Google Maps
 

Due to Google's licensing demand,, Locus or any other APP based navigation software will not carry the Google online map any more. You can still use Google Places search for the address then add the way way points to Locus.

It is if it's cold and pouring with rain or you just want to hit 'petrol station' when you're at lights or heading down the motorway, or you want to hit a way-point. it goes back to my point of a device specifically designed to do the job rather than a kludge of tech to make it work some other way.

So to be clear - I'm not saying all Garmin devices are suitable for motorcycle travel - I'm saying the ones designed for motorcycle travel are the best on-bike GPS tools you can get.

Tom Tom
 

On the "et al" side of the title of this thread - specifically concerning Tom Tom - it seems that Smartphone technology may lead to the demise of their domestic use products:-
Post number 16 in this thread indicates that Tom Tom may withdraw from the consumer market for GPS
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...or-nay-62779-2

Who would that leave to fight it out with the Smartphones?
Garmin and Magellan are the two that I know about.

Dave
 

Dave,, I think ,, you will find many urban folks will prefer smart phones to et als,,for city navigation and auto driving. Also for bicycle riders , smart phone is catching on,, and increasing use by motorcyclists as well, here in Korea.

I have augmented my G2 with following two cases,, one is a waterproof case, from buybit UK,
Ultimate Addons Components :: [ BuyBits ] The Ultimate Addons
which can be mounted on the handle bar and has sturdy locking structure as well as very thick inner rubber padding. In the demo,, I do see a biker using it, with riding gloves on.
The white one is another water proof bag that will actually float and can dive to 30 meters and camera can be used under water, which I use for sailing.

My recent trials between the Galaxy2 and Garmin ,, I find that smart phone locks into the satellite quicker and maintains the link longer than the Garmin. Where else ,, I keep getting signal lost or weak from my 755T.

As for Mapdroyd App ,, I find it rubbish ,, X blow outs not impressive at all. Rather using Locus ,, under Map ,, selct online map of your choice then Download ,, By Country ,, X 1,2 ,3 , 4 , 5, 6 , 7 and 8 gave me much clearer X blow outs. And with Vector Maps as a back up on my Locus for cities,, I can define the streets with maximum X blow outs. These you can use for OFFLINE ,, Even the online maps ,, including Google Map, Mapquest and OSM ,, if you cache the map, in significant quantity,,you browse on line ,, I find that I can carry x6 minimum on my phone for reference OFFLINE ,,

So , to download custom maps , you simply click few buttons in Locus,, rather than downloading OSM then using Mapsource to transfer to the et als.

But as I've said ,, like to put eggs in several baskets ,, will keep my Garmin, on the bike.

As I posted in reply there, it looks like TomTom may pull out of the hardware market to concentrate on producing software. This makes sound business sense as the profit isn't in building and maintaining factories to make wires and stuff, rather in paying a few coders sat in front of computers with cups of coffee. They've been doing that for smartphones since the early days of Windows Smartphone 2003 which needed a dedicated bluetooth GPS unit. No doubt they could also provide software for other sat-nav makers so expect to see Mio GPS with TomTom built in and TomTom for Android and iOS.

Garmin seem to have decided to diversify offering dedicated machines for anyone and everyone who ever ventures outside, it will be interesting to see whose business model suceeds in the face of stiff smartphone competition. We may argue the merits of one or the other for adventure bikers but we're a very small market and while smartphones may not yet satisfy the needs of the dedicated multi-day adventurer, for everyday round town with the convenience of Google's all powerful search engine they're hard to beat.

May I gently :smiliex:draw your attention that, for OSM, you have the direct option to download an .img file that simply needs be copied (and renamed if you wish) to a micro SD card ready to use - without the need for MapSource at all.

Joey, there is another GPS application designed for Android you may wish to look up and try. It is called SKOBBLER. Quite effective and free.

Bertrand
 

May I ,,, gently..... be blunt?
Try Sygic ,, even better ,,you download the map direct, within the program.
Your bike mount must have cost same as your Garmin ,,
Belly button bigger than the stomach?
Simplicity is the most flattering form of art.
Thought , I was talking to Matt ,, about his cooking. Gee,,,


Had Sygic long ago ,, had crashing problem ,, recently tried it ,, great OFFLINE NAVIGATION App here for now.

Hiya

Not having a smart phone so not knowing, but does your Galaxy do that when it has no phone signal too? I thought phones used 3G to help locate them, so no signal and it will perform worse, or???

To what extent do you think your opinion would be altered if you had a bike specific gps, and your unlimited data costs were £35 a month as they would be for me in the UK today, and then spiralling out into big bills if I were to travel with it? (Put another way, can you tell me where I can buy one of your SIMS ;))

Is an inny or an outy belly button better for gps reception on a bike?

Jason

:)

3G and Smart Phone Navigation
 

Grizzly ,, if you have an OFFLINE map ,, you do not need need to be wired. Also the phone signal is not necessary.
For OFFLINE GPS navigation ,, so far ,, OSMAND and Sygic apps are best.
OSMAND is free ,, Sygic used to be free now they wat 55 euro for Europe and Russia ,,, There are other APPs as well ,, but having tried them all ,, I found Locus for ONLINE navigation and Sygic for OFFLINE are the best. For smaller area of 10sq miles,,, cache the google map then you can also navigate OFFLINE.

Unlimited data for 35 quid a month is a godsent deal. You can work your smart phone as a navigation tool as well as a PC ,,
Here in Korea I have same deal ,, unlimited data for 35 quid and When I am overseas ,,, USD 10 a day for unlimited data, for the days I am using. Meaning I can do internet and navigate. The plan covers 55 countries, including Russia.

I doubt you can buy unlimited data sims ,,, but you should check with your home carrier for overseas data roaming.

iPhone hardware
 

There is some technical chat in this thread http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...santiago-63651 about rigging up a charging system for an iPhone.
Interestingly, there are a couple of links in there to motorcycle mounting systems for iPhones, each of which has an amount of water resistant (relevant since nothing is "waterproof") capability:-

Dave Mac’s Blog

First iPhone Motorcycle Mount allowing control of iPod Music with Gloves when you ride | Android iPhone iPad WindowsPhone - intellimail.Pro

Sygic for Smartphone
 

Bought the map for Galaxy S2,, Europe and Russia for 54 Euros.
Pros ,,,, if you press the screen on a local city and zoom in,, you get local POIs (point of interests) pops up with clear location. Extensive POIs ,, bakery to hospitals,, universities to famous churches. You just press the POI you want and navigate to it.

Once you buy the maps ,, you own it for your life time ,, not the unit life time. You can also transfer the ownership of the map.

You download the map of your choice, within the program, using wi-fi,,, download speed is 200KB to 2MB per second , amazing speed.

Completely OFFLINE..

Cons,, you can not import your own route or POIs ,,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkL1L...eature=related

Tango
 

App.. Tango on smart phones..when online. Free video phone call. Time HUBB had an app.

from what i've heard/read, the new hubb when it goes live will work with tapatalk.

JCB are even more rugged
 

Meantime, for the hardware, JCB are continuing to add their brand name to smartphones:-
The Next Generation Of The World’s Toughest Phones - News - JCB Toughphone

For instance, there is a JCB edition of the Motorola Defy with an extended warranty:-
Handset Range - JCB Toughphone

Between those two links there are claims of waterproofness, drop test resistance, military specifications, and dust proofness - all singing, all dancing phones basically!!

Android apps
 

There's some more reference to Android software within the Morocco forum.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-morocco-62915

While some of this has been mentioned in here before (OsmAnd), I think this one is new here:-
Features

Home1

How many more apps can there be, and which are going to dominate this market??