How to Upload Data From Tom Tom Watch to Iphone

Today, TomTom released their telephone app for uploading workouts wirelessly from the TomTom Runner and Multisport units to your telephone.  The intention to release such functionality had been announced back in Dec, though without a specific timeframe attached to it.

I've been using the app for the past week, giving it a bit of a whirl afterwards recent runs and rides.  I'll practice a quick walk-through of how it works.  Note that this makes for the second company to innovate GPS lookout man workout to phone synchronization (the beginning existence Garmin, Polar would make for the third upon release of their V800 in April).  Every bit I've noted previously, this will pretty much become the norm for companies by the end of the year.  I'd say that anyone releasing a new device later this summer that doesn't accept this functionality, won't have terribly successful sales.

With that, allow's swoop into the nuts.

First, your TomTom unit will need a firmware update to enable this functionality.  To go that you'll merely plug it into your estimator and let the TomTom MySports Connect awarding detect the watch then observe the firmware update from TomTom'due south servers:

The update process just takes a couple minutes to consummate.  All your settings are saved, then it's a pretty not-intrusive update.

Once the update is done y'all'll be able to use the device simply like normal.  In order to demonstrate things, I went out and got a few workouts on the device outset – a blend of runs and bikes, though no swims (because let's exist honest, voluntary not-training-plan puddle fourth dimension was non on my high priority list).

With a few workouts completed, it was back into the device I went.  On the device if you scroll down into what is commonly the settings surface area, y'all'll encounter the new 'Telephone' option.

(In case yous're wondering why my unit looks so muddy, it was raining out, and thus I was fighting a abiding battle of the drops and wiping them away.)

Information technology's within hither that y'all'll pair your phone.

In this instance the pairing procedure happens solely inside the TomTom app, and doesn't require you dive into the Bluetooth control panel on your phone.  To pair, y'all'll let the app search for your TomTom unit, and so on the phone you lot'll confirm that by entering in a pin number that the TomTom unit displays.

(Annotation: On my first round of screenshots higher up, the watch names were cutoff – fear not, on final release, they are not cutoff, I merely didn't re-screenshot information technology.)

With that complete the TomTom unit of measurement will automatically start downloading any workouts upon completion if the telephone is within range and the app is opened up.  The TomTom unit does not have to be in any sort of special sync mode.  The 'Sync' pick you encounter below merely controls whether or not it syncs at all (On/Off).

In my case, I had my small pile of workouts that were backlogged to complete on my initial sync.  I found that shorter workouts went reasonably quick.  For case, a twoscore minute workout took virtually 45-lx seconds to sync.  Whereas a longer 2hr workout took a few minutes to sync.  The slowness here is primarily Bluetooth Smart transfer throughput speeds, and is a hurting point that I've heard from numerous companies about.  Over time we'll probably see that improve with hardware changes, just cipher near-term that I've heard about.  And ultimately, an actress minute or so afterward a multi-hour workout isn't that large of a deal.

Note higher up y'all'll see the lilliputian phone icon on the front of the TomTom unit indicating that the telephone is within range and ready to upload.

In one case a given workout has finished transferring to the phone, it'll go ahead and upload the workout to TomTom's site where y'all tin can access it in that location just similar normal.  That process takes mere seconds – it's very quick.

Below, upon completion, you tin can see that my first activity is immediately bachelor on TomTom's site:

Now, the app does take a few tiny options in it.  Kickoff you can log into your business relationship and see the workout from the app itself.

The merely catch here is that it'southward basically only enumerating a spider web page inside the app window.  So information technology's not quite as polished as an app showing the data natively.  And so while it's pulling up a mobile-friendly website, it'southward a fleck chunkier than some implementations.

There'due south also a handful of settings you can configure inside the app.  First, y'all can choose what information type you'll upload activities on – be information technology WiFi Only, or both WiFi and Mobile Data.  Side by side, you lot can select the aforementioned option for the satellite pre-caching information.  This is the information that produces super-quick satellite lock times by pre-downloading satellite location data.

Finally, you can tweak your online TomTom account settings, every bit well equally view info almost the picket itself.  Interestingly I was able to pair multiple watches into the app – so if you happen to be…well…like me – you're skillful to get.

Now, in that location is one downside detail to note.  As information technology stands right now the app only transmits to TomTom's site.  That means that if you traditionally setup the TomTom desktop software to upload to a site similar Training Peaks, or if you lot had information technology create a .FIT/.TCX file, then yous'll need to take a slightly unlike (boosted) pace to become that information out and into those formats.  To exercise so y'all'll plug in your phone to your computer, which volition then deed as the conduit to grab the original TomTom file.

In guild to grab said file, you lot'll get ahead and crack open iTunes once the phone is connected.  Then go into your phone within iTunes and select the 'Apps' button.  From there, roll down and detect 'MySports' in the left paw side.  On the right side you'll see the .TTBIN files that are the raw TomTom files.

And then, along the lesser click the 'Save to' button, which simply saves these files somewhere.  I'd but create a folder for them somewhere handy.

Once yous've got it saved somewhere, simply double click on the conditioning file, which will go ahead and re-process it inside the TomTom MySports app so spit out the usual .FIT/.TCX/etc files like it ever did (or upload to sites like Training Peaks).  Unfortunately, you lot do need to connect the TomTom unit to your figurer equally well in social club for the app to procedure it.  Kinda a hurting, I agree.

It sounds like this process is probably semi-temporary for now.  TomTom is already polling users on their forums for which exporters (connections) they'll add together in the next update of the app.  Then swing over at that place to add together your feedback.

Now, you can actually get around this by leveraging my post from final month that automatically syncs the files to other services.  That'due south because beneath the covers the TomTom service is but MapMyFitness.  So by using the sync services that support MapMyFitness – yous can quickly get the data to other web sites.

Finally, some of you may have noticed I oasis't mentioned Android yet.  The TomTom Android app is nonetheless forthcoming, a bit downward the road. This is pretty much in line with every other sports tech company in having the iOS app version out before the Android app version, equally many companies are still struggling with inconsistencies of the Bluetooth Smart stack on top of Android – even in four.iii.  It'due south not that companies don't want to release Android apps leveraging Bluetooth Smart, information technology's but proving more complicated and less stable.

With that – I'm glad to see TomTom taking advantage of the Bluetooth stack in the device.  Given they're ane of the few devices on the market today that'south purely Bluetooth-only, it's good to come across what I hope will be the first of lots of new phone continued features.  The implementation thus far of this first step seems quite clean and easy to use – so hopefully that bodes well long term.  And, since my review last summer they've also fabricated lots of improvements to the unit itself – both big ticket items as well as little items.  Expert to see.

Thanks for reading!

(Oh, quick note: It may accept a few hours for the app to show up in all global iTunes app stores, and then hang tight if you lot don't quite come across information technology yet.)

salcedotheor1988.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/01/releases-uploading-multisport.html

Share this post