Tracking Your Running, Walking, Cycling, Hiking, Etc.

[jarofclay73]

I have been faithful to an app named "Distance Meter" because it tracks my walking very accurately and has made strides to become better. But, the main reason why I have been faithful is because the developer has said that it will also incorporate saving your data and using maps to track your walks. I also paid $2.99 for it. It's been more than worth it so far.

Well, today a couple of new apps have come out that will try to best Distance Meter.

TrackThing Lite and Trailguru are FREE and appears to have the features I'm wanting. The next few walks I'll use these apps and report back here what I find compared with the features of Distance Meter.

[Hondamaker]

I have been faithful to an app named "Distance Meter" because it tracks my walking very accurately and has made strides to become better. But, the main reason why I have been faithful is because the developer has said that it will also incorporate saving your data and using maps to track your walks. I also paid $2.99 for it. It's been more than worth it so far.

Well, today a couple of new apps have come out that will try to best Distance Meter.

TrackThing Lite and Trailguru are FREE and appears to have the features I'm wanting. The next few walks I'll use these apps and report back here what I find compared with the features of Distance Meter.Please tell me your favorite, cause I use these apps too!

[jarofclay73]

I just checked out both new apps and their respective websites. It appears Trailguru could be the one to beat.

The Trailguru website is already being used by a lot of people who already have expensive GPS devices. You can see everyone's tracks and their stats. Also, you can use add-ons to check the tracking out on Google Maps and Google Earth.

I have to test both of them for their accuracy.

Also, I noticed that TrackThing Lite has a feature to prevent auto-locking. Trailguru doesn't. I wonder if the GPS on Trailguru still works after the iPhone auto-locks? That's usually why these type of programs have a feature to prevent auto-locking. If the GPS on Trailguru works after the iPhone auto-locks, that would save tremendously on battery life. That could mean you could use the iPod at the same time without fear of killing your battery.

After about 2.5 hours of use with Distance Meter, it uses about 60-75% of the battery.

Also, as far as I can tell, you cannot save your stats with TrackThing. With Trailguru, you can upload it to the website after you registered.

[firewire]

It's a shame you can't close the screen while tracking your movements, because it's a huge battery killer to leave that huge screen on the entire time. Maybe with 2.1 they'll finally let programs run in the background.

[dfadams]

I downloaded Running Gypsy the other day to use for my runs. Haven't started to use it yet but now I see these two apps Trail Guru and TrackThing and they are free.

It seems they all have pros and cons. Running Gypsy does not have the same amount of info as the others but it has the ability to save upto 30 workouts.

Interested to hear other users experiences.

[Youngbinks]

Oh I have been looking for something like this, short of buying a GPS unit to run with. I like to track my distances and times so I'll be giving at least one of these a try. I'll try and report back with a favorite as well.

[desigrid]

I read somewhere that the iPhone GPS works when the device is locked *only* when the iPod is playing in the background. I just tried this 'trick' out with Trailguru for a short while and it seems to work.

Maybe someone else can confirm?

[desigrid]

Ok, just had the chance to confirm this myself. Indeed, having iPod playing in the background and Trailguru in the foreground allows Trailguru to continue collecting data from the GPS when the screen is off (locked using top button).

I believe this method should work for any other GPS apps too.

[jarofclay73]

Ok, just had the chance to confirm this myself. Indeed, having iPod playing in the background and Trailguru in the foreground allows Trailguru to continue collecting data from the GPS when the screen is off (locked using top button).

I believe this method should work for any other GPS apps too.

How much of your battery is used after using Trailguru and the iPod?

[SplitFire]

I haven't used any app other than runkeeper. It's great. It will keep track of

-how far you've gone
-current speed
-your average speed
-the average length of time it took you to go one mile

All of this is put on a graph, so you can see what you're run looks like. You can also log into runkeeper.com and view your route highlighted on a map.

[desigrid]

How much of your battery is used after using Trailguru and the iPod?

Well, I only tried it for about 20 mins, so I didn't notice the battery usage. If I get the chance this weekend, I'll try it for sometime longer :)

[jarofclay73]

I've officially tested TrackThing Lite and Trailguru. Both are free. But, are they worth the download and hassle?

To test accuracy, I tested them against my current GPS/Fitness app Distance Meter. It was touted as the most accurate distance tracker of the early apps. And I have to say I agree with that assessment. I live by a canal and one lap around it is a decent distance but not too far to be inconvenient for me. So, these are my stats from Distance Meter:

Time - 5 minutes, 32 seconds
Distance - .29 miles
Pace - 19 minutes/mile
24 Calories Burned

By the way, neither TrackThing nor Trailguru does calories.

I'll post my stats for TrackThing using screenshots.

http://www.everythingicafe.com/forum/members/jarofclay73-albums-my-iphone-3g-screens-picture224-trackthing01.pnghttp://www.everythingicafe.com/forum/members/jarofclay73-albums-my-iphone-3g-screens-picture225-trackthing02.png

Let's start with TrackThing. The distance was pretty close. .31 miles compared with .29 miles. When you are walking, there is also a real-time map with your location. Doesn't quite work as well as Google maps but gives you your general location. On another page there are another slew of stats like avg/max speed and avg/max pace. All of these stats can also be viewed in real-time as well.

http://www.everythingicafe.com/forum/members/jarofclay73-albums-my-iphone-3g-screens-picture226-trackthing03.pnghttp://www.everythingicafe.com/forum/members/jarofclay73-albums-my-iphone-3g-screens-picture227-trackthing04.png

If you want more real-time stats, you can also view your coordinates, heading and altitute and also view your speed and altitude on a graph in the app as well.

You cannot save your stats on either TrackThing or Distance Meter. But, Trailguru allows you to upload your information to its website (after you register):

http://www.everythingicafe.com/forum/members/jarofclay73-albums-my-iphone-3g-screens-picture229-trailguru.jpg

The Trailguru stats seemed to match Distance Meter a lot better than TrackThing. Exactly .29 miles and I walked about a 19 minute mile. The map with your track was freakishly accurate! I didn't walk very far but it tracked my exact steps. On the website, it even plays an animation of it. Check that out here: http://www.trailguru.com/wiki/index.php/Track:R6O
By the way, if you get a Trailguru account you can change the measurements from metric to imperial.

TrackThing Lite and Distance Meter both have an anti auto-locking feature. This is because the GPS won't work when the iPhone is locked. This is a good feature so you don't have to mess with your auto-lock feature in your iPhone settings. However, it is a BIG drain on your battery.

Trailguru has found a way around that. If you start your iPod first, then start Trailguru, the GPS will keep working even after you've locked your iPhone. That's good because your screen drain your battery faster than your iPod. However, if you are exercising with a group I suppose you still want to turn on your iPod while doing your exercise so that your battery won't run down. I hate turning on things that you're not using, though. Just my pet peeve.

Out of the free distance/fitness apps, my choice is Trailguru because it is very accurate, you are able to upload your stats to its website, you can see an animated map track of your event, and can save your battery life by using the iPod.

Distance Meter is still a very solid and accurate app at a very inexpensive price. I like that it calculates your calories burned.
TrackThing excels in real-time stats, map and graphs right on your iPhone and if that is your thing then this is the app for you.

[desigrid]

Great review. Thanks :)

I also had the chance to test Trailguru for much longer to test the battery usage.

I used it for 49 mins, with iPod running in the background and the screen turned off and locked.

Result: With an almost full charge (I had my phone on standby for about a few hours before I started the test), I was left with about 3/4 of the battery at the end of the run.

I haven't tested other apps in this category except TrackThing, but Trailguru wins out for me because of the ability to save routes and stats to its website, allowing me to keep track of my runs over time. And it's free! :)

[jarofclay73]

Distance Meter had a MAJOR upgrade this week.

You can now upload your stats and your route is plotted on a map at MapMyFitness.com.

Although the website takes a little while to get used to, it is at least as good as Trailguru and in some ways even better.

Check out the walk I took today: http://www.mapmyfitness.com/walk/united-states/hi/honolulu/511496702471

Although Trailguru breaks down a lot of numbers, I like how you can track your exercising by the day, week and month at MapMyFitness.com. Also, it has a handy calendar.

Plus, the one thing Distance Meter has over Trailguru is calculating your calories.

The only thing about Trailguru now is its ability to be used while the iPod is playing and you can lock your screen which, in turn, saves your battery. However, I'd hate to have to play my iPod when I'm in a group and don't want to use my headphones. I guess the iPod drain isn't as big as the screen drain.

Out of all the paid apps, I believe Distance Meter is the best. For free apps, Trailguru is the best.

[jmartin]

Has anyone tried running iPod and Distance Meter to see if it runs in the background? If so this one sounds great. Thanks!

[ADDam]

I'm guessing that these wont work too well with a 2G iPhone?

[jarofclay73]

Has anyone tried running iPod and Distance Meter to see if it runs in the background? If so this one sounds great. Thanks!

I tried it while driving around. And it works! :laugh2: Start up your iPod first. Go to Home Screen and choose Distance Meter. Start that up. Then, lock with your top button!

I suppose it would also work for TrackThing Lite.

I think I'm going to exclusively use Distance Meter from now on. Trailguru is still good though if you don't want to spend money at all.

[jarofclay73]

I'm guessing that these wont work too well with a 2G iPhone?

Yeah, it won't work nearly as well without the iPhone 3G. You need a dedicated GPS device. And that also means a no-go for the iPod Touch as well.

Maybe you can download Trailguru for free and see how that works out.

[jmartin]

Thanks Jar! That seals it for me. Downloading it now.