Saturday, February 10, 2007

Hanging on the Telephone


I've been pondering purchasing a Garmin or some sort of GPS thingy for running. I haven't put in a ton of research yet, but it's one of those gadgets that would be nice to have, and helpful for training. While I was leafing through the March 2007 issue of Runner's World, I found an advertisement for a wireless run tracker. Basically, you download the program to your phone, and your phone serves as your GPS device. Granted, it has to be a particular type of phone, but what a great idea.


I carry a cell phone with me when I run anyway, and there wouldn't be one more thing to think about. I've been wanting to upgrade my cell phone, but now I have a really good excuse to get the better upgrade. Hmmmmmm...


It's raining here. I suppose I could go out for a run but I have no rain gear. (Yeah, that's it...) Hubbie is sanding the floor in the garage storage area and I get to put down the polyurethane. It's gonna be a fun filled Sunday.

PEACE

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7 comments:

chantal2bfit said...

I read about this. I wonder if it would work with a Motorolla Razr. I carry my cell phone during my runs too and it would be cool to have this feature instead of buying a Garmin.

barbie2be said...

i think this is a great idea putting GPS into cell phones. i have often joked with friends about getting implanted with a chip like my cat. it's a good idea in theory but wouldn't be much help unless emergency personnel actually knew it was there.

today i'm thinking blondie or def leppard.

Pamela said...

Sounds like a coool toy!

NotSoccer Mom said...

i'm not all that crazy about my razr... you might check with people in your area who use your carrier. but it's certainly a very cool idea!

chantal2bfit said...

I just checked this out some more. You need to pay $10/month to have this feature added to your phone. I don't know, but it might be worth it to just buy a Garmin. There's a $50 rebate going on right now with the Garmins. For the 205, you can get it for as low as $139 with the rebate.

Anonymous said...

My MIL says her phone has GPS capabilities. The clincher is that she will never ever figure it out. And probably neither would I. I hope you find the perfect thing for you!

Irene said...

Chantal,
I still need to weigh the options. My brother said if I cut out one thing that I purchase weekly, like (for example) buying lunch out, I could justify the extra $10/month.

Barbie2be,
We may all be chipped at some point! LOL... I know they've talked about doing that to kids...
Winner with Blondie!

Pamela,
I need to upgrade my cell phone, the one I have has lousy reception and I always miss calls. My family has the same service, so I know it's just my phone that's lousy... The GPS option would be nice.

NSM,
There were other phone model options that work with the gps. A friend has a Razr and she likes it and gets decent reception/coverage. I don't know if that's what I'll get, though. I'll have to physically make it down to the phone kiosk at the mall to check everything out.

Shopper,
We were thinking about getting a GPS for my dad's car... He's always complaining that he gets lousy directions... LOL... I think it's just my dad... LOL... Once I make it out to the mall, then I'll decide if the wireless run tracker / GPS thing is worth the effort.