spinnaker

I had a couple of warmshowers tourists stay with me over the weekend. The one had an iPad with GPS and Google Maps.

I was pretty impressed. I have a Garmin GPSMap 76 that has served me well but it would be nice to be able to see the bigger picture.

I'm thinking of getting a Android tablet. I figure I could use it for navigation and for logging my rides.

I'm too cheap to get the 3G connection so I would only be online when near a hotspot.

Has anyone used an Android with Google Maps? I understand the maps can be cached to the PC. But from what I have read it caches the maps around the area you are in currently. Is there any way to select what you cache?

In general what do you think of using a tablet PC on tour?

DropBarFan

I have a 3G Android smartphone, initially I thought it would work better than my Garmin gps but it's often slow to download maps & calculate routes. A tablet would be nice in that it gives a bigger picture but if you don't want to pay for the 3G connection than I'm wondering how much use a tablet would be. I guess a non-linked tablet would be nice for reading pre-installed ebooks, video etc but re navigation I'm not sure. OTOH Garmin etc gps devices have their problems re difficulty in creating turn-by-turn routes. But Garmins will still tell you where you are if you get lost, unlike a no-gps/internet tablet.

irwin7638

I have a Samsung galaxy and will be testing it over the weekend. So far I don't think it will be a problem. If you request directions and a map, leave the wi-fi connection, access the map while unconnected, you will stay on the last map. I'll get back on this,I know the route for the weekend, so it will be a safe testing ground. Like you I think the phone access is a waste of money with wi-fi access so plentiful.

Marc

wiiiim

there are plenty of apps that offer GPS guidance without being online on the internet (map stored on the device, like a 'normal' GPS)
afaik they all cost money though

at least this is the case for iOS, I'm not very familiar with whats on the Android app store

Rob_E

I have an iPad that I've used locally when in unfamiliar areas. I haven't taken it on tour, yet, but I have some short tours in mind, and it will certainly come along.

Navigation is something I haven't quite got down. I have two GPS programs, and I haven't tested them extensively. I've heard that in a car they are nearly as good as car-specific devices. To me, this doesn't match with how I use it on my bike for a few reasons:

• I don't keep my iPad where I can see it, but rather I rely on voice prompts, requiring headphones or some speaker attachment (if you kept your tablet mounted in front of you, the built-in speaker might be loud enough)
• The navigation programs I have tried don't let me select my own route. I have to let it plan the trip, and if there's a specific road I want to travel on, I have to pick that as an intermediate destination.
• At least one of the navigation programs I have lacks a "bike" settings. I had to select "walking" to keep from being routed on to freeways. Then voice prompts stopped partway to my destination. When I pulled the iPad out there was a message something like "You seem to be going to fast to be walking, would you like to switch to 'car' mode?"
• I suspect that leaving your navigation program running all day will eat your battery up quickly, but, that said, I've been able to use GPS tracking for some longish rides and still have decent battery power at the end of the day, although if I had been using the screen continuously instead of just occasionally checking my position, I don't think that would have been the case.

Basically, for "normal" GPS-style navigation, I haven't found the iPad to be great, but I haven't tested that functionality extensively. My imagined use and tested use is to pull up my current location at stops to check my progress and to familiarize myself with the upcoming route. For that it is excellent. I use a program called MotionX GPS. It doesn't seem to do actual navigation, but you can import routes and download maps of selected areas so that you can access them even when you have no internet connection. I also use it to track rides, which works well, too. I usually set it to start tracking, then turn off the screen and put it away to keep the battery from running out.

So for actual navigation, I don't expect to use it, but for reference and checking where you are, I think it's great. Keep in mind that at least with the iPad, GPS functionality is bundled with 3G connectivity (the cell phone plan). To me, GPS is what makes this a very useful traveling companion, so even if you had no intention of subscribing to a data plan, you might want to look into a GPS-enabled model. You don't need an active data plan to use the GPS, but the GPS chipset is not present in the wifi-only model.

irwin7638

Since I know my route for the weekend,I tested the Google Maps app on my Samsung Galaxy. It functions well online, not so well offline. Remember, the bike directions are in Beta testing and are not reliable. A more useful tool would be PDF downloads from cities and states. Pictures and my whole experience with it can be found here:

https://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com...ngled-way.html

Marc

NukeouT

I have a Fujitsu Stylistic 2006, but its too big to take on adventures aside from commuting to work.

Main thing is have a hard cover for it. That way nothing in your bag, or on the road will break your screen.

naisme

This is my debate at the moment, do I want to haul my MacBook or an iPad? iPad's are more compact and would do just about everything I do with the MacBook but edit pictures, and video. I don't expect to do more than WiFi when available. I've found the battery life of the iPad is pretty good, so topping it up, charging when and where I can. It can do double duty as an ebook, so I don't have to haul any books. Lastly, looking at the expense of replacing either of these computers, I'd prefer to replace an iPad, over a MacBook. Just my thoughts on an argument I'm having with myself.

spinnaker

I understand there is an app for Google Maps for the Android OS that caches the maps when you are at a hotspot. Has anyone used this app?

From what I have read, it caches the maps in your area when it gets a connection. I would like to know if you can pre select and load an area to be used later?

Rob_E

You can edit photos on an iPad, although perhaps not to the extent that you can on a laptop. And with the current iPad ( or with a little hacking of the first gen model) you can edit video as well, but only certain formats.

irwin7638

Ok, I covered about 75 miles yesterday, both places I stopped had wifi (including an isolated gas station with a sub shop). Just as it had at home,I could check my location and directions. The map that is cached is limited to what is on the screen when you save it. The gps icon continues to update your position on the screen, but when you move beyond the limits of the cached area,the icon is in an area of blank tiles which update to map features when you reconnect via cell carrier or wifi.That's the way Google Maps for Android works in practice.

Marc

contango 

Personally I wouldn't want anything that I couldn't mount to the handlebars.

I like to cycle with a handheld GPS (mind is the Garmin 60CSx which is much the same functionally as the 76) which mounts to the handlebars easily and is waterproof. It's also robust, surviving without any trouble on the two occasions the bike has fallen over on its side (once with me still on it). If it gets splattered with mud I can clean it easily under the tap. I doubt many, if any, of those apply to an iPad.

A laptop to log the day's route and possibly prepare the next day's route would be a good thing, space and weight permitting. So from that perspective a tablet might work, but I'd still want a GPS to guide me while I was actually cycling.

rm -rf

You should be able to download sections of Open Street Map to use it offline. I've only used the Garmin formatted OSM maps on my Garmin 705, so I don't know about the Apple downloads and what viewers to use.

There's an Apple iOS links page.

OSM maps work great, but it can be difficult to find out exactly how to download and use the maps offline.

MKIV987

I thought about getting a netbook to take on the road for updating blogs, checking email, etc. but it was pretty expensive with Verizon ($20/month for 1GB of data, if I recall). Anyone know of anything cheaper?

CCrew

Haven't seen anyone pipe up, so the IT Geek in me has to weigh in.

Android or iPad is a personal choice, but most wi-fi only tablets don't have GPS capability. That's a subset of the 3G chipset. Wi-Fi ones can get some geolocation info based on their access point, but nowhere near the capability nor accuracy of a 3G one, which use a combination of chipset and cell tower triangulation.

I have an iPad, but dunno how comfortable I am with toting it on tour.

Bike Hermit

Huh, my 23 year old son had to show me how to use the voice navigation on my Droid and now reading this forum I just realized I can plug my headphones into the Droid to hear the directions. Slow describes not only my bicycle riding. I would not tour without the Droid. Some times I have been able to post to my journal even though I have no phone service. I think the wife appreciates knowing I am alive. It would be nice to have a larger keyboard and screen but that's what libraries are for.

DropBarFan

I've tried the voice navigation on Droid while driving & it works great...I read now that Google Maps for Android now has bicycle directions as on Google Maps (directions) for pc but haven't tried that yet. Smart phones can do a lot & weigh little. While Ipads/tablets are fairly light, for bike touring they don't seem to offer much more except for folks who want to do a lot of work on the road. I'm surprised, just now, to read that even Ipad2 isn't set up for use as a cellphone although voice calls can be done thru 3rd-party apps. But the idea for using a tablet for maps makes some sense; carrying a heap of paper maps is a hassle for long tours & smartphones/GPS devices have small screens, definitely hard to read maps on.

irwin7638

After completing a 5 day trip using the Samsung Galaxy tablet with Android,I have to say it is useful even with out the 3G connection to a phone carrier. Wherever I stopped,I was able to find an open wifi connection until I was at the camp near the Manistee forest. While the map is limited between connections, it is very convenient to update the route when stopping for lunch or the night. The downside is the directions provided by Google maps. The bike directions are not accurate and are still being developed. At one point they led me 25 miles out of my way, at another it led me towards miles of gravel roads which were not denoted as such on their maps. While convenient, it's probably best to download a more bike friendly map for reference.

Marc

contango 

The OpenStreetMaps are pretty good around my part of England, not sure if they are any good in the US. The main issue I've had with the OSM maps is that sometimes it shows paths as being suitable for cyclists when they aren't (either because you'd need to be a hardcore mountain biker to even attempt them, or because cycling is prohibited). You can change them like a wiki but that obviously doesn't help when your proposed route goes through a swamp and the only alternative is a diversion of many miles.

spinnaker

Garmin has similar issues and has been around for a long time, though you can set it to avoid gravel roads.

contango 

You can set it, it just depends on whether the Garmin maps know a road is gravel or not. I always told my Garmin to avoid unfinished roads when I used it in the car and once in a while it tried to take me down a gravel track with massive potholes. Luckily they were in urban areas so it was easy to bypass them. I'd have been less impressed out in a remote area where the options were 20 miles of rutted gravel or 100 miles of detour.

Philly Tandem

FYI, the iPad2 has an app from Apple for video editing (like iMovie), and even has an HD video camera built in.

Bacciagalupe

FWIW so far I am not impressed with using an Android smartphone to log my rides. If I leave the GPS on, it'll drain the battery in a few hours.

I'd also prefer using a pre-loaded map app like Locus Pro. I think you'd be better off having all the maps you need pre-loaded, rather than realize you're off the map with no wifi in sight.

Otherwise, if you can tolerate the on-screen keyboard I see no problems with carrying a small tablet instead of a laptop.

SurlyLaika

I'm using an iPod touch 4. No 3G for me, so yea...only WIFI near hot spots. That's probably a problem for GPS, right? Anyways, the video camera is very good, the camera is okay. And the app's that don't require internet connection are the best part plus music. I was planning on posting something about using smart devices but couldn't figure the angle.

Rob_E

The iPod Touch won't have any kind of GPS in it. If you are connected via wifi, it will use your wifi connection to determine your location, but that is neither as accurate or as reliable as an actual GPS unit. It's usually close enough for general purposes, but sometimes it's comically wrong. I've had it point to a different state as my current location, but that's not common.

When it comes to Apple portable devices, only those that can use cell data have any kind of "real" GPS capability. The nice thing is that the GPS chip can be used even if you don't have an active data plan. I frequently save maps to my iPad and can access them and my location on them even though I often don't have a data plan.