MotoActv

So what are the thoughts on this thing? For someone who listens to music while they run, it seems like it could be an all-in-one solution...priced at $249 right now, it seems to be at least competitive with the new Garmins.

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/10/20/video-motorola-motoactv-is-what-the-ipod-nano-should-be/

I went to Greg's link and then one at Amazon and my first thought was that, while interesting, this looked more like a Nike+ thing (ok but not useful for real training) and less of a Garmin replacement. I was skeptical that the MotoACTV have the more pure training things a Garmin does like data fields to show, pace feedback during the run etc. and I didn't think the music stuff (picking songs for you etc) sounded interesting enough to be worth upgrading from a basic shuffle.

But I've posted reviews before from this guy (DC Rainmaker) and he's all over this kind of stuff and reading this report made me at least want to wait until he road tests it and provides a follow-up review. My initial skepticism has been replaced with the belief that yeah this might be a good "one device" to combine Garmin/iPod.

Read this if interested:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/10/motorola-motoactv-thoughts-and-analysis.html

Forget about it, Greg.

It's not apple, it is not cool. Ask your kids.

Whoa, this definitely has my attention.

I'm fed up with the iPod shuffle. They break too often. I've been through 3 this summer, and even with Best Buy's replacement warranty, its still costing me $15 a pop, not to mention all the other crap I buy every time I step foot in Best Buy.

If the GPS is accurate, I could see myself making the switch.

That looks pretty sweet and just be what I'll be asking for this Xmas.

Bob wrote:That looks pretty sweet and just be what I'll be asking for this Xmas.

Yes, I'm thinking the same thing, it almost seems too good to be true.

I think that I will stick with my Garmin. I like the analytics more than the entertainment...

They got Dean Karnazes promoting it. Personally I haven't bought anything that's endorsed by Dean Karnazes.

Jerry, who can I ask if I have no kids?

The music piece makes it a tempting offer since we've lost two ipods this summer too. I currently have 2 working Garmins' so it will be a while before I will even consider it. I am interested though, because both the ipod and Garmin have their issues.

Kevin - anyone udner 30

was about to buy a 610. May have to reconsider.

anyone buy or try out one of these yet? DC Rainmaker has a pretty positive review, but with one caveat - battery life. His version didn't last 3 hours. Either I need to run faster or consider a different watch.

mountandog wrote:anyone buy or try out one of these yet? DC Rainmaker has a pretty positive review, but with one caveat - battery life. His version didn't last 3 hours. Either I need to run faster or consider a different watch.

Saw the same review and it has me nervous. Also I want to know how the wireless earphones thing would work. If the MotoACTV would replace both my 610 and iPod AND get rid of earphone wires AND last long enough for long runs and racing battery-wise, it is something perfect for me.

Has anyone tried one out yet?

GregC wrote:So what are the thoughts on this thing?

mountandog wrote:anyone buy or try out one of these yet?

Chris M wrote:Has anyone tried one out yet?

Just got one. I entered a random drawing at the MOTOACTV booth during the New York City Marathon Expo ... and got selected. With results like this, it pays to go to big races, no? It's basically an Android tablet computer, albeit tiny. I've modded [hacked] several Motorola phones and belong to a community that does just this on all manner of MOTO and Android devices. Apparently, it's possible to root this pup so that you can load games and play movies on it ... not that you would ever want to, of course, on its 1.9" touchscreen. But just the mere fact that you can intrigues me ... yes, i.am.a.geek. Contrary to Jerry's view, it's WAY cool. So much so that I just may have to start listening to tunes as I run.

Since this thread was originally started, Motorola has been paying attention to feedback. MOTO issued a substantial firmware update in December that addresses the battery life issue. I'll give it a thorough test drive over the next few months and post intermediate and final results here. I might even get DC Rainmaker to update his review. Stay tuned peeps.

KBFitz wrote:

GregC wrote:So what are the thoughts on this thing?

mountandog wrote:anyone buy or try out one of these yet?

Chris M wrote:Has anyone tried one out yet?

Just got one. I entered a random drawing at the MOTOACTV booth during the New York City Marathon Expo ... and got selected. With results like this, it pays to go to big races, no? It's basically an Android tablet computer, albeit tiny. I've modded [hacked] several Motorola phones and belong to a community that does just this on all manner of MOTO and Android devices. Apparently, it's possible to root this pup so that you can load games and play movies on it ... not that you would ever want to, of course, on its 1.9" touchscreen. But just the mere fact that you can intrigues me ... yes, i.am.a.geek. Contrary to Jerry's view, it's WAY cool. So much so that I just may have to start listening to tunes as I run.

Since this thread was originally started, Motorola has been paying attention to feedback. MOTO issued a substantial firmware update in December that addresses the battery life issue. I'll give it a thorough test drive over the next few months and post intermediate and final results here. I might even get DC Rainmaker to update his review. Stay tuned peeps.

great!!! I'm in the market for something new. Don't wait to long to report your results.

KBFitz wrote:

GregC wrote:So what are the thoughts on this thing?

mountandog wrote:anyone buy or try out one of these yet?

Chris M wrote:Has anyone tried one out yet?

Just got one. I entered a random drawing at the MOTOACTV booth during the New York City Marathon Expo ... and got selected. With results like this, it pays to go to big races, no? It's basically an Android tablet computer, albeit tiny. I've modded [hacked] several Motorola phones and belong to a community that does just this on all manner of MOTO and Android devices. Apparently, it's possible to root this pup so that you can load games and play movies on it ... not that you would ever want to, of course, on its 1.9" touchscreen. But just the mere fact that you can intrigues me ... yes, i.am.a.geek. Contrary to Jerry's view, it's WAY cool. So much so that I just may have to start listening to tunes as I run.

Since this thread was originally started, Motorola has been paying attention to feedback. MOTO issued a substantial firmware update in December that addresses the battery life issue. I'll give it a thorough test drive over the next few months and post intermediate and final results here. I might even get DC Rainmaker to update his review. Stay tuned peeps.

So great - you won and you didn't give it to me since I did not win

KBFitz wrote:

Contrary to Jerry's view, it's WAY cool.

Contrary to Jerry's view = Uncool

I'm looking forward to KB's review. My Garmin is really acting up so I will need to decide. But I listen to music all the time so need you to try that out too. I'm concerned the Bluetooth earphones are too heavy for running.

Regardless of reviews, I'm going to have a hard time dropping $130 on headphones. Hell, I just got a new 16G mp3 player for $90.

I'm going to post my review shortly [in a separate thread and will link in a post in this thread]. Before that, though, I just want to say ... this is an awesome device!!!

Well a little more just to whet yer whistle: If you are in the market this winter for a single device that can replace your shuffle/nano/mp3 player AND your GPS watch and won't break the bank ... the current sale on at Amazon.com until Jan 31 is very tempting ... for around $207 [free shipping], you get the device, wired headphones AND the wrist-strap. The 8GB device that I have been testing is well worth the MSRP of $250. So this is a pretty good deal.

That, however, doesn't mean that deals on this first generation MOTOACTV won't get better. Some early adopters have found that the device comes up short on some of its functional claims. The Bluetooth and wired headphones that include strapless heart-rate monitoring have not yet made it to the marketplace. The stock (and included) wired Motorola headphones fit well and sound gorgeous. But some users have found that they fail and screw up the media player when sweat, rain or moisture gets into the microphone/switch on the wire under the chin. Apparently, the Motorola Bluetooth headphones have the same issue. I have not experienced this. Import: Motorola headphones are not ready for prime time.

The device itself, however, kick's butt! Motorola Mobility has been actively responding to owner feedback - most notably issuing firmware upgrades that go a long way toward extending battery life and resolving a few other usability issues. I recently ran and was tracked for 4.5 hours over three days with full music accompaniment on one charge and still had 10% left. [This was with the display turned off and without any other Bluetooth or Ant+ devices connected.] Further progress [via firmware upgrades] can be made on energy use.

Further progress can be [and needs to be] made on the MOTOACTV web portal. The MOTOACTV website is the only way to get data off the device - that's right - there is no API interface through which is possible to download data from the device directly to your computer. After each workout, the device syncs the workout data to the web portal ... automatically. The web portal allows data downloads, but certain information that is necessary to allow easy or seamless integration with third-part software like RunKeeper.com or SportTracks is missing. So while the user interface is somewhat awkward, incomplete and inflexible right now, all of this is related to software/web/firmware design.

The hardware - GPS tracking, heart-rate monitoring [from a strap via Ant+], music player and bluetooth pairing with your mobile phone [smart or otherwise, should you care to carry it with you] all work ... and quite nicely to boot.

Feel free to send me an email or PM if you want more of my review before I post it.

looking forward to the full report KB. Sounds like much has been improved via the firmware. I do use Garminconnect and Sporttracks so I don't want to make all that stuff impossible to use since they both contain all my running history, profiles, workouts, etc. Last thing I need is another website, but I get it.

Holy crups ... I just sat for an hour giving a detailed update as to where I'm at on this and lost it when I went to post an image. No more time. Sorry. I'm on the fence about this device currently. You'll have to wait to see why.

KBFitz wrote:Holy crups ... I just sat for an hour giving a detailed update as to where I'm at on this and lost it when I went to post an image. No more time. Sorry. I'm on the fence about this device currently. You'll have to wait to see why.

Can't believe you made such a rookie mistake.

One time, in my employer, a small consumer goods company, Pepsico. This junior consultant issued an unix command to wipe out the whole supply chain system of Pepsico's largest division. We were all hands on deck to fix it just as our bosses were struggling to justify our pay checks.

I just got an email from the guy who runs the pacing group that I'm part of for the St. Louis marathon. He has apparently gotten a sponsorship deal with Motorola and they are giving every pacer a MotoActv to be worn in the race that we get to keep. While I'm a little apprehensive about using it for a race with only one day of prep, I'm pretty excited to be getting one completely free. That, and we're getting a free pair of Race ready shorts.

mul21 wrote:... Motorola [is] ... giving every pacer a MotoActv to be worn in the race that we get to keep. While I'm a little apprehensive about using it for a race with only one day of prep, I'm pretty excited to be getting one completely free.

I too was apprehensive, so didn't use it in Houston. My MotoACTV has tracked nearly identical to my vintage Garmin Forerunner 205 in all four races I have run since February. Since St. Louis has a pretty open course in terms of cover (it's not a trail run under canopy), I predict it will track very close to the distance and pace of a Garmin, Polar or Timex GPS device: within +-.3% [It doesn't do so well under canopy, with or without foliage, where it routinely cuts corners.]

Since you're new to it, don't rely on it. If you can't wear it with your normal tracking device, leave it at home. If you can, by all means do. I could have done so in Houston as I wear it on an armband with the Forerunner on my wrist. But I was not familiar enough with it at the time. Set the Battery Saver (in Settings) to Marathon Mode (this records a GPS fix every 3 seconds and should be the default rather than the normal 1 second btw fixes). A few minutes before the start, go to the running screen and select Running > Outdoors > Quick Start. It will get a satellite lock within 30-40 seconds. When you cross the start line hit the start button. Do not stream music to Bluetooth headphones during the race (in fact you should not be listening to music at all wired or wireless). If you stream music to wireless headsets you will drain the battery in under 3 hours. Turn the screen off and don't pay any attention to the device during the race. Before you cross the finish line turn the bloody screen back on, then hit the Start/Pause button. That will pause your run and you will be able to end your workout. (The Start button does not work unless the bloody screen is on - it's maddening really.) Make sure you upgrade to the latest firmware before the race. Good luck.

They seem to be giving these away like candy. You'll soon learn why.