Don Tolson
11-04-2009, 04:30 PM
<p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255544178.usr15.png" style="border: 0;" /></p><h6><strong>Product Category:</strong> GPS-assisted software</h6><h6><strong>Manufacturer:</strong> <a href="http://www.marathon-mobile.net/" target="_blank">JMD Software</a></h6><h6><strong>Where to Buy:</strong> From the developer -- download available <a href="http://www.marathon-mobile.net/Info/Download" target="_blank">here</a>; or from the Windows Marketplace</h6><h6><strong>Price:</strong> $3.99USD</h6><h6><strong>System Requirements:</strong> Marathon requires a Windows Mobile 5.0+ Professional device with a GPS receiver and a screen resolution of at least 240x240 pixels.</h6><h6><strong>Specifications:</strong> Requires approximately 400K of storage memory. Cannot be installed to Storage Card.</h6><p><strong>Pros:</strong></p><ul><li>Very easy to install, configure and use;</li><li>Main user interface is very intuitive, but there are lots of settings for individual customization.</li></ul><p><strong>Cons:</strong></p><ul><li>Not possible to pause timings if you stop for a drink or chat;</li><li>Some of the terminology used is confusing (eg. Sprint vs Track) A Help file or glossary would be useful.</li></ul><p><strong>Summary:</strong> Training up for that next marathon or triathalon? Or maybe just looking for something to provide an extra nudge for your personal 'Biggest Loser' exercise program? Marathon, a GPS-enabled software package from JMD Software may be just the right coach. It provides a simple, easy way to track your progress whether you're walking, running, biking or even rallying by car!<MORE /></p><h1>Introduction</h1><p>I found out about this application via an article on the <a href="http://www.fuzemobility.com/page/17/" target="_blank">FuzeMobility</a> site. My wife and I have taken up walking to help with strengthening her back after surgery, weight loss, and general overall health. (It's also a really good time for us to talk about 'stuff' going on and reconnect after our long work days.) Around this neck of the woods, there are numerous parks and lakes available for hikes, but it was difficult to get distances so we could figure out how far and how fast were walking. We needed some way to measure our progress.</p><p>Voila! Along came Marathon, which turned out to be a perfect solution for us.</p><h1>Acquisition and Installation</h1><p>Marathon is currently available on the developer's website (see link above) or from the Windows Marketplace, but the Marketplace doesn't have a WM6.0 client just yet. The version I tested was the latest one available, but there may be another ready by the time this review is published. The software comes as a .CAB file which you download directly to the device, then double tap it from the File Explorer to execute the install.</p><p>I tried installing to Storage Card, but I couldn't get it to work. It says it installs correctly, but when you try to run the program, there was a 'missing component' error and the program exits. So, you'll need to install it to Device Memory.</p><h1>Setup and Configuration</h1><p>Once installed, I ran the program and it had no problem finding the embedded GPS receiver in my AT&T Fuze/HTC Touch Pro, but you need to ensure that the setting in Settings/System/External GPS/Access is set to 'Manage GPS automatically' -- in other words, let WM figure out where the GPS is located and how to connect the application to it. There aren't any specific instructions within the application for connecting to an external GPS unit, but the FAQ on the website describes essentially the same procedure -- configuring Windows Mobile to point to the GPS unit via the appropriate COM port and speed, then setting the Access to allow Windows Mobile to attach applications to the GPS.</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717652.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 1: The main screen of Marathon, after it has acquired a GPS lock and you're on your way. The 'map' in the bottom part of the screen shows relative distance and direction, and scales out as you move further, in order to keep the entire track on the screen. As you can see, I haven't got very far and I seem to be stumbling around a lot :-) Actually, I'm sitting still the whole time. What you are seeing is variation in GPS position caused by trying to get a stable position lock while inside a building. But at least it gives you an idea of what the interface looks like as you move around.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717644.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 2: This is the main menu of Marathon which provides access to the various user customizations available. About provides information on the developer and version of the application. The Settings, View, and File menus are described in detail below.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717687.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 3: The Settings menu provides lots of options to customize the way Marathon works.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255556140.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 4: A recent addition to Marathon is the ability to provide audio announcements of various parameters as you progress. Currently, the only voice available is 'Anna' (female) and US-english is the only language. The sliders change the interval between announcements (1 to 10 minutes). There are two options not visible in this screenshot -- to exclude announcing seconds and increase the number of decimals (accuracy) of the measurements.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255989675.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 5: The calibration screen allows you to adjust the measurement of distance to match actual on-the-ground distances, such as a curvy track through a forest. The slider provides adjustments between 90% and 125%. You can set this globally for the entire application or for a specific track.</em></p><p><PAGE /></p><h1>Setup and Configuration - Cont'd</h1><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717634.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 6: Two types of charts can be displayed on the Main screen. Bar charts compare changes in altitude, distance traveled, etc. for selected intervals, depending upon what information you've selected. Linear shows the same information, but in a regular line graph.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//zt/auto/1255989178.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 7: For Bar charts, you can set the time interval between measurements (bars) from 5 to 25 minutes.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1256581667.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 8: Here's an example of bar charts as shown on the main screen. No, I wasn't running underwater, but I was walking next to the sea wall here in the Victoria Harbour and GPS satellites are notorious for getting confused about heights close to sea level.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1256581695.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 9: Here's the same chart shown in linear mode.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717815.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 10: The units menu allows you to select how rates/speeds will be displayed on the main screen.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717671.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 11: Personally, the default power management settings worked well for me, but you may have other requirements. I definitely agree with the help text that allowing the GPS receiver to turn off while in standby mode will produce unexpected and unusable results. Generally, I found Marathon to be fairly frugal with the battery, even with the GPS and screen on during use.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255989657.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 12: File menu. This is where you can open a previously saved set of sprint results, define a time goal for yourself, or select a previously traveled track, to compare results.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717803.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 13: Selecting a track. I haven't defined any yet, but I could, for instance, define our regular 'lake walk' or the 'dog walk' as a track. I suppose my bike ride to work could be defined as a track, but I'm not competitive enough to want to track whether I'm going faster one day vs. the next.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255556153.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 14: Diagnostic logging for the GPS can be turned on to help with tracking problems. The default is Error (as shown) to only log when an error occurs. You can also select Normal or Verbose to provide increasing levels of detail. Unfortunately, the application doesn't tell you </em>where<em> the log files are kept. (They're in /Program Files/Marathon/Logs, named with the current date and an extension of .log). The log files are in plain text and can be reviewed with Notepad or other text file reader.</em></p><p><em><PAGE /></em></p><h1>Taking it out for a Run...</h1><p>Once you have things configured the way you want, it's time to take it out for a spin. After you start the application, it will immediately activate the GPS receiver and attempt to get a lock at your current location. It notifies you of this via the left soft key at the bottom of the screen changing from 'No Signal' to 'Start'. When you're ready to get moving, tap on Start. From there, Marathon keeps track of your current position and displays your speed, distance and relative position to that point. Although we used it primarily for walks, I also tested on bike and even vehicle speeds (around the city -- I haven't tried it on extended highway or autobahn speeds :-))</p><p>The displayed mapping only gives you a relative picture of the track you've covered. For the purposes of training for that next race or just setting personal goals though, it's perfect. If you do want to lay down the sprint information on a map (so you can where you were...), you can do this by saving the sprint information, then exporting the data (Menu/File/Export) in either GPX/KML format.</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717845.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 15: The View menu lets you look at how the GPS is performing, results from your last sprint, and select what's shown at the bottom of the main screen.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255717787.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 16: Here's an example of the sprint information provided by Marathon. A Sprint is defined as the distance/time traveled between tapping the Start button in the lower left of the Main screen, and subsequently tapping it again to Stop the sprint. Unfortunately, there's no way to pause the measurements if you stop for a rest or a chat on your travels.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255556198.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 17: The GPS View screen. The bars at the bottom show the relative signal strengths at each of the satellites being used to determine the current position.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1255556177.usr15.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 18: You can use this screen to establish a goal time and distance for your sprints, either from one you input, or from a previous result. The slider along the bottom allows you to vary a previously recorded result by between 50 and 200%.</em></p><p><em><PAGE /></em></p><h1>Saving / Comparing Your Results</h1><p>Setting and achieving personal goals is great, but sometimes a little competition is good too. Beyond the application itself, JMD software provides an active website <em>located at </em>www.marathon-mobile.net<em> </em>where you can store information about your tracks and times, and compare them to others using the software.</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/ppct/auto/1255717854.usr15.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 19: Here's the main page of the Marathon website which allows you to get the latest available version of the software and compare your results with other Marathon users.</em></p><p>The results are uploaded directly from the Marathon software on the PPC from the File Menu/Upload Result, but you will need an active internet connection at the time. Currently, there is no charge for the online service, but there may be charges from your cell phone service provider if/when you are uploading data</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/ppct/auto/1255990879.usr15.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 20: The Activity Map shows where Marathon users are located and have uploaded information.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/ppct/auto/1255990887.usr15.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>Figure 21: The website also provides a top-10 list of longest distances and shortest times for various tracks. Apparently, it can also compare different users on the same track, but there wasn't anyone else nearby me I could check this with.</em></p><h1>Conclusion</h1><p>While Marathon is not a complete personal navigation system, it does a great job of focusing your efforts on the important factors in race training -- time, distances and speed. The interface is simple and straightforward, with lots of ability to customize, and the addition of the voice announcements is great for the running on the go, who can't regularly refer to the screen for updates.</p><p><em>Don Tolson is an Associate Director with Fujitsu Consulting, located in Victoria, BC, Canada. While the old legs can't do any more marathon running ;-), he is an avid hiker and walker along with this wife and Blaze, the wonderdog.</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1240336793.usr1.gif" /></p><p><strong>Do you enjoy using new hardware, software and accessories, then sharing your experience with others? Then join us on the <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com/reviewteam.php" target="_blank">Thoughts Media Review Team</a>! We're looking for individuals who find it fun to test new gear and give their honest opinions about the experience. It's a volunteer role with some great perks. Interested? <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com/reviewteam.php" target="_blank">Then click here for more information.</a></strong></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1240336793.usr1.gif" /></p>