Good (Best) GPS App for Droid?

[Falkon]

Good morning ExPo world,

I recently moved to Android from an iPhone and I am looking for a good GPS/track mapping App. Has anyone used any good ones? What are the pros and cons?

Am I better off getting a dedicated GPS unit? I am thinking about doing this, but would not mind trying out an App for the Droid first. I have found that the Antenae on my Samsung Infuse is pretty slow at pickup and has quite a lag time, and of course, if I Am not getting any cell signal, no map.

Thanks!

 

[evldave]

Good morning ExPo world,

I recently moved to Android from an iPhone and I am looking for a good GPS/track mapping App. Has anyone used any good ones? What are the pros and cons?

Am I better off getting a dedicated GPS unit? I am thinking about doing this, but would not mind trying out an App for the Droid first. I have found that the Antenae on my Samsung Infuse is pretty slow at pickup and has quite a lag time, and of course, if I Am not getting any cell signal, no map.

Thanks!

Backcountry Navigator is generally the best-reviewed of the GPS/tracking/hiking app. The Samsung GPS units were notorious for being horrible, I think the Droid has a much better GPS unit, give it a try before you buy an external unit.

 

[Falkon]

Thanks evl. Backcountry Navigator looks to have good reviews so I am going to give it a try. I really wish there was an app that would integrate something like Google or Bing maps with terrain and roads with tracking/hiking/elevation change, etc. I was on the verge of trading the Samsung in for an iPhone 4, but ran out of time. The GPS is not very good, not as good as my 3GS.

 

[gahi]

run the free trial 1st. We tried it on my FIL's G'zone commando, and I didnt like it very much. I think on a tablet it would be a lot better. Maps take forever to download for offline use.

 

[Saratoga]

There is quite a variety of software available. A short rundown for you

Google Maps, Google Maps Latitude, Google Navigation

These need data access to download the maps at a variety of quality and precision levels.

MM Tracker

There are two of these in the market, one is free and the other is about £6 (UKP). These can load map tiles from other programs and then output tracklogs in GPX format which Google Earth can recognise. I am using it with Memory Map tiles here in the UK and it is most excellent to use

UlysseSpeed

This just shows you the speed/elevation you are driving/walking in and sat on the dashboard at night using 'dashboard function' gives you a HUD (Heads Up Display) on the windscreen

GPS Status

Erm, yeah, title says it all really

 

[ssssnake529]

run the free trial 1st. We tried it on my FIL's G'zone commando, and I didnt like it very much. I think on a tablet it would be a lot better. Maps take forever to download for offline use.

I have it on my G'zone Commando and love it.

I download all the maps ahead of time, so waiting for the maps to download isn't an issue for me. I've got most of the state of Utah already on my phone, so I don't even have to worry about downloads at this point.

 

[evldave]

I have it on my G'zone Commando and love it.

I download all the maps ahead of time, so waiting for the maps to download isn't an issue for me. I've got most of the state of Utah already on my phone, so I don't even have to worry about downloads at this point.

You can also use Mobile Atlas Creator to download maps on your computer, save to your phone and not have to deal w/the slow downloads directly in the program.

 

[Falkon]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I am giving Backcountgry navigator a try and will look at the others mentioned as well.

I will say the GPS on the Samsung Infuse is all kinds of suck. If it has a good signal it's fine, but get in the edges of the woods or in the steel conyons of downtown, and it takes for ever to locate.