Mobie Phones and GPS/Apps

[vigomag]

Time has come to change my mobile phone
I am wondering if you buy a phone with Andriod and use as a mapping/GPS does this pick up and show the Cycleways/Paths that are usaully shown on normal OS etc maps and if so any recommendation of APPS/pones appreciated. Oh should say I tens to use PAYG as rarely use the phones so not wanting to spend mega money on either a phone or contract.

 

[Alcdrew]

If you are just after GPS tracking of your rides so you can compare your speed etc then they will track you where ever you go. I use Endomondo on my phone works fine, shows my route on Google maps, which is the same as all the other tracking apps I have tried.

 

[Hacienda71]

Endomondo does log routes off road as well as on road as you can use it for mountain biking, It logged my last couple of Welsh trips well . My phone is on a contract but I would assume the android smart phone market is getting cheaper for pay as you go as it becomes the industry norm.

 

[Dave W]

Cyclemeter is fantastic.

Logs your route, has full mapping available (needs internet connection though for this) you can enter your mates as competitors, graphs, different routes, calender syncing and loads of other stuff that I'll probably never use.

Great app and all the data can be exported to spreadsheets etc.

 

[Red Light]

Cyclemeter is fantastic.

Logs your route, has full mapping available (needs internet connection though for this) you can enter your mates as competitors, graphs, different routes, calender syncing and loads of other stuff that I'll probably never use.

Great app and all the data can be exported to spreadsheets etc.

+1

 

[Wednesday]

I use Locus, which is an Android mapping app. Probably the best thing about it is that you can download map tiles to use offline, so you can get all the ones you need for your route while you're at home with wifi and then check your location easily using GPS even if you've got no phone signal. The bad thing about this is that it's not allowed to use most online maps. Originally all sorts were available including Bing, which has OS maps, but these have been taken off. There are instructions on the website for enabling unsupported maps but it looks a bit complicated. Anyway, OpenStreetMap is still available, and I've found it better than either Google or OS maps for getting around by bike in most circumstances (cleaner than OS, has cycleways and footpaths unlike google). There's also a tracking function; stats aren't anything special but I export the tracks and view them in google earth to see what speed I was doing where.

 

[PaulSB]

Rather surprised no one has mentioned battery life. I have an iPhone 3GS and use an app called Motion X GPS. The app is excellent but the GPS drains the battery in around 2.5 to 3 hours meaning it's useless for any rides above 30-35 miles.

You may want to check this out for your chosen phone before committing. As you use PAYG I guess it will be expensive to buy, why not get a Garmin?

 

[Wednesday]

Yeah, it does do that. I don't know about general navigating, but tracking my route (1 point every 5 seconds) for about an hour and 15 minutes with Locus uses a bit over 20% of my HTC Wildfire's battery (if I leave 3G on it goes down by about 25%).

 

[Sermeonus]

First time I used Maverick and locus, but now I use Galileo. This program can also predownload maps for off-line use, record tracks and show it. For me it's more simple. It's new program and I hope It will have good support.