After learning about the Nokia Sports Tracker almost a month ago, I finally managed to get it working. Apparently, there was a stray folder on my phone’s memory card which meant the application shut down each time I tried to record a GPS track.
The software is clunky, but the integration with Google Earth is almost magical. On the way home from last Friday’s Ensembli board meeting, I flipped open the app and recorded my route home, including a detour to see my cousin Aisha. Curiously, at both ends of the trip, the GPS track goes crazy – I wonder if radio-bounces in an urban or indoor environment cause this?
Yesterday, returning from a friend’s wedding in Birmingham, I recorded a track along the M6, M62 and the North edge of the Peak District. Winding through a few Pennine valleys didn’t seem to cause any problems, but around two-and-a-half hours of continuous use resulted in a crash, losing the track north-west of Oldham.
Google Earth pulls a few interesting facts outta the KML file, including the highest point at 472m in the Pennines, the lowest at 62m just outside Warrington and the fastest 88mph on the M6, west of Stafford (that’s definitely too low!).
So what’s next? The Apple iTrack? Sometime in 2010, I’ll be loading my BMW CS Concept‘s integrated Apple iTrack with a drivemix of people’s favourite routes through the Lake District…setting it to autopilot and sitting back to enjoy the scenery 🙂
Leave a Reply