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Could a Droid replace a TomTom Rider? (Big list of questions)

WarMace

Newbie
Nov 10, 2009
49
0
I am an avid motorcyclist and lifelong geek.

I am looking for a GPS for my motorcycle but find the TomTom Rider 2($400) and the Garmin Zumo ($600) to be too dumbed down for my taste.

I know I may want a lot in my wish list below, but believe the droid just might have what I need to do it all with one device as opposed to the phone, gps, ipod I am using now.

My thoughts on mounting would be to find a waterproof enclosure similar to below so I can do basic operations with a stylus and the majority of operations from voice commands.

waterproofhold.jpg


*Negative comments about operating a motorcycle and a GPS will go unanswered. Please trust me that no one wants to ride safer than I do, and I never operate my current GPS while moving.

OK, here we go: Updated answers in RED

Can I use the voice search feature with a bluetooth headset? (even when stopped, searching for an address stinks with gloves on) YES

Does Google Navigation have an option to avoid unpaved roads? (My digiwalker sent me down a logging road once....never again.) NO

Does the Droid do A2DP? Its a delayed connection, needs work, but works.

Can I listen to music and navigation at the same time over bluetooth? Yes, Music is lowered or muted?

...if I can, can I receive a call without interrupting navigation and have it mute/pause music? Music is paused, see below

How does Navigation behave when there is an incoming e-mail or Text message? See Vid below, call come to front and hides Nav, but you can hear Nav commands. Txt is icon at top of screen.

Can you create a loop/route with Google Navigation? (Motorcyclists tend to plan out scenic loops, because often riding is for pleasure and not for A to B driving.)Not currently

...if so can these routes be shared with other Droids wirelessly? Not currently

Can you share locations wirelessly? (ie. I can share my destination to another person in my address book) Yes, With Latitude

Is there a weather layer for navigation, so I can zoom out to see an incoming storm and route myself around it? No/Not yet...

New Questions:

Can you use voice commands to search for and dial a contact, or voice dialing?



Notes pertaining to Motorcyclists:

-Will need a stylus that works on a capacitive screen through the enclosure.

-Cornering and bumps tends to activate vertical orientation, might need to stabilize/pivot mount.

-So long as you give the Nav time to download the entire route to the finish, GPS will work with now signal. Rerouting does not work outside coverage area.

I'm sure this may spawn more questions, but those are the biggest questions for now. Thank you! :eek:
 
A few things:

  • You can't use a stylus, it's a capacitive screen.
  • Bluetooth voice commands do not work (yet). I think there's an upgrade coming for this.
  • Don't know about the unpaved road thing. You can look at the route that's mapped out though.
  • Receiving a call while navigating will pause the downloading of map data (that uses 3G) but will go back to nav after ending up the call.
  • I haven't found a way of setting multiple waypoints (route/loop). Just point A to B.
  • There's no wireless sharing. I guess you can save a destination as a contact and then email/SMS the contact info to another user.
  • No weather layer.
 
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Thank you ginigma this is great information,

Receiving a call while navigating will pause the downloading of map data (that uses 3G) but will go back to nav after ending up the call.
This is interesting, I assumed when you started navigating, it downloaded the entire trip, so if the last half hour of my trip was in a dead zone, I am still good to finish. Am I understanding this correctly?

You can't use a stylus, it's a capacitive screen.
-Hmmm, interesting. I bet I could find something conductive that would overcome this.
 
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You don't lose the map when you lose service, I can confirm this 100%. If anyone wants video proof I can link my youtube video of it. It saves the entire route to your SD card, so if you have a really long route just give it a few minutes before you head into a area with no service.

Also I would like to tell you that you might have a lot of trouble with the accelerometer because in my car when I have my system up and the bass hits it shakes the windshield enough to confuse the Droid and it starts going from landscape to portrait mode like crazy.
 
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Not sure about the bluetooth issues - but the fact that it has a capacitive screen could be a dealbreaker for you. Basically, many types of gloves will not work with this type of screen. Most standalone GPS units work fine even if you are wearing gloves.

I don't know if A2DP works, but I frequently listen to music while using the nav. The music pauses when a voice prompt plays, then resumes automatically.
 
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Can I use the voice search feature with a bluetooth headset? (even when stopped, searching for an address stinks with gloves on)

Does Google Navigation have an option to avoid unpaved roads? (My digiwalker sent me down a logging road once....never again.)

Does the Droid do A2DP?

Can I listen to music and navigation at the same time over bluetooth?

...if I can, can I receive a call without interrupting navigation and have it mute/pause music?

How does Navigation behave when there is an incoming e-mail or Text message?

Can you create a loop/route with Google Navigation? (Motorcyclists tend to plan out scenic loops, because often riding is for pleasure and not for A to B driving.)

...if so can these routes be shared with other Droids wirelessly?

Can you share locations wirelessly? (ie. I can share my destination to another person in my address book)

Is there a weather layer for navigation, so I can zoom out to see an incoming storm and route myself around it?

I'm sure this may spawn more questions, but those are the biggest questions for now. Thank you! :eek:

1) Yes
2) No
3) I think so
4) I think the nav pauses the music to say what it has to say or lowers the volume greatly. I never tried it but I'm pretty sure this is how it works.
5) It will pause your music. It will also go into its own window that will close when your call ends and return to the map as a result
6) You just get a little notification in the bar across the top of the screen, just like in all the other apps
7&8) I don't think so, sorry. All I see is A to B driving.
9) I think you can do this via Google Latitude.
10) Not at the moment, but this is a good idea and they really should implement it! :)
 
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You don't lose the map when you lose service, I can confirm this 100%. If anyone wants video proof I can link my youtube video of it. It saves the entire route to your SD card, so if you have a really long route just give it a few minutes before you head into a area with no service.

Also I would like to tell you that you might have a lot of trouble with the accelerometer because in my car when I have my system up and the bass hits it shakes the windshield enough to confuse the Droid and it starts going from landscape to portrait mode like crazy.

Great, thank you. Does it reliably go back to horizontal mode after the bump passes?

I don't know if A2DP works, but I frequently listen to music while using the nav. The music pauses when a voice prompt plays, then resumes automatically.

Seems it is capable of A2DP, just not working/enabled. Hopefully when its rooted we can get this.

5) It will pause your music. It will also go into its own window that will close when your call ends and return to the map as a result
6) You just get a little notification in the bar across the top of the screen, just like in all the other apps
7&8) I don't think so, sorry. All I see is A to B driving.
9) I think you can do this via Google Latitude.
10) Not at the moment, but this is a good idea and they really should implement it! :)

Thank you very much. So an active call hides the Nav? This is not good if I have a turn coming up, can I still hear prompts to take the next exit for example?

They have a special capacitive touchscreen stylus. Finger Touch Stylus Pen for Apple iPhone (Black/Silver) - WE20831STYUNITOUC-01 - Buy.com

Of course the price is amazing and then the shipping kills it. :mad:

Heh, that looks like what I would need, so long as it works through the waterproof casing, I suspect this will take a bit of trial and error to break new grounds.


Thank you all for your answers, I tried to research as much as possible but these things don't seem to be discusses in the reviews.
 
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A2DP does work, although the pairing seems to be a bit flaky. See my other post http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/15950-a2dp.html. Also, the Nav App is Beta so you may see some of the features you are looking for added in the future.

Thanks for the info, most of my rides are 30 minutes or longer, so long as it eventually connects I think I can live with that. Hopefully the responsiveness is improved though.


Another feature I needed has been added, yay! Latitude History.

earth.jpg


Enable Latitude History Here!
 
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Well with my system it doesn't stop until I turn it down, but I have noticed that if I corner at a high speed it does the same thing although it corrects itself quickly. If you are going to be riding lots of twisting roads it might be a problem, also is it a sport bike? If so then when you lean into a turn I can imagine it will have the same problem.
 
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Well with my system it doesn't stop until I turn it down, but I have noticed that if I corner at a high speed it does the same thing although it corrects itself quickly. If you are going to be riding lots of twisting roads it might be a problem, also is it a sport bike? If so then when you lean into a turn I can imagine it will have the same problem.

Good thinking.

Although it is a Sport-Touring bike, the vast majority of my riding is long distance on highway, and usually centrifugal force makes items not shift when gracefully cornering, just increased vertical G-force. If it became a problem, I could customize the mount to self level much like a drink holder does on a boat.

When it flips does it interupt/stop/close apps? Or is it just annoying? If it corrects itself I think I can accept that as a minor annoyance.
 
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