Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO

Summary

Jack Frost is high-tailing it out of here and spring is in the air. With the onset of the warmer seasons, a lot of people are digging out their running shoes and bicycle shorts, ready to get active again after the winter months.

Our very own Fabien from the German team has announced that he is training for the Berlin marathon, and a lot of our community members suggested one app more than any other to help him prepare for the challenge: Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO. Does it live up to its reputation? Find out in today’s review.
 

It all started off with Fabien announcing that he wanted to run the marathon on the German blog. The German team received a flood of app suggestions, and Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO came out on top. Of course I had to try it out for myself (can’t let good old Fabien outstage me!) and so I too have been using this app over the past few months.

The app is a tracking service for athletes, allowing users to keep track of their efforts and analyse them on the computer. The goal is to help athletes improve their performance. It will track your route while you’re training and you then have the opportunity to analyse what you’ve done on your device or Endomondo.com, as well as share your results with your friends on Facebook.

First off you will have to register with Endomondo.com via email or Facebook. Once that's done you'll land on the main screen.
The app’s main screen harbours a number of parameters that can be adapted according to your own preferences, i.e. you can pick the type of sport, turn on calorie count and/or show how fast you’re going, etc.

The app lists all the usual sports such as running and walking but also rowing, horseback riding, swimming (though I can’t imagine how that would work), snowboarding and skiing. There are also different training methods including free style, which simply records your activity.

Pursuing multiple goals is also an option—and an extra boost should you be in need of some motivation. This means that you can go up against yourself or a friend or simply pursue the same route as another Endomondo user. You can also select your own goal, including the distance you wish to cover or amount of calories you wish to burn.

Seeing as most of us don’t want to keep checking our phones whilst working out, a nice lady computer voice keeps us up to speed with what’s going on. She will let you know how many miles/kilometers you’ve covered, etc. Again, this is a good source of motivation and I have found this little gimmick to be very helpful indeed.

Another great function: having the option to analyse one’s progress using a variety of tools and graphs.
There’s also the option of linking a training plan to a playlist so as to analyse which tracks triggered a better workout and which ones slowed you down. You can then use this information to set up a new playlist that will really spur you on. Unfortunately, this feature is only compatcible with the system’s own music player meaning you can’t use streaming services. Google Music and the MiUi music player work well but Endomondo did not recognise Rdio or Simfy.

Bottom line:
I’ve been using Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO for the past few months and have found it to be a good source of motivation. I like to see achievements illustrated and I also like being able to compete against my friends virtually.

Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO true potential unfolds when using a web interface which is why we highly recommend uploading it.

Although the app is pretty great there’s still room for improvement. For instance, there’s no integrated option for streaming services within the music analyses.
 

The Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO graphics are good and efficient as are controls. The app is set up intelligently so as to make using it an intuitive and easy experience.

Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO performed well throughout our test runs without any lagging or crashing. Occasionally the app acts up when using the GPS, but this can be remedied by starting the app up again.

Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO can be downloaded from the Android Market for EUR3,03. A free version is available but it doesn’t come with the full feature spectrum.