Using a cyclo computer phone app

[chesterbull]

Firstly, apologies if this is in the wrong place, and I've had a quick search for existing threads on this but to no avail.

Does anyone have experience of using the free cycle computer apps that you can download from the Android marketplace?  I have a Samsung Galaxy and was thinking of buying an expensive cycle mount for it (Dahon), but thought that would be a waste if the apps werent up to much.

Any thoughts or comments gratefully received.

Thanks.

[nextSibling]

I've played with a couple - sorry, was a while back, can't remember which off the top of my head - but I do remember concluding none of them offered anything more that I wanted compared to Google's MyTracks, which is a surprisingly capable app for a freebie and seems quite stable. Not specifically designed for cycling, but provides all the usual stats I might like and a downloadable gpx file record for a trip. Biggest problem with phone-as-bike-computer using GPS is battery life, in my experience. I ended up getting a dedicated GPS for any rides longer than a couple hours.

[Wobbly John]

A few of us have played with GPS apps for symbian (Nokia) phones. There are some threads on the GPS board.

Problems of using a phone like this are:

Battery life (I have solved this by using Nokia's charger with a dynamo)
Readability - it is difficult to read the screen in bright light.
Water resistance - you can only use them if you are a 'fair-weather rider'

[chesterbull]

Thanks for the help above.

Hadn't realised about the readability issue.

[Jaded]

I'll add another consideration to Wobbly John's list - that of device redundancy. If you use the phone for guidance and it fails/goes flat etc. you have neither a guidance device nor a phone!

I have an app on my iPhone, but the phone stays in the top-tube bag on the bike for phone calls and in case of emergencies.