GPS Essentials for Android: Daily App Pick

BreakingModern — No question that there are a lot of decent GPS applications in Google Play. One of the best I’ve found is GPS Essentials, by Mictale.com. So I’m making it today’s daily app pick.gps-essentials-main1-e1411955101334

gps-essentials-compass2-e1411955041960GPS Essentials’ convenient dashboard feature can be set up to track altitude, bearing, latitude, longitude, speed, rate of climb and more. To use it, first start your Android device’s GPS receiver — or just bring up location services on your Android super phone. It usually takes a couple of minutes for the GPS to get a fix on enough satellites to zero in on your location.

After warm up, the main screen has several interesting and useful options.

Selecting the camera feature brings up the phone’s camera with headings, an artificial horizon, and a tilt indicator. Just what you need when doing documentary or research photography.

You might also check out the tracks option, to log your travels. Click on the plus sign to start a new track and give it a name. Follow up by clicking “create” to start logging your journey.

 

Also, some airlines permit GPS use, above a certain altitude, although not on takeoff or landing. On a recent cross-country trip while sitting in a window seat, I was able to track my progress all the way up at 35,000 feet on the dashboard view. The fastest speed I recorded was around 560 miles per hour. And, of course latitude and longitude measurements were always available. Watching my coordinates change while I jetted across the continent was a welcome diversion from reading the in-flight magazine twenty times.

For BMod, I’m Rob Reilly.

Have a great app you want to share? Email it to [email protected].

Image credits: Rob Reilly

Header Image: By Andrew Dunn [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Author: Rob Reilly

Based in Orlando, Rob is a consultant, writer, and speaker serving clients with Linux/Free software, physical computing, DIY/Maker Movement, and tech media projects.

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