Tracking your Session

It’s no secret that some of us take our phones on the water. Whether it’s for work purposes or just to log a session. So here are a few apps that might just tickle your taste buds when it comes to recording your speed and tracking your distances, but don’t forget the waterproof bag…

Sports Tracker —- iPhone  –  Android

Sports Tracer seems to be the most used app on the Android Platform.  It has an elegant UI and offers many customisable options; however, the “out-of-box” experience is more than adequate. This app seems to be more accurate than its counterparts when it comes to recording speeds and GPS Paths.  It stores all of your activities online, and has a decent maps feature that allows you to see the activities of other users in your area.  When reviewing your windsurf it has nice graphing features.  The altimeter seems irritatingly accurate, proving that I rarely jump higher than 1.5 metres.  I occasionally had a few problems trying to get the GPS to lock, but I think that’s more attributed to my phone being a bit old, there is however an app below (GPS Status) that is good for solving this problem. This App is awesome, try it out.

GPS Status —- Android

If you can’t get you’re GPS to lock on fast enough whether you’re driving or about to go for a sail, try this app out.  It downloads the latest AGPS data to your device, giving it a head start when looking for satellites.  If you’re outside it will lock on in less than 5 seconds.  This is much better that the usual 30 seconds to 2 minutes that I usually end up waiting.  I often find myself opening it to get a a GPS fix, and then moving on to another app like Sports Tracker. This app is one of the most accurate of the apps on offer, and offers an intuitive display.  There’re a couple of other apps out there that do similar things.

Android

Ease of Use: 9/10

Functionality: 10/10

Looks: 7/10

Score: 8/10

Price: FREE

IMapMyFITNESS —- iPhone  –  Android

This app has a clean UI, it’s easy to navigate around.  Not quite as elegant as the Sports Tracker app, but it has more features and is a little more geared towards Fitness and health than recording the technical aspects of your activity.  It’s available on both the iPhone, Android and Blackberry.  The UI is the same on each platform.  Every activity gets stored centrally so you can set goals on their website and attempt to meet them.   It’s a useful app, but I’d probably recommend Sports Tracker for Windsurfing with your Android and MotionX (See below) for Windsurfing with your iPhone.

MotionX GPS —- iPhone

This app costs, but you get some awesome features for £1.50, too many to begin to list here.  It’s certainly as good as Sports Tracker, but offers incredible functionality and add-ons, such as NOAA marine charts, terrain maps along with all of the standard Google maps.  The accuracy was very good, it’s incredibly feature rich, download the thing and give it a go, just don’t crush your iPhone between yourself and your windsurf kit!

iPhone

Ease of Use: 10/10

Functionality: 10/10

Looks: 9/10

Score: 10/10

Price: £1.50