- If you'd been looking at buying a cycling computer
then you traditionally haven't had all that much choice,
there's simply that aren't many manufacturers involved.
So, when tech giant Acer announced back in April
that they were launching a product with GPS
and a built-in camera,
well, I for one was very interested indeed.
And here now we have it in front of us
it's called the Xplova X5
and we are gonna to take a really good first look.
Now there's so much tech to talk about
and let's start right here right now and then
we're gonna get out on the bike.
(electronic music)
The first thing that you'll notice I'm sure is this:
the built-in camera.
Now we will go into that in more detail later on when
we actually get something to film.
So for now we're gonna talk other types of tech
because there are effectively two sides to this release.
There is a hardware that we see before us now
but there's also a huge investment in software
both on xplova.com and also the Xplova Moment app.
Now this device can connect via WiFi
in order to marry those two sides up but then
it's also got a facility to take a 3G SIM card as well,
meaning that it can connect all on its own.
Now let's start with the software shall we?
Because it's free and actually you don't even need
an X5 in order to take advantage of it.
Much of it is open source particularly the mapping
which means that you have the whole world at your fingertips
and if you do have an X5
you have the whole world available to download
on to your device at no cost.
Now in addition to the mapping and also
the really comprehensive route planning functions
which incidentally you can download as a GPX file
if you so wish then you also have a whole library
of other people's routes available to download
because Xplova are actually building up
quite a social community on their website.
Then there is an Event section.
Now this allows you to create and then invite people
to a forthcoming ride.
So far so good but when the rides actually taking place
this gives you the ability to track
all the people in your group in realtime on a map.
I wanna say: "So, how cool is that?" but I've been bad.
So that is a very brief rundown
of the software available on xplova.com.
Let's fire up the head unit itself shall we?
As I said earlier, it has built-in GPS
it's also got Altitude and Temperature
and then again as I mentioned earlier
it's got that port for a 3G SIM card.
And all-in-all it weighs just a 120 grammes.
Now, it has a touch sensitive screen
but it's also backed up by buttons as well.
So you can scroll from right-to-left but then
you can also brilliantly scroll up-and-down as well
which means you can navigate through all available data
really quickly.
And the data itself is spread over three main pages.
So you have the General Cycling Computer page
you then got Maps
and then you have your specific training pages as well
and the data can be displayed both numerically
and then also graphically as well so you can see that
on the main Cycling Computer page there.
But if we go over to the Training pages
there is something quite special for those of us
who might train with heart rate or power
because it will plot on a graph in realtime
your power output or your heart rate
plotted against time or distance where you can keep
a really close eye
on exactly what your doing in a training session
and perhaps more importantly
find out exactly what you need to do as well.
Customising what you see on the device and where
is also really simple to do;
you either press and hold the Function button
or you scroll from top-to-bottom to reveal
a very simple and intuitive set of icons.
Now it also makes setting up the unit or your profile
or indeed your bike and WiFi and so on and so forth
very simple as well.
Now, it is a lovely day outside
so I propose I get suited up
and then we carry on this first look from the saddle.
Well, let's see it in action shall we?
First of all, I guess I'm gonna mention the fact
that the mount on the X5 is
compatible with the one I've already got on my bike
which is excellent news.
And then before we get started
I should also mention the fact that I've connected it up
to my Rotor powermeter there using ANT+
and both of them are capable of Bluetooth
but I've gone for ANT+.
And that also means that I then have to use
the cadence sensor that comes with the X5
because my powermeter tells me that already.
And then I'm also relying a hundred percent on GPS
which I'm more than happy to do to give me my speed as well.
And then,
I suppose the other feature that I'm looking at right now
is the built-in thermometer
because it's telling me that it is
a quite chilly 10 degrees
so let's crack on.
(drum-and-bass music)
So you see the size of the unit you know the weight
the screen itself is three inches
and the resolution on it is 240 by 400.
And then the battery life on the unit is 12 hours.
Now, what is the intriguing part to this whole package
is that built-in camera.
It shoots at 720
but it doesn't shoot continuous footage.
What it does
is it will record in bursts
and by the three, six or nine seconds
no matter how you choose to set it up
and it will start
either by pushing this button
so handily labelled "Record", or
you can set it to start automatically at certain points.
So that could be when your heart rate
goes to over 180 beats per minute,
it could be when your speed
goes over 60 kilometres per hour,
or it can be when your power
goes over 1,000 watts.
So you could considerably
record some quite interesting stuff out on your ride
without actually knowing about it.
And then, in terms of storage
there's 2 GB on here which should be plenty for
I think they said 270 clips
of six seconds in length.
Possibly a ride day through as well but ultimately
the way you can watch it on this unit
you gotta wanna download it on to your phone
and your laptop later on.
Well there is your new Xplova X5
loads of new tech both in the head unit and also
online as well.
Now if you wanna make sure you keep up-to-date
with all the latest tech releases in the world of cycling
then there's no better way to do it than Subscribe to GCN.
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And then for more content right now
if you're interested in filming your rides
and making them look good
then why not click just up there
we have a video on that very subject helping you out.
Or to learn on how to refine your training using power
why not click just down there?