Monday, April 20, 2009

Android App Of The Day: My Tracks

I'm officially a fan of the My Tracks application for Android. I used it yesterday as Shira and I took a walk along the Mt Vernon Trail here in Arlington. Here's a map of our walk:


View Mt Vernon Trail Walk in a larger map

Some things I like about the application:

  • It's nice and simple - you can easily start and stop recording tracks, add waypoints
  • The insert Statistics function is handy
  • It's got seamless integration with Google's My Maps, so at a press of a button, I can push this up to My Maps to share.
  • It has integration with Google Spreadsheets to allow you to keep track of a list of all your tracks in an easy location

Heck, even the distribution of the program is clever - as they allow you to use bar code software on your phone to slurp in the download URL. It's the first time I've seen bar code software used by a mobile device in any meaningful way - slick stuff.

A couple of friendly warnings though:

  • Double check the units you are in. I was using Kilometers, and thought I had traveled 3.6 miles, when in fact, I had gone 3.6 km. Careful, your ego could get bruised.
  • Don't forget to end the track before you get in the car and drive away. That will throw off your final stats.

If you do any outdoorsy type activities, this is a must have app for you G1.

Here some photos from the walk:

It was a perfect Spring day to be out for a walk

Watching planes land at Reagan National Airport from our picnic spot

Apparently, turtles love all the jet noise next to the Reagan National Airport runway. Who knew?

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