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[Closed] I-phone GPS endorsement

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[#1590571]

I'm sure there's been a few threads on this recently, but just got in from a road ride, and my first using Cyclemeter.
It's my first Gps ride since getting rid of my garmin 305, and I'm very impressed with it. That is all. 🙂


 
Posted : 09/05/2010 9:09 pm
 ade
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Just curious - why did you get rid of your 305? I swear by mine.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 7:41 am
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It was the forerunner 305. Exactly the same but built into a watch mount. Found that almost every ride it got knocked and stopped itself , so I was only recording the first mile or two of every ride


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 8:29 am
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Hmmmm, a Forerunner bar mount would have fixed that.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 9:18 am
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Lol more than likely, this was over a year ago though, just another thing I regretted getting rid of, like my Swift. However I don't anymore, as this Cyclemeter app is just as good, imo.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 9:58 am
 Drac
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How long was your ride as the GPS really eats the iPhone?


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 10:00 am
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I'm enjoying using the iPhone (MotionX) GPS software and can get up to 5 hour rides out of it from a full charge:

e.g. Dyfi Enduro was recording for 5 hours and 6 minutes and I still had enough battery to phone the wife from the finishline.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31985357

I realise that it's just a stand-in until I can scrape the pennies for a Garmin Oregon with HRM and cadence though.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 10:16 am
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Using the GPS on my HTC Desire too - very impressed.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 10:17 am
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Yeah, does over 5 hours easily.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 10:20 am
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I have a 205 on a bar mount which switches itself off as soon as I get on bumpy ground 🙁


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 10:22 am
 Drac
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Yeah have the MotionX but only used it for taking waypoints and photos, 5 hours seems a lot. If you answer phonecall though you'll loose your data, bit luck that'll be fixed with OS 4.0


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 10:22 am
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Presumably you can put it in Airplane mode to avoid a phonecall interrupting it (and also increase battery life)?


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 10:33 am
 Drac
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Hmmm good thinking.

But that you may as well just use a GPS.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 11:17 am
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If you own a gps, I don't, but I have an iPhone, so it's perfect, and 5 hours easily. If you answer a phonecall, you normally stop riding anyway, and with cyclemeter, you just click continue and it carries on where you left off. Airplanemode saves a ton of battery on top.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:06 pm
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my GPS has gone a bit flaky on my 3G. struggles to hold a signal unless there is very little tree cover or terrain.

still, june 7th I can get a new one and flog the old one on ebay....


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:08 pm
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Agree with all others, cycle meter is great and easily as good as any other 'logger' style GPS. Obviously not a navigation aid but great for recording what you have done.

I upload stuff onto bikehike.co.uk to see offroad stuff on OS mapping too (I have Memory Map too) for the ultimate in cheap / easy ride logging. All good.

Not tried airplane mode, good tip.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:15 pm
 Drac
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Ah ok swift. The reviews say it's gone but may have been an older version of cyclemeter.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:17 pm
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But what if it rains?


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:18 pm
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Just had a quick look at Cyclemeter and I couldn't see any functionality, apart from audio announcements) that MotionX GPS Lite doesn't have and that's free.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:19 pm
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Not knocking motion x, never heard of it until today, an probably would have had that for free rather than buy cyclemeter if I'd known of it. What are the extras in motion x compared to lite version, what are you paying for?


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:30 pm
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cyclemeter also lets you control the start and stop tracking via the headphone remote which was really handy. My iPhone used to miss parts of the route when under dense tree cover.

"Upgraded" to a HTC desire now and that does brilliantly, keeps tracking if you get a phone call, doesn't lose signal in the areas that the iphone did and i can have viewranger and cardiotrainer running at the same time. (when viewranger is updated to include "bike computer" screen and the ability to export via GPX file this will no longer be necessary).
Really liked the iPhone, but like the Desire more.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:37 pm
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http://news.motionx.com/category/motionx-gps/

For one, it can save multiple tracks and can store more waypoints and longer routes than the free version. I'm sure theres much more, but at 1.79 on offer a couple of weeks ago, I just splashed the cash on the full version.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:49 pm
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Doesn't look like there's a lot to choose between motionx and cyclemeter.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:51 pm
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@simonfbarnes - the garmin repair service is very good if you want it fixed and it's out of warranty. It is a bit of a 'known issue' with the 205/305 - poor battery connections. When I returned my 305 for the same reason (it was 3 yrs old) for £50 or whatever it was I rec'd a brand new unit within 5 days


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:57 pm
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The paid for version of MotionX allows you to download much larger areas of map to the phone (so you don't need a data connection for the map). The Free version only allows 300 tiles, which isn't much at full zoom.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 1:57 pm
 Drac
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Ah cheers Graham I did wonder too may have to look at the paid version.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 2:18 pm
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Just a shame it doesn't do real OS maps, but the OpenCycleMap they use for the MotionX Terrain maps us quite good and it's free.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 2:37 pm
 Drac
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Yeah that would have been good, I wish Quo would do an iPhone map. I have there PC software and it's very good.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 2:38 pm
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Differences between the paid-for and free versions are explained here:
http://www.motionx.com/faq/motionx-gps/#s1q1
And there is a nice little video of it in action too.

Tho appatently it doesn't work in Airplane mode. Bugger.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 3:01 pm
 Drac
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Err would seem I got the full, must have clicked the wrong one. 😳


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 3:17 pm
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I'm sure there's been a few threads on this recently, but just got in from a road ride, and my first using Cyclemeter.
It's my first Gps ride since getting rid of my garmin 305, and I'm very impressed with it. That is all.

I'm not iPhone bashing here, this is a genuine question. Are you able to use Cyclemeter at the same time as listening to music and also browsing the web? (the later when you of course not moving)


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 3:42 pm
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Dunno about Cyclemeter, but you can certainly listen to music while using MotionX. In fact it has the music controls built-into the app so you can still see data while changing track.

If you want to surf the web then you'd have to stop the app.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 3:55 pm
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You can listen to music while using cyclemeter, but you cannot browse tinterweb


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 4:05 pm
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MotionX allows you to pause and exit the app and resume where you left off when you return, which is good enough for me. With multi tasking in OS 4.0 that will probably be a thing of the past.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 4:10 pm
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Yeah that would have been good, I wish Quo would do an iPhone map. I have there PC software and it's very good.

ViewRanger's just released an iPhone version of their smartphone OS-mapping app. Not free, but seems good at first glance. There's also a Memory Map app and an Anquet one imminent, plus a few others.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 4:24 pm
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with the OS 4 update will multi-tasking mean that you can do things like switch between applications. eg, say you are listening to 6music on wunderradio, and want to check your email. Will the new iPhone OS be able to do that without stopping the wunderradio app?


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 4:27 pm
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Almost definitely yes. Probably.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 4:40 pm
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You would really hope so, its a shocked OS 3 doesn't


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 4:41 pm
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According to what they've said so far, yes, it will allow it so long as the app developer makes the necessary changes to make it work - supposedly these are very simple so most apps should allow multitasking very quickly.

Funnily enough though I've found the lack of multitasking a lot less of an issue than I thought I would having come from a phone that did do it. Still looking forward to it when it's realeased. Frankly though I can't believe it didn't do cut & paste earlier though. without that, it really must have been a pain - I use it all the time and it seems to me that the iPhone was completely crippled before that (which is one of the reasons I didn't get one then).


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 4:58 pm
 Drac
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Cheers bwd. Thing is I have a good few maps for quo now and don't want to pay again for them, especially at mm prices.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 5:01 pm
 Drac
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Just browsed at viewranger, tried the demo on my N96 when it came out and played with it on a ride with a chap who was testing it for a mag on a Nokia 5800. Was pretty good and looks like it's been improved, I may well just think about that now.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 5:33 pm
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If you already have the Viewranger maps on the DVD from a Nokia then you can get the iPhone app and copy the maps across via wifi, then you can add more maps to what you have, like 1:25k in 700 sq km bundles. Things like the panorama view are being added in future updates. I've got Memory Map Free, which has just had an accuracy update added, and which works fine in thick woodland, and which will work with the lock screen on. You just turn on the iPod, then pause the track, and go into MM, start tracking then you can lock the screen. I was tracking a walk in woods near Marlborough, and several times went out of MM, took photos then went back to MM and it carried on logging the walk. 3.42 miles in total.
When I get my new 4G next month I'll be able to install my Viewranger maps, and UK Map, Phil Endacott's neat app that gives an OS base map, and free 5k tiles of 1:10k OS maps.


 
Posted : 10/05/2010 9:15 pm
 Drac
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Aye tempted by viewranger might take a look today.


 
Posted : 11/05/2010 8:05 am
 Drac
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Gone for it this am and you get a lot of 1:25,000 in with that price so well worth it, added the most common ones I ride on and a few around the Lakes. Have about 10 tiles left so some careful choosing now but £10 for more tiles is a good price too.


 
Posted : 11/05/2010 9:30 am