LostlnTransit
Well-known member
As a blogger, camper, traveler, I was under the assumption that a smart phone would be one of the best things to have while on our adventures. Thus I ended up purchasing 2 LG Rebel LTE’s (1 for the wife and the other for myself) But because of a limited budget and my frugal nature.. We’ve opted for a Tracfone plan which uses an AT&T network.
3 months later and I’m not convinced that a smart device matched with an inferior provider is really worth the money. The wifi is only as strong as when it’s at home utilizing the home wifi signal. Cell service is even worse and being a new smart phone owner, I was unaware why my data wasn’t moving.. Until over the weekend we drove approx 300 miles and figured out what the issue was.
The mobile data settings were not activated and once active.. We logged several apps in an attempt to see what would be the best way to log or track our directions. Not having a Navigation system in the van, a smart phone/device in association with an app should correct this.
The first app we tested was the main stream Google maps.. Simply log in, turn on your location tracker and bam.. Your there.. Or at least it shows you on the map where you are. Google maps performed as expected and tracked our route to and through PA very well. One issue with Google maps is that there is a significant power drain while the app and device are connected, unlike the next two apps below.
We then opted for an app called Roadtrippers.. Which utilizes the Google mapping system anyway and which you've probably heard me speak about before.. I wasn’t thrilled with this app, because 6 out of 8 times when we asked to search for a location, it failed to located it. This is why the roadtrippers developers are asking for members to submit more details to better their system.
One other flaw which Roadtrippers has and I’m sure all of these travel types apps has as well is that upon the creation of a road map, and if someone knows your link/user name address.. They can see your maps (past/current) etc.. This means there’s no privacy option which would allow users to shut down any maps they do not wish spying eyes to see. Roadtrippers developers have told me that they are working on implementing this feature in the future.. And this was 2 years ago..
Moving on to Mapquest, we found this system to be move interactive and current, except more ads and pop up's then we asked for.. Once mapquest would recognize where we’re going.. It tends to flash a hotel location within a pop up ad.. This is very annoying..
All of this testing seem to leave me to wondering there has to be a better and more reliable way of doing this. Blocking ads and continue using the devices built in location system. being smart phone challenged, I then realized that the “mobile data” settings were not active. Configuring the mobile data settings then turning the device back on, there was no apparent apps being used and no flashing ads or pop ups when traveling.
Using the mobile data settings (4G) in conjunction with mapquest's web site. We ended up utilizing our Opera web browser to block any ads or pop ups and maintain a constant connection for more than 300 miles. Now that we know what to do, we’re just waiting to test all of these apps all over again. But I feel and according to how well the Mapquest web site functioned last weekend, we’ll may never install another travel/mapping app again.
3 months later and I’m not convinced that a smart device matched with an inferior provider is really worth the money. The wifi is only as strong as when it’s at home utilizing the home wifi signal. Cell service is even worse and being a new smart phone owner, I was unaware why my data wasn’t moving.. Until over the weekend we drove approx 300 miles and figured out what the issue was.
The mobile data settings were not activated and once active.. We logged several apps in an attempt to see what would be the best way to log or track our directions. Not having a Navigation system in the van, a smart phone/device in association with an app should correct this.
The first app we tested was the main stream Google maps.. Simply log in, turn on your location tracker and bam.. Your there.. Or at least it shows you on the map where you are. Google maps performed as expected and tracked our route to and through PA very well. One issue with Google maps is that there is a significant power drain while the app and device are connected, unlike the next two apps below.
We then opted for an app called Roadtrippers.. Which utilizes the Google mapping system anyway and which you've probably heard me speak about before.. I wasn’t thrilled with this app, because 6 out of 8 times when we asked to search for a location, it failed to located it. This is why the roadtrippers developers are asking for members to submit more details to better their system.
One other flaw which Roadtrippers has and I’m sure all of these travel types apps has as well is that upon the creation of a road map, and if someone knows your link/user name address.. They can see your maps (past/current) etc.. This means there’s no privacy option which would allow users to shut down any maps they do not wish spying eyes to see. Roadtrippers developers have told me that they are working on implementing this feature in the future.. And this was 2 years ago..
Moving on to Mapquest, we found this system to be move interactive and current, except more ads and pop up's then we asked for.. Once mapquest would recognize where we’re going.. It tends to flash a hotel location within a pop up ad.. This is very annoying..
All of this testing seem to leave me to wondering there has to be a better and more reliable way of doing this. Blocking ads and continue using the devices built in location system. being smart phone challenged, I then realized that the “mobile data” settings were not active. Configuring the mobile data settings then turning the device back on, there was no apparent apps being used and no flashing ads or pop ups when traveling.
Using the mobile data settings (4G) in conjunction with mapquest's web site. We ended up utilizing our Opera web browser to block any ads or pop ups and maintain a constant connection for more than 300 miles. Now that we know what to do, we’re just waiting to test all of these apps all over again. But I feel and according to how well the Mapquest web site functioned last weekend, we’ll may never install another travel/mapping app again.
