Iphone apps

kopite1979

right.. i`m ordering the new iphone 3gs next week, im an iphone virgin and wondered if theres any apps that i can download that will help me with routes etc?

stumpyjon

There are a number of GPS apps for the iPhone. The main drawback (apart from having a £400 quid phone strapped to your bars) is battery life. The phone will go dead in around two hours when it is using the GPS functionnality from a full charge. Not great if you are navigating using it.

magga321

As stumpyjon said batterylife is the killer. I use my iphone just logging shorter routes I do. It stays in sealed bag in my backup to avoid water damage. I get between 2 and 2.5 hours out of it. The problem is that Apple will not let application run in the background so you have to have the phone unlocked which means the screen is always on.

I use MotionX GPS. It is not free but is very good. Allows you take photos any uses geo caching so you can see where the phote was taken. It is fully integrated into google maps. I use the GPX output file to plot route onto interactive OS maps.

But if you want to use it to navigate with it is no good. Maps are downloaded using data network. Most of the trails I go on don't have phone reception never mind a good data connection.

kopite1979

i believe the newer iphone has double the battery life, oh well, i`ll give that app you mentioned a go just for the geekiness of it

M1llh0use

i use "trails" on my iphone, worked fine tracking at afan for 8 hours (from a full charge to almost flat)

although it does freakout occasionally and not track.

just need to turn off push-mail, bluetooth and wi-fi when you're tracking and it'll be fine.

example here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/DR ... -Adventure

and here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/purbs-14-6-09

The Northern Monkey

M1llh0use
if your tracking doesn't pick up the signal, try reducing the accuracy (in options on the trail app) and it will keep the signal for longer, and you don't really notice any difference in accuracy on the maps

M1llh0use

bigbenj_08 wrote:

M1llh0use
if your tracking doesn't pick up the signal, try reducing the accuracy (in options on the trail app) and it will keep the signal for longer, and you don't really notice any difference in accuracy on the maps

makes sense as i've recently increased the accuracy and the reliability seems to have dropped off.

also changing the default waymarker distance seems to make a BIG differance in accuracy, more points = better accuracy...

magga321

I will give trails a go tonight on my ride at Gisburn.. Perhaps the MotionX GPS is just power hungry.

Zeroman_IR

+1 for Trails. Been using it for a while now and it's pretty good on battery life. Turn off the Live Map in settings if you're carrying it in your Camelbak. Had about 50% battery left after nearly 4 hours around Ballyhoura. And that was the older 3G, haven't been back there to try that route with the 3GS yet.

allthegearnoidea

no one suggested 'Grinder' ala Stephen fry on Top Gear????

Skonk

allthegearnoidea wrote:

no one suggested 'Grinder' ala Stephen fry on Top Gear????

Is it just me or did Jezza seem a little TOO excited about Grinder when he found out about it?

allthegearnoidea

no he definately got Excited about it lol!

Milkie

http://ruedatropical.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/iphone-cycling-applications/

I bought myself an external battery pack for out on the trail, takes AA batteries. Although I haven't need the pack yet, battery life is a lot better with the 3GS.

cee

why not buy the...."save your £400 quid....get a phone that actually works as a phone....and buy yourself some new wheels" application tm

kopite1979

nice one.. trails it is.. next question, what do you use to attach it to your stem?

VWsurfbum

kopite1979 wrote:

nice one.. trails it is.. next question, what do you use to attach it to your stem?

Do not attach to stem! asking for trouble. put in your camel pack or in out the way pocket. use trails is great, used it on all sorts of rides, long, short, wet, dry, fast and slow.

M1llh0use

VWSurfbum wrote:

kopite1979 wrote:

nice one.. trails it is.. next question, what do you use to attach it to your stem?

Do not attach to stem! asking for trouble. put in your camel pack or in out the way pocket. use trails is great, used it on all sorts of rides, long, short, wet, dry, fast and slow.

agreed.

stick it in a sealed plastic bag to keep it dry and forget about it until you finish your ride...

Zeroman_IR

+1

The iPod pocket on the Camelbak does the job perfectly.

scottyjohn

I use Motion X and its great, then export the .gpx file by mailing it to myself, you can then open it in www.bikely.com. Its cool as it shows you the gradient profile and total ascent and descent stats.

Also, the latest version of the app has a map cache on it, so just open it when your in a good signal area or wifi zone, and then zoom in on the map in the area and it caches the maps so you dont need a signal. Go into settings and set the map cache to maximum which I think is 100mb.

Totally agree with popping in your pocket or rucksack. I use freezer bags and tie it up so no rain gets in.

Skonk

I recently bought both MotionX and Trails.

Had I known about Trails before i got the other app I would have only got Trails though, seems much better.

Just got back from a quick run around Wharncliffe woods near Sheffield (in the pooring rain, we got soaked to the skin and covered in mud) and tried the app for the first time.

Uploaded the route here if anyone is interested:
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=284394

I like how it counts up how much you have gone vertically up and down.

Just need to remember to charge my phone fully before the ride cos the 3 hour-ish run almost wiped out the battery.

James.

The Northern Monkey

if you stick it in you pack, i think you can tell the screen to go to sleep, turn off the active map and do something else (cant remember what) to save battery life.

Surf-Matt

My SE C905 has a GPS feature - it kills battery life, can't pick up satellites very well and is unfortunately cack. A real shame as I thought it might be a useful SatNav device.