Best GPS App

tech

Hi

What GPS apps do ye guys use, to track your daily skiing / speeds

Free is best

cormee

tech wrote: »

Hi

What GPS apps do ye guys use, to track your daily skiing / speeds

Free is best

Ski Tracks.

(free is rarely best)

Rew

Ski Tracks is good as it detects when you are on a lift. Id take the speed read with a pinch of salt from any of them though.

cormee

Rew wrote: »

Ski Tracks is good as it detects when you are on a lift. Id take the speed read with a pinch of salt from any of them though.

Yes, the speed (over short distances) can be hit and miss, it's good at estimating altitude and distance travelled though.

Northern Monkey

Rew wrote: »

Ski Tracks is good as it detects when you are on a lift. Id take the speed read with a pinch of salt from any of them though.

You mean I didn't really do 80.3mph?

MadsL

Really enjoying ski tracks.

How inaccurate is the speed...does it exaggerate or underestimate?

Northern Monkey

MadsL wrote: »

Really enjoying ski tracks.

How inaccurate is the speed...does it exaggerate or underestimate?

I'd say exaggerate. If you have a car stick it on when driving to see how much the difference is.

cormee

Northern Monkey wrote: »

I'd say exaggerate. If you have a car stick it on when driving to see how much the difference is.

I've said it before in this forum - Ski Tracks clocked me at 45kph walking into town once. :eek:

Rew

A good quality Garmin clocked a friend of mine at 141kph in perfect GPS signal conditions, downhill skiers do 130kph so the 141kph is pretty unlikely. The apps and info are good especially average speed and distance travelled but I wouldn't quote the top speed figure to anyone as being genuine.

fannymagee

Uuuggghh, the ennddlesss Ski Tracks discussions in the bar. They were amusing at first, now they make me want to shoot myself straight through the face. There's also always some genius milling down the easy slopes, trying to outdo their mates ski tracks from yesterday ;-)

AlternateID

Northern Monkey wrote: »

I'd say exaggerate. If you have a car stick it on when driving to see how much the difference is.

How accurate is your car

Ski tracks is a bit of entertainment. Last year we put two iPhones (5s and 4s) in the same backpack pocket and got different results.

I've often forgotten to turn it off when I get on the bus in Hintertux.

Northern Monkey

Rew wrote: »

A good quality Garmin clocked a friend of mine at 141kph in perfect GPS signal conditions, downhill skiers do 130kph so the 141kph is pretty unlikely. The apps and info are good especially average speed and distance travelled but I wouldn't quote the top speed figure to anyone as being genuine.

We have a competition every year to see who gets top speed. I "may" have won it one year by leaving the app switched on when getting a bus between resorts

hawkwind23

Ah go on sure , downloaded!
I'm sure once i get out of the pizza ill go brave and fast

fannymagee

hawkwind23 wrote: »

Ah go on sure , downloaded!
I'm sure once i get out of the pizza ill go brave and fast

See my previous post haha ;-)

MadsL

I left it on today as I drove home - seemed pretty spot on...

Quii

Do you need to be on 3g to use these apps?

would love to use one but my data roaming bill would be astronomical I'd say!

AlternateID

Quii wrote: »

Do you need to be on 3g to use these apps?

would love to use one but my data roaming bill would be astronomical I'd say!

My roaming bill is virtually nothing if I don't make calls, never send pictures messages and don't stream video.

Rew

Quii wrote: »

Do you need to be on 3g to use these apps?

would love to use one but my data roaming bill would be astronomical I'd say!

No uses gps

cormee

Quii wrote: »

Do you need to be on 3g to use these apps?

would love to use one but my data roaming bill would be astronomical I'd say!

The only thing it would need data for is downloading the map, I'm not sure if it does it automatically, or if it does it when you switch to the map tab. Maybe open the map tab somewhere with WiFi so it forces a download of the map, then turn off 3g when you get on the slope and see if it works OK without it.

MadsL

Turn data roaming off in your settings...

But the app actually doesn't use data. Only gps.

cormee

MadsL wrote: »

Turn data roaming off in your settings...

But the app actually doesn't use data. Only gps.

What about the map? It needs data to download that.

I'd imagine the other features would work without the mapping though.

Fattes

cormee wrote: »

What about the map? It needs data to download that.

I'd imagine the other features would work without the mapping though.

Ski tracks works without a 3G signal as do similar apps like Strava, no idea how they work without it, don't really use them myself but yep they can operate without data charges

cormee

Fattes wrote: »

Ski tracks works without a 3G signal as do similar apps like Strava, no idea how they work without it, don't really use them myself but yep they can operate without data charges

It uses Google Maps and Google Earth so it won't download a map without data enabled. If you don't have a map downloaded, and 3g disabled, and you switch to the Map panel/tab it won't show a map.

Tracking features such as speed, distance travelled, etc, features that rely on inbuilt hardware such as accelerometers, and on GPS, will work fine. But there will be no Map Preview.

MadsL

cormee wrote: »

It uses Google Maps and Google Earth so it won't download a map without data enabled. If you don't have a map downloaded, and 3g disabled, and you switch to the Map panel/tab it won't show a map.

Tracking features such as speed, distance travelled, etc, features that rely on inbuilt hardware such as accelerometers, and on GPS, will work fine. But there will be no Map Preview.

It shows the shape of your runs though without the map..