My Leikr Experience
Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 9:17 pm
After using the Leikr for quite some time I have to say that it more and more stays at home and I am only using my "old" Garmin Forerunner 610. In this post I highlight the stuff that does not work for me. Some points have been highlighted before, some a long time ago without any reaction from Leikr.
GPS Accuracy
Still, after so many software releases the GPS accuracy is still not good enough. I start to believe that this poor performance can only be due to bad hardware. An example of todays run:
Leikr: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/339163285/8104552
Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/498826580
The Garmin Forerunner 610 is also not perfect, but still way better. For a watch of that price I expect top notch GPS performance (that's the main reason to buy a GPS watch, right?!)
WLAN Credentials
I still have to enter the WLAN credentials on their website just to download a file to my computer. Come on! This was reported a long time ago and still no progress?! I do not want to provide you WLAN credentials, especially for networks which I do not own! I mean the company I work for could probably fire me if I did.
Time to Fix
As long as I turn the GPS on when I am in range of a known WLAN network, time to fix is very good. 8 hours later at work (where I did not provide Leikr my WLAN credentials...) it takes a long time to get a GPS fix. I had to wait more than 2 minutes today while my Garmin had a fix within 10s.
No Export
Leikr focusses on providing support for alternative websites for activity upload. I do not care about these websites as I want the raw file (TCX, FIT, ...). The device is seen as a USB mass storage device. Why not just provide the files on the mass storage and let me handle it the way I want?!
Device not properly disconnected
I regularly get a message from my OS saying the watch was not properly disconnected. This happens e.g. when synchronizing the watch. From a usability standpoint I consider this a bug.
Manual Activation of Heart Rate Monitor
All the other GPS watches automatically find the heart rate monitor once it is paired. No need to press to buttons, which I always forget.
Screen Quality
The color screen quality is disappointing. The maps can hardly be read. Black and white screens are very good though and can be read even in bright sunlight.
Not so useful Maps
The map feature is not as useful as it sounds. This is partly due to the low display quality, partly due to the not so good map material, partly due to the too small screen, and partly due to the lack of automatic north orientation. While running I can hardly read the map. As this is one of the main selling points that is quite shocking.
Buttons
Another hardware related problem. Pressing the start button, especially with gloves is very wobbly. I have to always check the screen to see if the stop watch started. Event without gloves there is not enough tactile feedback.
Conclusion
I would not recommend this watch to anybody. For that price point you get a much better watch else where. It's sad to say that as I had wished that Leikr would mix up the competition. I am a kickstarter backer and that is the only reason to not return the watch and demand a full refund.
Regards,
Simon
GPS Accuracy
Still, after so many software releases the GPS accuracy is still not good enough. I start to believe that this poor performance can only be due to bad hardware. An example of todays run:
Leikr: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/339163285/8104552
Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/498826580
The Garmin Forerunner 610 is also not perfect, but still way better. For a watch of that price I expect top notch GPS performance (that's the main reason to buy a GPS watch, right?!)
WLAN Credentials
I still have to enter the WLAN credentials on their website just to download a file to my computer. Come on! This was reported a long time ago and still no progress?! I do not want to provide you WLAN credentials, especially for networks which I do not own! I mean the company I work for could probably fire me if I did.
Time to Fix
As long as I turn the GPS on when I am in range of a known WLAN network, time to fix is very good. 8 hours later at work (where I did not provide Leikr my WLAN credentials...) it takes a long time to get a GPS fix. I had to wait more than 2 minutes today while my Garmin had a fix within 10s.
No Export
Leikr focusses on providing support for alternative websites for activity upload. I do not care about these websites as I want the raw file (TCX, FIT, ...). The device is seen as a USB mass storage device. Why not just provide the files on the mass storage and let me handle it the way I want?!
Device not properly disconnected
I regularly get a message from my OS saying the watch was not properly disconnected. This happens e.g. when synchronizing the watch. From a usability standpoint I consider this a bug.
Manual Activation of Heart Rate Monitor
All the other GPS watches automatically find the heart rate monitor once it is paired. No need to press to buttons, which I always forget.
Screen Quality
The color screen quality is disappointing. The maps can hardly be read. Black and white screens are very good though and can be read even in bright sunlight.
Not so useful Maps
The map feature is not as useful as it sounds. This is partly due to the low display quality, partly due to the not so good map material, partly due to the too small screen, and partly due to the lack of automatic north orientation. While running I can hardly read the map. As this is one of the main selling points that is quite shocking.
Buttons
Another hardware related problem. Pressing the start button, especially with gloves is very wobbly. I have to always check the screen to see if the stop watch started. Event without gloves there is not enough tactile feedback.
Conclusion
I would not recommend this watch to anybody. For that price point you get a much better watch else where. It's sad to say that as I had wished that Leikr would mix up the competition. I am a kickstarter backer and that is the only reason to not return the watch and demand a full refund.
Regards,
Simon