SMARTPHONE GPS

[SOOTYGULL]

I want a GPS but don't want to pay silly (zuno) money

So thought about getting a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Y (about £80 pay-as-you-go) then I could use a bluetooth in ear receiver to hear directions.

Has anyone any experiences of using a smartphone on a bike ?

Like, does the GPS keep up with the speed of travel ?

Is there any brand you think has the best GPS ?

Ta nicely.

[masterchop]

Hi I've used Nokia GPS a few times. Once on a short journey and the other on a long journey and it did its job just fine.

Not as good i guess as seeing the roads mapped out on a screen but it got me back from newport in wales to portsmouth we me not having a clue otherwise.

[Turisu]

I do exactly this all the time. My business is home PC repair so I use my Android phone and a GPS app to find my way to jobs on an almost daily basis.

My phone is a ZTE Skate (a fairly inexpensive device known as the Orange Monte Carlo in the UK), GPS app is CoPilot Live Premium, and I use a BT Interphone bluetooth receiver attached to my helmet. Voice directions come through clearly and it's every bit as good as a stand-alone satnav unit in terms of keeping up with your progress and giving directions. Has never let me down. And for those longer trips I also have a waterproof satnav bag which straps to the handlebars so I can put the phone inside and see the screen as well.

[Mr Angry]

I've used Google maps on my phone (Android OS) and it works well, free too.

[Turisu]

Yeah, I like Google Maps' navigation feature a lot. But I only use it when I have to find very specific places that CoPilot can't handle; mainly because Google Nav needs a data connection to work and I'm on Pay-as-you-go so I have mobile data switched off most of the time.

[Zed]

When I go somewhere I don't know, I use my iPhone 4s + Navigon as my Satnav. In car I use it conventionally on the dash with voice directions and the odd glance.
On bike it goes into a pocket, and use wired headphones inside my jacket, up the neck, and into ears. A light balaclava helps hold it in place when you put your helmet on. Then purely use voice directions.

Very doable, the main problem with smartphones is they burn battery like nothing, so your journey needs to be les than a couple of hours each way, or you need to plug it into your bike somehow.

Navigon is good because all maps are stored on the phone (no data download in use), which is handy if say you're in yankland or mainland Europe.

[Steve_D]

On the iPhone, I use navfree.

[SOOTYGULL]

Thanks guys for your advice.

[visfix]

On the iPhone, I use navfree.

Ditto.

[Funkycowie]

I just use google maps now... if you are in a good location and/or know your route in advance it downloads the whole route so if you lose connection it doesn't matter (unless you get completely lost)