5 feature requests for 2024
For all the talk of a possible Karoo 3, I still think the Karoo2 is a very capable and competitive bike computer. With a few small software updates in the coming weeks and months, it could become even better:
1.) A second map page or - if this is not possible - the option of being able to select smaller data fields for the map page. At the moment, the map shrinks to about 25% with only two data fields and to about 50% with four. Then you have to place it at the top so you can still see it when using climber or navigation prompts. Wahoo shrinks the data fields if you use more than two data fields on the map, Garmin lets you use a Connect-IQ data field for up to 6 data fields the size of two Garmin data fields, and Sigma even lets you put part of the map on one data page. So it would be very helpful if there was an option to have smaller data fields on the map page (maybe four data fields the size of the current two?) or if there was the option of a second map page or at least a button to show the whole map and hide the data fields (like on the Garmin touchscreens when you zoom and pan the map). With this nice screen, you should always be able to see as much of the map as possible, even if you have data fields on the map.
2.) Better maps with clearer distinctions on smaller roads. The Karoo is the best computer for navigating cities and paved roads, but by far the worst in the country when it comes to gravel or mountain biking. Everything there on the map is a single broken line, whether paved or unpaved. It's just awful. No bike computer is perfect in this regard, but Wahoo, Garmin and Sigma at least show some sort of differentiation that can help you navigate without a route. Without the Suunto Heatmaps layer, the situation would be even worse. So I just can't understand why Hammerhead doesn't use the OSM data to have more accurate maps outside the cities, or provide more information about the surface of the trails with layers for MTB or Gravel, similar to the Suunto Heatmaps (Suunto even starts to offer surface layers for their maps in the Suunto-App). And please make the smaller towns more readable when you zoom out of the map, this light gray in small letters is not very useful when you are out in the countryside and want to see where the next town is.
3.) The map lock button is nice and small, but it's often too hard to tell if the map screen is locked or not. As with the heatmap button simply implemented, the lock map button should also make it clearer whether this button is on or off. Otherwise - and this happens to me too often - users will be confused with a map page that doesn't work correctly. This should be a very simple fix, and I think some of the complaints about the map page not working on this site are related to the lock button in unlocked position.
4.) Please save the red system notes somewhere on the Karoo2: It's ridiculous that there are suddenly these red warnings, and if you're not quick enough to read them, you never find out what went wrong. It's kind of annoying.
5.) And please never give up the "Screen off" option. This is one of the best features of the Karoo, because you can decide for yourself when you want to see your data or the map, or when you just want to cruise around the country and save battery power. A great feature that you should never do away with! The same goes for the Suunto Heatmaps, one of the best features on the Karoo. They are much more useful than the Garmin Popularity Routes.
With its few little quirks here and there, the Karoo2 itself is great in terms of software and user-friendliness, in my eyes the best of all bike computers. Unfortunately on the hardware side it's missing some important basics, be it the battery drain in the last 20%, the altimeter mess (I'm on my third device now but haven't been able to test it properly due to winter and illness) or the lack of ability to route on the device itself (without a SIM card or WIFI) or send a route via Bluetooth from your phone. This sometimes makes it less pleasant to use, but ultimately there is no perfect device. Wahoo for example has no ANT+ light support, Garmin has so many features but just turning off the sound or the radar bar is not easy or impossible (with the radar) and with Sigma I am still waiting for the update to bring a kind of Climber and Ant+light support to the 12.1 evo. So it's always a compromise and I'm still undecided which device suits my riding habits best, but for now the Karoo with all its flaws is the most charming compromise for me.
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Control lights, spotify, gopro, ... Anything Bluetooth related (see wahoo latest update)
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Now that rerouting can be disabled, my top two requests would be configurable zoom level and orientation defaults for the map mode(s) and fixing map positioning so that it considers visible map area (including any navigation cues etc) and orientation (actually centered for north-is-up, show more ahead for forward-is-up).
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