GPS touch screen route drawing?

[bpreynolds]

What I"m asking for here may not even exist but does anyone know if any of the current or previous generation GPS allow for touch screen route drawing?  Question make sense?  If so, which ones?  Thanks.

[Wayne Orwig]

Note 4. I just pull out the pen and touch the waypoints I need to add. Some software like Copilot, allows me to move waypoints that are already there. I can use my finger, but the pen is much more accurate.

[bpreynolds]

Note 4. I just pull out the pen and touch the waypoints I need to add. Some software like Copilot, allows me to move waypoints that are already there. I can use my finger, but the pen is much more accurate.

Thanks for chiming in, OMG.  I'm silly stupid about this stuff, so I ask, is Note 4 an application available for mobile devices, right?  It's not a GPS per se by itself, correct? 

[janusz]

Thanks for chiming in, OMG.  I'm silly stupid about this stuff, so I ask, is Note 4 an application available for mobile devices, right?  It's not a GPS per se by itself, correct?

It is Samsung cell phone http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/phones/galaxy-note/samsung-galaxy-note-4-at-t-charcoal-black-sm-n910azkeatt/. Copilot is mobile device app.

As far as you original question goes, TomTom Rider 400 allow you to design your route by tapping on the screen but to be absolutely honest I tried once and it is like (forgive my french) curving in sh*t. I use my laptop or workstation with 37" monitors to design my routes in Tyre or MyRoute-app then upload to TomTom GPS unit. Tried many different applications (Google Maps, Base Camp, etc.) but those two are best suiting my requirements and working habits:)

[pehayes]

To answer your original question, No, I don't think any GPS can or will ever do that.  The GPS routing is dependent upon accurate road following.  No way you can maintain that digital accuracy with a sliding finger (no pun intended).  I suppose a GPS could be programmed to do that task, but you'd spend half the time driving into oncoming traffic, through parking lots, and into the woods.  A GPS route has to use your lane of travel and stay on the road.  Your finger can't do that accurately.

As others have mentioned, there are a variety of ways to create 'routes' using proprietary or open source software.  Mostly these work by having you establish 'waypoints' such as towns or intersections or points of interest, etc.  Then you make a selection list of these waypoints in the order of travel.  And then the GPS decides which roads to use based on your navigation preferences.

I tried TYRE and didn't like it.  It can create routes, but it uses waypoint selection and then chooses its own roads.  If there is a neary curvy road I would like to use, it seemed very difficult to force the device to use the road I wanted.  I found that concept a lot easier in MapSource which evolved into the less-friendly BaseCamp.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[bpreynolds]

It is Samsung cell phone http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/phones/galaxy-note/samsung-galaxy-note-4-at-t-charcoal-black-sm-n910azkeatt/. Copilot is mobile device app.

As far as you original question goes, TomTom Rider 400 allow you to design your route by tapping on the screen but to be absolutely honest I tried once and it is like (forgive my french) curving in sh*t. I use my laptop or workstation with 37" monitors to design my routes in Tyre or MyRoute-app then upload to TomTom GPS unit. Tried many different applications (Google Maps, Base Camp, etc.) but those two are best suiting my requirements and working habits:)

Much thanks.  Are any of the Tom Tom devices Bluetooth compatible?  Reason I ask is I don't have a pc anymore, just an ipad that generally won't connect via cable to most devices; thus, to load a map from it onto my GPS?

[ITSec]

Much thanks.  Are any of the Tom Tom devices Bluetooth compatible?  Reason I ask is I don't have a pc anymore, just an ipad that generally won't connect via cable to most devices; thus, to load a map from it onto my GPS?

Bluetooth compatibility in GPS devices almost never supports file transfer connections - it's generally configured for audio only. Which iPad do you have (since their connectability varies pretty dramatically from one model to another)? Also, software than will run on an iPad for GPS mapping may be pretty hard to find, and will need to support the appropriate file format for Garmin or TomTom (since the format converters definitely won't run on an iPad).

[janusz]

As ITsec said, bluetooth cannot be use to move route files from you computer/smart device to TomTom GPS. You can use Bluetooth to transfer route files between two TomTom Ride 400 devices :) The only solution would be to use SD card(s).

[sturgeon]

There's no good reason a touch-screen GPS could NOT implement that. But I know of none that do. With regard to accuracy, it'd be easy to implement 'snap-to-road' such that your finger or stylus only has to come close to a road for it to add a via-point there, on the road and not off in the bush somewhere. Google Maps does it, no reason why a GPS can't do it as well.

[charlie b]

The old Garmin I had 'could' do it, kinda.  It would allow you to touch a place on the screen, AND, if there was an intersection or POI at that spot it would ask if you wanted to be routed there.  If no intersection or POI then you are outta luck.  Another issue was that touching the screen could also mean something else, like resizing, so sometimes I could get it to work and sometimes not.  One of the reasons I don't use the Garmin much on the bike anymore.

Does your iPad have the ability to use a mouse?  That was what I use with Copilot and my phone or tablet when my finger is too 'fat'.  Not useful when on the road, but, when I stop for lunch I will use it for route modifications and such.  I have a mini size mouse that I take on trips these days.  Handy for surfing the net and such too.

[sturgeon]

The old Garmin I had 'could' do it, kinda.  It would allow you to touch a place on the screen, AND, if there was an intersection or POI at that spot it would ask if you wanted to be routed there.  If no intersection or POI then you are outta luck.  Another issue was that touching the screen could also mean something else, like resizing, so sometimes I could get it to work and sometimes not.  One of the reasons I don't use the Garmin much on the bike anymore.

Garmin have never been noted for the fabulousness of their user interface 

[rboe]

With GPS software running on phones, look into the GPS apps and see if any support that. The phones themselves support (at least the newer smart phones) touch screens. Easier to get an app that runs on a phone than find a stand alone GPS box.

That said, the easist, I think, would be to transfer data via the SD card which means an Android phone and a computer. Bigger the screen the better for the computer. :)

I bought a refurbed Samsung S5 (no stylist) that will NOT be a phone, just a micro tablet, that is working out fairly well. Still in the experimental stage. GPS is not a primary function, but I added the HERE you are GPS app to play with.

[Guzzer]

 If you already have a Mac and an iPhone, you might try this.  It first was designed for bicycles, I think, but works great for Guzzis!
I use the app "Ride with GPS" on a Mac computer to make routes.  You can try it for free to see how easy routes are to make.  I then pay a small monthly fee to Transfer the routes to my iPhone and follow the routes I made.  It gives turn by turn.  Few dollars a month & you can do only months you ride. 
I love to ride county paved roads and avoid highways & it lets me make a route designed like that. Quick and easy!  I also download free tracks (GPX files) from the Adventure Rider website.
You can also record your ride tracks and add pics & share with others.

[charlie b]

With GPS software running on phones, look into the GPS apps and see if any support that. The phones themselves support (at least the newer smart phones) touch screens. Easier to get an app that runs on a phone than find a stand alone GPS box.

That said, the easist, I think, would be to transfer data via the SD card which means an Android phone and a computer. Bigger the screen the better for the computer. :)

I bought a refurbed Samsung S5 (no stylist) that will NOT be a phone, just a micro tablet, that is working out fairly well. Still in the experimental stage. GPS is not a primary function, but I added the HERE you are GPS app to play with.

My Copilot app is running on an S5 now and it does support that.  First got it when I had a Motorola Droid, then an S3 then the S5.

When I had the iPhone 5 I tried Tom Tom.  Didn't like it as much as Copilot on the Android.

Have not tried Garmin for the phone but it is out there.

[bpreynolds]

I'm stearing away from phone GPS due to the fact that my phone (an HTC Inspire) is hardly inspirational.  And too, if your GPS is tied to the phone signal doesn't that mean you have no GPS is dependent on the network? 

[Aaron D.]

If you can get the map to offline in Maps, you can run with no phone signal at all. Plus you can transfer routes any number of ways.

[Wayne Orwig]

And too, if your GPS is tied to the phone signal doesn't that mean you have no GPS is dependent on the network?

NO, though there are still a lot of people out there that think that for some reason.
Most phones and tablets have true GPS hardware. So at home on WiFi (or a cafe or whatever) you load free or cheap software and load free or cheap maps, and you have a full blown GPS with a full independent hardware.
Plus, if you do have an online connection, you can get additional things like live traffic updates.

I gave up on my overprice Garmins years ago.

[rboe]

Newer smart phones use three forms of GPS: GPS, A-GPS, Glonass. Your standard GPS, Assisted GPS (where it uses information from cell phone towers to help increase accuracy - I don't know if this will work for a device not being used as a phone - no sim card or account), and finally Glonass, the Russian version of GPS. I believe there will be a Chinese system in play in the future and I suspect many phone will add that one too.

My Samsung Galaxy S5 pinned me in the back yard and then followed me around the corner of the house. Seemed to have less than one meter accuracy. Much less.

Thinking out loud here, but I "believe" your better cell phones have much better CPU's in them than your stand alone GPS as well as more internal memory. In any event, this phone (and the iPhone) seem to kick butt over my Tom Tom. If anyone really knows chime in!

[sturgeon]

One big advantage for me is that motorcycle-specific GPS units are waterproof, the controls are glove-friendly, and the electrical connections are much more rugged. My newest GPS is even integrated with the bike and can display bike-specific data (voltage, oil temp, etc, etc).

My cell phone would last about a day and a half mounted on the bike before it succumbed to dust, water, vibration, or me punching it in frustration because it didn't work well enough.

[Aaron D.]

I still prefer to use my phone to generate directions, then either remember them or make a note card. Then I turn off the phone.

[Wayne Orwig]

My cell phone would last about a day and a half mounted on the bike before it succumbed to dust, water, vibration, or me punching it in frustration because it didn't work well enough.

My Garmin broke the Garmin motorcycle mount. I also had a Garmin power connector fry when it got wet.
On the other hand, I have used my phone attached to the handlebars for over 8 years with no issue other than replacing a couple of cheap cables that I damaged.

[charlie b]

I have yet to break a phone on the bike.  With the fairing on it I even leave it mounted in light rain.  Been on dirt roads and some rough paved roads with no issues.  FWIW, I broke a car type Magellan GPS by mounting it to a bike.  FYI, I use RAM mounts and they are screwed into the mirror mounts on the handlebars.

My S5 has about 10k miles on it.  The pervious S3 had about 10k miles on it as well (I only use them for GPS on trips).  I only put about 4k miles on the iPhone.

[charlie b]

Oh, and, yes, the touch screen.  I do wish it was easier to use with gloves on, but, my auto Garmin is just as difficult to use with gloves.  If you want, just apply the 'sticky' touch things to your gloves or add some conductive thread.

Now, my brother's beemer has an integrated Garmin.  He controls it with knobs and such on the handle bar.  No touch screen needed.