07-21, 10:11 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Chuck M
Would a beer bottle opener that doubles as a tire tool be too much to add to that list?
This is the only useful tool mentioned in the whole thread.
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Old 09-07-21, 10:26 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
^ little known second use for a bidet...
Did you mean second use for an eyewash station?
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Old 09-07-21, 10:37 AM
  #35  
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if it could also be a wax lubricant applicator & carbon crack/butted steel failure checker the compu'ter could be a mobile LBS.
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Old 09-07-21, 12:23 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by Ogsarg
At some point it just becomes easier to put a cycling app on your phone and ditching the computer altogether.
We are very far off from that though.
I like having a smaller screen than my phone giving directions and displaying live metrics. The battery lasts way longer too.
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Old 09-07-21, 01:05 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by Ogsarg
At some point it just becomes easier to put a cycling app on your phone and ditching the computer altogether.
Many people already do that.

Even with that, Garmin, Wahoo, and Hammerhead see a market for cycling-specific devices.

Smartphones took a way a lot of the market for car GPS units. They took some of the market for cycling GPS but I don't think it was as large a fraction.

One thing that kept cycling-specific head units going was that most sensors used ANT+, which was not well supported by smartphones. BT sensors make smartphones much more practical as replacements.

Smartphones capable enough have existed for long enough to basically destroy the cycling GPS market but they haven't managed to do that yet.

So, there have to still be things that cycling-specific devices are better for cycling use than cell phones.

One of those is screens: smart phone screens don't work that well in bright sunlight and they consume too much power. Smartphones are also designed for short term use (not running things for hours). Smartphones are also much bigger than many people want to have on their handlebar.
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Old 09-07-21, 01:10 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
We are very far off from that though.
I like having a smaller screen than my phone giving directions and displaying live metrics. The battery lasts way longer too.
Smartphones already work for a lot of people. Still, I don't think cycling-specific computers will go away. But fewer people will buy them.

The cycling computer manufacturers are not likely to make cycling computers that do "everything" that smartphones can do because it means competing against large well-established companies.
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Old 09-07-21, 01:32 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
Smartphones already work for a lot of people. Still, I don't think cycling-specific computers will go away. But fewer people will buy them.
The cycling computer manufacturers are not likely to make cycling computers that do "everything" that smartphones can do because it means competing against large well-established companies.
Yes, they not only work for a lot of people, they work very well for those people. My sister uses her smartphone when riding and it works perfectly. She also doesnt ride longer than 2 hours.

I agree cycling computer brands are not likely to make products do everything a smart phone does. I sure hope they dont. Thats a losing proposition. I dont want them to even try because...why? That would be a lot of time and money spent on something that isnt really needed.
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Old 09-07-21, 02:19 PM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Yes, they not only work for a lot of people, they work very well for those people. My sister uses her smartphone when riding and it works perfectly. She also doesnt ride longer than 2 hours.
I know people who use them and for much longer rides. For many people, using the device they have (plus the cost of a mount and waterproofing) makes more sense rather than spending $250-$600 for a dedicated device.

Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Yes, they not only work for a lot of people, they work very well for those people. My sister uses her smartphone when riding and it works perfectly. She also doesnt ride longer than 2 hours.
The Hammerhead Karoo is basically an Android smartphone yet Hammerhead didn't set it up to replace a smartphone.

That had to be a deliberate choice.

I suspect one reason they didn't make it a smartphone is because it keeps them out of the highly-competitive "rat race" of the smartphone market where people expect upgrades every year. It seems only Apple and Samsung (barely) make money selling smartphones. Hammerhead would not be able to compete with those two companies, leaving them to complete with all the other companies not making money.

There also might be additional effort/cost qualifying phones to work with different networks around the world.

It's interesting that the Karoo does support a data (not voice) connection (it doesn't need it but there's an option to use a SIM for data).

Garmin had an Android phone / GPS, which wasn't sold for very long.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmin_N%C3%BCvifone

So, though some people don't realize it, these companies have tried/considered the "make the device a smartphone" thing and rejected it.

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Old 09-07-21, 05:01 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
Not many people would want to have to pay for service for a second phone that they won't use very often. It likely wouldn't be worth it for Garmin to have to certify the device with each cell company either. And it would make battery life worse.
Yeah, no doubt. I guess I was thinking there'd be a way to link a garmin device built with phone capability -- something that you could run a pay-as-you-go ($5-10/month) purchased minutes plan, solely for emergency use. Only turn on cellular service if you need it in an emergency, etc. Then again, the Uber app is probably one reason smartphone users want a smartphone on their rides.
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Old 09-07-21, 06:10 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by Troul
built in bidet & eye washer could be really handy.
As long as you don't mistake one for the other!
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Old 09-07-21, 06:29 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by kahn
As long as you don't mistake one for the other!
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Old 09-08-21, 09:23 AM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Yeah, no doubt. I guess I was thinking there'd be a way to link a garmin device built with phone capability -- something that you could run a pay-as-you-go ($5-10/month) purchased minutes plan, solely for emergency use. Only turn on cellular service if you need it in an emergency, etc. Then again, the Uber app is probably one reason smartphone users want a smartphone on their rides.
Garmin already has enough to do to get what they already provide to work properly. It might be hard to add calling capability to the current line of devices. It also might be that, after adding an "emergency" feature, people will want more than that.

There's isn't any universal "pay as you go plan" (so, adding this potentially means dealing with dozens of cell phone companies).

Uber has limited effective coverage (it's convenient in some places and much less so in others). One might be able to sideload the Uber app on a Karoo (which you can use on a data network). But Hammerhead has no obligation to make sure it would work.
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Old 09-08-21, 11:04 AM
  #45  
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Adding cellular - Expensive components, tough to support, short life cycle, not a killer-app feature. Someone might do it, but probably not a good idea from a product point-of-view. Short that stock.
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