Great new Google GPS application, like iMapMyRun

Triathlon Forum
1

I saw Dan’s post about the iMapMyRun application this morning. It reminded me I wanted to let people on the forum know about a similar, and very cool, application that Google just released.

If you have the TMobile G1 (or any of the other forthcoming Android phones), there’s a great application called MyTracks that you can use to track all your workouts. http://mytracks.appspot.com/?utm_campaign=en_US&utm_medium=ha&utm_source=en_US-ha-na-us-bk-mm&utm_term=mytracks

It uses GPS to record a route, which it displays on a live Google Map while you’re riding. You can insert waypoints along the way to get intermediate readouts of mileage or elevation or speed.,

When you’re done, with a couple of taps, you can automatically upload your route into Google Maps, completely over the air. Or you can email a link to the route out to your riding buddies.

Once it’s in Google Maps you can do lots of interesting things with it. For example, there’s a “View In Google Earth” link that with one click will let you see a 3D view of any route, complete with elevation.

Here’s a route I did recently uploaded to Maps if you want to see the results:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=113616518980475156311.000463772309a4d45e1fe

If you click the endpoint marker you’ll see the stats for the ride (and notice that I was going slow that day!!)

I do work at Google… but I honestly think this thing is the coolest smartphone app I’ve ever seen, not posting this here out of some misguided marketing attempt.

Alex

2

Does this allow live tracking by others? ie: I’d like to get something (less $ the better) so that my wife can know where I am while out on long rides and not panic if I make a wrong turn and don’t get home right when I thought I would.

Anyone know of anything? It’s almost 2010, I figure it should be easy by now.

Thanks.
Norm

3

Does this allow live tracking by others? ie: I’d like to get something (less $ the better) so that my wife can know where I am while out on long rides and not panic if I make a wrong turn and don’t get home right when I thought I would.

Anyone know of anything? It’s almost 2010, I figure it should be easy by now.

Thanks.
Norm
theres been a number of things available in the last few years… consumer electronics show even 3 years ago had quite a few small devices for tracking children,dogs etc.
Instead of broadcasting your location everywhere though you polled them using a website main reason it saved battery life in the devices.
I believe you can buy the units (forgot the name myathlete ?) device that folks are renting at races now I think I read and do that as well.
There are a few blackberry and iphone apps as well(sorry I don’t have specifics going off of memory but google for it you will find some.

Problem is most of them charge monthly fees (the devices) I belive you can get some free apps for blackberry and such to do just what you want.
Also some cell phone plans have an option for like 10 bucks a month where you can track your cell phone location remotely if you lost it or say its your childs phone you can ping it and it will report back the location… Any application thats going to continuosly report is going to drain the battery quickly so one than can be polled would be the best bet if battery life is an issue.
I’d be willing to be this next year will have tons of options available to do just what you want.

4

I clicked on the link and just got a map, no end-point marker, no track, no nothing. Did I miss something?

5

Does this allow live tracking by others? ie: I’d like to get something (less $ the better) so that my wife can know where I am while out on long rides and not panic if I make a wrong turn and don’t get home right when I thought I would.

Anyone know of anything? It’s almost 2010, I figure it should be easy by now.

Thanks.
Norm
instamapper was one I tried it works okay but it would stop all of a sudden but you just fire it up on blackberry or other phone.

http://www.instamapper.com/