GPS navigation VS Smart Phone & Apps

[oldjoebmwrider]

A goodly many phones have much larger screens now. Case in point the iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5 inch screen and iPhone 6 a 4.7. So the size issue has been addressed. Also as to the waterproof issue, many companies make waterproof cases at a reasonable price. On my last trip to see my brother in Plainview, TX it rained on me and my iPhone from just east of Memphis almost to Little Rock and it wasn't playing either. No issues. And it rained on the way back to. No leaks either time. Yeah Corinth is rich in civil war memorabilia with Shiloh just up the road less than 20 miles.

Joe

 

[alancoles]

...There are any number of gps apps that are equal to dedicated gps. For instance, copilot, sygic, wake, NAVIGON and maps.me and there are probably others. I have all of these and they work...

Joe, perhaps these apps are just too new to me, although I have had some of them for several years.

I just downloaded CoPilot and TomTom trial apps yesterday and will give them a try. But I'm not interested in using them if they prove to be more work than using my Garmin, but I am willing to give them a good try.

Perhaps I'm too used to my stand-alone GPS having used TomToms and Garmins for almost two decades now, but I'll give them a shot. ;-)

 

[mikesved]

Ok, I am going to throw myself under the bus and ask this question. One thing I enjoy about Google Maps and other internet based programs is being able to play with the route. Do apps like Co-Pilot have an internet based planning program or are they strictly app based?

 

[alancoles]

For me anyway, Google Maps does that really well. BaseCamp will do it after a fashion, and is much clunkier but has far greater depth and much few limitations. I've not found anything else that can develop as complex routes. Then again, I've not found anything else as frustrating because it does have such tremendous power but is difficult for me to use in a consistent manner. Perhaps I've just hit my head to many times, but I definitely find that I have difficulty getting around BaseCamps features in a consistent and easy manner, still don't know it well enough.

 

[lkraus]

Ok, I am going to throw myself under the bus and ask this question. One thing I enjoy about Google Maps and other internet based programs is being able to play with the route. Do apps like Co-Pilot have an internet based planning program or are they strictly app based?

The big advantage of CoPilot over Google Maps is that it uses maps stored on the phone and does not rely on a cellular connection to work. You can do all your route planning on the phone, but this can be a little tedious due to the relatively small screen. AFAIK, there is no PC planning program that will guarantee routes identical to those created by CoPilot or other Android apps. I have no experience with Apple apps or programs.

For extensive "playing" with a route, I use a free, PC based program called TYRE. It uses Google maps, so it requires an internet connection to work. It can work with many different formats, including Garmin (.gpx), TomTom (.itn) and CoPilot (.trp). It's easy to put in start and end points, and drag the resulting path to whatever roads you wish. I like to zoom with satellite view to verify road types and check for population congestion. Planning on the PC is easier due to the larger screen and I prefer the precision of a mouse over a touchscreen.

If you prefer another internet-based planner to build your routes, Tyre can still be used to convert the resulting file to another format, like CoPilot. This way a route built with Google(.kml), or Motogoloco can be used with CoPilot.

It is essential to verify the route on the GPS after loading it! It is quite likely that an internet planner, or Tyre, or Google will be using slightly different maps and routing algorithms to create the route. Differences can be corrected in Tyre or the internet planner by adding more waypoints to restrict the route to the desired path, and then transferring the modified file to the GPS . Or, CoPilot will let you simply drag the route on-screen to use the preferred roads. This is much quicker when the route only needs a little touch-up.

RoadRunner magazine has some great tutorials and videos on creating GPS routes, just select from the GPS menu in their header here.

 

[gfspencer]

I have a GPS in both of my cars but for my motorcycles I prefer to use my iPhone and my AppleWatch. In my old age I mostly ride in familiar territory so I could probably do without a GPS anyway.