Best Andorid App to replace a bike computer and GPS

[Iainj837]

I use strava but I have also used map my ride

 

[Nigelnaturist]

The best camera is the one you have with you

And the best image is one that is out of focus if it is the only of and its newsworthy, I personally can't work with poor image files and a lot of what I do requires multiple images of the same scene, in fact I do stuff I just couldn't do with a camera phone.
Last one I promise as its way off topic.
The World According to Robert de Lacy Nova by nigelnaturist, on Flickr

 

[yello]

I can't help feeling that sometimes there is a bit of snob value attached to ownership of a Garmin and similar products.

I feel like that about some people with their iPhones! As if the ownership of the product itself is what it's all about.

But whatever. People can make the choices they want for the reasons they want. Makes no odds to me.

I can put forward a case for a Garmin unit based on my experiences and my needs/wants. I don't think that snobbery plays a part in that... at least I hope not.

I completely accept that my circumstances are not shared, and would change my advice accordingly. For instance, if someone already had an android phone and didn't want to spend more, did 2 hour rides that they simply wanted to track and load to Stravamondo, then clearly to download a free app would be the way to go. I've tried out several such apps and they all do the job in their own ways, sometimes with variable success and results.

 

[Sods_Laur]

IpBike. The UX is clunky and is written by one bloke in his spare time but it does everything a Garmin does. There's a trial version which is free so you can give it a go without obligation but the complete app is only a fiver.

 

[John the Monkey]

I thought that the S4 was famed for it having a triple size battery available.

There are a lot of aftermarket battery backs, is that what you mean?

I think the problem there is that you change the form factor of the 'phone, so the better, phone specific cases (i.e. fitted to the exact shape of the S4) are ruled out. There's also the extra cost, of course. For the time being, my plan is to try a cheap-ish mount, with an external battery, and see how I get on. If that isn't too much of a pain in the bum, I can then look at the pricier stuff (Quadlock in particular looks good, although there's no barfly type mount).

If the battery usage makes me nervous, I can look at Garmins instead.

Pace Martint235, navigation (on the S4 at least) isn't bad - and you're not stuck with one developer's way of doing things either - but powering the big screens of modern phones means you can't do it for long (I must retest though, it has been a while).

 

[John the Monkey]

No problem.

Have you seen Finn as a mount?

Not yet... /bookmarks

If I take pictures I want a camera, phones just don't have the quality..

I used to take along an Olympus XA2, super little camera

You can load either tcx or gpx course/route files, tcx for training with a virtual partner, the gpx route will give you turn advise notice at about 1/5 of a mile and at the turn, it will calculate a route for you (various settings) I have tried the get home feature and whilst it works my local knowledge is sometimes better, but it could be settings or the map, I have a few different ones and currently using one with elevation lines, though it must be quite old as a by pass I came down today gave an error. I tend to use tcx course files but I will be trying out the gpx route file option a little more. The new battery as with all lithium batteries took a few charges to get to its optimum capcity it did a 7-8 hr ride using tcx course and about 1/2 of backlit (on low) with at least a third battery charge left
Having said it was cheap it did require formatting the drive and re-installing the folders (which is easy) and installing a firmware that didn't auto shut off after a while, this was 3.1 opposed to the current 3.3 and putting it into smart recording opposed to every second, though I am not sure if this fixed it, it does now work with out a flaw so far.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply - I'll add it to my list of stuff I'm dithering over

 

[mick1836]

Have a look at MapMyRide, free download, gives audible information,speed, distance,time as well as shows via map route travelled,calories burned.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Not yet... /bookmarks

I used to take along an Olympus XA2, super little camera

Thanks for the comprehensive reply - I'll add it to my list of stuff I'm dithering over

Does it shoot in raw, have the ability to auto bracket, shoot a 98 degree field of view or about a 16mm lens on 35mm format, have a large sensor for high quality, able to take exposures of several minutes ect..... this is why I have the camera I have, not to mention you don't need to use any menu system to change exposure control shooting modes and I could go on....... I am not taking away from the quality of the images that can be produced, I can even make a decent image from the worst compact digital ever produced, I use the camera I do because it suits how I work.

I am not a garmin snob as I use a bryton R20 as well, this however does not have any mapping at all unlike the edge 200, but it does record HR sp/cad data (all be it only every 3 sec's) when my edge 500 was stolen, I needed a quick replacement and this fitted the bill at £45 last Dec, Bryton also do the R40 a edge 500 rival as is the R50/60 is to the edge 800/810, however loading the rides to the likes of strava ect.. is little more long winded as you save the ride from the unit to your comp as a tcx and upload that as a file to strava ect..... Bryton have there own file format as well, that not many sites read.

 

[John the Monkey]

Does it shoot in raw, have the ability to auto bracket, shoot a 98 degree field of view or about a 16mm lens on 35mm format, have a large sensor for high quality, able to take exposures of several minutes ect.....

No, but it has a super sharp little lens, and the exposure is accurate enough for slide film. Works very nicely with saturated films like Superia &c

 

[Nigelnaturist]

No, but it has a super sharp little lens, and the exposure is accurate enough for slide film. Works very nicely with saturated films like Superia &c

The auto exposure isn't an exposure issue, its to be able to create HDR images.

 

[Mark1978]

You sure like your tonemapping @Nigelnaturist . Some very good shots in there.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

You sure like your tonemapping @Nigelnaturist . Some very good shots in there.

Thanks ,

 

[John the Monkey]

The auto exposure isn't an exposure issue, its to be able to create HDR images.

Oh, you mean using black and white film? It does that too!

(I kid, I kid )

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Oh, you mean using black and white film? It does that too!

(I kid, I kid )

 

[PpPete]

I completely accept that my circumstances are not shared, and would change my advice accordingly. For instance, if someone already had an android phone and didn't want to spend more, did 2 hour rides that they simply wanted to track and load to Stravamondo, then clearly to download a free app would be the way to go. I've tried out several such apps and they all do the job in their own ways, sometimes with variable success and results.

Wise words yello !
What the rider wants to do does indeed make a difference.
For me, a 2 hour ride is almost "sprint" training.
As was kindly pointed earlier most of my rides a little longer. For me a Garmin works best (a fairly basic older Etrex FWIW - no snob value whatseover) for both navigation and tracking. I have no interest in the kind of data an Ant+ enabled device could give me, nor in duplicating those features via an app on my phone.
I do carry a (relatively cheap) smart phone, which has an adequate camera for the sort of pics I take, (not the Nigelnaturist kind), and on which I have OSMand as a navigation back up . It even has Strava on it but I never use it. I load my tracks to Strava from the Garmin post ride.
It's a low cost setup that suits what I do, it wouldn't suit everyone.

What I was trying to get across in earlier post is that whatever set up you use, if it involves two devices, then those two devices ought to be "optimised" for different primary purposes. Having two devices optimised for the same primary purpose and using one of them for its secondary (and suboptimal) application seems a little daft to me. If I was determined to do everything from a single device then the £60 ruggedised phone would certainly be under consideration - but I'd expect to spend at least another £20 on an external battery to keep it going longer than 2 or 3 hours, Given that he already has a phone (and intends to carry it) my suggestion to the OP was to spend that £80 on a basic (AA powered) GPS.seemed logical to me, but might not suit everyone.