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speedevil
06-04-2018, 07:58 AM
I've been playing around with this app on my nexus 6 phone, and it works very well. For those of you that want to use your phone for navigation and tracking, this one is better than most.

It uses OpenStreetMaps (the OSM part) and can create a track of the route as you ride. For this purpose, you can just start the app, enable tracking, turn the screen off, and put it in your pocket. When you're finished, just stop the app. If your phone is not encrypted, you can access the track file via USB, if your phone is encrypted, your can use AirDroid. The track can be uploaded to RideWithGps and shared.

If you want to follow an existing route you've created or downloaded from RideWithGps (or any source of .gpx files for that matter, like a century .gpx file for example), you can upload it to the OsmAnd tracks directory, You can then select this course, it will have the same name as the .gpx file you uploaded, and click go.

The maps are pre-downloaded, so it does not use cellular data to retrieve maps. I've used OsmAnd many times on long motorcycle trips and it works very well.

Pairing this app with a dyno-hub USB charger would be great for randoneering.

I would like to see how it might integrate with a smart watch for turn indications - this would be nice so that the screen can be off and the phone in your jersey pocket. Not sure about this, and I haven't been willing to spend the $$ to find out. Maybe someone that has a smart watch can chime in on this point.

Likes2ridefar
06-04-2018, 08:25 AM
It works on iOS too. I’ve used it for years and it has been incredibly useful.

Perhaps one of its best features is access to detailed maps anywhere in the world as long as you have GPS access on your phone.

It has most trails worldwide and is easy to use deep in the woods in unfamiliar terrain for reliable navigation.

I’ll see if it works with my Apple Watch..

v531xc
06-04-2018, 09:22 AM
Oh, this is pretty neat. I downloaded it on my iPhone X and there's definitely some rendering issues, particularly at the top of the screen, but would otherwise be helpful for the intended use cases. I'll try it on my Galaxy S7, too, and see how it does on the longer rides this weekend.

ptourkin
06-04-2018, 09:33 AM
I've been using Gaia the same way for bike packing. If anyone can compare, I'm interested.