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my tracks gps android app

my tracks QR code my tracks icon

The My Tracks app for Android has replaced my old Garmin 60CS.

I have used a Garmin 60CS for about 6 years now.  In those six years, smartphones (and GPS for that matter) have come a long way.

The 60CS can only hold about 512MB of maps, which isn't that much if you are on a roadtrip. When I got an iPhone, I was excited to try the GPS features there but I didnt really want to pay $40 for an app. I used Motion X GPS Drive and was pretty happy with it. The only downsides were that it needed cellular data connectivity for the maps to update properly and there is no data tracking / analysis tools that I liked so much on the 60CS so I usually take both of them on long trips. The other downside is that the iPhone is still a phone and since it's only a 3G - no multitasking. This means that any SMS, twitter alert, phonecall, or reminder completely stops the GPS which then needs to be restarted.

I recently bought a new truck that came with built-in navigation and it works pretty good, the interface is kinda weird and the graphics are a bit lame. This navigation system does not require a cellular connection and gets all of its map updates from a DVD mounted behind the unit. Again, no data tracking tools built into this system like the 60CS so again, I have taken both on road trips.

After getting my first Android phone a few weeks ago (Samsung Galaxy S Captivate) I hadn't had much time to really poke around and figure out all of the differences between Android and iOS ...until this week.

I downloaded a bunch of GPS add-ons and apps that do all sorts of things.

My favorite so far is My Tracks. This app is made by Google and is really clean and simple. It has a bunch of excellent features that I love:

  • Data tracking with metrics like:
    • Total Distance
    • Total Time
    • Moving Time
    • Elevation (min/max/gain)
    • Grade (min/max)
    • Speed (current, max, average)
    • Lat/Lon (current)
  • Data graph - really nice visualization that tracks elevation and speed over time
  • Integration that shows your "track" overlayed on Google Maps
  • Export to Google
    • Includes export to Google Maps for viewing on a PC and/or save to My Maps
    • Included export to Google Docs for spreadsheet analysis and historical tracking over time

I plan to continue testing this over the holiday break and then put it to a full test on my way to Vegas in January.

Here's the link to download the app: http://www.appbrain.com/app/my-tracks/com.google.android.maps.mytracks

Here's a video from Google describing all of the features
Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
  
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