will smart phones soon be the king of offroad navagation?

[troyboy162]

i saw this today and it has lots of potential
http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170835

the smart phones can already be intagrated with SPOT messangers. will they continue to evolve into offline/offroad navagation? it looks like there is a certiain amount of work invloved to make this work right. the way i see android progression and the ease for a programmer to make a paycheck at the apps store...id guess it wont be long.

[Crinale]

smart phones do everything else, why not?

[troyboy162]

ive been able to read up on this and it looks to be extremely capable. one cool thing is that because its so new there are programs to cache unlimited amounts of satilite images/topos/road maps from sources that would not normally allow its use in this fashion. backcountry navagator also has the ability to impost .gpx files. both of these features are buggy at the moment, but things are still in the first stages. i would buy a 32 gb sd card and fill that sucker with google earth images in a heart beat if i had one of these phones.

[oly884]

Mobile phones are definitely heading that way. Hiking GPS, vehicle GPS/POI search/etc. Heck, even the tablet PC's (iPad, etc) are heading that way.

That being said, I would still prefer my laptop mounted in my truck, along with a compass and paper maps. The software is just as, if not more powerful, full size screen (which is not only easier to read, but far safer when traveling at speed), ability to hold all my music, videos, as well as offering me a place to upload any gopro vids or photos. And paper maps are a must. As much as I love technology, it's essential to have and understand how to use paper maps and a compass as they tend not to run out of batteries

For a more compact package, smart phones minimize the amount of gear (clutter) you have in your cab, and as stated, double as a GPS you can use for hiking. You could pick up a portable backpacking solar charger, and if sized right, you could keep your phone charged for extended backpacking trips.

I'll definitely be picking up the software to put on my laptop and compare to both Delorme Street Atlas and Delorme Topo USA 8.0.

[paddlenbike]

While it is technically possible, I think the lack of dedicated gps feature buttons (zoom, search for POI, etc.) on the phones will always make them more difficult to use in a moving vehicle. Even if my 3 week old HTC Incredible had an unlimited supply of maps loaded into memory, I still wouldn't use it over my dedicated GPS.

[mastacox]

While it is technically possible, I think the lack of dedicated gps feature buttons (zoom, search for POI, etc.) on the phones will always make them more difficult to use in a moving vehicle. Even if my 3 week old HTC Incredible had an unlimited supply of maps loaded into memory, I still wouldn't use it over my dedicated GPS.

Almost all vehicle GPS units are touch-screen units these days, and even my Garmin Oregon is 100% touchscreen. Touch-screen GPS units have shown themselves to be easy to use and intuitive- there's no reason you couldn't run the same software on any touch-screen hardware capable device (such as a smartphone).

[troyboy162]

the on screen buttons just make for a smaller widget with the maximum usable screen. almost all gadgets are headed this way thanks to the iphone/ipod touch blazing the path

Offline Topo Maps for Android

[troyboy162]

the desktop version i just downloaded is not as polished but downloading topos and black and white sat images is a breeze. also importing .gpx works like a charm...lots of potential here!

[troyboy162]

just feild tested the desktop version. its a complete slam dunk! very few features but its robust and does not hick-up. im really looking forward to the fancy android version

[Crinale]

sweet! so u shouldnt drive off the trail again? :P