I have always used my Galaxy S as a GPS (my tracks, endomondo ect...) and have been looking at the Garmin edge range but do not have Garmin edge money. There was a thread on here last night about GPS and someone mentioned the pulse mini. Does anyone else use the pulse mini or a small android smart phone as a dedicated GPS.?
It seems a no brainer really, they can be picked up for peanuts and will function perfectly as a GPS, they can be hacked and are multifunctional. The only downside would be attaching the thing to the bike but I am sure a case and a couple of cable ties will overcome this.
Bike Forum
Cheap android smartphone as a dedicated GPS for the bike.
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Posted 4 months ago #
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Battery life? You can get 12 hours+ out of a Satmap, 3-4 from a phone.
Posted 4 months ago # -
morgan computers have an android unit on cheap.
cant vouch for it so do research access to android market etc.
Posted 4 months ago # -
surely you can get an android on payg for <than 90 quid?
Posted 4 months ago # -
do you use the GPS to navigate?
I only use my phone to record the route. Never felt the need to have a GPS to know where I'm going.
My phone lives in the camelbak no probs with signal.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Mr Agreeable - Member
Battery life? You can get 12 hours+ out of a Satmap, 3-4 from a phone.I reckon my desire S would do at least 6 hours with GPS on - more if I switched off mobile signal and wifi...
From a quick google the pulse mini is about £65. Add in a mount and waterproofing and I reckon you'll be adding at least £20, probably more. For not a lot more than that you could get a second hand Garmin Edge 605 which is waterproof, has mapping (free version available which IME is as good as OS) and works very well as a GPS which is fundamentally what you want. My Desire S works amazingly well considering it's a phone but it's definitely not as reliable or consistent as my Garmin.
Posted 4 months ago # -
From a quick google the pulse mini is about £65
£40 new is the cheapest I found this morning.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I thought about it. Thought about battery life, mounting, capacitive screen not behaving with rain drops, etc.
Then I bought a Garmin.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I could be interested since my mobile is old...but the pulse mini is discontinued from what I can see?
Posted 4 months ago # -
I've used my galaxy s for this in a waterproof touchscreen case I got free from MBUK. Works well, but having the screen on constantly for nav (oruxmaps with OS mapping) absolutely kills the battery.
Posted 4 months ago # -
.but the pulse mini is discontinued from what I can see
Seems that way but XDA have some support for it.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I reckon my desire S would do at least 6 hours with GPS on - more if I switched off mobile signal and wifi...
But would you be able to refrain from checking STW?
Another option would be a second hand pocket PC (iPaq or similar) running Memory Map, with a separate GPS receiver and a high capacity battery. Should be doable for about £100 if you already have the software, but quite a fiddly, fragile and inelegant solution.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I use an old Nokia 5800 running Viewranger in a waterproof phone bag (from Decathlon)which is then velcroed to the stem. Looks a bit crap but it works fine. The best things about the 5800 are the battery life (8+ hours with viewranger and GPS) ,the resitive screen (so I can use gloves and operate it whilst it's inside the waterproof bag) and they are dirt cheap off ebay.
Posted 4 months ago #
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