Is there an app that replaces a Garmin?

[Trick_Cyclist]

My wife & I have been doing day rides & trying to use our iPhones as navigators - without a lot of success. I am averse to Garmin because of: cost [especially maps], it's more stuff & I'm irrationally averse to using the market dominating product.....

So we have been using "co-rider", an app that can exchange plotted routes well with ridewithgps.com which is a good enough route plotter. However there are 2 major issues:
1: The system downloads the map section you are riding using 3G as you are going along - so if you are in a poor signal area [which is pretty much anywhere you would want to cycle] the maps either don't arrive or arrive long after you want them so the prompts are late.
2: We haven't yet found a way of stopping the phone switching into sleep mode & cutting off the directions [I assume there is some way round this which I haven't found yet].

We can manage the battery issue with an external boost battery, but at the moment I am feeling pushed towards the market leader & I am irked. So I would welcome suggestions.

Is there an app available which allows you to download necessary maps before setting off? Is there a way around the slow download?

Suggestions & advice gratefully received.

[nirakaro]

Depending on just what you want to do, try ViewRanger, or MapsMe. MapsMe does route planning, but it's quite new, and still a bit eccentric!

[freeflow]

For android I 'd recommend ipbike. No idea about iPhone.

[DevonDamo]

Also on Android, you have:

- CycleStreets, which allows you to download an offline vector map of the UK. (You need to connect to the internet at the start of each journey to download the calculated route, but not the maps themselves, so it's not much data.)
- Google Maps, which allows you to download individual tiles covering hundreds of square miles. (You could download the entire country, but you'd have to do it bit-by-bit.)
- Nokia Here.

I don't know much about iPhones either, but they are supposed to have good availability of apps, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of the above were available.

[Sweep]

Hi trickcyclist:



>> I am averse to Garmin because of: cost [especially maps], it's more stuff &

The maps are free - I use openfietsmap - excellent - couldn't want for more.


>> I'm irrationally averse to using the market dominating product.....

Well an iphone is hardly back to nature is it?

I'd get an Etrex 20.

Not that pricey (compared to an Iphone and you won't have to risk damaging the delicate ibeast.

Power from easily avaiklable AAs whicb can be rechargeable, meaning you are most unlikely to run out of power for gps or phone.

Tough as old boots.

Waterproof in all normal use you are likely to put it through.

I'd put money on it lasting longer than your iphone which as far as I can see is the apotheosis of built-in obsolescence.

[Psamathe]

I used to use ViewRanger. App is free, maps like OpenStreetMap/OpenCycle Map are downloaded for free. Premium maps (e.g. Ordnance Survey in UK, IGN in France, etc.) you have to purchase (but are pretty cheap). You would normally download maps at home over wiFi/internet. If you always ride in the same area you would download them once and probably never again. I downloaded my maps (most for eastern UK across to Oxford) over a year ago and have worked offline ever since.

However, I've recently switched to MapOut, which I think is superior. App costs a minimal amount. Uses OpenStreet Map (free) which you download at home and update (at home) if you want whenever (as the maps change !!). I downloaded the entire UK. Maps are rendered (displayed) exceptionally clearly.

Both do/can work offline and don't need 3G. different people have different favourite apps (e.g. I used to recommend ViewRanger, but not I recommend MapOut). There are other such apps available but I have no experience of them so cannot comment on their functionality. MapOut is far far better when it comes to displaying altitude profiles (for tracks & routes, between points, etc.). Also, MapOut is far more designed around buying the app (cheap) and if you want send/receive tracks/routes to and from your computer (i.e. no social networking/sharing/web servers online/etc.), whereas ViewRanger give you the app and try to sell you premium maps, premium routes, get you to upload your routes to their web site and share ... (though you can avoid that stuff if you want).

Both (ViewRanger & MapOut) record tracks, display routes, etc. But they do not work out a route for you (given a start and end point). similarly, they do not give you turn by turn navigation instructions (like SatNavs). They will display a route on a map and press a button to show where you are (and loads more).

Given a choice between iPhone/SmartPhone and GPS (e.g. Garmin) I would select an iPhone as my solution (for me as it does so much more in a single small unit). Battery life is not the issue GPS enthusiasts make out. I've just come back from a 30 mile ride track recorded with MapOut and it took15% of the charge (and it was also doing all the other things an iPhone does like check for mail every 5 mins, all it's iCloud stuff, all stuff not related to the ride and mapping/track recording.

Ian

[Mick F]

I'd get an Etrex 20 .............. I'd put money on it lasting longer than your iphone which as far as I can see is the apotheosis of built-in obsolescence.

Excellent advice.
This is the way forward for anyone wanting GPS but afraid to dip their feet very far into the water.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-eTrex-Ou ... s=etrex+20

[raybo]

I have an iPhone but not a GPS. I am using an app called Pocket Earth. It costs a couple dollars and let's you download maps for use off-line. I've used it in the U.S., UK, Germany and Italy. All maps downloaded free. I download the maps when I have wifi, usually at home before I go.

It also uses the phone's GPS, as long as the phone is not in airplane mode. That is, it will tell you where you are on a map without any internet connection. This connects the iPhone up to the local network but there are no charges unless you actually answer or make a phone call.

Since the GPS drains the phone's power quickly, I don't leave it on unless I need to decided which turn to make. It doesn't give turn by turn directions.

I wrote an article about my recent experience with the app, if anyone is interested.

[dandru]

+1 for Pocket Earth, I was using it this morning, it'll do what you want at a reasonable cost. The co-rider app has an export function which will send GPX files to Pocket Earth or you can email a route to yourself and import it into Pocket Earth.

[Sweep]

I'd get an Etrex 20 .............. I'd put money on it lasting longer than your iphone which as far as I can see is the apotheosis of built-in obsolescence.

Excellent advice.
This is the way forward for anyone wanting GPS but afraid to dip their feet very far into the water.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-eTrex-Ou ... s=etrex+20

That's a great price Mick F - I''d encourage anyone to go for it.

[FarOeuf]

just an idea, but... you don't actually need the map, if all you are doing is following a pre-loaded route. disabling (or not even loading) the maps makes following a route much easier, as the 'show on map' (Garmin) line is clearest when there's no visual interference from streets, roads, etc. I normally carry a paper map to know where I am, and for interests sake, but the mapless* Etrex30 for following a route. I have the map scale set to 300m, which is enough to determine the details of the route turns.

I agree with the above that the Etrex series are about the best touring Garmin devices.

* I have maps on the Etrex, but have them switched off normally. Saves a bit of power.

[mjr]

I Like Osmand~ on Android, which can do offline display and route calculation if you let it download the right files.

[sjs]

I like Maverick (on Android). Free Ordnance Survey (and lots of other) mapping, 1:50 and 1:25k, downloadable before you go, though maybe only with the paid for version of the app, which is just a few pounds. Will allow you to follow a track in standard gpx format in the same way as a dedicated gps but with a much nicer display. So just weather proofing and battery life to fix relative to an etrex, neither of which is insurmountable.

[Trick_Cyclist]

Thank you for a helpful discussion. It seems the app I had hoped for doesn't exist. I have a sat-nav app for the car which allows me to upload a country in advance & gives me turn by turn guidance, but of course I can't pre-plan a cycle route on it - although it did rescue us in France as it showed us where we were [not where we thought] when we had no 3G signal. Cheaper maps for Garmin would ease the discomfort o potential purchase.

Geoff

[Sweep]

Cheaper maps for Garmin would ease the discomfort o potential purchase.

Geoff

Sorry, have you read the thread? Perfectly good FREE maps are available for the garmin. How cheap do you want?