Map apps and GPS

[in4]

I've been trying out Map My Ride and Strava these past weeks and have been quite impressed with both save for one issue: The speed at which I am able to locate a GPS signal. Withought a GPS lock data such as route, calories burnt, average speed etc are not recorded. I am beginning to think that my positively ancient smart phone ( Galaxy S2, less than two years old!) is the source of the problem and  is simply not very good at locating GPS signals. Before I jump to any conclusions I wondered whether anyone else was using either of these apps on their particular smart phone and if their experiences are similar to mine. HTC, Apple, Samsung, etc. Do share!

[phopwood]

The issue you are seeing is related to the phones ability to pick up a decent signal the application will only be as good as the signal the phone passes on to it.  More modern phone will be better but they will not be as good as a dedicated GPS.

I have a garmin 500 and when I record the same run on my phone and on the garmin at the same time the garmin knocks the socks off of the phone.

Peter

[in4]

Thanks for your reply Peter. Its much as I thought; the software apps are OK its the phone's capacity to locate a gps signal that is the issue. You are probably right regarding the better capabilities of a newer phone; my new tablet locates gps signals very quickly but I'm not cycling with that! I'll take a good look at a dedicated gps. I've often wanted one for hill walking and the Garmin 60csx seemed to be the only one that amounted to much. That however was a while ago so, as you intimate, things have moved on considerably. If I can find a GPS with a mapping facility that is good for walking and riding I'll be a happy rider, walker and camper. 

[mickeg]

On my last tour I used a 10 year old GPS with black and white screen on my handlebars but carried the Garmin 62S in the handlebar bag for those times when I needed the newer GPS with newer maps to figure out where I needed to be.

I like the Garmin 62S for everything except cycling.  Reason I do not like it is that the screen either stays on and burns thru batteries or you can configure it to turn off the screen after a minute or two in which case when you look at it the screen will be blank.  I have on several occasions also found that I left the 62S on and used up the batteries, the blank screen led me to believe that I had already turned it off but it was still on.  That said, I have used some of the open street maps on the 62S and find it to be a very valuable tool to have available for when my older GPS with vintage maps gets me into trouble.  First two links below I have used for maps for the 62S, third link I have not tried yet but will before I go to Europe again.
http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/
http://www.osmmaps.com/
http://www.openfietsmap.nl/downloads/europe

In my Android based phone, I use the two apps MapsWithMe Lite (free) and Soviet Military Maps Pro (paid version) to download maps when I have wifi and then use those maps later off-line.  Soviet Military maps app has several different map layers available, I use the cycling one.  I do not have a data plan for my phone, these two apps work without a data plan provided that you loaded the maps you need on wifi in advance.

[phopwood]

I currently use my Garmin if I know where I am going, as it does not hold any maps.  But if I need an electronic map then I use cycle streets, it is free and uses a community based map updates which originated from the UK OS maps.  It works well, it will even give you a route from A to B and speak directions just like a satnav.  The app is UK only.

But I have a decent data plan on my mobile so I don't worry about data once I am out and about.  But I am very old fashioned and I will have a good idea where I am going and how I am going to get there before I leave.  Also Cycle streets you can download the UK maps to your phone and it just needs a datalink for planning a route.

I recently cycled from home to Milton Keynes and followed cycle streets with out question and it got me there using minor roads and cycle paths.  I was impressed.

I have been playing with the idea of the Garmin Touring GPS but will it be better than what I have now.  Most likely not.

Peter

[Andre Jute]

my new tablet locates gps signals very quickly but I'm not cycling with that!

Theoretically, just for the sake of argument, you could make a tablet sturdy enough for a tour by putting it into a Griffin Survivor case, but then it becomes an inch bigger all round and an inch thick, and weighs about the same as an Abus Granit X U-lock, around three pounds. As Colin Chapman didn't say but should have, "You can have small, fragile and very expensive or thick, big, expensive and sturdy, choose only one combo."

My iPhone cost more than my iPad anyway, if it is a consideration of cost, but the iPhone is so much more convenient on the bike, it is no contest. I have a Griffin Survivor for my iPhone too, but it is not in use since the iPhone is in a Mophiejuice battery case, too big to fit the Survivor. I love the Survivor and if I were to tour extensively, I'd forego the Mophiejuice and in favour of the protection, and charge the iPhone off the main battery for the bike. The iPhone screen is big enough to read maps, but the picture quality in any kind of daylight is pretty frustrating. Ditto for the excellent built-in camera.

BTW, another tip about stuff you need to download to local in-phone memory before you leave home, if you don't want to run up roaming bandwidth charges, is your reading matter kept in Dropbox. Once you leave your LAN (your computer's wifi umbrella, basically the block on which you live) anything that appears to sit in Dropbox that you haven't opened in another application, isn't actually there until you connect to the net again. A pain, that.

[Aushiker]

I have a HTC One which is less than 12 months old so a fairly current model if not the most recent one?  GPS lock is pretty reasonable both at home where it "knows" the satellites and in Indonesia where I was last week.  I do find there is a delay, probably more noticeable as I turn it on as I head out the door and I am ready to go, whereas with my Garmin Edge 810 I tend to turn it on before heading through the gate etc so by the time I am ready to ride it is all sweet.

That said without proper testing I would suggest the Garmin is faster at locking but not by much ... we are talking probably 30 seconds to maybe a minute max here.

Andrew