I have been using this app for about 6 months. It’s the best rowing app I have ever used! I love the training programs and my favorite is the power pyramid.
Those days aren't over, it's just that some app developer's business plans are insufficient to be profitable with a traditional model. So they have to do subscriptions. Which comes with a lot of pros and a lot of cons. The biggest con being that the software doesn't have to be bug-free and they can say oh we'll fix it later. Subscriptions was in part to make it so that game developers or service developers could pivot as the times changed. However for something like rowing, it does not seem to make sense to me because it's not like you're going to grow a third arm or a fourth arm stuff like that it's just rowing. You know there's some online component like multiplayer rowing but how expensive is that, rhetorically, and practically? Not that expensive. And certainly not as expensive as they want to charge each individual user. So I kind of feel like this is a bad deal.
Hi Shane….decided to give this a go as a new (7 weeks in) rower. After a couple of days I’m happy to report this could keep things interesting. Mirrored to the big screen from my phone and with my earbuds in I can mix a pleasant row with some sprints while listening to some fine music. Enjoy your workouts too…the pounds are steadily coming off (well kilos at least in my part of the world)..Hoss
I just bought a new monitor arm with iPad mount, direct from Concept. It puts the iPad just below the PM5, which, as you noted, is a much better place for it
It looks interesting. The cost doesn’t necessarily bother me but I could see a lot of people turned off by the price point. I’ll bet people would buy it big time at $49 a year.
Yeah, 50 a year isn't bad. Too bad it takes up so much memory. I thought my 16 gigs of storage memory would be enough, but the app seems to check RAM, something that I can't upgrade with an Android.
Thanks, that was a good video. I joined Zwift last year and really enjoy that type of training environment. Ideally, rowing would be integrated into Zwift but this seems to be very close. Again, thanks for the video
Sorry for late reply, and you're probably aware of this already. EXR are still working on the racing aspect of indoor rowing, and one of the challenge they face is incorporating all the different types of indoor rowing machines, such as water, magnetic, and of course Concept2 'wind resistance', into a system that allows them to race fairly against each other. All these machines use slightly different metrics/data to display the work (watts), and I think this is why Zwift gave up on indoor rowing. I think EXR are nearly there now, fingers crossed!
It’s an annual fee, Those who got in on it for beta testing at the beginning paid nothing. Others of us who got in on that testing later paid $50. After that it is $100 yearly. I def don’t consider that unreasonable.
It's a moot point anyway - when I went to download it, it told me I didn't have enough RAM on my phone. They want an awful lot of RAM, but I'm using a 2 year old Android Moto G+
@@rhiannondethomas How many times are you gonna comment here trying to convince people the pricing is "reasonable" when It really isn't for a mobile app. You might wanna pay a subscription but most don't. Like I said, If they don't give users a free, basic rowing option this app is doomed from the start.
@DrConflict I guess as many times as I want and/or thoughts come to mind. It’s an odd thing, but I’m definitely allowed to and I’d like to give a perspective from someone who’s been using it for 5 months. Curious why you’re so angry about it? What your favorite rowing app to use as you don’t seem too keen about this one.
@@rhiannondethomas Angry? I'm not angry at all. I just find it strange you would shill for a company you owe nothing. Almost as if you're affiliated with EXR and trying to do damage control or something. While I really like the idea of a good virtual rowing companion, not for this price. I'll stick to shanes sessions for free then. Have fun with your setup though, I ain't hating.
I used the link in the description to sign up as a beta tester. Hopefully your avatar got some sunglasses 🕶 as a bonus gift. I took a lap around a lake and blasted some buoys. I agree with you and would like the data at the bottom of the display.
Hey Shane! Concept2 has the tablet arm now on the website it retrofits to the rower got mine yesterday 🙂 that puts it at eye level. Hope that helps. Thanks Concept2
Thanks..I use Holofit in VR but noticed as I get going the device on my head is annoying. Nice thing about this app is not having a head device on. But...too costly!
Really interesting. I know I like the straightforward brutality of a rowing workout. But this could help break the monotony of rowing every day, and sort of lose myself in something other than seeing my heart rate blow up. Wonder if you really need a iPad, or whether this can be cast onto a giant TV screen, like I have in the workout room. That would be really cool.
I’m sure you could use air play on your phone or tablet to sync it to a tv. That is what I do on Zwift. I am just beginning to row after 30 years of biking. I sync my iPad with my tv and use Dark Horse RU-vid videos to learn the techniques. So far (1 month in) it is working great. Thanks
It's easy to cast. I cast it from my Samsung Galaxy phone to the tv I have in my workout room through a Roku stick. I would imagine you can do that with an iphone to the Roku through the iphone Roku app. You can also connect to headphones and change the camera angle to first person for a more immersive experience.
I’m told I have an account. However, I’m continually (8 times) asked to verify my email address. I’ve verified my email 8 times and can’t proceed past this point. How do you break this vicious cycle? I’m ready to row.
@@MsWagons Damn man, that got dark quickly. I think we probably agree, I would not use a subscription based app. But its a big leap from an app to Bailiff's knocking on your door.
all these avatar driven apps make you spend 15 bucks a month after spending a grand on their machine. It's an ATM for the companies involved. Stick with your indoor rower, bike, etc. Just get outdoors. I get it during covid these were the only option in many places but for God's sake go out and practice your chosen sport.
or do both. For many, during the week especially, it’s far for time efficient to get on your indoor bike or rower and do your workout. And many who have an indoor rower don’t have access or can’t afford to get out frequently on the water to row. Concept2 is < $1000. That’s not cheap but they last forever so that $1000 is a good investment IMO.
Important to keep in mind, EXR isn't a Concept2 product. This is a separate company just trying to make a great product people will love but they also need to make money so I think they're trying to find a way to make it work.
@@DarkHorseRowingA counter argument : I'm not an investor in their business, I want a product not a service. So at first blush without me having installed or used their product, This is probably not for me. To expand, I'm not here to solve the shortcomings / reinforce the fragility of / adapt my needs to their business plan. I suppose ultimately what could happen is competition, to offer a one-time payment option for a core rowing app experience. With perhaps in-app purchases for additional levels. And an optional subscription purchase for ongoing competition. That might force exr to unbundle their app and offer a base level of service for free, and require subscription for their true ongoing costs. Looking at their website they don't make it clear what the ongoing charge is for. They do give some weak answer about "improvements" -- as if I want to pay continuously, for their whim and whimsy dribs and drabs of improvements, requiring me to QA the product, to report back to them about the issues and convince them that they need to do something about the hypothetical shortcoming, and then for them to fix it, at their leisure! Nope. I'm an expert in the mobile app development and payment processing world, at least as of 2020. There are lots of ways to do it. This one is the laziest: They offer completely opaque value proposition. The landing page of their website is A turn off: asking me to do something -- sign up for some kind of something? how is that fun? -- before telling me what exr is. Definitely ripe for competition to provide an alternative.
@@rhiannondethomas So, because some other apps are more expensive we have to be happy with a 10/month for a mobile app that shows a rowing animation. Gotcha. While I like the idea of EXR, the pricing kills it for me.
Software development is expensive and the indoor rowing market is relatively small compared to a normal game. Also the ongoing maintenance and development of the app is not free. No one likes paying a software subscription but I think the price is fair if they continue to produce improvements and new content at no additional cost above the subscription price.
@@3drocket You can make as many comments as you want, but 10 a month is still overkill for a mobile rowing app. Hell, there are full MMO's that aren't even 10 a month that have millions of players. So the whole pricing of this thing is a joke.
Zwift was rumored to include rowing. Their CEO had claimed it was coming soon. But later confirmed it was no longer being worked on (if it was at all), as they would continue to focus on cycling. But who knows what will happen in the future. I wonder if they’ll wait and see how many users EXR gets.
@@DarkHorseRowing I like the idea of a rowing focused platform like EXR. Zwift is great for cycling but I’d hate for them to use their size to “squeeze out” EXR if they decide to jump back in to rowing. I think $10/month is completely reasonable for EXR.
Why would anyone care about what the avatar is wearing? Is ridiculous! I would think the competing with other avatar at different levels would be your motivation. Who sets priorities at this company?
