adroid map apps?

[Wise Old Owl]

Not sure how I missed the thread Media instead of Geography?

Painted Turtle There are some apps that eat battery life in background - Most phones have a battery life App exstender that can be costomized. The Aptiva has a quick page that allows fast changes to bluetooth, backlight, gps, wifi, and something,,,,
The App exstender puts a heavy sleep on the phone at night and wakes in the morning.Its all hidden in the setting's menu So these thing need to be set up. To buy a phone like this and not read the speed sheet instructions is the biggest issue. I get two days with heavy use. The phone is my newspaper every day.


Looks like I am the only one so far that has posted that has Backpacker Pro. and paid for it... I like it, it works - it store little photos and adds a trip log thats stored to the cloud at Trimble Outdoors... At first it looked like I had to pay for each track hike - that didnt bode well - then I found I didn't need to do that. Yes you have to load the tiles of map prior to going.

[dornstar]

BY FAR the best Android map app is Maprika and create your own using their software. I've made Maprika maps for everything from the AT in Georgia to Busch Gardens to local trails here in Florida.

[Wise Old Owl]

OK great - don't make me work - post a short cut please.

[SGT Rock]

Go to my site bmtguide.com for bmt tracks and waypoints.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

[SGT Rock]

I find all this very very interesting. BUT I have stayed away from it for one reason and one reason only, battery life. My Tbolt eats up battery life like crazy. How are others doing using the apps and having their battery last more than 4 hours?

I'm not familiar with that phone. But with mine on airplane mode and no other appear going battery life is greatly extended. I haven't used it on a multi day trip yet though.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

[Wise Old Owl]

follow up to the above post of mine #21 - I played with the power app due to my use of Kindle while reading.... I increased the time out on the back light from three minutes to ten... and guess what the phone only lasts a day in GPS only mode. Even when I am turning the back light off when done manually.

[SGT Rock]

FWIW WOO, I see this as a back up to figure out where I am in case there is ever an issue. I don't see this as a full time on thing for my use. I would consider it a back up plan to real maps since I already have my phone with me.

[SGT Rock]

I just did a section in VA/WV and tested the app in field conditions. What I found was:

1. To initially get the satellites to track, you had to take it off airplane mode for a few seconds. Once it locked in you could go back to airplane mode. I'm not sure if this is a normal thing, or just with my phone - Samsung Galaxy S.

2. With airplane mode on, it still created a very accurate trace and I could make waypoints.

3. Battery use during this test was about 7% of battery per hour tracked.

I still think the proper application for this is for a quick "where am I" check and maybe for short tracks of walking to make sure you are going in the correct direction, for example (based on reading journals) like when someone is crossing one of the high passes on the PCT and the trail is covered in snow, it could help to make sure once you cross the pass you head in the right direction on the back side - as I have read, it seems sometimes hikers head off the wrong way to what looks right. A GPS in these cases could help.

I think if you want to do real trail tracking and waypoint creations like I do for the BMT guide, a dedicated GPS is still the way to go.

[WIAPilot]

IPhone has an app specifically formatted for the AT called ATTrails. It's expensive though as each map section costs $1.99 and there are 16 sections so that is almost $32, which I think is insane. It isn't as great by far as the AT Guide by David AWOL Miller, but it DOES show your GPS position as you are hiking up the trail. Also does a decent job of showing the stops along the way.