The decline of stand alone sat nav

Interesting on D37 Dual Sport message Board a rider just posted:

"I've ridden desert dash, RFK, and Beaumont charity ride, maybe another. The app that I use reads GPX files that are transfered to my phone over USB cable. It's the same cable I use to charge my phone. I bring it to the table with me and plug in to the promoter's laptop. Then it's a simple drag and drop for them."

No one here has mentioned that they can down gpx file to phone via USB?

If it's an Android phone, sure. An iPhone, I'd simply give the promoter an SD Card and then I put that SD Card in my Wireless Card Reader and open the GPX file with Galileo Pro on my iPhone 6 Plus.

normally, a usb cable is the expected transfer medium for standalone gps's, older hardware, kids toys, production equipment, etc

when people think of their phones, they think of nfc, wifi, bluetooth, or just emailing things- but yes, the usb cord will work

USB is the most common interface on all Lap tops so that is what phone GPS users should be thinking if they want service at events. I take it that that some phones don't have a micro USB so users need to provide their own special cable.

i woulda said every android phone would charged via micro usb so will communicate micro usb

iphones change some, and have a proprietary cord- i think that's the only one.

the android users could get one dude to get the tracks off the computer table, then come back and crowd-share it over wifi/whatever and save the organizer some time. so much faster to just zap it around to 20 devices at once.

iPhone's are not a USB Storage Device, so even though you could connect to the organizers Windows computer via USB port, unless they were running iTunes, the computer would not 'see' the iPhone. But, as I pointed out earlier, using a wireless SDCard reader to plug into the Organizers computer via USB will accomplish the same thing. Then the GPX file/s could be wirelessly transferred to any iPhone/s by Wi-Fi or AirDrop to all iPhone/iPad users in the group.

The bottom line is that sharing GPX data with any smartphone is relatively easy these days if the smartphone user comes prepared - which doesn't seem to be the case with many of the Dual Sport GPS users from what Jerry tells us.

Promoters don't like that, they want signature on liability form before rider gets anything. Plus at some rides riders get to choose between many optional loops and then some have Adv & DS. so all do not ride the same Tracks. Sign in is open several hours the night before and a couple hours the morning of start.

Jerry, I think the point is that todays smartphones are not as limited in importing/exporting data as they once were.

Agree at least with Android, appears to act just like new generation Garmin.

However, I think it will be very long before more than 5% of riders show up with them. They now have something that works just fine and is very robust. "Phones on handle bar" is a phrase that probably will not be used by many serious dirt riders.

DOH ! I completely skipped over the part where people sign magic pieces of paper. I think that's my subconscious / opinion about legalize shining through. Good point !

One would be a fool (or very poor) to put on a motorcycle event open to the public without liability insurance.

The AMA insurance requires two large liability signs and then each participant, worker, and spectator sign a form with a witness identified.

Decisions, decisions.
For the past couple years, about this time of year, I start looking for a GPS unit for the bike. I'm considering upgrading my phone, so I thought this thread would be helpful. Lots of good info, don't get me wrong. But I think I will just purchase another 4 or 5 DeLorme Atlas' and have fun looking at them.
The only time I've used GPS on my phone is when I am looking for a restaraunt or a certain store in an unknown city. Very little, in other words.
I also don't stick to the plans very well. I might leave for a destination thinking I will take route A and end up switching mid way to route B.
Sorry for the OT derail, just needed to sort it out and sometimes writing about decisions helps make the best one.

Try Co Pilot. Set out base route, drop waypoints so you go where you want to go, save the route. When you load the route it comes back up with your waypoints. Easy, very quick

My main reason for not using a phone for navigation on a motorcycle is durability. A phone is not waterproof or dust proof no matter what case you have.
If you drop your bike in a creek or ride in a rainstorm the phone will drown and a GPS just goes for a swim. If you crash hard the phone will be trashed and the GPS will be scratched. Engine vibration is another killer of phones, they are not made to be used in a paint shaker, just stuck in a teenage girls back pocket.
You can change the batteries in a GPS if it runs out of power.

I've got Co-Pilot on my tablet. Have not been impressed with it or it's ease of use. unless they've updated it a lot in the past year. I may break out the tablet and try it again if so.

My Samsung S6 active is IP68 rated for dust and water tightness. It's also shock resistant. The USB port is waterproof without a flap. All without a case, but I put a case on it for extra protection.

My S4 Active was in use on my bikes for over a year and still going strong, but the S6 Active is just nicer, except it doesn't have a replaceable battery like the S4. With a waterproof USB port, I can charge it in the rain though.

please see this almost FOUR year old phone....
http://gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_rugby_pro_i547-5019.php

that I have been using on dual sport, super moto, and more than anything else, a kdx on fairly tough dirt bike rides for more than two and a half years.

it is waterproof, dust proof, and rugged enough to not care about creeks, trees, rainstorms, our the vibrations encounter while zip tied to the bars of a drz or kdx.

still don't believe phones are tough? ok, watch this...


a lot of people bury their heads and repost the same things (similar to what you have) about phones, and do not respond when I point out the points made are incorrect, or outdated.

the current crop of phones blow away my current (almost fours year old!) device. and yet this weekend it will navigate 300 miles of street, and hopefully, about 60 miles of single and double track, if I can stay on the bike.

tldr, or watch the video....
smartphones are waterproof, dust proof, and vibration proof.
they have removable / replaceable batteries, work fine without cellular service, are just as accurate (usually more accurate) as stand alone devices, and have more sharing capabilities.

but hey, it can't be that good, and easy, cannit?

Your main reasoning unfortunately is based on ignorance of the technology,

Source? This is not the 80s with discrete components like in your old transistor radio. With SMT, I have a very difficult time believing a phone can be affected by vibration.