mobile phone gps? will it work on ride? data usage?

le_boss

Have a non android mobile phone but it does have a-gps and google maps on it (although it is unable to have apps like androids / iphone) and i have been thinking of trialling out how effective it is on a ride.

can someone tell me if its a gps why it needs to connect to the web to use googlemaps? :?

do androids have to do this?

as it has to connect to the web what happens whilst using it on a ride? is it constantly connected? if it is how much data would that use?

what happens if you are in a 2g area?? (ie scottish highlands, mid wales etc) i know you can connect using wap but would this make the gps useless?

i just assumed it would have the same gps basics as sat navs and the garmin 605 / 705 / 800???

RDW

When you use a Garmin, the map comes pre-loaded. The GPS system actually only provides the co-ordinates that are plotted on the map you already have. With the Google app there are no pre-loaded maps, so you need to fetch them over the network for each location (unless previously cached). There are other apps for Android etc. that do provide downloadable offline maps you can store on your phone's memory card, so you only need a GPS signal to plot your position when out riding. One I use is MapDroyd:

http://www.mapdroyd.com/

le_boss

aha, i see.

so do you know if there are any non android offline gps maps like that one?

thanks for the help

RDW

Depends on the phone, e.g. for various Nokias:

http://www.nokia.co.uk/services-and-apps/ovi-maps/

or for Windows mobile:

http://navicomputer.com/

Some phones will have several options, free and commercial, others none. You could try searching for 'offline maps' along with your phone's model or operating system.

le_boss

thanks for that.

have the lg arena, so after looking i think it will need a java offline map.

have found a few but guess its just trusting one now! maybe this one??? http://gpsmid.sourceforge.net/

RDW

Lots of discussion of that phone here:

http://www.mylgarena.com/

(probably the best place to ask about the technicalities).

This seems to be mentioned a fair bit:

http://www.mgmaps.com/

le_boss

thanks for all the help. managed to get trekbuddy on and open. although now im stuck with creating my own maps. cant seem to find the trekbuddy map tool anywhere! :evil:

marusches

if you have a nokia go for sportstracker

lef

You may have an issue with battery life. Mobile phones with gps are often designed with the view that they will be paired with an in car charger. My iphone (yes I know battery life is worse than some) managed to last me about two hours maybe less. On the first and last time I used it for cycle GPS I had to turn around half way. Luckily I remembered the way back.

Soon as I made it home I purchased a garmin 500. which has turned out to be excellent. Sits indiscreetly on my bars rather than an iphone shouting out to be grabbed by some scallywag at the traffic lights and the battery lasts about 16 hrs. If you need more turn by turn guidance then the 800 should suit.

Failing that if budget doesn't permit and battery life is an issue then you could carry one of these on longer journeys.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Genuine-Power-T ... 393&sr=8-5

niblue

My iPhone works reasonably well as an on-bike GPS except for one thing - battery life. It'll just about last for a 2-hour ride with the GPS on, but no longer.

migrantwing

I've used MapMyRide and Google Maps Navigation on my HTC with no problems at all. The only downside is battery life, as niblue mentions. Thinking of getting a new battery and wiping off all the data on my phone to use it predominantly as a GPS unit. New battery = £10, Garmin/Bryton £150+

dhobiwallah

lef wrote:

My iphone (yes I know battery life is worse than some) managed to last me about two hours maybe less. On the first and last time I used it for cycle GPS I had to turn around half way. Luckily I remembered the way back.

Depends how you are using it - the screen is a far bigger drain. I use it as a tracker (screen switched off) with GPS on and it lasts 8 hours while listening to music too. Having said that while training for a marathon (out running) it lasted about 4 hours with the screen on - so maybe your battery is on the way out anyway...

If you only switch the screen on when you actually need to check your position you will probably get a pretty decent ride out of it.

cookeeemonster

dhobiwallah wrote:

lef wrote:

My iphone (yes I know battery life is worse than some) managed to last me about two hours maybe less. On the first and last time I used it for cycle GPS I had to turn around half way. Luckily I remembered the way back.

Depends how you are using it - the screen is a far bigger drain. I use it as a tracker (screen switched off) with GPS on and it lasts 8 hours while listening to music too. Having said that while training for a marathon (out running) it lasted about 4 hours with the screen on - so maybe your battery is on the way out anyway...

If you only switch the screen on when you actually need to check your position you will probably get a pretty decent ride out of it.

I find with the screen off (and phone in my pocket) I can get a good 4 hours or so out of my iphone 4s before the battery dies. Obviously this is of no use if you need to look at a map...