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Smarthalo - 3/5 Bee's Knees
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Beeline - 4.5/5 Bee's Knees
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Today I choose which of the following I’d most prefer in my possession: the Smarthalo, the Beeline or a chicken sandwich (it’ll make sense, I promise). Both the Smarthalo and Beeline fill a similar niche market for riders seeking navigation functions without the expense of a dedicated GPS. Each product has its differences but both share the theme of adding navigation to your ride without breaking the bank. The similarities end there. Diverse features, unique design elements and user involvement make these products very different but which is better? Or which is right for you? Let’s break it down.
Buzz Buzz - The Beeline
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Overview
Between these two products, the Beeline is unquestionably more simple. A silicone housing wraps over most stems or bars and locks into itself with a clever design. Use of the device is almost entirely intuitive with the somewhat limited features currently offered. A small monotone backlit display presents the rider with all the data it provides and four touch-sensitive corners allow the user to cycle thru display items as well as toggle the backlight. Initial ride navigation starts within a smart phone app. USB charging comes as no surprise.
Features
Keeping with the minimalist design, the Beeline offers only a few features beyond navigation. Again, the unit is backlit which can be toggled on and off from the device. Time, current speed or phone & device charge levels are displayed depending on the screen you choose. The final component is navigation of course. As of writing, the only form of navigation offered by this product is, for lack of a better term, a Beeline (very fitting). While navigating to a destination established by your smart phone, the device simply points in the most direct heading “as the crow flys” and also provides you with a distance were you able to navigate directly to the destination. While I suspect the Beeline will retain its simple design, it is however primed for additional functionality should the developers choose to do so. Within the app, riders can begin a ride by selecting nothing more than a searched destination or dropping a pin. Alternatively, for effective turn-by-turn directions a user can select a destination and drop waypoints along the way to stay on a more specified route or navigate to multiple destinations in one trip. A Bluetooth connection is required for syncing and updating firmware. Rides are recorded within the app and saved for later review. Previous routes can also be saved for future navigation use. For use with Apple (at least), map info seems to be gathered from Apple Maps TomTom source data. A chrome clasp is included to sling the device onto your keychain if desired.
Performance
Despite the deficit in features compared to the Smarthalo, the Beeline ethos favors quality over quantity. Again, whether a rider wants to proceed with minimal guidance (beeline) or establish a few checkpoints to stay more on track (dropping waypoints), opperation is straight forward and predictable. The displayed distance can be misleading depending on your actual route, however, once you accept that the distance is accurate in a point-to-point measurement you can use that information to make your own calculated estimates on ETA. Time, charge and speed indications work flawlessly, albeit simple features. Initiating rides and the overall experience using the app to manage rides is nothing short of perfect. All features are well organized and the maps look entirely familiar and are intuitive to manipulate. Initially, I had some concerns that the mounting style seems a bit insecure but after testing on gravel trails and harsh bumpy pavement there were no signs of loosening. Touch sensitivity of the display worked great though riding with full gloves would hamper effectiveness. Only one complaint arouse in testing and this was the backlight. Although the backlight is functional, I experienced flicker in certain environments which lowered the perceived quality of the device.
Between these two products, the Beeline is unquestionably more simple. A silicone housing wraps over most stems or bars and locks into itself with a clever design. Use of the device is almost entirely intuitive with the somewhat limited features currently offered. A small monotone backlit display presents the rider with all the data it provides and four touch-sensitive corners allow the user to cycle thru display items as well as toggle the backlight. Initial ride navigation starts within a smart phone app. USB charging comes as no surprise.
Features
Keeping with the minimalist design, the Beeline offers only a few features beyond navigation. Again, the unit is backlit which can be toggled on and off from the device. Time, current speed or phone & device charge levels are displayed depending on the screen you choose. The final component is navigation of course. As of writing, the only form of navigation offered by this product is, for lack of a better term, a Beeline (very fitting). While navigating to a destination established by your smart phone, the device simply points in the most direct heading “as the crow flys” and also provides you with a distance were you able to navigate directly to the destination. While I suspect the Beeline will retain its simple design, it is however primed for additional functionality should the developers choose to do so. Within the app, riders can begin a ride by selecting nothing more than a searched destination or dropping a pin. Alternatively, for effective turn-by-turn directions a user can select a destination and drop waypoints along the way to stay on a more specified route or navigate to multiple destinations in one trip. A Bluetooth connection is required for syncing and updating firmware. Rides are recorded within the app and saved for later review. Previous routes can also be saved for future navigation use. For use with Apple (at least), map info seems to be gathered from Apple Maps TomTom source data. A chrome clasp is included to sling the device onto your keychain if desired.
Performance
Despite the deficit in features compared to the Smarthalo, the Beeline ethos favors quality over quantity. Again, whether a rider wants to proceed with minimal guidance (beeline) or establish a few checkpoints to stay more on track (dropping waypoints), opperation is straight forward and predictable. The displayed distance can be misleading depending on your actual route, however, once you accept that the distance is accurate in a point-to-point measurement you can use that information to make your own calculated estimates on ETA. Time, charge and speed indications work flawlessly, albeit simple features. Initiating rides and the overall experience using the app to manage rides is nothing short of perfect. All features are well organized and the maps look entirely familiar and are intuitive to manipulate. Initially, I had some concerns that the mounting style seems a bit insecure but after testing on gravel trails and harsh bumpy pavement there were no signs of loosening. Touch sensitivity of the display worked great though riding with full gloves would hamper effectiveness. Only one complaint arouse in testing and this was the backlight. Although the backlight is functional, I experienced flicker in certain environments which lowered the perceived quality of the device.
"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that..." - The Smarthalo
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Overview
Maybe I'm dating myself but I'll say it regardless--2001: A Space Odyssey anyone? Anyways, compared to the Beeline, the Smarthalo boasts a significantly greater list of features. Control of the device is partially achieved by tapping the device but mostly controlled via a smartphone app. The mounting design is significantly different for this device in order to afford a number of security features not seen on the Beeline. A magnetic “key” of sorts is used to release the product from its mount. This fob is not universal with all Smarthalos, rather there are a generous number of unique keys for the devices making it highly unlikely (but not impossible) for someone else’s fob to unlock your specific device. In place of a traditional display, a series of multi-colored LEDs circles the top perimeter of the product in addition to a single center emitter. A number of instructions are displayed via a series of color coded lights to present a rider with turn by turn directions. Charging this device is also accomplished via USB.
Features
Where the Beeline maintains its simplicity, the Smarthalo looks prepared to dominate by offering every feature short of an integrated frothing wand for your mid-ride cappuccino. Starting within the app, rides begin in a similar fashion by searching a destination or dropping a pin. A route is automatically assigned and waypoints do not appear to be an option. Maps provided by Mapbox©. Routes can be saved or flagged as favorites for future use. Time and distance estimated on this device are more accurate than the Beeline if a rider follows the defined route and if the rider is a tortoise—it appears to estimate a riders speed at about 10mph to determine the ETA despite the fact the my average speed was closer to 18mph. The next tab within the phone app allows the rider to enable or disable the automatic (light sensitive) light and choose its intensity as well as a flash or constant setting. Tapping the device twice also cycles the auto light on and off. Next, a security page is used to input a unique 5-tap code that you can use to disarm your device without pulling out your phone. My demonstration of this feature was misleading in the video. Rather than tapping a particular pattern or frequency, it is intended to be set with different durations for each of the five taps...more like morse code...long taps and short taps of your choosing. This alarm can be set to two sensitivities, or disabled altogether. Indicated by a heart, the fitness tab is your platform for tracking ride progress in parameters familiar to GPS/cyclometer owners. A final tab provides the option for phone notifications to trigger a blue flash and/or audio tone on your Smarthalo to notify you of an incoming call. Don’t confuse this setting with the volume of turn by turn direction notifications which can be found on the first tab (navigation) by selecting the gear symbol.
Performance/Experience
Beginning with navigation, performance was mixed. A 60 mile route was selected for its numerous complications. On this trip, poor routing could take a rider on rough gravel back roads or interstates as well as cause odd routings with numerous dead ends or overly inefficient delays. The reward for flying by the seat of another commander’s directions…a hot date with some classic diner food at Gordy's Hi Hat. This manor of navigating does become second nature very quickly with appropriately designed light signals. Finding a method for adjusting the volume of the navigation tones wasn’t first apparent and was fantastically embarrassing. Each notification tone seemed more shrill than the last and alarmed some pedestrians as I passed. With a bit more familiarity the tone setting was discovered deeper within the app and lowering the output spared some anxiety. Directions themselves were perplexing during most of my riding. It seems that the directions established by Mapbox© don’t discriminate road surfaces or established paths very well. While riding on a bike path recognized on the software, the device continuously suggested vacating the path for a busy shoulder-less road. Some of this can be forgiven as these are common drawbacks to using open source map software that isn’t developed with cycling as the primary beneficiary. However, what was shocking was when the device suggested a complete course reversal while on the final leg of my journey, destination in sight. I liked how the route would recalculate with each turn I superseded but to put it bluntly the directions were consistently inefficient and occasionally absurd. With navigation performance poor but the interface and instructions for navigation quite usable, other features would need to save this device--lighting would not accomplish this. While the constant or blinking headlights don’t detract from the performance of the product, they are easily shamed by inexpensive lights from nearly any dedicated light manufacture. Again, this doesn’t take away from the product but it feels like a cheap afterthought because of its underwhelming performance. …next… How’s the alarm? (I chuckle). While poking, prodding and dissecting the Smarthalo, I managed to enable the alarm unintentionally. I jarred the unit a bit and received what I thought was the alarm, I called a friend over, “check out this alarm, intimidating huh?” “buzz-buzz”…we laughed. He took a quick little poke at it and unbeknownst to both of us these were only initial warnings for what was to follow. In true security alarm fashion, the SH fired a common home alarm tone at a shrill, ear bleeding volume, granted we were indoors. Call the alarm a win. A concern I had after analyzing the key fob was whether it was an over glorified magnet wrapped in a “custom” housing. Thankfully this is not the case. Employing an undisclosed number of unique keys, the SH does in fact have a highly tamper-proof locking mechanism. To test this I used both a single neodymium magnet and occasionally pairs in different polarity configurations in an attempt to release the unit from its mount. After less than 10 min of fidgeting, I was able to free the unit with a single magnet and great patience. Were the device armed, the alarm would have been shrieking almost immediately from the spastic magnetic attacks. Without question, the security exceeded my expectations given the false impression of a seemingly basic magnetic lock release. One final performance element that deserves endless praise is the app itself but more specifically the installation and operation instructions. After opening every dust encrusted file cabinet in my review history archive, I cannot think of any product from any manufacture that offers this simple of instructions for a product that does require a fair amount of initial direction. For the team tasked with this objective, well done, these efforts could easily go unnoticed despite its excellence.
Maybe I'm dating myself but I'll say it regardless--2001: A Space Odyssey anyone? Anyways, compared to the Beeline, the Smarthalo boasts a significantly greater list of features. Control of the device is partially achieved by tapping the device but mostly controlled via a smartphone app. The mounting design is significantly different for this device in order to afford a number of security features not seen on the Beeline. A magnetic “key” of sorts is used to release the product from its mount. This fob is not universal with all Smarthalos, rather there are a generous number of unique keys for the devices making it highly unlikely (but not impossible) for someone else’s fob to unlock your specific device. In place of a traditional display, a series of multi-colored LEDs circles the top perimeter of the product in addition to a single center emitter. A number of instructions are displayed via a series of color coded lights to present a rider with turn by turn directions. Charging this device is also accomplished via USB.
Features
Where the Beeline maintains its simplicity, the Smarthalo looks prepared to dominate by offering every feature short of an integrated frothing wand for your mid-ride cappuccino. Starting within the app, rides begin in a similar fashion by searching a destination or dropping a pin. A route is automatically assigned and waypoints do not appear to be an option. Maps provided by Mapbox©. Routes can be saved or flagged as favorites for future use. Time and distance estimated on this device are more accurate than the Beeline if a rider follows the defined route and if the rider is a tortoise—it appears to estimate a riders speed at about 10mph to determine the ETA despite the fact the my average speed was closer to 18mph. The next tab within the phone app allows the rider to enable or disable the automatic (light sensitive) light and choose its intensity as well as a flash or constant setting. Tapping the device twice also cycles the auto light on and off. Next, a security page is used to input a unique 5-tap code that you can use to disarm your device without pulling out your phone. My demonstration of this feature was misleading in the video. Rather than tapping a particular pattern or frequency, it is intended to be set with different durations for each of the five taps...more like morse code...long taps and short taps of your choosing. This alarm can be set to two sensitivities, or disabled altogether. Indicated by a heart, the fitness tab is your platform for tracking ride progress in parameters familiar to GPS/cyclometer owners. A final tab provides the option for phone notifications to trigger a blue flash and/or audio tone on your Smarthalo to notify you of an incoming call. Don’t confuse this setting with the volume of turn by turn direction notifications which can be found on the first tab (navigation) by selecting the gear symbol.
Performance/Experience
Beginning with navigation, performance was mixed. A 60 mile route was selected for its numerous complications. On this trip, poor routing could take a rider on rough gravel back roads or interstates as well as cause odd routings with numerous dead ends or overly inefficient delays. The reward for flying by the seat of another commander’s directions…a hot date with some classic diner food at Gordy's Hi Hat. This manor of navigating does become second nature very quickly with appropriately designed light signals. Finding a method for adjusting the volume of the navigation tones wasn’t first apparent and was fantastically embarrassing. Each notification tone seemed more shrill than the last and alarmed some pedestrians as I passed. With a bit more familiarity the tone setting was discovered deeper within the app and lowering the output spared some anxiety. Directions themselves were perplexing during most of my riding. It seems that the directions established by Mapbox© don’t discriminate road surfaces or established paths very well. While riding on a bike path recognized on the software, the device continuously suggested vacating the path for a busy shoulder-less road. Some of this can be forgiven as these are common drawbacks to using open source map software that isn’t developed with cycling as the primary beneficiary. However, what was shocking was when the device suggested a complete course reversal while on the final leg of my journey, destination in sight. I liked how the route would recalculate with each turn I superseded but to put it bluntly the directions were consistently inefficient and occasionally absurd. With navigation performance poor but the interface and instructions for navigation quite usable, other features would need to save this device--lighting would not accomplish this. While the constant or blinking headlights don’t detract from the performance of the product, they are easily shamed by inexpensive lights from nearly any dedicated light manufacture. Again, this doesn’t take away from the product but it feels like a cheap afterthought because of its underwhelming performance. …next… How’s the alarm? (I chuckle). While poking, prodding and dissecting the Smarthalo, I managed to enable the alarm unintentionally. I jarred the unit a bit and received what I thought was the alarm, I called a friend over, “check out this alarm, intimidating huh?” “buzz-buzz”…we laughed. He took a quick little poke at it and unbeknownst to both of us these were only initial warnings for what was to follow. In true security alarm fashion, the SH fired a common home alarm tone at a shrill, ear bleeding volume, granted we were indoors. Call the alarm a win. A concern I had after analyzing the key fob was whether it was an over glorified magnet wrapped in a “custom” housing. Thankfully this is not the case. Employing an undisclosed number of unique keys, the SH does in fact have a highly tamper-proof locking mechanism. To test this I used both a single neodymium magnet and occasionally pairs in different polarity configurations in an attempt to release the unit from its mount. After less than 10 min of fidgeting, I was able to free the unit with a single magnet and great patience. Were the device armed, the alarm would have been shrieking almost immediately from the spastic magnetic attacks. Without question, the security exceeded my expectations given the false impression of a seemingly basic magnetic lock release. One final performance element that deserves endless praise is the app itself but more specifically the installation and operation instructions. After opening every dust encrusted file cabinet in my review history archive, I cannot think of any product from any manufacture that offers this simple of instructions for a product that does require a fair amount of initial direction. For the team tasked with this objective, well done, these efforts could easily go unnoticed despite its excellence.
Summary
Both the simplistic Beeline and feature-full Smarthalo presented themselves for review simultaneously which paved the way for a fun comparison of the two products, each with their own character but both with the goal of providing a simple alternate-method of navigation compared to traditional GPS devices or a smartphone directly. During the very first ride while testing both devices, the Smarthalo stole the spotlight. Its larger, it flashes, it beeps, it squeals like a pig when you grab it by the tail and the phone app is stuffed with more elements than a Chicago calzone. However, amidst the irritating navigational tendencies of the SH, the Beeline silently and unobtrusively sat beside the SH modestly indicating the destination like a disciplined English Pointer. "This way master." Although the Beeline team could bulk up their product with many more software driven features, I suspect they’ll remain somewhat lean to maintain the fantastically simply interface that won my approval after becoming annoyed with the seemly needy child that is the Smarthalo. Another media outlet summarized the Smarthalo perfectly though I don’t think they realize just how accurate they were in their analogy. They likened the device to a Swiss Army knife with unprecedented tools at its disposal. What they didn’t imply but what is entirely true (just like a Swiss Army knife) is that the Smarthalo does a little of everything but is a champion of none. This becomes quantity over quality, just the inverse of what makes the Beeline so great. As a whole, the SH navigation was not efficient, the light function is simply not impressive and has no thought to it, and the housing is bulky, ugly and consumes way too much real estate. Additionally, under the right conditions (speed and wind direction) the housing whistles...it took some time for me to realize the SH was the culprit. A saving grace is the alarm function as well as the death grip it has on whichever bike you choose to attach it to. However, the locking mechanism does have a considerable amount of rattle to it while riding which diminishes the allure. Each device has a concrete foundation for generous expansion thru firmware updating. SH has confirmed a strong commitment to the future development of their product and rumors have swirled regarding what additional features may arrive. To give you some clue, this team wants to add features of value and elements that will benefit the product without saturating it in unnecessary options…i.e. new features won’t appear over night. Because of my experience with the product, I hope to see a b-line style navigation function option or more flexibility with the app to drop waypoints and dial the navigation in to define more sensible routes. If the SH offers stronger navigational guidance in either a turn-by-turn or b-line fashion in the future, some of the flaws mentioned above would likely be forgiven. Because navigation is the primary function of both of these devices, the Beeline is unquestionably the device I would choose between the two. With its lean build, simple function and superior user experience, the Beeline is the better product of the two. By comparison the Smarthalo piles its features sky high, but that's mostly valued at its first impression. Were a rider to value the additional features offered by the SH, it may be the device to own but again I contest the navigational guidance was hindersome. But ultimately if you throw a wild card contender in the mix, one chicken sandwich from Gordy’s Hi-Hat, that'd be my first choice. Happy riding everyone.
Both the simplistic Beeline and feature-full Smarthalo presented themselves for review simultaneously which paved the way for a fun comparison of the two products, each with their own character but both with the goal of providing a simple alternate-method of navigation compared to traditional GPS devices or a smartphone directly. During the very first ride while testing both devices, the Smarthalo stole the spotlight. Its larger, it flashes, it beeps, it squeals like a pig when you grab it by the tail and the phone app is stuffed with more elements than a Chicago calzone. However, amidst the irritating navigational tendencies of the SH, the Beeline silently and unobtrusively sat beside the SH modestly indicating the destination like a disciplined English Pointer. "This way master." Although the Beeline team could bulk up their product with many more software driven features, I suspect they’ll remain somewhat lean to maintain the fantastically simply interface that won my approval after becoming annoyed with the seemly needy child that is the Smarthalo. Another media outlet summarized the Smarthalo perfectly though I don’t think they realize just how accurate they were in their analogy. They likened the device to a Swiss Army knife with unprecedented tools at its disposal. What they didn’t imply but what is entirely true (just like a Swiss Army knife) is that the Smarthalo does a little of everything but is a champion of none. This becomes quantity over quality, just the inverse of what makes the Beeline so great. As a whole, the SH navigation was not efficient, the light function is simply not impressive and has no thought to it, and the housing is bulky, ugly and consumes way too much real estate. Additionally, under the right conditions (speed and wind direction) the housing whistles...it took some time for me to realize the SH was the culprit. A saving grace is the alarm function as well as the death grip it has on whichever bike you choose to attach it to. However, the locking mechanism does have a considerable amount of rattle to it while riding which diminishes the allure. Each device has a concrete foundation for generous expansion thru firmware updating. SH has confirmed a strong commitment to the future development of their product and rumors have swirled regarding what additional features may arrive. To give you some clue, this team wants to add features of value and elements that will benefit the product without saturating it in unnecessary options…i.e. new features won’t appear over night. Because of my experience with the product, I hope to see a b-line style navigation function option or more flexibility with the app to drop waypoints and dial the navigation in to define more sensible routes. If the SH offers stronger navigational guidance in either a turn-by-turn or b-line fashion in the future, some of the flaws mentioned above would likely be forgiven. Because navigation is the primary function of both of these devices, the Beeline is unquestionably the device I would choose between the two. With its lean build, simple function and superior user experience, the Beeline is the better product of the two. By comparison the Smarthalo piles its features sky high, but that's mostly valued at its first impression. Were a rider to value the additional features offered by the SH, it may be the device to own but again I contest the navigational guidance was hindersome. But ultimately if you throw a wild card contender in the mix, one chicken sandwich from Gordy’s Hi-Hat, that'd be my first choice. Happy riding everyone.
Updates
With both products being digital instruments, each has the potential to evolve through simple firmware updates. The following are a list of the features and changes made to each device after this article was initially published on Aug 13th 2017.
Smarthalo
Aug 14th 2017 - A new firmware is set to become available "next week" adding the following functionality according to the Smarthalo team.
- Compass mode (similar to Beeline concept)
The following updates "don't have a specific timeline" but may arrive "in autumn (2017)"
- GPX route integration and waypoint navigation
- Fitness tracker integration (Apple Health, Health kit) (possibly with Strava as well)
- Built in horn
Sept 15th 2017 - A major update is now live that adds a compass feature to the Smarthalo device much like the overall functionality of the beeline. At this time, TSC will not be reviewing the functionality of this update this season due to other commitments. Details and illustrations of the update can be found by clicking the following link. SmartHalo Update.
- Compass mode (similar to Beeline concept)
The following updates "don't have a specific timeline" but may arrive "in autumn (2017)"
- GPX route integration and waypoint navigation
- Fitness tracker integration (Apple Health, Health kit) (possibly with Strava as well)
- Built in horn
Sept 15th 2017 - A major update is now live that adds a compass feature to the Smarthalo device much like the overall functionality of the beeline. At this time, TSC will not be reviewing the functionality of this update this season due to other commitments. Details and illustrations of the update can be found by clicking the following link. SmartHalo Update.