Phone GPS - any good? What do you carry yours in?

[austenozzy]

Hi there

Just that really. I'm getting back into running after a year or so of not doing much at all, and would like to use an app on the samsung galaxy ace to track the distance, time etc. Not too fussed on time - more that I'm getting round the distances in an improved time, if you know what I mean.

However, the gps patch on the phone would need, I assume, a line of sight to the sky. Or will it work in a pocket or bumbag?

I've seen those armband things but I'm not sure I like the idea of that. I don't like running to music (get carried away to the rocky theme and cane myself!) so I don't need earplugs.

Also - are phone GPS trackers accurate enough to bother with?

Cheers.

Pocket or bumbag is fine - I have an S2 and slip it into the pocket at the back of my running shorts.

(I just realised how insane that sentence is - ME, actually having running shorts, after only starting 11 weeks ago not having run in 25 years)

Phone GPS is okay but not super dooper millimetre accurate, I reckon mine is about 100m out on 10km, so about 1%?

Bumbag here. Mapmyrun 60m out over Race for Life 10k.

It's if the GPS loses you on a run that it's a bummer!

Hi there,

Thanks for the replies, sorry I've been slow, had a busy couple of days.

My samsung galaxy ace is rubbish! I've tried the gps and it just wouldn't respond at all. Switched handset off and on again, reset all other networking/comms settings for wifi, bluetooth, gps, everything. No dice.

So instead, I've mapped a load of runs near me on walkjogrun.net so that I know the distance, and will just use a stopwatch app to time the runs. I'm not interested in splits or averages, I just want to know how long it takes to run the set lengths, or how many times I can get round the mile loop in x minutes. So that will have to do until I can persuade myself to buy a gps watch!

Thanks again.

Bit late replying on here for you austen, but just sticking my twopenneth anyway.

I think it depends on the phone. DH and I went out on a run. I had a wildfire; he had a desire. Both HTC. His phone was recording a minute per km quicker than mine (and gave him a pb I'd be jealous of) we were never more than about 20m apart.

I took the wildfire out with my garmin and for the first 3k it was entirely consistent and then I went behind the hill where the phone always gets a bit flakey and they ended up about 500m adrift over 5k which wasn't good.
However I now have a samsung s4 mini which kept pace with the garmin on a 10k bike ride without too much difficulty.

I use an arm band. When I run on my own i have music. When I run with friends I like the km updates but at a volume that I can hear and nobody else has to. It also drops easily over the handlebars of the bike when I'm cycling.

I find the GPS works better on an armband than in my back pocket but I prefer to carry it in my back pocket because mostly I use it for tunes while I run and to have access to a phone.