Sunday, October 28, 2012

BMW 320D EfficientDynamics beats Fiat 500 Twin Air in fuel economy


Coincidentally, at the beginning of this year, both my wife and I started to drive new cars.
We selected new cars based on fuel efficiency, a "green car" with  Energy Label A. Ania was “sold” when she saw the Fiat 500 Cabriolet. I was long awaiting  the BMW 320D EfficientDynamics February introduction.
This car  with an eight-speed automatic transmission has an amazingly efficient engine. My average fuel consumption over the last 46000 km, indicated by the board computer , is 4.6l /100km.  No wonder that it got a 10/10 Green-Car-Guide rating!

Unfortunately, while my wife was enjoying the Fiat 500 driving and its beauty, its fuel consumption was very disappointing. Average fuel consumption reported by the board computer over the last 2500km is 7,2l /100km !

I decided to test both cars myself on the motorway between Best and Amsterdam (111km in total) during a very relaxed traffic conditions ensuring no traffic jams and allowing constant speed between 90 and 110km/h.
The BMW fuel consumption was amazingly low. Far below the technical specification !
The board computer indicated 3.2l /100km but based on the fuel refilling the calculated fuel consumption was 3.93l/100 (average speed 98,2km/h)


The Fiat 500 lost the competition . Indicated , by the board computer fuel consumption was 4.2l, based on refilling data 4.6l despite lower speed adjusted to minimize constant fuel consumption (average speed 86km/h )

BMW fuel costs (6,77 Euro) were 32% less than the cost of the benzine consumed by Fiat 500 (9,96 Euro) !

As I can recommend BMW 320D EfficientDynamics as the best green car in this category I definitely discourage everyone, expecting low fuel consumption, from buying Fiat 500 Twin Air. 

It looks like I am not the only one experiencing very high fuel consumption by the Fiat 500 Twin Air. If you Google for “Fiat 500 Twin Air High Fuel Consumption” you will find hundreds complains. 
In “Eco warrior: Fiat 500 Twinair” you can read “
“But if the drive had been fun and a convincing demonstration of the 500′s ability to be genuine allrounder, it did expose one of the 500 TwinAir’s major weaknesses – fuel economy” 

Real World Car Fuel Consumption v Official Figures describes a case of a Fiat 500 Twin Air driver complaining to BBC about high fuel consumption “he was regularly getting 35mpg and couldn’t understand why when Fiat claim that the 500 will return 68.9mpg as a ‘combined’ figure with up to 76.3mpg on the ‘extra-urban’ cycle.”

My wife complained about the high fuel usage to the Fiat dealer in Eindhoven but she was informed that if this problem is known already on the Internet they can’t do much about it

The only way to put pressure on car manufactures is to start collecting real fuel usage from consumers themselves and publish fuel usage statistics. Smartphone apps open this opportunity and I expect that consumers, very soon,  will be able to confront car manufactures with real numbers, not as individuals, but as driver communities car manufactures won’t be able to ignore anymore.

In the meantime I hope Fiat will provide my wife with advise how to drive Fiat 500 Twin Air economically.

Yesterday (17-11-2012) we agreed with the Fiat dealer at Pietersbergweg in Eindhoven a one week fuel consumption test starting 27-11. However I do not expect much from this, as the dealer confirmed that the fuel usage stated in technical specifications are based on the labs tests and the real-world fuel consumption figures are much higher. The dealer referred to much higher fuel usage by their Fiat 500 Twin Air show model making only 12km on one litre (8,3l per 100km !) .
I agree that the real-world fuel usage can be higher than measured during labs tests. But 80-100% higher usage is misleading consumers and if this is the case Fiat 500 Twin Air should never get a Green label and Dutch tax benefits.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Another great running day


This morning was a lovely Indian Summer. I was running at my usual place, a natural park close to Eindhoven.
When I started my run iRunner was reporting unusually high heart rate and, soon after, gave me a warning about malfunctioning sensor. After a few tries the problem was solved and I could continue my run. 
It reminded me about my frustration caused by Suunto T6 heart rate monitor,for which  I paid at the end of 2007 350 Euro ( more than 500 US dollars !),  reporting also unusually high heart rate without, however, any additional information to help identify possible problems. 
Now 5 years later,  for less than 70 dollars (including smartphone application) , you can enjoy much more intelligent heart rate monitors with far more functionality.

Since I received a replacement for my broken Wahoo sensor ( thanks to a very good service from
i-Mobile.nl in Rotterdam) I take two belts for running,  Polar H7 and Wahoo Blue HR, not to spoil my running by a broken  device.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Apple navigation ideally compliments my BMW one

After iOS 6 and iPhone 5 release Apple got lots of negative publicity about "imperfect new Maps app". I was not under that bad impression after experiencing missing motorways and tunnels on Google maps. As described in my previous post I got very enthusiastic about the Google navigation which I use regularly , especially given that the traffic information is much better than on my BMW navigation .
This spring, while driving from Berlin to Poznan and enjoying the recently opened motorway in Poland, to my surprise, this motorway was missing on Google Maps. Apparently Google missed 200km new motorways opened just before the European 2012 Soccer Championship in Poland & Ukraine which was reported in Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s leading newspaper.

The tunnel “Leidsche Rijntunnel" on A2 between Utrecht and Amsterdam opened in February 2012 did not appear on the Google Maps until summer. Now my Nexus S indicates approaching the tunnel with adjusted brightness on the screen. Apple navigation, the first few days, was also lost in the tunnel.

I am looking forward to the intelligent maps which can much faster respond to the changes. This should be possible by effectively using the location data provided by telecom operators or navigation apps providers.

Telefonica's recent announcement about “big data" analysis service demonstrates such opportunities. I am positive that soon, the location data will be released real time allowing fast updates of navigation maps.

As I enjoy great iPhone integration with my BMW the Apple Navigation is a perfect addition to my BMW Navigation. Apple turn-by-turn navigation can be seamlessly started to bring me to the address found in my email or contact list without a need to start BMW navigation.
The missing map on my BMW large screen or heads-up display is the only disadvantage.

Soon, I hope that the traffic information in Apple Navigation will be as good as the Google one and new BMW integration software will enable displaying Apple Maps on my BMW screen and heads-up display. At that moment Apple will take BMW navigation over :)


Friday, August 10, 2012

Smartphone-based Heart Rate Monitors not easy to troubleshoot


Bluetooth Smart 4.0 enabled new generation of Smartphone Heart Rate Monitors.
As described in my previous post I was very enthusiast about the Wahoo Fitness iPhone BlueTooth Heart Rate Belt until the last week the iSmoothRun App indicated much lower heart rate I used to have. This was the first indication that something was wrong.  My first idea was that it was a bug in the App, introduced after a recent software upgrade,causing the problem.
When no heart rate was shown on iSmoothRun App and number of other "jogging" Apps I was experimenting with, I started to look on Internet to find out about known problems with the Wahoo device. I came across a very good troubleshooting instructions on MyDigifit site which I recommend everyone to follow in case of problems with Smartphone based heart rate monitors. Through this I learnt about MyDigifit jogging app MyRunner. When even with MyRunner and my wife's iPhone 4s the Wahoo sensor did not work I knew for sure that the device was broken. On Amazon I came across number of complains about not working Wahoo device including "dead on arrival" cases. That's why I decided to order the Polar H7 Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate Sensor and give it a try.
Unfortunately, as Smartphone based heart rate monitors include at least three components (sensor, smartphone, application) from often different vendors, it takes quite a lot of time to troubleshoot any problems. It would help if a vendor independent, certified by third party,   diagnostic app would be available on the market to help diagnose such problems as I described above.
While enjoying the  Polar Sensor I am looking forward to the Wahoo response to my complain and hopefully a new Wahoo belt will arrive  soon.





Sunday, June 24, 2012

Smart Bluetooth Turns Smartphone Into Heart Rate Monitor


Almost a year ago I described my experiences with my first iPhone heart rate monitor based on
the Wahoo solution which replaced my Suunto device. As the iPhone does not have a native ANT+ support the solution requires Wahoo ANT+ dongle that you need to attach to your iPhone to receive heart measurements from the Wahoo Heart Rate Chest Strap. At the beginning I had to experiment with different apps supporting the Wahoo device as my favorite app MapMyRun+ was very unstable. I tried RunKeeper  and iSmoothRun.

Unfortunately after jogging in  Krakow a few weeks ago I lost my Wahoo dongle and was forced to buy another one. I was just about to order a new Wahoo dongle on Amazon, for 79,95 USD, when I came across the newest Wahoo heart rate monitor, for almost the same price! I bought the  Wahoo Blue HR Heart Rate Strap for iPhone 4s that was introduced in January 2012 which is based on the  Smart Bluetooth  4.0  and is not only much cheaper, than the total Wahoo solution including the strap and dongle, but also much more convenient to use. It does not require a dongle anymore as it relies on the Smart Bluetooth support introduced in the iPhone 4s.
It is interesting that on the package Wahoo states that it is a "Wireless heart rate monitor for iPhone 4S and other Bluetooth Smart Ready Device" which reflects Apple leadership in adopting new wireless technology. Apple introduced the Smart Bluetooth 4.0 support in most of the new products including iPad 3 and Apple TV. About potential of this new Bluetooth technology you can read in 9to5mac 

My first experience was great, I didn't have to worry anymore about the dongle that is so easy to lose. The best app seamlessly supporting my new heart rate monitor is iSmoothRun

At the moment the following smartphones are 'Bluetooth Smart Ready' (have Smart Bluetooth 4.0 built in):
iPhone 4s,
Motorola Droid RAZ
Samsung Galaxy S3

To turn one of the above smartphones into heart rate monitor you need 'Bluetooth Smart Ready' Heart Rate Chest Strap. 

I found the following 'Bluetooth Smart Ready' Heart Rate Chest Straps on the market:

I advice every runner owning the iPhone 4s to buy the  Wahoo Blue HR Bluetooth 4.0 Heart Rate Chest Strap or Polar H7 Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate Sensor

After just a few weeks of enjoying  the Wahoo Blue HR device it stopped working and I decided to replace it with the Polar H7 Sensor. You can read more about this here.

According to a recent report from IMS Research  "Bluetooth Smart is expected to be the most utilized wireless technology in sports and fitness devices shipped in 2016" and some 10.3 million Bluetooth Smart enabled consumer medical devices will ship between now and 2016.

You can expect a lot of new innovative smartphone applications enabled by smartphones with native support of Bluetooth 4.0 and ANT+ wireless technologies.

The total list of Bluetooth Smart products you can find here

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Enjoying BMW apps

Since a few month I drive a BMW Efficient Dynamics 320D.


While I was selecting a new car I was looking for a "Green Car" with sufficient engine power and a car which enables easy integration with my iPhone.
As I wrote in my previous blog, car manufacturers should innovate to support seamless integration with smartphones and tablets. BMW, as a part of the ConnectedDrive vision,
introduced BMW Apps in March 2011. After a few weeks of driving experience with the use of BMW apps I am convinced that BMW will be able to combine the two best things in the world: the best car technology and great iPhone experience.

From the very few available BMW apps


I like the Web radio the most, which allows me to listen to my favorite Polish news station Talk FM and the best Business News Radio Dutch 'BNR Nieuwsradio'. You can also post tweets or update your Facebook status by using car data such as outside temperature or location. BMW promises many more apps soon.
Hopefully the BMW iDrive platform, co-designed with Apple, is going to be open to third parties developers which should result in many new applications.
BMW started cooperation with third parties to get new apps on the BMW platform. The first one certified is AUPEO which my daughters like very much. It is a pity that Spotify is not yet integrated with BMW iDrive.
I expect that BMW will also start to cooperate with other companies such as airlines resulting in great BMW apps improving further travel experience.
What about an app that will inform you about your delayed flight or one that will send you a notification regarding available seats on the next flight that you would have to consider due to bad traffic?
That sounds like a far away future but I have no problem waiting as even without the apps BMW's driving experience is far above my expectations and the fuel usage is really very low: over the last 20000 km my average fuel consumption was only 4,8l per 100km (58.85mpg UK, 49mpg US) despite enjoying often the sport driving mode.
The BMW uses at least 20% less fuel than Audi A4 Avant 2.0TDI I was driving for the last three years.
It is also much more economical than the most sexiest small car of 2011 Fiat 500 TwinAir turbo my wife bought recently with average fuel consumption a bit less than 8l p 100km (35.3mpg UK, 29.4mpg US). This small FIAT got plenty of design awards but at the same time on Internet you can find lots of complaints about its abnormal petrol consumption.
Imagine what kind of car could be produced if German technology would be combined with Italian design !

Another advantage of BMW Apps is that you will never have problems finding your car back, you carry your BMW parking location with your iPhone.

There is a risk, however, that some drivers would like to update their Facebook status or tweet while driving therefore my recommendation is to disable those applications when the car starts moving.



Monday, February 20, 2012

No Android 4.0 upgrade for "Android iPhone Killer" bad news for Android

Samsung Galaxy S was my first Android phone I could not resist to buy after positioning it as an "Android iPhone killer" . As an iPhone fan I wanted to have an unbiased view of the Android phone capabilities versus the iPhone experience I got used to so much. In this way it became my second smartphone, not counting my office blackberry which is for me a necessary evil to do my work. I described my experience with the Samsung Galaxy S in a number of recent posts.
Not working applications as Skype, compatibility problems and a very painful experience with Samsung Kies software,used to upgrade Samsung Galaxy firmware , demonstrated everything BUT an iPhone experience ! That was a reason I decided to give Android another chance and decided to buy a Nexus S which in many ways addressed shortcomings of the Samsung Galaxy S.
The recent Samsung announcement which says that the Samsung Galaxy S will not get an Android 4.0 upgrade is not only bad news for more than 10 million Galaxy S users but it also demonstrates a much bigger problem I wrote about and was hoping Google would address:
huge fragmentation of the Android market encouraging the smartphone manufactures to do their own software customizations which are costly to maintain and demand so much from the smartphones CPU that software upgrade cannot be done without a risk of impacting customer experience. The second one is the official Samsung explanation for not supporting the upgrade. In this way Android 4.0, with so many new features as, long awaited, data usage monitoring program preventing users to exceed their data plans and be confronted by high data roaming costs will not be available to millions of users just 16 months after the phone introduction !
In my view the only assurance to have the newest Android version on your smartphone is buying the Google phone, like Nexus S. All other smartphonesmanufactures will stay far behind in offering the latest Android version on their phones due to a significant effort required to make new versions work on their hardware. Unfortunately Google missed the opportunity to become for Android , what Microsoft is for Windows. Lack of Android standardization will make smartphone innovation very costly, pushing Android smartphone manufactures to a low margin commodity market. Motorola acquisition will for sure not help but make position of current Android smartphone manufactures even worse. No wonder that more and more smartphone manufactures are looking for cooperation with Microsoft to offer Windows phones. I think that the recent success of Nokia Lumia 800/900  and public statements, as  from HTC CEO Peter Chou, about the newest HTC windows phone Titan II "This is my personal device,” will help to accelerate a move towards Windows OS. I am sure that due to a very mature Windows release process and the software standardization the smartphone manufactures can focus on what they do best : hardware innovation The users of Windows smartphones will enjoy Windows experience and features coming with new Windows versions for years.
I strongly believe that this year will be a spectacular year for Windows smartphone manufactures and Windows mobile platform will for sure find its way also in enterprises.
Soon we can expect news that "Windows iPhone killer" is coming as the iPhone is for sure not going to be killed by Android as there is no such a thing as an "Android experience" and it is the user experience that counts.