Iphone for motorcycling

[Cormanus]

I am the last guy that needs to give advice on something like this so I wont. I will just tell you my story. I resisted also for a long long time an a smart phone. I have the Iphone 4 and it does everything I want it to do. I am living in the stone age as well. I like the navigation, weather, find stuff, no matter where you are at. I just learned how to text last year.

It is amazing what all these things are capable of that I dont even know about. I like the camera also. The only advice I can give you at all is to find somebody a lot younger than you like your kids or grand kids to help you. My nieces, nephews are all in their early 20s and have helped me out a ton.

I have been wanting to get some kind of system to where I can hear directions or answer the phone with some sort of speaker system you put in your helmet but I dont even know what its called.

Like someone said those apps use a lot of juice on the battery but I bought a couple of cords to hook to my battery tender pigtail that can charge my phone. I will try to post some pics later of it.

OlF7Guy, there are plenty of systems that allow you to do this. Look up Scala Rider and Sena to name but two. They give you a bluetooth system that connects to your phone, a controller that mounts to the outside of your helmet, speakers that stick to the inside of your helmet and a microphone. I don't have one, but I believe you can make and receive calls on them as well as listening to music or GPS instructions. You can also link up with other riders so you can chatter away on rides.

There are other solutions. Mine (thanks to Pterodactyl) is a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones which can be used in place of earplugs just to keep the noise out. They are truly amazing but expensive. I have them connected to my phone (which is also my GPS) via a little bluetooth gadget I bought and that allows me to hear the GPS instructions and music when I feel so inclined. It's not as neat as the bluetooth kits specifically for motorcycles, but my primary goal was noise reduction as well as hearing GPS instructions. The high fidelity music is a bonus.

[CIP57_imp]

Not really sold on the 4G with Sprint, my wife just upgraded to the 5C and the signal is worse at our home than the 4S. The processor is faster when connected to Wi-Fi but signal strength seems to be off a bit.

I also never had a blackberry when they where hot a few years ago, had a flip phone until two years ago. The phones are great for reminders for business appointments as well as doctor etc.. Great for taking pic's of equipment serial ## that I can't read anymore and enlarging them so you can see them

[the Ferret]

Well it may be a moot point anyway. Just found out they want $30 a month for a " data package". I thought it just came in the phone. Don't know that I would use it $30 worth every month. I have 2 GPSs now a Tom Tom and a Garmin. The only thing I would be gaining would be the apps for the gas station and hotels etc. There are gas stations practically everywhere, and hotels aren't THAT hard to find.May be a waste of money for me. Probably should just stick with my stupid phone.

[meowguy_imp]

Any smartphone will do.

Bluetooth head set in helmet. Handlebar bracket for mounting, or just start your app and stick the phone in your pocket. The turn by turn directions in your ear are all you really need.

Navigation app? I am using Navigon. It's OK 99% of the time, but when it screws up you are hopelessly lost. Try finding Two-Lights Lobster Shack on Cape Elizabeth Maine. It just takes you around in circles and up and down dead end streets.

[The Spaceman_imp]

This may have been unique to me, but I found GPS on the phone to be highly unreliable exactly the times I really needed it. The more "out in the boonies" I went, the less likely the phone was to have good navigation data.

When we were in the Smoky Mountains last summer, if I had any issue with cell reception (which means anywhere up in the mountains) the phone GPS didn't work. The Garmin worked most of the time, although even that unit had issues like early in the am when we were on the "wrong" side of the mountains and it couldn't pick up satellites.

[Elipten_imp]

And that is why you need an app with the maps downloaded to the phone rather than relying on the map data being sent to you via the cell connection which is how the apple map and google map apps work.

Your car gps has the map data for the nation stored in it so no cell connection needed just gps satellite signal. If you want the phone to work the same you have to buy an app that does that and get the maps. I have an app that will work anywhere in the world so long as I download the maps for the area I am traveling in advance.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[The Spaceman_imp]

And that is why you need an app with the maps downloaded to the phone rather than relying on the map data being sent to you via the cell connection which is how the apple map and google map apps work.

Your car gps has the map data for the nation stored in it so no cell connection needed just gps satellite signal. If you want the phone to work the same you have to buy an app that does that and get the maps. I have an app that will work anywhere in the world so long as I download the maps for the area I am traveling in advance.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Do you have a recommendation for such an app? Android?

Assuming you have downloaded the map, if I'm not mistaken you're still not going to get data on your location, direction of travel, etc. Effectively you have a digitized paper map, which is useful of course, but not GPS.

[the Ferret]

And that is why you need an app with the maps downloaded to the phone rather than relying on the map data being sent to you via the cell connection which is how the apple map and google map apps work.

Your car gps has the map data for the nation stored in it so no cell connection needed just gps satellite signal. If you want the phone to work the same you have to buy an app that does that and get the maps. I have an app that will work anywhere in the world so long as I download the maps for the area I am traveling in advance.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That makes a lot of sense.

[Elipten_imp]

I am an Apple iOS user but the apps may exist for Android. I have no idea. I highly recommend checking reviews as the app world is very dynamic and I get what I thought was good at time of purchase years ago and do not keep looking for the latest and greatest. I use pocket earth for my international travel. For a car like GPS experience I have no experience as I have a GPS for my car but I just purchased Tom Tom as on sale currently for $25 USA version. I warn you the GPS apps are expensive apps. But you can install on multiple devices and are good for life free updates usually.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[the Ferret]

Saw my son in laws Android 5 last night. Holy cow that thing will do everything but wipe your mouth after dinner. Crazy the amt of info in that thin little phone.