New Technology

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Wahoo launches Blue SC Speed and Cadence Sensor for iPhone 4S

Using a combination of apps on a smartphone and hardware attached to a bike is undoubtedly a more convenient and often less expensive way to wirelessly provide riders with performance data than plumping for dedicated setups of the kind manufactured by Garmin and Sigma. After all, most of us carry our phones around wherever we go. The first such combination to make use of Bluetooth Smart technology is the new Blue SC Speed and Cadence Sensor for the iPhone 4S and 3rd gen iPad from Wahoo Fitness.

Pairing the Blue SC with top cycling apps such as Cyclemeter and Strava, or Wahoo's own Fitness and Odomometer apps, allows riders to wirelessly monitor critical cycling data on an iPhone 4S or 3rd generation iPad (or other Bluetooth Smart Ready devices) via Bluetooth 4.0 technology, and without needing additional hardware like a Bike Case or ANT+ keys. A newly-developed internal odometer can record lifetime bike mileage by week, month and year, and stores the data in the device itself. The free Wahoo Odometer App will sync the data stored on the Blue SC with an iPhone when in range.

The Wahoo Blue SC is the second in a new low-energy Bluetooth 4.0 line of fitness monitoring products, the first being the Blue HR heart rate monitor for iPhone announced last year. It's powered by a replaceable 3 volt CR2032 battery that's said to be good for up to two years of charge-free usage, and has a total weight of only 36 grams (1.3 ounces).

The Blue SC can be mounted on the rear chain stay of most bikes, has a low drag profile and is waterproof up to five feet (1.52 meters).

The device is available now for US$59.99.