Can iPhone5 be a good GPS, Action Camera and MTO station.

C

Carlos Dewerchin

1 mW
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EBAM
Hi all of you,

I am hesitating about buying a pure GPS for my Scorpion trike or a multi-tasking device like an iPhone5, costing several times the price of a GPS and biking computer.
Do you have any field experience regarding this solution ? The question is also if there is enough contrast in bright sunshine to keep a clear sight of the screen ? How about the sound can you read your iPhone loud and clear in the traffic stream ? How about the size of the screen ? Is it sufficient to see clearly the needed information from between 75 and 100 cm away with glasses, or are you more in favour of a mini iPad ? ?

The endless availability of ( some are free ) apps makes the iPhone an all-rounder that can be configured specially for the biking world.

May I thank you on before hand for your unbiased opinion !

Look forward reading you on the above.

Have a nice day !

Scorpion
 
Android and Ulysses Speedometer and navigator is all I would use
It's in need of all round solution using a phone...

KiM
 
The i5 is a pretty costly cycling computer but if you get one, I'd recommend the following:

Velocio - great free dashboard app with the most complete dataset I've seen including estimated power
Action Camera Cockpit Recorder - video cam with speed & g-meter overlay
Topeak RideCase - stem mount for optimum stability for recording video or glancing at the dashboard
Jabra Freeway - handlebar mounted Bluetooth speaker that's loud enough to hear even at high speed
 
An iphone 5 would be extreme overkill. You can get an older Android smartphone for $50 or less that will get you GPS functionality, and it doesn't even need to have a cellular plan of any kind. See the thread I created at http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/899104-GPS-for-cycling-queries?s=5d95e892ad2c0d48efa36c8e02f089e6&highlight=wayover13 to inquire about this. I've been experimenting with an old LG Optimus (Android 2.2) and can confirm that GPS on this phone works just fine, despite the fact that it is not active on any provider's cellular network. Many of these phones come with some GPS app already installed, but if you're not happy with that or want something more capable or up-to-date, you'll want to install the free (for the first 10 map downloads, anyway) OsmAnd app (you download it to the phone via a wifi connection--again, no cellular plan needed). As to visibility in direct sunlight, that will depend on the quality of the phone's screen: some have better daylight readability than others. I found that using a matte screen protector helps. Still, at high noon I find myself having to stop and find a shady spot to read the screen. But at other times of the day when the sun is at a steeper angle, the screen is pretty legible even without shade. Screen size varies a bit from phone to phone as well--obviously the larger the better. I have no problem reading mine when I have my glasses on. I haven't tried the audio directions.

Of course the phone can, as you suggest, be used for other things as well, which makes it more than just a GPS. You can do web browsing when you find a wifi signal, for example. Or, if you install a SIP app and set up a VOIP account somewhere, you can even use it as a phone when you have a wifi connection. So, there's a lot to be said for using these older phones as GPS units.

PS I was given a first or second generation iphone and was hoping to use it as a GPS but could not find any GPS app for an iphone whose operating system is that old (3.0.3, IIRC).
 
Thanks for your sound advice all of you !

" The extreme overkill " wayover is mentioning, is largely compensated by the multi tasking capacity of the iPhone5. Its not just a GPS telling you where to go left or right, if for $50 he has audio at all. In my condition, I need a phone too, to call for help if I have a breakdown somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It rains a lot in Belgium, (over 30l/m2 this morning ) so it doesn't look like wishful thinking to make sure you will not arrive at destination soaked with rain, there MTO comes in and is most welcome. I know it sounds a bit strange to want all this possibilities on a trike, but as a private pilot on Mooney for over 38 years, I got addicted to avionics playing wonderful tricks to permit the pilot to concentrate on the main task : just flying the plane and looking for conflicting traffic around. Change " flying " by " triking " and it becomes all clear. The POI's passing by are automatically highlighted, creating the opportunity to have a well documented closer look. The app " Find Friends " comes in nicely, and makes you traceable for the home team. Meanwhile in the background the bike app is logging your speed, the exact GPS-track you followed, the human watts produced, average heart beats and alarming excesses, the altitude-meters you overcame, the average pedal revolutions, trip time etc etc just to name a few, all of it can even be downloaded on your desk top computer if needed.
My e-trike goes rather fast at an average of 25 km/hr. with peaks up to 45 km/hr. The purpose is not just going fast and sampling as much km as possible, but to make the most of the trip and enjoy every moment of it with my wife who has the same Scorpion fs 26" trike.

Nice trips to all of you !

Scorpion

KEEP TRIKIN' IF YOUR BODY IS STRIKING !
 
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