Do you use a smartphone app as a SatNav? - read on

[Kritou]

The following is for iOS users but I understand there is an Android equivalent

I find stabbing at the the handlebar mounted iPhone’s screen to control it with a stylus or suitable gloved finger is a bit hit and miss, distracting and will probably be illegal soon

Recently I stumbled across an iOS feature called Voice Control, accessed via Settings>Accessibility>Voice Control (this is nothing to do with Siri (although Siri can be used to initially turn on the feature) This brings up a small blue microphone icon up top and from then on there are various plain voice commands you can speak to move around your phone. Examples are “zoom in/out” “swipe left/right/up/down” “take screenshot” “Go Home”, “Open Phone/Contacts” etc

Now, moving to the bottom of the Voice Control page is the sub menu “Overlay”, and this in turn has four sub menus – choose Item Numbers and this will then display small semi translucent numbers adjacent to each tappable icon on your screen, including all those in your preferred third party apps. Simply speak one of these displayed numbers and that icon will be “clicked”

So basically you can sit in font of your iPad/iPhone with your hands in your pockets and operate your device!

All this works very well both in the car and on the bike with my Pocket Earth and Gaia apps and I suppose Scenic, Waze and other Satnav apps will be the same. Of course talking to your phone on the motorway and from within a helmet is another matter. Initially I used one of the cheap Bluetooth headsets and it worked OK, but I now wear a single AirPod as it pairs seamlessly, the microphone is protected from wind noise and when the power fades it is simply swapped out for the other one. However I guess any Bluetooth intercom or integrated helmet system will work just as well

So far I have only used it tooling around town and have yet to test it in anger at speed. There are several other options to explore and use (including the interesting sounding Customise Commands) This serendipitous discovery is giving me hours of fun and may be of use to you too

 

[op46]

The finger poking at speed and possible damage/loss from a handle bar mounted system is why I keep my phone in my pocket and stop to review my location at major intersections or forks in the road if I don't know where to go next. I like this solution and will have to try on my Android. The Apple air pods is interesting too. I have been looking at a comm system to talk to my buddy and never thought about using the phone capability of it, instead looking at a dedicated device but haven't found one yet that I like.

 

[AZ7000']

If you crash and your phone ejected it makes it hard to call for help. Pocket is my preference.

 

[Kritou]

If you crash and your phone ejected it makes it hard to call for help. Pocket is my preference.

I also keep my good phone in my pocket and hotspot it to a cheap burner phone from eBay on the bars

 

[dmonkey]

If you do mount your phone on the bike, be sure to use a vibration dampener so the bike doesn't ruin your phone camera's optical image stabilizer. I have a Sena bluetooth setup in my street riding helmet and will turn on GPS narration when I need it, but I don't use voice command features, I pull over if I'm on the road and need to make a GPS adjustment on the phone. I don't like seeing other people on their phones driving or at traffic lights, so I avoid it myself. That said, I've had good luck with touchscreen riding gloves with the caveat of not using a screen protector. Adding a screen protector makes them a bit more picky, but it's easier (and in the USA much cheaper) to repair a phone screen than it is to repair fingers.

 

[Kritou]

Another bonus of using a burner phone as a satnav is the camera is inconsequential - in fact a preowned phone with a known camera defect should be even cheaper to purchase and much the same can be said of the battery state as you will certainly be powering it from an external source

I did destroy a previous iPhone 7 and bought an expensive anti vibe mount for it’s replacement. The current 6S burner however sits in an inexpensive RAM cradle (about $16) and over several thousand miles has defied rain, washboarding and a couple of drops!

BTW, if anyone is looking for a navigation app I can highly recommend Pocket Earth Pro that uses Open Street Map (OSM) data and does not require an internet connection to operate

 

[ByteOfTheCherry]

If you do mount your phone on the bike, be sure to use a vibration dampener so the bike doesn't ruin your phone camera's optical image stabilizer. I have a Sena bluetooth setup in my street riding helmet and will turn on GPS narration when I need it, but I don't use voice command features, I pull over if I'm on the road and need to make a GPS adjustment on the phone. I don't like seeing other people on their phones driving or at traffic lights, so I avoid it myself. That said, I've had good luck with touchscreen riding gloves with the caveat of not using a screen protector. Adding a screen protector makes them a bit more picky, but it's easier (and in the USA much cheaper) to repair a phone screen than it is to repair fingers.

Kyocera....military grade phones...that what I use...you can throw them/ride over them/sink them in water etc...coupled with OSM app

 

[dmonkey]

Speaking of the OSM app, is anyone familiar with a way to restrict routes based on speed limit and not just road type? Years ago there was a scooter nav app on Android that I'm pretty sure was built on Open Street Maps and let you limit your route based on speed limit as a numerical value. I haven't been able to find that again, but it or something like it would be useful for paved route navigation on the CT125 without having to plan the route in advance. OSM lets you avoid "motorways" and Google Maps lets you avoid "highways", but unfortunately both of those avoidances will still route you onto Colorado state highways with a 65mph speed limit. Setting a max speed in the vehicle profile's configuration in OsmAnd+ doesn't seem to pick a route of roads appropriate for the max speed either.

 

[m in sc]

ram mount with the rubber retainer it wont drop or fly out, have seen a wreck with a bike with one, phone stayed put. .02

 

[ByteOfTheCherry]

Speaking of the OSM app, is anyone familiar with a way to restrict routes based on speed limit and not just road type? Years ago there was a scooter nav app on Android that I'm pretty sure was built on Open Street Maps and let you limit your route based on speed limit as a numerical value. I haven't been able to find that again, but it or something like it would be useful for paved route navigation on the CT125 without having to plan the route in advance. OSM lets you avoid "motorways" and Google Maps lets you avoid "highways", but unfortunately both of those avoidances will still route you onto Colorado state highways with a 65mph speed limit. Setting a max speed in the vehicle profile's configuration in OsmAnd+ doesn't seem to pick a route of roads appropriate for the max speed either.

 

[ByteOfTheCherry]

U.K. based…a small country…so your question is way above 'my pay grade'...but works well for me.