SmartRow

This app requires each user to buy into Ergometer Innovations’ Bluetooth-enabled pulley for the WaterRower. On the face of it, there are a number of advantages with this upgrade kit and the associated software. It promises improved stat accuracy over the stock S4 monitor and durability of construction with its aluminum casing. If I were to judge the app alone, I would be rating this four stars with only minor nitpicks. The software developers have been quick to respond to user requests and advance the capabilities of the software. In the last year they have added challenging workouts, races, and other features to improve iOS integration. It’s all good on the software side. Unfortunately, the weak link remains the hardware itself. I bought a rev. B pulley for my home machine and the Bluetooth pairing mechanism eventually developed a fault and would no longer connect to my iPhone or the SmartRow app (no LED lights). The online FAQ is not very detailed when it comes to resolving this issue, so mine is either a corner case or just plain bad luck. Anyway, once the pulley goes, the software is no longer useful since you cannot use it with any other system. WaterRower states that these electronic add-ons have a limited 1 year warranty, so buyer beware.

This app and he Smart Row technology are impressive, however it’s not quite there yet. Perhaps a good metaphor would be having a spreadsheet program, with no user manual, an functions that don’t always work. Starting out, the installation was a challenge, working from a combination the video and the written instructions. There are critical elements in the process, that probably seemed obvious to the designers, bu t certainly not to me. Still eventually I figured it out. I have an iPhone and an Apple Watch. When the watch is working and I can see the bpm it’s great feed back. But it rarely works, yeah I know it’s in beta. For a while I was getting color coded hearts, but know clue what the colors represented. There didn’t seem to be a pattern. There are other elements to that screen I can’t interpret. I’ve looked through the faqs but still don’t get it. I can see that there is a lot of data being generated in general, but I can’t make it meaningful. Nevertheless you still get 5 stars from me. 1st it’s changed my WaterRower into an exercise machine rather than an odd piece of furniture that did not interface with modern technology though beautifully designed. 2nd because you have integrated with Apple Health, making it meaningful for being useful information in my attempt to stay alive. I appreciate your work, and look forward to seeing the bugs fixed. Hopefully you’ll run into a writer that can communicate with people not as smart as you are. You might introduce her to WaterRower.

Admittedly this app doesn’t have all the features I wanted, but I have a feeling they’re coming. Things that are good... lots of rowing details, things that will help me become a better tower. I rely on Apple health a lot, so I’m glad it shares “workouts” with Apple health. The strava integration is great, and the integration with my polar H10 chest sensor is good too. I am coming to this app from polar beat, so there’s a few things on my wish list that I hope they include soon, like complete heart rate stats, and a split for fat burning vs aerobic fitness. My only concern is that the calories burned during exercise seems to differ from polar beat by about 25%, which is a considerable difference. Looking forward to the updates. 4 star rating reflects the missing features that would make it perfect for me. But to be clear, what is already included is fantastic!