heart rate sensor question - apps

mpizzle421
mpizzle421 Posts: 80 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a question,

I've been evaluating various solutions from Polar. The f4/f7/f40/f60.

I was initially debating between features of the various watches.

However, I started to think that with the various iphone / android apps available - a better question is which comes with a sensor offering the most compatibility with the various apps out there. The watch features themselves are probably less important than what else you can do with the sensors. (Correct me if I'm wrong).

Thank you in advance with any guidance - I'm sure that the various heart rate monitor questions have been asked repeatedly but I didn't find an answer that addressed my specific question.

Thank you!

Replies

  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,658 Member
    The strap is the bit with the sensors in, the receiver clips onto the strap, the watch picks up the info from the receiver.

    I am not aware of any app that is available that can do any of that to be honest.
  • Brad805
    Brad805 Posts: 289 Member
    There are straps that mesh better with certain apps. I suggest you nail down which app you prefer and then decide on the strap. Personally, I find the polar app does everything I want so that works for me. I did find a lot of people that like the endo... app, and I don't think the polar strap works with it. Bottom line I think is google is your friend. :)
  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
    There's actually a number of different versions of bluetooth HRMs, but you should be careful about what you're getting and check to make sure the version you're getting is compatible. There is bluetooth 2.0 and 3.0 and not all apps can handle both. Your phone may not even be able to handle them.

    The best thing to do, imo, is to check the apps out and find the one you like. I personally like Sports Tracker, but your preferences will be different than mine. Then check their compatibility list and get an HRM that works with it.

    One downside though is that none of them (to my knowledge) also work with a watch. Great thing about the watch version is it's easy to look over and check your HR. For most of my workouts, this isn't terribly important, so it's not a big deal for me. However, if real time monitoring of your HR is important, and you're in a position where that may be tricky on a phone, say step aerobics, jogging, etc, then you will want to factor that into your purchase decision.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    They all have their own merits I use a polar HRM but use the connect garmin site that links from my garmin cycle computer to record all exercise because I prefer the site, it also links to Runkeeper that can link to MFP but I found that link a pain!

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