WASTING MONEY > GPS Boochee
Android as primary GPS?
jonb:
I thought about it, and with an otterbox or equivalent and powered by the bike it may be feasible, but I would rather use a dedicated GPS in conjunction with a conventional map on the tankbag. Having one device for all your electronic needs means you have a single point of failure, and having your GPS go out means your phone, mail, messages, electronic notes, intarwebs et al is also all gone. I cheaped out and got a Garmin Nuvi 550 as I couldn't justify paying over 3x more for a "motorcycle" GPS initially, although when I am ready to upgrade from this one I might go to the dark $ide for the MP3 player and better screen size.
If you do want to try it out, use an offline mapping program like Gaia GPS as you will undoubtedly be without network coverage if you get far outside of urban centres. Google map or mapping android for some other recommendations. I know of someone that is looking at mounting a 7" android tablet in a tank bag arrangement specifically for running Dual Sport Maps, compounding the issue with vibration/jarring and high levels of dust.
If you still are curious about it, put your phone in a ziplock bag and tape it to a good viewing location on your bike and do a ride out of town to see how well it may work.
statetailgater:
I use my Droid X mounted with otter box belt clip secured to the dash through two of the dummy switch holes. It works great as long as you have charger. No calls, but I have considered getting a helmet speaker system so I can use Pandora. The navigation app is great. It has satellite overlay option and real time traffic data.
canazei1200:
Download navfreeworld for droid.free up updated bt users so maps are upto date bluetooth instruction via headset. I use it as a back up to my tom tom rider which is very useful for the euro trips I do. Try navigating around italuan cities withput satnag. Good luck. I also sometimes use the phone to play music or listern to the radio as im going alond 40miles of very dull motorway will do that to you. Also have it connected to take calls but i dont really like talking and riding. I would use my phone for navigation as once youve downloaded the maps turn gps on on your phone and instant navigation and you dont use any data. Mounts that are watetproof for the galaxy s are about 10 pounds in uk so its a cheap way to go. You can also get usb charging sockets for 5 pounds to power up the phone if its not raining. Hope this helps. Nav free world free app from google play.
tg4360:
Even Google maps will let you cache map files for off line use so that in addition to stand alone GPS programs that are available, one can make the droid a very good GPS unit.
That said though, I've found that several times when I've left my phone in a vehicle in the summer, it had got heated enough that it shut down and wouldn't power up till it cooled off considerably so I'd be cautions about having it out in the sun, particularly if encased in something.
That's the only real reason I don't use it as a GPS on the bike. The hassle of finding an enclosure that allows touch screen use and the heat issue made me just keep a Nuvi on the bike for rolling GPS and I use the andriod for routing decisions.
(I'm also fond of paper so usually always have a paper back up stashed on the bike somewhere and my current route is always in the tank bag.)
TG
georgethegoat:
YES!
I use my galaxy nexus with the standard car mount on the windshield. I'm not 100% confident in its security so I resuction it every so often but it hasn't fallen off yet.
I bought a Powerlet-microusb cord online. It was overpriced.
It recently shit the bed on me and caused a blown fuse. Could've been because I rode through that monsoon on the gulf coast this past week and was riding through flooding that was 8", but I digress :nono.
In any case I love using my android. Get the CarHome Ultimate app and some way to power it.
PM me if you have any more specific questions.
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