Blaze vs. Surge (GPS)

[ajclev]

A few questions I still have while trying to decide between a Blaze or a Surge.  I am going to be running in heavily wooded areas, state and national parks, etc. where there may or may not be cellular signal.  The questions that I still have are:

1. Can the Blaze use GPS to show my pace even when there is weak or no cell service?

2. Does connected GPS use cellular data?  If so, is it a lot?

3. How bad would the Blaze hurt Iphone battery life?

4. Can the Surge track GPS in remote areas? (like sections of a National Park, etc.)

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

Your iPhone has real GPS and does not need a cellular signal.  If you allow the FitBit app to access your phones GPS it will track your progress within feet.  

Any device with GPS should have a good GPS signal all over USA and most of the hemisphere. I use a 6S+ which has such good battery life is really has no effect on the battery.  I had the Surge but went to the Charge HR but that was replaced yesterday when my Blaze arrived.

[Rich_Laue · Accepted solution]

As @SunsetRunner stated above GPS is completly independant, and does not use cell data. The connected part is only between the phone and the Blaze through BT.
The GPS uses satellites spaced evenly around the world, anyplace on the earth GPS will work, but an unipeaded communication between you snd the satellite is required. A very heavy tree canopy could throw the positron of a little.
It has been stayed it doesn't hurt the battery much, but gps is the biggest consumption of phone battery, at least that is what the study that my brother headed up found.

[ajclev]

Thanks!