GPS "puck" for Blaze and other future products

[MB220S]

I, like countless others, love the Blaze but hate that it has no GPS built-in.  Having moved from the Surge to the Blaze to remedy a recurring band malfunction, I'm generally happy except for the lack of GPS.  To make matters worse, I only have an employer-issued BlackBerry, which is incompatible with the GPS Connected feature.  Hence my suggestion - sell a cheap small GPS "puck" that can be put in your pocket to provide the GPS Connected feature INSTEAD of a phone.  You can even make it the same shape as the Blaze so that it can be charged using the Blaze dock (in addition to micro USB).  PLEASE - sell a single purpose compatible GPS module at a reasonable price to provide a sorely needed function on this supposedly top-end premium tracker!  Heck, if Fitbit will enter into a non-disclosure agreement with me and provide the necessary technical information, I'd start a fund-me page to create such a device.  It's not rocket science!

[bbarrera]

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@MB220S wrote:

provide the necessary technical information, I'd start a fund-me page to create such a device.  It's not rocket science!

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You can't, for several reasons:

- only Fitbit app can connect with tracker via Bluetooth

- therefore only Fitbit app supports Connected GPS

- without Connected GPS you would need to use Fitbit developer APIs, but Fitbit doesn't allow importing of GPS or HR via the APIs. You are limited to creating manual workouts with only date/time, duration, distance, calories, intensity level, and name

[MB220S]

I guess it all depends on how GPS Connected works.  On the Surge, the built-in GPS data is transferred to the Fitbit app during sync, along with tracker metrics.  On the Blaze, presumably the GPS data from the phone is ingested by the Fitbit app when the Blaze initiates it, and then merged with the metrics from the tracker during sync.  Hmm...  I see what you mean now about the need for API support...

One possibility would be for this imaginary GPS puck to expose itself to the Blaze as if it were the Fitbit app running on a phone and have it collect metrics from the tracker.  Then, with Fitbit's support, create a new device profile for this GPS puck that would sync the consolidated data.  No firmware updates required on the Blaze, and just some cooperation from Fitbit on the app end to allow for a "GPS Device" profile.

[bbarrera]

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@MB220S wrote:

I guess it all depends on how GPS Connected works.  On the Surge, the built-in GPS data is transferred to the Fitbit app during sync, along with tracker metrics.  On the Blaze, presumably the GPS data from the phone is ingested by the Fitbit app when the Blaze initiates it, and then merged with the metrics from the tracker during sync.  Hmm...  I see what you mean now about the need for API support...

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Surge sends complete activity to Fitbit cloud servers (via sync on computer or mobile).

Blaze receives GPS trackpoints in realtime via Bluetooth, and therefore Blaze has complete activity which is then sync'd to Fitbit cloud.

AFAIK, its only possible for Fitbit app to connect with tracker via Bluetooth, but I haven't tried eavesdropping on the BT traffic between tracker and phone to confirm that.

[MB220S]

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Blaze receives GPS trackpoints in realtime via Bluetooth, and therefore Blaze has complete activity which is then sync'd to Fitbit cloud.

Ah, so then there's hope...  To make it work would require the Blaze to receive the GPS trackpoints in realtime via Bluetooth from a "puck" instead of a phone, then sync to the Fitbit cloud later when connected to a supported device.  If it currently gets this GPS data from the phone only via the Fitbit app, then there's probably some sort of proprietary compression or formatting going on which would have to be replicated on the "puck".  The goal would be to not require any changes or customization of the Blaze.  Sure wish Fitbit would take this on.  If the price was right I'm sure they'd sell quite a lot of them. 

[bbarrera]

Based on my understanding, It would only work if Fitbit updated firmware on Blaze. At that point Fitbit would benefit from opening up the platform a bit, and publishing APIs for 3rd parties to integrate with Blaze like Garmin, Apple, and Pebble have done.

Something like that is already in the cards - the Fitbit CEO is promising an app store based on Pebble acquisition. Will it come to the Blaze or a new and unannounced tracker? Nobody knows, although my guess is that if Fitbit pulls the trigger on the app store before launching a new tracker, it will be a Blaze firmware update and an app store for watch faces (but no support for 3rd party GPS integration). However that seems like a long shot to me, I'd bet that Fitbit rolls out a new tracker and generates excitement to get current users to upgrade to the latest and greatest (think something like a Blaze with GPS and waterproofing, and an app store).

FWIW if I were the CEO, opening up the Blaze for 3rd party GPS wouldn't make the list (too many good ideas, how is it going to generate new sales?)

Honestly its time to launch a new tracker to better compete in smartwatch space, so I'd make this the last release of new features for Blaze and then replace Surge & Blaze with a new high-end tracker. My 2 cents after spending 4 years with Fitbit and watching how they operate.