Phone GPS bar mount, waterproof membrane / case / box / etc.

angrymeerkat
angrymeerkat Posts: 134
edited November 2009 in MTB buying advice
Howdy,

I have an HTC on loan from a friend who, helpfully, has memory map installed... you know, to show me how much better it is than my iPhone.

Anyway - I liked it a lot when using it at Sherwood today, so I'll be investing in hardware and software of my own. The only problem I can find is suitable advice on a bar mount for a touchscreen device; I know the boxit works with regular button phones, but can't find any forum discussions on it.

At the moment I'm leaning toward putting the thing in an aquapac membrane, held onto the bars with a standard handlebar mount. Will I be able to control the screen sufficiently through this? Any other considerations? What's your setup then?
Everytrail, Flickr.

Comments

  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    you cannot use the htc touchscreens through an aquapac...

    I've tried and it didn't work. Unless they've done one specifically for touchscreens
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  • angrymeerkat
    angrymeerkat Posts: 134
    ride_whenever wrote:
    you cannot use the htc touchscreens through an aquapac...

    I've tried and it didn't work. Unless they've done one specifically for touchscreens

    Aw, poo. That's exactly the feedback I need, though - thanks :)

    Memory Map does allow you to remap functions to the physical buttons; I'm thinking it could, at a push, be workable with the 5 available 'hard' buttons on the touch cruise. Still, a touchscreen compatible case would be better...
    Everytrail, Flickr.
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    it depends, if you want the mapping as a real time thing, or just in case...

    You could just toss it in your bag and review the data afterwards.


    The other thing is the aquapacks are slightly opaque, can make it hard to read through.
    Neeermad
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  • S_J_P
    S_J_P Posts: 908
    I know the Boxit works with resistance-based touchscreens fine, but don't know about capacitance screens. I use one with my Nokia 5800 (and Viewranger) and it works well :)
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  • angrymeerkat
    angrymeerkat Posts: 134
    Ah, I'm looking more for a realtime navigation aid, rather than a review tool (I have that with the iPhone anyway). Garmins look good - and have better battery life - but for ones with a nice enough screen are very pricey; I can get an 'old' htc for next to nothing from work, and some batteries from dealextreme or similar.

    I think the htc touch cruise has a resistive touchscreen, so perhaps the boxit is preferable... is the bar mount from boxit manly enough to handle descents in the peaks?
    Everytrail, Flickr.
  • JimboM
    JimboM Posts: 380
    What functions do you need to access realtime.

    I have memorymap on a PDA, I lock the cursor so that current position is always in the centre of the screen and have assigned zoom in & out to hard buttons. Does everything I want it to. (I can scroll the map with the 4way control but never find I need to use this)
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  • S_J_P
    S_J_P Posts: 908
    The Boxit bar-mount doesn't appear to be as tough as, for instance, the Garmin mount. It's made from two connected pieces, a Hella circular mount and a Boxit clip, it's the Boxit clip interface with the rear of the Boxit which doesn't feel that secure. I'm sure it's fine for XC, but I wouldn't guarantee it for serious abuse!

    Don't underestimate Viewranger! I'd hardly call it a review tool, it's an accomplished piece of navigation software as well as routing software comparable to the likes of Memory Map or Tracklogs, with programmable proximity alerts for waypoints and bearing indication it fulfills both roles admirably.

    If you take a piece of plastic sheeting and try pressing the screen through it, that should tell you whether the touchscreen will work through the Boxit front.
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  • yoohoo999
    yoohoo999 Posts: 940
    ride_whenever wrote:
    you cannot use the htc touchscreens through an aquapac...

    i've got a HTC Touch Dual that I use for Memory Map and it always lives in a nice thick BeachBouy by Proporta.

    Never had any problems using it at all.
  • wardy235
    wardy235 Posts: 106
    what about this otter box casefor the iphone water proof and crush proof you could prob adapt some thing to hold it hope it helps http://www.otterbox.com/iphone-cases/iphone-3g-3gs/2600-series-pda-case/
  • angrymeerkat
    angrymeerkat Posts: 134
    JimboM wrote:
    What functions do you need to access realtime...
    A fair point indeed. There are probably enough buttons on the front of the xda to map them all to 'hard' buttons anyway!
    S_J_P wrote:
    The Boxit bar-mount doesn't appear to be as tough as, for instance, the Garmin mount. It's made from two connected pieces, a Hella circular mount and a Boxit clip, it's the Boxit clip interface with the rear of the Boxit which doesn't feel that secure. I'm sure it's fine for XC, but I wouldn't guarantee it for serious abuse!
    That's fair enough. If it's xc suitable that'll be alright, hopefully there won't be too much air-time... I may end up with liberal amounts of superglue if it's loose, I won't be using the boxit for anything else. The thing with going for viewranger is I would have to buy myself a 5800, N97 or similar; I can get a used xda from work as they're constantly being replaced. Factor in £75 for memory map and that's less than half the price of the Garmin Edge 605!
    If you take a piece of plastic sheeting and try pressing the screen through it, that should tell you whether the touchscreen will work through the Boxit front.
    That's far too obvious a thing to try! Panning seems to work through a transparent cd wallet it's the first thing I have to hand... :)
    yoohoo999 wrote:
    i've got a HTC Touch Dual that I use for Memory Map and it always lives in a nice thick BeachBouy by Proporta.
    Hmmm I may have to pick one of those up for non-MTB navigation then...
    wardy235 wrote:
    what about this otter box casefor the iphone water proof and crush proof you could prob adapt some thing to hold it hope it helps http://www.otterbox.com/iphone-cases/ip ... -pda-case/
    Oh no, I'd be mortified if my actual work phone got smashed whilst mtb'in. I kind of need it. Plus, it'd have maybe 2 hours usage time and no way to preload maps... not really an option I'm afraid ;)

    Anyway, that's exactly what I needed to know; Boxit + beachbuoy + bar mount now on my shopping list. Thanks all!
    Everytrail, Flickr.
  • elziko
    elziko Posts: 41
    yoohoo999 wrote:
    i've got a HTC Touch Dual that I use for Memory Map and it always lives in a nice thick BeachBouy by Proporta.

    Never had any problems using it at all.

    They look cool and I just found one on eBay (310168521486 four left) for £4.29 delivered from USA within 2-3 working days. Not bad, thanks.

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