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Waterproof Case


Guest paulee2

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Guest wiiman2012

Going by the homepage for the size of the phone

http://www.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/productFeatures.do?pinfoId=3296&directoryId=6001&treeId=3745&tab=0

It seems it will fit into this...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcycle-Handlebar-Waterproof-Desire-Mobile/dp/B004ZPTH3W/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

all I did was search google for... phone handlebar mount waterproof

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Hi, can anyone recommend a rigid waterproof case and handle bar mount for cycling with please?

I also am a keen biker and, amongst other apps, use MM Tracker (uses off-line OS maps) for my biking and walking trips. I did a search on Google and came up with these links:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-717212.html

http://www.amzer.co.uk/search.php

Regards

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I also am a keen biker and, amongst other apps, use MM Tracker (uses off-line OS maps) for my biking and walking trips. I did a search on Google and came up with these links:

http://www.bikeforum...p/t-717212.html

http://www.amzer.co.uk/search.php

Regards

Do you know where I can download a MM Tracker from? All the links I've tried say it has been removed. I'd like to try the free version first.

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Do you know where I can download a MM Tracker from? All the links I've tried say it has been removed. I'd like to try the free version first.

Memory Map made the developer withdraw it from Play Store but it is available at: http://www.androidpit.com/en/android/market/apps/app/com.meixi/MM-Tracker. The developers website is: https://sites.google.com/site/mmtrackerinfo/

I've been using it for 2+ years and it's superb.

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Memory Map made the developer withdraw it from Play Store but it is available at: http://www.androidpi...eixi/MM-Tracker. The developers website is: https://sites.google.../mmtrackerinfo/

I've been using it for 2+ years and it's superb.

The Android Pit link doesnt work. When you click install it says the app has been removed.No worries though I found it elsewhere.

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Guest Rico_89

Why don't you guys try Run Keeper. It's completely free and has the best and most programmable audio coach I've ever used. Also everything is backed up online where you can create routes, edit your activities and join a street team with your friends so you can compete with each other.

I've tried a few different apps, endomondo, cardio trainner pro etc but nothing is as good or has as many features as Run Keeper.

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Why don't you guys try Run Keeper. It's completely free and has the best and most programmable audio coach I've ever used. Also everything is backed up online where you can create routes, edit your activities and join a street team with your friends so you can compete with each other.

I've tried a few different apps, endomondo, cardio trainner pro etc but nothing is as good or has as many features as Run Keeper.

Thanks for information. Does it use off-line maps? i.e. stored on the SD card or do you have to have internet connection to download them?

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Guest paulee2

Thanks guys for your replies. Last year we used my friends iPhone for a 1000km ride into France and it was really good, except for the battery life. This month we are completing the north to south of France and I'm taking my G300. With two phones and a spare battery apiece this should work even better. I'm particularly after a rigid plastic waterproof case and I guess if the G300 dims are similar to other phones I'll just wander around some of the phone shops until I ifnd something that fits.

BTW, we use "Route You" for our guiding and this seems to work pretty well, although I'm not sure that it works offline or not yet on the G300. One thing I have noticed on the G300 is that the longer routes react slowely and a little "jerkily" when zooming in and out or dragging to a different place on the map. This doesn't appear to happen with a small UK route I've tried on it so it may be down to the size of the mapped route we are using.

I haven't tried any other routing programmes but would love to hear of recommendations. Cheers, Paul

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I use Bikehike.co.uk for planning. It uses OS and Openstreetmap in the UK and just openstreetmap outside uk. Export your route as a GPX file and load it into the navigation app of your choice. I plan to use Bikecomputer Pro version http://bikecomputer.roproducts.de/ (you can load GPX routes in the pro version only) as I like the free version and can use offline openstreetmap maps on it.

I'm also now experimenting with MMTracker which seems to work ok in the UK if you have the memorymaps installed for it.

I've also tried mapmyride web site for route planning but the gpx export does not seem compatible with a lot of other apps/devices.

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Guest Rico_89

Thanks for information. Does it use off-line maps? i.e. stored on the SD card or do you have to have internet connection to download them?

I tired a few things today on a run I did but it seems that even though it uses google maps you need data on for the actual maps to load. I did have success loading the map, using data before I ran then switching it off as soon as the map loaded, and that worked but I assume if I had zoomed in or out I would have lost the map view.

I use RunKeeper for logging and coaching me on my runs and cycling routes so I never have data turned on, I just use GPS and when I get home I turn on my wifi and then RunKeeper uploads my results automatically. During my running/ cycling I don't have it on map view, just data view so speed, pace, distance etc are displayed. One cool thing I tried today was that I paused the run, pressed the camera button within RK, took a picture and then started everything back up and continued. When I upload my run through wifi and checked the map view, on the RK website, the picture showed up on the map exactly where I took it. I guess it would be handy as a photo journal of a long bike trip some where, oh and the pic was displayed/sent to everyone on my street team.

Edited by Rico_89
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I tired a few things today on a run I did but it seems that even though it uses google maps you need data on for the actual maps to load. I did have success loading the map, using data before I ran then switching it off as soon as the map loaded, and that worked but I assume if I had zoomed in or out I would have lost the map view.

I use RunKeeper for logging and coaching me on my runs and cycling routes so I never have data turned on, I just use GPS and when I get home I turn on my wifi and then RunKeeper uploads my results automatically. During my running/ cycling I don't have it on map view, just data view so speed, pace, distance etc are displayed. One cool thing I tried today was that I paused the run, pressed the camera button within RK, took a picture and then started everything back up and continued. When I upload my run through wifi and checked the map view, on the RK website, the picture showed up on the map exactly where I took it. I guess it would be handy as a photo journal of a long bike trip some where, oh and the pic was displayed/sent to everyone on my street team.

Thanks for the info. I'll stick with MM Tracker. I agree it's not as sophisticated as the other apps mentioned in this topic. For me the major benefit of it over other apps, is that it uses off-line OS maps in real-time without the need for internet connection, and that's what I want when I'm biking and walking. I can use Memory Map on the PC to create routes and save the gpx file on the phone's SD card. I then upload the .gpx file and am able to navigate, and track my position, using MM Tracker on the phone.

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Guest paulee2

I also did the same check as Rico_89 today and had the same results! I've emailed the Route You help team for further information but I do seem to remember reading somewhere that Google Maps are not able to be used offline.

Rob4x4, where did you eventually find the M-M Tracker link that worked please?

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Guest Rico_89

@diddydavro, ah navigation isn't a part of my training, seeing as in London I know where I'm running and plan the routes around national parks and rivers taking up to the Thames.

@paulee2, you can use Google maps offline, just press the menu capacitive button, then press "Make Available Offline", after that just choose the area you want and it downloads the maps so you don't need data turned on to navigate. I also tried this with Run Keep but even though they use the same maps, as Google, it still didn't work.

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Guest paulee2

Thanks for this good news re. Google maps offline Rico. Sorry if I'm being really dim, but what is the "menu capacitive button" and where will I find it please?

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Guest Rico_89

Thanks for this good news re. Google maps offline Rico. Sorry if I'm being really dim, but what is the "menu capacitive button" and where will I find it please?

Capacitive buttons are the buttons on the bottom of your phone. The one on the far left is the "Menu" button, the middle one is the "Home" button and the far right is the "Back" button. Some phones have more than three. When you load Google maps then just press the "Menu" button on the left and select "Make Available Offline", then select the area by moving the map and pinch zoom then select "Done" and it will download the area of the map, you selected, to your phone for offline use.

440x330-huawei-ascend-g300-keys.jpg

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Guest paulee2

Hi Rico, thanks very much for your help and explanation. I tried this via the mapping site and it didn't work so I went into Google Maps directly, moved to the area we are travelling in and selected the largest area it would allow me to save offline. This is now downloading and I'm anticipating that it will work! Brilliant, thanks again, Paul.

P.S. I'm new to Android and smart phones but with the support from this forum I'm tempted to try to install the ICS upgrade, although my phone appears to work very well on GB.

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Guest Rico_89

Ah yes Google Maps the App, I never use the site ;) .

You can save more than one area so if zooming out didn't cover the complete region you'll need, then just repeat the procedure and download a new area. You can view the areas you've downloaded, in the Google map app, by pressing the "Maps" button on the top left, then press "My Places" from the drop down list and finally slide to the left to view the "OFFLINE" maps you've downloaded.

I would advise you to check everything out before you go on your trek, maybe download a local area and go for a quick bike ride to see if everything is working the way you'd expect it too.

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Guest paulee2

That's really kind of you thanks Rico. I've downloaded the areas that I'll be riding through (took a long time) and I've also downloaded a short local route to check it with. I'm hoping that the Route You guiding system will also recognise this and I'll let you know, if you're interested. I see that you have upgraded to ICS. Would you recommend it and would I get significantly better battery life?

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Guest Rico_89

That's really kind of you thanks Rico. I've downloaded the areas that I'll be riding through (took a long time) and I've also downloaded a short local route to check it with. I'm hoping that the Route You guiding system will also recognise this and I'll let you know, if you're interested. I see that you have upgraded to ICS. Would you recommend it and would I get significantly better battery life?

I wouldn't recommend upgrading to ICS before you go on your trip :) .. personally I'd leave everything the way you're comfortable with using it, until you get back, and who knows maybe ICS will be released by then :P . As for battery life.. well I haven't been on gingerbread for sometime but I don't think it would be a reason for upgrading though.

Also I have navigated, by car using google maps I downloaded and it did work, however when I took a different route, it didn't reroute me. I knew where I was and once I got back on the plotted course it started giving me directions again. Not a big deal because you can see your position on the map so it's easy to get back on route. However now I am using Sygic for my driving sat nav needs, because it turns your phone into a TomTom and everything is offline, even address searches. People have navigated all over Europe with it I have to say it is awesome but I don't think it will be suitable for cycling as it basically expects to route you as if you're driving..

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest paulee2

I now have some more information to bring this thread up to date.

I found a good range of phone cases and mounts from a company called Ultimate Mobiles and ordered a waterproof soft case with zipped sides and an adjustable handlebar mount. This came the next day but there was a fault with one of the zips and I emailed UM's to point it out and to enquire about more durable cases. They came straight back to me and asked if I wanted to exchange it or have a refund. It turned out that they are only 30 mins drive from where I live so I popped over and checked out several of their cases. I came away with a hard plastic tough case for use in any weather and a universal holder for use in fine weather. This will allow me to have full use of my phone whilst attached to the mount, which isn't possible with the hard case because it isn't a dedicated Huawei case. The service from this company was excellent and they have several very exciting developments in the pipeline, such as a universal waterproof hard case that will work with Huawei phones.

After spending several hours experimenting with my mapping system I tried downloading a different app that uses the "Route You" mapping system. This is from a Spanish company called Ulugh (youlook) and is pretty good because it offers a few different mapping layers, including OpenStreetsMap, they are also happy to reply to queries and have offered me advice on a couple of occasions. I found that OSM work reasonably well in offline mode and they recommend using this system. They also suggest a "workaround" for the offline mapping. This is, setting the cache expiration to cover the length of the trip, open the map screen and set to OSM and zoom in to the mapping level to be used for the route. Then simply navigate through the route steadily to allow all of the map tiles to be downloaded into cache. As they pointed out this is not the most elegant solution, but one that should work well enough.

Of course, using the phone for mapping requires me to set it to maximum brightness and this, together with the anti-glare screen protector I've fitted, is generally acceptable. I also set the "screen time out" to the maximum available of 30 minutes. All of this really does use up the battery life very quickly so I've invested in a 12000mAh external power pack. This ebay Chinese product had good reviews and it does seem to very impressive - time will tell! BTW, does anyone know how I can set my phone up so that the screen in permanently on, rather than the maximum 30 mins available via the display settings menu please?

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Guest foobert

Assuming that you have it plugged into that external battery pack continuously while on a ride, there is a toggle in the Developer Options to keep the phone awake whilst charging. I think that should do what you're asking for.

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I also did the same check as Rico_89 today and had the same results! I've emailed the Route You help team for further information but I do seem to remember reading somewhere that Google Maps are not able to be used offline.

Rob4x4, where did you eventually find the M-M Tracker link that worked please?

I did a google search and found the .apk file for download on a gps forum site. I didn't keep the link but it wasn't hard to find.

Which external battery pack did you get?

Edited by Guest
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Guest paulee2

Hi foobert, thanks for this info, it will do the trick. I've now realised that the "backlight" option apparently allows you to do the same thing and prevents the display turning off. Checking this does look like it will work.

Hi Rob, the battery pack is here -

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...E:X:RTQ:GB:1123

The unit appears to be solidly constructed and if looks are anything to go by it should be very useful. Backup from the seller was good and very helpful even though, like the instruction booklet, the English is not quite there yet! I charged the unit yesterday and it took almost 10 hours using my phone charger. I've tried it briefly on the two phones that I have and it works fine. Like the mapping system, I'll know more in a couple of weeks time and I'm happy to report back again then. Thanks for the MM Tracker info.

Edited by paulee2
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