Using an iPhone & iPad in Thailand Tips, App Reviews and News for the iPhone and iPad by Richard Barrow

RunKeeper for GPS Mapping

RunKeeper uses the GPS technology found in the iPhone to track your fitness activity, giving you comparable results to an expensive GPS watch.

One of the best thing that I like about the iPhone is the GPS and Google Maps. I use that a lot for planning trips and while also on trips. While I am off exploring, it is sometimes useful to be able to track the routes that I am taking on a map. There are a number of different  iPhone apps for doing this, but I started with RunKeeper as it was free. This is really a fitness and health app but it can also be useful for mapping. I started off using it for my walks but now use it on my mountain bike when I go exploring. I have an iPhone holder on my bicycle handlebar. Once I click start, the main screen will tell me how far I have gone and the amount of time that  has passed. It also gives me an indication of my current pace.

There are two other screens. The first one maps your route as you go along. Useful if you are not familiar with the area. The last screen tells you your pace for each kilometer marker you have passed. Incidentally, you can also show it in miles. Once finished, you can save your activity and this is then posted to your free account at runkeeper.com. Here there is a much bigger map. If you had taken any pictures during the trip, these will be shown on the map in the correct locations. You can choose the map to be either public or private. There are other stats on the website that tell you how far you have travelled so far per week or month.

I like how this keeps a record of your trips. I like to plan walking and cycling tours and this helps to fine tune routes. I am using it a lot at the moment, however, it is not perfect. The main problem is that it does go through a lot of battery. So, you couldn't have it on all day. But, it is alright for short trips of an hour or two. The window for the maps is a bit small so I sometimes switch apps to Google Maps .The other thing that it doesn't allow you to do is to export your maps to Google Maps once you are back home. That would be useful. I think there are maybe others out there that do that. But, in the meantime, I am happy with this app. What about you? Do you have a GPS mapping app that you can recommend?

Download RunKeeper for free at iTunes >>>