Overlanding Phone Apps

[Ray Hyland]

I use one obvious app, and maybe a less obvious one, when I travel:

The Obvious one is Google Maps for Blackberry. Yes, I am the last person in the world still carrying a blackberrry... the app is not as good as the iphone version, but still usually gets me to my meetings on time.

The less obvious one is the Facebook for Blackberry app. I find that almost all of my friends and family are on Fb now. So with one simple status update I can tell anyone who wants to know (mom, wife, kids), where I am and that I am ok. It is not a well written app, as it doesn't access a lot of the functionality of FB, but when I am on the road, the simple status update is usually all I need anyway.

[Ray Hyland]

It's not really a navigation app in the sense of some of the others, it's a digital map display with GPS overlay, but its ability to allow import of non proprietary maps makes it a great add on tool.

For anyone who doesn't know, David does the cartography in the Overland Journal, among many other places, so when it comes to maps he knows what he is talking about.

:-)

[Hill, Bill E.]

Question on the 'Back country Navigator' app when used on the Droid (Motorola)

When I had the basic 'free' app, it would lock up my phone, a lot! Many force closes, and messed with other apps, even when the BCN wasn't in use.

Once I removed the BCN app, everything was OK on the phone.


Anyone else run into this?

Is it only with the 'free' app?

I liked the app, but I'm hesitant to buy it, it if it corrupts my phone like it has.

Thanks for any insight.

[sandalscout]

Bill, I have run both the free and the pay version of BCN on 3 phones with no ill effects. When I upgraded my phone via Amazon, I got a store credit, so I bought the pay version for my newer Inspire. Seems to play nice, maybe a software/hardware issue, or perhaps a particular version that was causing the issues.

[mog]

Question on the 'Back country Navigator' app when used on the Droid (Motorola)
Anyone else run into this?
Is it only with the 'free' app?
I liked the app, but I'm hesitant to buy it, it if it corrupts my phone like it has.
Thanks for any insight.

I've used the free version and now use the paid version on my Motorola Xoom (tablet) running Android 3.2.1 with no problems. The only issue I have had is trying to download too large of map tiles to use off line. The downloads work fine if I select smaller sections at a time.
I'm very happy with the program.

[cnynrat]

Question on the 'Back country Navigator' app when used on the Droid (Motorola)

When I had the basic 'free' app, it would lock up my phone, a lot! Many force closes, and messed with other apps, even when the BCN wasn't in use.

Once I removed the BCN app, everything was OK on the phone.


Anyone else run into this?

Is it only with the 'free' app?

I liked the app, but I'm hesitant to buy it, it if it corrupts my phone like it has.

Thanks for any insight.

Bill - I've run both the free and paid versions on my Moto Droid without any issues.

[Hill, Bill E.]

Thanks for the info guys. I may clean out my phone of apps I no longer use (and the ones my kid has installed) and try it again.

Could be something else was interfering with the BCN. I liked the app, so I really want to try it again, and purchase it.

[clcoyle]

Star Walk is one of my all time favorites.

Attachment 76758

[Lostmanifesto]

This is more designed for highway desnitations but I loved iExit on my road trip from Detroit to SoCal. Saved all my favorite places and it alerted me when any of them were coming. Also tells you what's coming at the next 5 exits ahead of time. You can even select what type of fuel stations you require (diesel).

More here: http://www.jordanmay.com/2011/07/road-trip/

Here is the entire trip with the latest post being the summary: http://www.jordanmay.com/category/road-trips/

[cactusjk]

is Backcountry Nav recommended for the iPhone?