I'm an aspiring application developer that is focusing mostly on general applications
with social integration and games that make use of offloaded servers for stats tracking and processing.
And for the ones that did not get that, I make android apps and games, yay!
Now for the actual question, looking at these new devices that will make use of quad-core chips,
but won't really help me much since I need to look at mass market,
and then devices that are proven, devices that sport dual-core chips with good ample memory.
I am looking at purchasing another device to add to my testing bench.
I currently sport:
Motorola Xoom Wifi 32gb [ running EOS3 nightly - JB branch ]
HTC Sensation 4G [ running JB from bruce2728's repo ]
Samsung Galaxy Tab [ original 7' running JB from cdesai ]
What am looking for is a device that sports all or most if possible hardware that an
Android Application developer should have in its arsenal;
NFC, Google Wallet, Multi-color LED, Accelerometer, Gyro, Barometer,
Compass, Light Sensors, Proximity Sensors, and any other things that we take for granted
like Wifi and Bluetooth.
So, looking at the current crop of devices, and future possible devices,
does it make sense to purchase a Galaxy Nexus, go for a Galaxy S3 or wait for the next surge of devices?
A Nexus M perhaps? Or is there a device that you guys would recommend other than those mentioned?
On another note, my budget is from $300 to $500-ish, and I prefer to go with a no contract devices, oh, and I hate Verizon.
I appreciate all input, good, bad or ugly.
Thank you for your time.
Has anybody used a Bluetoooth heart rate monitor with this phone and Endomondo (or other fitness app)?
I was wondering if any of the Bluetooth 4.0 (smart) heart rate monitors would work with this phone (Zephyr HxM Smart or Polar H7)
Thanks
I'm using Runkeeper app and the "older" Polar heart rate monitor (non 4+). It is working very solidly for me. I have had it for about 1 month, still haven't changed the battery (I've ran about 10-15 hours with it so far).
I didn't have enough faith in BT4.0 to try the newer one.
Let us know if you decide to try it!
I ended up going with the Zephyr HxM Bluetooth for Android model (BT 2.0) to use with Endomondo. It works great so far!
After reading some posts on the Nexus forums, apparently BT 4.0 isn't fully supported yet on Android. Something about each app maker needing to create an API themselves to support BT 4.0. So most apps don't use it yet. The 4.0 devices may connect to the phone, but the app won't recognize it. Maybe Key Lime Pie will address this soon.
Is anyone aware of any mods that support bluetooth low energy. I'm really interested in getting a sports tracking wristband but every one of them requires BLE to sync to phones. I've read that android 4.3 will support it but I doubt our phones will ever see that officially.
Check out the "UP by Jawbone" in the accessories section. There's some discussion there regarding these fitness bands
I've been involved in that thread. It seems that the only android devices officially working with these wristbands through bluetooth are S3/S4/Note2 as Samsung has done their own work to get BLE working on these devices. Just wondering if there are any mods I'm not finding through search out there that would work on other phones.
I'm not sure what to tell you. Hopefully somebody else chimes in...
I know the up syncs thru headphone jack. I also know that the Bluetooth stack used in our phones is lacking...
Have you tried any AOSP ROMs ?
No I haven't made the jump to try out that side yet(I'm pretty attached to Sense's Car Mode vs other apps lol). Possibly will when 4.3 comes out. Especially with the upgraded bluetooth stack.
I understand that 4.3 will support Bluetooth 4.0/Bluetooth Low Energy, and more specifically Bluetooth Smart devices.
Does anyone have any experience with any Bluetooth heart rate monitor chest straps- even before 4.3- which were not supported by popular running apps?
To me, if a device has the Bluetooth logo, it meets Bluetooth protocol certifications and should work but these running apps say they only support a Polar or Zephyr (insert model #) here.
I didn't know if that is because that's all they test with or they're trying to hawk their own store products.
Personally, I prefer to invest in one heart rate chest strap that works with multiple apps if I decide I don't like one app at some point and how each of the running apps claim they only support 2 brands or models of something is pretty ridiculous.
jawz101 said:
if a device has the Bluetooth logo, it meets Bluetooth protocol certifications and should work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, Yes, they work -BUT- Android does not work with them.
Most phones do support BLE in their hardware, but android does NOT have the API-calls to access the hardware (until 4.3).
If you have a Bluetooth Smart device ( like your heart rate monitor ) and you try to pair it with any BLE capable device, it will work to a certain point, since it is Bluetooth after all. But bluetooth smart is a "simplified" version of bluetooth, with the intention to cut power usage so you can run on a coin cell battery for months, even years in some cases. The problem is that while they did cut the protocol down they also broke backward compatibility to a certain degree.
So communication from your Bluetooth smart device to your mobile phones bluetooth chip does work, but since "things" have changed, the part behind the bluetooth chip on your phone has to cope with the new differences. That does not happen in android before 4.3 . Some manufacturers like Samsung and HTC and Motorola (SHM) have done their own work (all three different approaches) to cope with the problem.
Me, as an APP developer, could go to all SHM companies and make my app work with their "workarounds" just to support a handfull of phones, coping with the quirks of those workarounds. -OR- I simply wait for google to implement BLE stack on Android in a newer version.
The reason it took Google till Android 4.3 to get BLE working was that google already did want to cleanup the Bluetooth code and waited till all is finished ( that's what I've read online ). I think that was the wrong approach. Since most Handset manufacturers do not update ROMs as fast, the Market share of android devices that truly work flawless with BLE will continue to be low for the next 2-3 years.
I am doing a masters thesis on bluetooth low energy and want to use it with android, although it should be clear that I need a Phone, I am still hessitating to buy a Nexus 4, although I am in need of a BLE compatible Phone.
On the other hand there are reports that the previous nexus phone, the galaxy nexus, has a BLE capable chip and meanwhile did get Android 4.3, but in that case (seemingly) the drivers for the BT-chip do not work with bluetooth smart / BLE. (A good reason to get angry)
To get back to your Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) straps, most probably the old ones did do some "own development" with older Bluetooth. The point is that BLE has a specific profile for HRM devices, so they will all be mix-n-match / compatible-to-eachother once the market for compatible apps, compatible phones and compatible straps is existent. Earlier HRM straps did implement their own data transmission protocol over the well known bluetooth serial protocol. That is the reason they are compatible with only one or two apps (or one app with a couple of straps).
I have a Nexus 4 and just received a Polar H7 HRM which is a Bluetooth Smart device. Loaded 4.3 up, Android recognizes it, no apps do.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Update:
A nerd at Polar finally alleviated my worries.
_______######_____#
We do not foresee any changes made to the H7 as it uses BTLE standard protocol. * It will be compatible with 4.3. *We have seen the recent announcement regarding 4.3 and are working hard to see what it means for Polar Beat application. It is great that so many people would like the Beat app to be available on Android phones. Us too! Stay tuned for further news.
Thank you for training with Polar!
LaKisha
Polar Customer Care Team
POLAR ELECTRO INC.
______##########_##___
For me that means I'll keep the h7 I bought. To hell with apps that won't support it in favor of their own branded HRMs. I want freedom to switch $5 apps versus buying $50 HRMs for each.
Anything new on this front? I have a Galaxy Note II and would like to buy a BTLE HRM belt for it. Is there any belt that's likely to work with v4.3 and apps like Endomondo or Runtastic?
oren_b said:
Anything new on this front? I have a Galaxy Note II and would like to buy a BTLE HRM belt for it. Is there any belt that's likely to work with v4.3 and apps like Endomondo or Runtastic?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'd love if someone who has paired the Wahoo Blue HR with a Nexus 4 has got Runkeeper to successfully communicate with the heart rate monitor. My MotoActv died and I'm thinking I should have a Bluetooth hrm as a backup.
mversion said:
Yeah, I'd love if someone who has paired the Wahoo Blue HR with a Nexus 4 has got Runkeeper to successfully communicate with the heart rate monitor. My MotoActv died and I'm thinking I should have a Bluetooth hrm as a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just purchased the Wahoo Blue HR strap to test with Runtastic app and an S3 with Android 4.3 (Cyanogen). I will test tomorrow and if it doesn't work I will return and then try the Polar H7 and let you all know what the results are.
Runtastic recently updated their app to include support for Android 4.3 with Bluetooth 4.0.
-G
Gsus112 said:
I just purchased the Wahoo Blue HR strap to test with Runtastic app and an S3 with Android 4.3 (Cyanogen). I will test tomorrow and if it doesn't work I will return and then try the Polar H7 and let you all know what the results are.
Runtastic recently updated their app to include support for Android 4.3 with Bluetooth 4.0.
-G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That'll be excellent. Can't wait for the status update. My wife also uses an S3, so it will be a definite purchase for me if you confirm that all is good.
I couldn't wait, so I purchased the Wahoo heart rate monitor. I should've done my research but I had to find out the hard way that because there's no support for BT LE in Runkeeper and Endomondo, they didn't work at all. I signed up for the Wahoo beta android app and gave that a go. That was fine. Didn't try Runtastic though.
Luckily I had a coworker who was after one for his iPhone so I sold him mine on the same day for the same price I had purchased it.
I ended up getting the Polar Wearlink Bluetooth (not the Wearlink+ H7 with Bluetooth 4.0 version- because it is pointless if your app of choice doesn't support it). I wouldn't be surprised if Runkeeper announced support soon, but they've been talking about it for over a year now. So it will come eventually, but the time is not now.
I used a Nexus 5 for testing, but I'm sure I would've gotten the same result with a Nexus 4.
Wahoo ble beta
Wahoo beta works with a no name ble heart rate belt.
all "free"app's ask money if you try to enable the heart rate monitor.
mainfraim said:
Wahoo beta works with a no name ble heart rate belt.
all "free"app's ask money if you try to enable the heart rate monitor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which beta? http://support.wahoofitness.com/entries/22766104-Wahoo-Fitness-for-Android-Beta-is-here-
And run keeper works too?
magnus48 said:
Which beta?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This beta.
https://rink.hockeyapp.net/apps/080b26953c056aab2e7f1192361e0f64
the export in the last version don't work. version 1.0.1.0 runs whiteout problems.
Anything that works with Endomondo or Runtastic?
oren_b said:
Anything that works with Endomondo or Runtastic?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Runtastic does support Smart HRMs. I use it with my Polar H7 and Nexus 4 with no issues. I think that's about the only full featured fitness app out there on android that supports it. The other big apps (such as Runkeeper) are just MIA, as far as I know there is no ETA for support, no beta, nothing. If Runkeeper supported smart BT, I would buy it, simply because it is the only app supported by my employer sponsored fitness portal.
grizzlebizzle said:
Runtastic does support Smart HRMs. I use it with my Polar H7 and Nexus 4 with no issues. I think that's about the only full featured fitness app out there on android that supports it. The other big apps (such as Runkeeper) are just MIA, as far as I know there is no ETA for support, no beta, nothing. If Runkeeper supported smart BT, I would buy it, simply because it is the only app supported by my employer sponsored fitness portal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is now 6 months that people request BTLE supports with Runkeeper. Since Android 4.3 has been announced with BTLE supportt.
As today the support still answer: "it's in the pipeline!"
How can such a big app can have this lack of development and not support BTLE yet? Is this a lack of knowledge from developpers? Licensing? Money? A little bit of everything?
For god sake, just update it already! This keep me of buying a Polar...
grizzlebizzle said:
Runtastic does support Smart HRMs. I use it with my Polar H7 and Nexus 4 with no issues. I think that's about the only full featured fitness app out there on android that supports it. The other big apps (such as Runkeeper) are just MIA, as far as I know there is no ETA for support, no beta, nothing. If Runkeeper supported smart BT, I would buy it, simply because it is the only app supported by my employer sponsored fitness portal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, using a heart rate monitor with Runtastic is pointless for me since the app does not consider your heart rate in it's calorie burning calculation. This came direct from Runtastic support. The heart rate is only tracked for informational purposes but not used by the app.
I'm trying to find a workout app that does the following:
1) Syncs with Myfitnesspal or Fitbit
2) Is compatible with BLE heart rate monitors
3) Uses heart rate to calculate calories burned
4) Works with the Sony Smartwatch
Runtastic does 1, 2 and 4 but as I said doesn't to 3.
I know Digifit/iCardio does 1, 2 and 3 but not 4.
What about the Wahoo app? Does anyone know if it works with the Sony Smartwatch and/or uses your heart rate in its calculations?
t-bo said:
It is now 6 months that people request BTLE supports with Runkeeper. Since Android 4.3 has been announced with BTLE supportt.
As today the support still answer: "it's in the pipeline!"
How can such a big app can have this lack of development and not support BTLE yet? Is this a lack of knowledge from developpers? Licensing? Money? A little bit of everything?
For god sake, just update it already! This keep me of buying a Polar...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.. been waiting for this for ages as well, neverending story with runkeeper and BTLE
Guys, just use iCardio. I've been using it for the past week and it works with the Polar H7 HRM.
Forget all the others like Runkeeper and Endomondo who can't keep up with the times. You have other options so use them. I was using Endomondo but I've moved on and have no regrets.
I've been working on a heart rare monitor app. Currently, the amount of features is slim, but this will change soon.. if you participate in testing, it would help me very much.
//play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.restracks.android.ble
This looks like a good start... I am looking for an app that will capture the BTLE or ANT+ output from my new Mio Link when inthe gym. I could use my Forerunner 220 and ANT+, but then I get a cadence track from the internal sensor that I dont want and cant turn off. This then screws up the pace/distance stats.
I have tried the Wahoo app and BTLE, but I seem to get loads of spikes.
Does your app log the heart rate, and is there then a way to extract it for upload somewhere else - ideally in .FIT or .tcx format ??
Any other apps out there that do this ?
Hi all, new poster here.
Up until recently I wasn't very much interested in acquiring a smartphone. As I'm rather curious, I finally decided to make that technological leap.
Having read about inherent insecurity of such devices, wanted to know what can be done to make them more... ehm, "safe".
Going for android, there seem to be lots of ways hardening the system, but what about baseband RTOS? As I understand, no amount of security
can stop it from controling phone's funcionality. Cryptophone seems to deploy a hardware based firewall on older Samsung phones where
CPU and baseband don't share direct memory, what are the possibilities of doing the same with SOC that shares it? XEN?
Second point - SIM security. Having read Nohl's research on its vulnerability, is it possible to code TurboSIM to reject OTA updates?
If there is no way of separating baseband from CPU, how practical can one be by combining battery powered mifi dongle in one pocket,
and airplane-mode enabled smartphone in the other? Any recommendations?
For starters, I'm considering Moto G - what can I do in order to secure it?
Should I go for newely presented Blackphone instead? Is it all just hype or a real deal?
Perhaps I should wait for Neo900? Quote from their website: "Neo900 won't share system RAM with the modem and system CPU will always have
full control over the microphone signal sent to the modem. You can think of it as a USB dongle connected to the PC, with you in full control
over the drivers, with a virtual LED to show any modem activity."
Apologies for somewhat lenghty post. All help is much appreciated.
bump