I am finally giving back to the community with my quick review, no screenshots, just check out their website they have video!

First my hardware: MyTouch3G, Rooted with Cyanogen 4.0.2

When are we as Americans not trying to get healthy? It is a challenge for me to actually go out and do the exercise.  So I thought that if the web held me accountable, maybe, just maybe, I will exercise more often.  Fitness app for me has to have these features:

GPS Tracking
Online “dashboard”
Online sharing: Twitter/Facebook (etc)

In the Android Market the first app I ran (no pun intended) across was Buddy Runner.

The install was as easy as another app.  The interface is exactly what I would expect from an app of this nature.  Time/Distance/Pace and two buttons Start & Stop.  The two tabs across the top, Map and History, show you your current position and your past workouts.  At first launch you have to provide your e-mail address. (Menu -> Settings) During the workout the application notifies you (via voice) in .5 mile increments (customizable) your pace, time and distance covered.  I was listening to a podcast while testing and the first time I had to resume my podcast manually (which can be a hassle if you’re running full pace) but the second time it paused and resumed the podcast.  I am led to believe that I did something wrong the first time.  End the workout and the app will prompt you to upload to the website.  So far no problems encountered.

I loved using the app and when I got back to the computer couldn’t wait to see the dashboard.  First problem: I had no idea of how to pull up my workout in the dashboard.  On the site there is no option to register and no explanation on how to get your data.  You have to check your e-mail; the link is in there, which I find to be annoying.  It gets a little worse; the link to my “personal” dashboard is as follows: http://www.buddyrunner.com/buddyrunner0000000000000000000000000000000000 !!!!

Yep, that was a huge bummer.  I thought well I’ll just change it on the site; there is an option to “Login” so no problem there.  You know where this is going right?  There is no “profile” type section where you can change that, maybe it’s in the development pipeline with the developers, but there is no way I’m giving that link to my friends.

At this point I am already thinking about the next app, but to be fair (and thorough in my review), the dashboard is quite nice and you should really click on the link above.  Yeah, I know it looks like something that will infect your machine, but I promise as of right now it’s not.  I stopped short of publishing to Facebook via the Facebook app because I know I’m not going to use this until they allow me to name my profile.

Buddy Runner is a solid application that you should really try out, why not, it’s free!  Here is a list of things I would need changed/added before I make it my application of choice:

1.  Profile for the dashboard where I can change my buddyrunneroooooooooo to something meaningful.
2.  Option to hide the Google Maps mashup.  I don’t want the world to know where I start and end my runs (or walk in my case .    A public url with basic info and a private url to see the full dashboard (I want my wife/family to see the mashup because it’s quite cool!)

So there you have it, my first android review, comments and feedback is of course welcomed.