planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
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chrisbrown12
Posts: 74
Joined: 10 May 2011, 3:23pm
Location: West Sussex

planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by chrisbrown12 »

hey everyone sorry to be a bore, but im planning on using my HTC phone as a GPS the only thing i am worried about is battery life especially if things get difficult. anyone else used a HTC? planning to use one? or has any information for me? thankyou
stewartpratt
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Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by stewartpratt »

Battery life will be a problem, it's the biggest achilles heel of smartphones. I've got a Desire (which I think is generally regarded to have slightly better battery life than the HD) and with the GPS running full-time in airplane mode I reckon I could get 7-8 hours out of it. If you want a phone signal as well I reckon it'll do 6-7h. If you want to use the camera then reduce that significantly.

You can, of course, carry a second battery. Not ideal if you want a continuous log of your travels, but perfectly fine otherwise. You should be able to get a genuine HTC one for £15-20; I would avoid others. You can also get desk chargers which will simultaneously charge the battery in the phone and the spare battery (at least you can for the Desire, I'm sure they must be available for the HD as well).

And you'll be wanting Viewranger. You'll also need to preload the map cache if you want to run it with the radio off. If that's what you need then let me know, I'll send you a patch for Mobile Atlas Creator which will do it.

Personally I still prefer my old eTrex Vista C for on-the-bars road navigation - it's weatherproof and gets two days out of a pair of AAs - but prefer my smartphones for rides with occasional map checks, and for logging (and clearly they can log online as well, which the eTrex can't).
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al_yrpal
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Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by al_yrpal »

I have used one on tour to check my position navigating with a map. I have a three day extra battery. I am fitting a dynamo to charge that because I camp.
Battery life wont let you use it as a sat nav.

Get a 5000ma/hr battery

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
chrisbrown12
Posts: 74
Joined: 10 May 2011, 3:23pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by chrisbrown12 »

stewartpratt can you give me more info on the ranger thing and the mobile atlas creator?

with the battery life how long will i get with the 5000?
stewartpratt
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Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by stewartpratt »

Viewranger is available on the Android Market. You can get a trial version, but the full version is only a quid or two and it's well worth it.It has pretty much all the functionality of the eTrex units plus some other features. Mobac is a desktop application which can be used to download map tiles and build a cache which you can place on the phone, so that you have access to maps without a data connection. If you download it from the Internet it doesn't support Viewranger, but I've modified it so that it does.
chrisbrown12
Posts: 74
Joined: 10 May 2011, 3:23pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by chrisbrown12 »

ill deffinately download viewranger thankyou
chrisbrown12
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Joined: 10 May 2011, 3:23pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by chrisbrown12 »

i cant find this anywhere, 5000ma/hr battery?
kyussmondo
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Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by kyussmondo »

I use my iPhone 4 and it lasts fine throughout the day as long as the screen isn't constantly on and the GPS isn't constantly tracking. I am assuming the Desire HD will be pretty similar. Turning off stuff like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, push email etc will also help save battery life. Also as you have an Android phone you can always take a second battery.

There should also be plenty of apps on the Android Marketplace as well as you don't really want to rely on Google Maps, especially in Scotland where signal isn't great.
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al_yrpal
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Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by al_yrpal »

Tecknet dual port iEP380 5000 ma/hr With light use this gives three extra charges. So, 4 days use

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
delport
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Joined: 1 Jan 2011, 9:16am
Location: hampshire

Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by delport »

kyussmondo wrote:I use my iPhone 4 and it lasts fine throughout the day as long as the screen isn't constantly on and the GPS isn't constantly tracking. I am assuming the Desire HD will be pretty similar. Turning off stuff like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, push email etc will also help save battery life. Also as you have an Android phone you can always take a second battery.

There should also be plenty of apps on the Android Marketplace as well as you don't really want to rely on Google Maps, especially in Scotland where signal isn't great.

Should be okay in the central belt of Scotland [glasgow/edinburgh] we have radio and satellite tv in Scotland nowadays :D
Although my location is Hampshire, i'm Glaswegian.Further north i'd agree, it's wilderness.

This is turning into a very expensive JOG trip, high price mobile phone, expensive new bike, even a spare battery is £25-.
Just about to send your pannier stuff off Chris.
chrisbrown12
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Joined: 10 May 2011, 3:23pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: planning on using my HTC desire HD as GPS

Post by chrisbrown12 »

thankyou derek, ill let you know when it arrives! and thankyou to everyone else.
ill look on places like amazon for a second battery, i was thinking about a desk charger but obviously i wont be able to use it whilst riding will i? only when i stop.

i was just hoping to pick up a battery, cheap decent price, that will last longer than the one i use for everyday use, i will check amazon for a cheap decent second battery.

any other advise or tips will be greatly appreciated!
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