I'm currently using a Garmin Nuvi.

Not a heavy user - mainly I use it when I have to go somewhere
new and the destination involves a certain number of local twists
and turns. I'll do most of the drive on my own, then turn on
the Nuvi when I'm within a few miles of the destination and let
it take over.

But I'd like to expand my use to using it as an online map -
especially when cycling.

To that end, 7" screens work better for me and I was thinking of
replacing the Nuvi with a Magellan 1700.

But now I'm sniffing around Samsung's Galaxy tablet with Android
2.2: Phone, Contact Manager, List Manager, Web Browser, GPS, MP3
player.... all combined in one (albeit hefty) device.

I'm assuming that at least some the major makers offer
Android-based ports of their apps, but have no clue as to how
well they work on a non-dedicated device.

Has anybody made this move?

If so, does it work for you?
--
PeteCresswell

On Wed, 11 May 2011 09:40:34 -0400, (PeteCresswell) wrote:

>I'm currently using a Garmin Nuvi.
>
>Not a heavy user - mainly I use it when I have to go somewhere
>new and the destination involves a certain number of local twists
>and turns. I'll do most of the drive on my own, then turn on
>the Nuvi when I'm within a few miles of the destination and let
>it take over.
>
>But I'd like to expand my use to using it as an online map -
>especially when cycling.
>
>To that end, 7" screens work better for me and I was thinking of
>replacing the Nuvi with a Magellan 1700.
>
>But now I'm sniffing around Samsung's Galaxy tablet with Android
>2.2: Phone, Contact Manager, List Manager, Web Browser, GPS, MP3
>player.... all combined in one (albeit hefty) device.
>
>I'm assuming that at least some the major makers offer
>Android-based ports of their apps, but have no clue as to how
>well they work on a non-dedicated device.
>
>Has anybody made this move?
>
>If so, does it work for you?

I'm in the process of switching from my Garmin GpsMap 60C to a
Nexus One (Android).

For everyday purposes, mostly road navigation and track
recording, the phone has already supplanted the Garmin GPS
entirely.

On Sunday I will travel to Africa and will see how that goes. Of
course I will take both devices with me. For some purposes, like
flying, the Garmin is better, because it has some special
capabilities for which I have not yet found any smartphone
program.

The first problem is already the flight to Africa. I always
record all my movements, but the smartphone will not last
through an 8 hour flight, so I will have to use the Garmin for
at least part of the distance.

In Africa I will mostly move by car and will feed the smartphone
through a car cigarette lighter adapter. I had to make a special
USB cable, because through the normal ones the phone can only
pull 0.5 A, which is less than the phone uses while navigating.
(For HTC devices this means shorting pins 2 and 3 - the data
lines.) With the right cable the phone pulls nearly 1 A, which
suffices to charge it while it is working really hard.

Another interesting question is how well the phone will cope
with heat, thin air, dust, and the vibrations of hour-long,
sometimes day-long, driving on rough roads. I fear the heat
most, but I will try to use a ventilation grille holder, so the
phone gets cooled by the ventilation air flow.

If you are interested in a near-real-time report, check
http://michna.com/kenya2011/ .

Hans-Georg

Per Hans-Georg Michna:
>If you are interested in a near-real-time report, check
>http://michna.com/kenya2011/ .

Thanks! I will.
--
PeteCresswell

On Fri, 13 May 2011 10:22:07 -0400, (PeteCresswell) wrote:

>Per Hans-Georg Michna:

>>If you are interested in a near-real-time report, check
>>http://michna.com/kenya2011/ .

>Thanks! I will.

I update my findings regularly now.

Very briefly ...

Phone easily survived heat, dust, and vibrations.

Phone holder (on ventilation grille) works pretty well with the
help of a little foam rubber.

Car charger with modified charging cable for HTC devices works
excellently.

Google Maps works poorly, but barely does the job as long as I
have phone coverage.

Outside phone coverage I resorted to the Android program Locus
Free, which works somewhat better than Google Maps, but its user
interface is almost unusable. It has many peculiarities, but
again, it does the basic job.

I guess things can only get better on the software side.

For track recording I use Google's My Tracks, which appears to
be quite intelligently designed. For example, it has two special
settings to reduce the number of track points.

I have had one case of data loss (all tracks gone), but I cannot
entirely rule out that I made a mistake. I've never mysteriously
lost track data on any of my Garmin GPS receivers in many years
though. But then a smartphone is a more complex device due to
its mixture of software, so it is easier to make a mistake on a
smartphone.

Hans-Georg (currently Nairobi, Kenya)

Per Hans-Georg Michna:
>I update my findings regularly now.
>
>Very briefly ...
>
>Phone easily survived heat, dust, and vibrations.
>
>Phone holder (on ventilation grille) works pretty well with the
>help of a little foam rubber.
>
>Car charger with modified charging cable for HTC devices works
>excellently.
>
>Google Maps works poorly, but barely does the job as long as I
>have phone coverage.

Coincidentally, I was reading your page earlier today.

Can't speak to Android (yet....) but on my iTouch, I have several
map applications that cache their maps - some better than
others, but the better ones do quite a nice job: plan ahead a
little when I'm in a WiFi hotspot, scroll around to get the
desired territory cached, and then run disconnected in the field.

If there are not any for the Android yet, my guess is that it's
just a matter of time. "B.iCycle" looks tb one caching app
that's make the jump to Android - although I don't have it in my
iTouch, so cannot comment on it.
--
PeteCresswell

On Fri, 20 May 2011 20:29:35 -0400, (PeteCresswell) wrote:

>Coincidentally, I was reading your page earlier today.

At least one person whom I write for! (:-)

>Can't speak to Android (yet....) but on my iTouch, I have several
>map applications that cache their maps - some better than
>others, but the better ones do quite a nice job: plan ahead a
>little when I'm in a WiFi hotspot, scroll around to get the
>desired territory cached, and then run disconnected in the field.
>
>If there are not any for the Android yet, my guess is that it's
>just a matter of time. "B.iCycle" looks tb one caching app
>that's make the jump to Android - although I don't have it in my
>iTouch, so cannot comment on it.

There are several map caching programs for Android. The problem
is that I also need my own waypoints, routes, and tracks
projected on these maps, and that is where things are getting
difficult.

Google Maps does not seem to cache anything, particularly it
does not cache My Maps, which is outright crazy. It is a good
example for a fair-weather, city program that fails as soon as
it is confronted with any real-world difficulty. It fails even
in an industrialized country like the US, when you drive through
an area without phone coverage and divert from your planned
route or don't use its navigator, even though the memory space
to cache all map tiles in question is easily available.

The Locus program can cache maps, but only the paid version. My
problem here is that I have to cater to other people joining me
for self-drive safaris, and I feel bad to ask them to pay for a
program that barely does the job, but is not really good. It is
too difficult and awkward to use, in my view.

I still recommend the free version for now, beause the maps are
not really important when you follow a route, and because I know
no better program at this time. The available Open Street Maps
aren't good anyway and rather incomplete here in Africa.

None of the programs I have tried, including Google Maps, can
import waypoint symbols. Locus can import routes, but Google
Maps cannot. They do import waypoints and they do import tracks,
which makes them somewhat usable.

On my current trip I have made a point of not using my Garmin
GPS receiver, because I wanted to find out how far a smartphone
of today can take me. And so far it worked, albeit with some
difficulties. I am gaining experience and can probably write a
concise recommendation after my trip, so other people don't have
to do all the testing again and again.

There is, of course, the hope that smartphone software will get
better, and I'm sure it will, to some degree. I'm even pondering
the thought of writing Android software myself. After all, I'm
an experienced programmer and know Java well. Have to learn the
Android API, which seems to be a bit peculiar. I probably will
not write for the iPhone, as I'm hesitant to learn not only yet
another API, but also yet another programming language. But I
would hope that others step in there.

OK, now I'll shut down the computer and turn to Africa again.
Today's plan is a walk in a forest and then driving from Nairobi
to Nakuru.

Hans-Georg
http://michna.com/kenya2011/

Hans-Georg Michna <hans-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> On Fri, 20 May 2011 20:29:35 -0400, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
>
>>Coincidentally, I was reading your page earlier today.
>
> At least one person whom I write for! (:-)
>
>>Can't speak to Android (yet....) but on my iTouch, I have several
>>map applications that cache their maps - some better than
>>others, but the better ones do quite a nice job: plan ahead a
>>little when I'm in a WiFi hotspot, scroll around to get the
>>desired territory cached, and then run disconnected in the field.
>>
>>If there are not any for the Android yet, my guess is that it's
>>just a matter of time. "B.iCycle" looks tb one caching app
>>that's make the jump to Android - although I don't have it in my
>>iTouch, so cannot comment on it.
>
> There are several map caching programs for Android. The problem
> is that I also need my own waypoints, routes, and tracks
> projected on these maps, and that is where things are getting
> difficult.
>
> Google Maps does not seem to cache anything, particularly it
> does not cache My Maps, which is outright crazy. It is a good
> example for a fair-weather, city program that fails as soon as
> it is confronted with any real-world difficulty. It fails even
> in an industrialized country like the US, when you drive through
> an area without phone coverage and divert from your planned
> route or don't use its navigator, even though the memory space
> to cache all map tiles in question is easily available.
>
> The Locus program can cache maps, but only the paid version. My
> problem here is that I have to cater to other people joining me
> for self-drive safaris, and I feel bad to ask them to pay for a
> program that barely does the job, but is not really good. It is
> too difficult and awkward to use, in my view.
>
> I still recommend the free version for now, beause the maps are
> not really important when you follow a route, and because I know
> no better program at this time. The available Open Street Maps
> aren't good anyway and rather incomplete here in Africa.
>
> None of the programs I have tried, including Google Maps, can
> import waypoint symbols. Locus can import routes, but Google
> Maps cannot. They do import waypoints and they do import tracks,
> which makes them somewhat usable.
>
> On my current trip I have made a point of not using my Garmin
> GPS receiver, because I wanted to find out how far a smartphone
> of today can take me. And so far it worked, albeit with some
> difficulties. I am gaining experience and can probably write a
> concise recommendation after my trip, so other people don't have
> to do all the testing again and again.
>
> There is, of course, the hope that smartphone software will get
> better, and I'm sure it will, to some degree. I'm even pondering
> the thought of writing Android software myself. After all, I'm
> an experienced programmer and know Java well. Have to learn the
> Android API, which seems to be a bit peculiar. I probably will
> not write for the iPhone, as I'm hesitant to learn not only yet
> another API, but also yet another programming language. But I
> would hope that others step in there.
>
> OK, now I'll shut down the computer and turn to Africa again.
> Today's plan is a walk in a forest and then driving from Nairobi
> to Nakuru.
>
> Hans-Georg
> http://michna.com/kenya2011/
>

There are a number of GPS mapping programs that have their own maps that run on Android. I'm using
iGO that has maps for all of Africa including Kenya. No need for a connection at all - just working GPS
satellites.

--
Read and be merry http://blog.rankarmor.com

On Sun, 22 May 2011 04:00:02 +0000 (UTC), Colin wrote:

>Hans-Georg Michna <hans-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
>news:(E-Mail Removed) :

>> There are several map caching programs for Android. The problem
>> is that I also need my own waypoints, routes, and tracks
>> projected on these maps, and that is where things are getting
>> difficult.

>There are a number of GPS mapping programs that have their own
>maps that run on Android. I'm using iGO that has maps for all of
>Africa including Kenya. No need for a connection at all - just
>working GPS satellites.

There are several map caching programs for Android. The problem
is that I also need my own waypoints, routes, and tracks
projected on these maps, and that is where things are getting
difficult.

At least one program, "Locus", promises to do it in its paid
version, but the program is very nearly unusable due to its
weird user interface. Most programs lack Google Map's ability to
calculate routes, and most maps are less complete than Google's.

Few programs have the ability to show my own currently recording
track along with the other needed information.

I don't know Garmin's iPhone software, but if it is good, then
there is perhaps hope for an Android version.

Hans-Georg