Garmin LiveTrack vs Glympse and others

[+user13371]

In another thread, Yogazoo mentioned using LiveTrack with a Garmin 64. I raised a question about comparing it to Glympse - but decided to continue here instead of hijacking the Garmin 64 discussion. Quoted items are from his post in that other thread.

 

My GPS on my phone reduces the battery life of my phone (now my Garmin can take over GPS function)

I'd really like to see the numbers on that. You can't really turn the GPS off completely on an iOS device, short of using Airplane mode - and in Airplane mode you're also shutting off it's ability to talk to the cellular network - so no LiveTrack communication. The impact of continual GPS use in an app depends a lot on how the app itself is written - how often it asks the location manager for an update and a few other internals settings.

 

I've got an iPad mini rather than an iPhone, and I've run Glympse all day on bike rides. But that does entail some battery management. Usually the iPad stays in the seat bag, no apps running other than Glympse, LTE data turned off. Last time I tried to test this, I left the house fully charged and got back seven house later with a little less than a half charge on the gauge. BUT ... An iPad battery is huge compared to an iPhone!

 

... I don't have to use both my phone AND my GPS to send a livetrack. I can simply use one device and put my phone into a ziplock bag and stuff it in my pack (and forget about it).

Does!'t the phone have to be powered on, and within range of cellular network (and to the GPS via Bluetooth) for the Garmin to send LiveTrack data? It may be in your pack but you're still "using" the phone in that sense.

 

... No time limit on the Garmin Connect app for how long people can "follow" me. So if I'm going hiking all day people can follow me all day. (The Glympse app has a maximum of 4 hour time limit. Could just be reset but you might forget when to do it.)

Interesting. Glympse actually touts the time limit as a positive feature. I guess they figure the opposite way than you here - that forgetting to turn OFF tracking would be worse than forgetting to extend it. Maybe you don't want your wife to know which pub you stopped at on the way home from your hike.

 

GPS on my Garmin is generally more accurate than the GPS on my phone

No doubt! Phone GPS is mean for finding cafes, not caches...