What apps do you use on your phone to help when touring?

dduelin

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I guess I'm not a big app user. I use Weather Channel and Waze for weather and road/traffic info and Safari for everything else.
 

moddy

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Maps.me is a downloadable map to your phone that is important when there might not be a cell signal while using Google maps. It used to be the whole state but has since divided the state into different sections, freeing up more space on your device. One thing to watch if you select to navigate somewhere, is that it doesn't pass a turn by a few miles, then have you get back on the freeway to go back. It is free though.
 

jfheath

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Apps ?

None - I just have a Thick Phone to call out and receive calls. I'm not a fan of Smartphones, and won't have one. I just have the phone in my pocket, connected by Bluetooth to the Zumo. Navigation, music and access to the phone book are all controlled by Zumo.

I've been able to do this on all of my Motorcycle Zumos - 550, 660 and 590 (although the 550 had to be hard wired to the phone).

Weather ? The only thing that bothers me is the likelihood of snow or ice, and rides out usually involve some wind direction testing and cloud gazing to decide which direction to head off.
 

Mellow

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I use the garmin smartlink app on the phone so I can see the weather radar on the 590 as well as weather alerts along my route which is nice.

Other than that, I will sometimes use the allstays camp and tent app if I need to search out camping spots.
 

moddy

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with google maps, you can download offline maps. This solves the problem of not having a cell signal
It does until you've exceeded the area you were able to download. I think the file can be quite large 500mb, though less of a problem these days with a 64gb sd card. I'm pretty sure you can have a 7 state radius in the app of states you would like to have for 400 or 500mb.
 

BakerBoy

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Life360.com app for tracking and notifications to family in lieu of SPOT (yes, Life360 requires cellular data access, so it isn't for everyone ).
 

ST_Jim

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I think the bigger question is what gloves do you use that are touchscreen compatible!!??
 

Dave.David

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Is there anything that makes Gasbuddy better than looking for stations on Google Maps? I like that Maps shows gas stations ahead along the route.
So dose Gasbuddy. Top right of screen with Android is the word map.

I could be wrong but I don't think Google showed gas stations along the Route at the time I wrote that "GasBuddy is a must".

Of course GasBuddy does not give you routes so Google has the advantage there.
 
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I think the bigger question is what gloves do you use that are touchscreen compatible!!??
I have often wondered this as well. I have seen some online but cant find any in stock at my local stores to try, so I still havent got any.
This looks interesting. Pretty pricey for the once you would use it, but in the end, much cheaper than new gloves... https://www.nanotips.com/. I should just bite the bullet and give it a try
 
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I think the bigger question is what gloves do you use that are touchscreen compatible!!??
I currently wear Elkskin Ropers, from Aerostich, and while I DO think they are a bit over rated, they are compatible with my Garmin, iPod, and iPhone. I have not tried with my winter gloves, so don't know if they work. I never even THOUGHT of them being non-compatible 'til someone mentioned it- I thought all gloves were, since mine were!

This thread has been very helpful, since I just got my first smartphone- I've found 3 apps that work for me. Since I had an iPod Touch, I was familiar with some apps, but not ones which required cellular data access.

Thanks for the info!
 

Chance

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I use this app quite a bit.. its really configurable and pretty easy to understand. It allows tracking of pretty much everything I need to know and I can easily share that information with other riders...

The programmer that's running this is constantly updating it and adding new features. He's got an ongoing list of things he plans to ad and is open to suggestions.

Speedometer55

Give it a shot.

(Sorry for the giant sized screen-shots... dunno what happened there.. its an immensely configurable and useful ap.. I believe its called SPEEDOMETER and is available for IOS and Android)



































So this is a trip from the top of Mount Mitchell <highest point east of Mississippi, to the campground at Moonshine.> It shows speed, alt, and the map is configurable to show speed, altitude changes, etc. It also has a number of configurations that allow the control of your ipod, it will show updates on weather and traffic <i think> on a loop and has more, MANY more features I haven't figured out yet. It is definitely worth the download and for me worth paying the small registration fee.
 
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I use PowerAmp and now PowerAmp Pro all the time on my Galaxy 8+. It works great to amplify the sounds delivered by my bluetooth headset. I wear custom moulded earplugs to damp down the wind noise,, but those also reduce the audio gps, music, phone call levels. PowerAmp boosts that back up to decent levels again,, and still,, no wires or hardware amps required. I tried 2 or 3 other bluetooth audio amplifier apps,, and this is the only one that I have found that actually works,,, cheers,, Cat'
 
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