If you carry your mobile phone with you everywhere, even cycling, then mobile application VeloComputer, built by development house SoundofMotion, may be for you. The VeloComputer application transforms your mobile phone into an advanced cycling computer to rival that of many specialized cycling sensors currently on the market.
The application leverages the accelerometer embedded in new mobile phones (such as the Blackberry and iPhone). With the phone attached to your leg via a holster or stuffed in your cycling tights, the phone's accelerometer detects the low and high points of your leg and calculates cadence or rpm.
GPS enabled phones allow the VeloComputer application to calculate your speed, distance, acceleration and also track your trip data. In addition to the application, a VeloComputer Bluetooth wireless sensor can be attached to a quick release magnet on the bike wheel to enable a more precise measurement of speed, distance and acceleration. All travel data is stored on the phone and can be uploaded to a computer for training analysis.
VeloComputer's patent pending technology is capable of detecting as little as 1 degree of wheel rotation, making the sensing technology more accurate than that of traditional cycling computer sensors, which only measure a full 360 degrees. The technology is also capable of measuring torque and even power without any additional sensors on the bike. Working like an electronic compass, the VeloComputer sensor detects the position of the magnet relative to the sensor's center axis and determines the angle of the wheel in rotation.
The application sells for $14.95 and is available from the Company website or the Blackberry, Apple and Sony Ericsson application stores. The Bluetooth sensor is currently available for beta testing and will be commercially available later this Fall.