GPS apps (recommendations and discussion)
 

Given an android tablet by my wife and daughter for my birthday, I have just discovered GPS apps today and drove to work using "GPS Speedometer". I wonder if anyone else uses these, what they would recommend, how reliable they have found them. This one today looked good, but I want to test it a while and compare it against data from the GPS unit I borrowed one time, and the routes I got from ridewithgps.com previously.

Discuss?

I've been using Waze since last summer. Excellent, excellent app. It's got a very good map and users report accidents, delays, hazards and cops. It does have a speedometer function.

Found that the speedometer function of any app is severely limited by the 1Hz update rate of most phone's built-in GPS devices, but it's enough for steady state cruising when you want to avoid a ticket.

Been testing three apps yesterday and today, and for distance the android app "GPS Odometer" is far better than the completely inadequate "GPSpeedometer" and "D KingKong". The GPS Odometer app seems to produce about the same quality distance readings at the handheld Garvin I borrowed from a Environmental Studies geography colleague. And both readings are very close to what ridewithgps.com produces. I'm not concerned about speed. For FE calculations I need good odometer calibration multipliers... With new smaller tires I need a good GPS for recalibration. I think I found it.

I've been using Waze for about 2 years and am really happy with it. I like that it updates you on traffic and cops (even though I almost never speed anymore).

For my odometer I actually used my Runkeeper app. It's free and designed for runners and cyclists, but it worked for me. The issue with some GPS apps is that it may "assume" a route momentarily.

For example, if you cut through a parking lot, it may assume you went on the road and around the corner. For odometer calibration, it's much preferable to have one that ignores where it thinks the roads are.

BTW, it's also a very good app for running & cycling too.