Thursday, September 29, 2011

iPhone GPS Update

After 6 rides the Motion X app on my iPhone (iPhone GPS) works very well providing the tracking information I want. The next problem to tackle was battery life. For $59 I purchased a Brunton Inspire power pack. It claims to be able to fully charge a smartphone 2 to 3 times. Brunton makes larger power packs as well if you like spending money. On my first ride with the iPhone/Brunton setup it kept my iPhone at 100% battery life while using the Motion X GPS for 2 1/2 hours of riding. A the end of the ride all four blue lights on the Brunton were still shining indicating between 75% and 100% battery life remaining on the Brunton. 

My iPhone hooked up to the Brunton Inspire power pack using a 6 foot charger cord.
iPhone mounted on my Expedition and connected to the 6 foot charger cord.
I ran the charger cord from my phone back to the Catrike frame bag where the Brunton is happily tucked away. The charger is zip tied to my derailleur cable.

With GPS going, making calls and doing useless stuff on my phone I figure I should have two full days of riding before having to charge everything up again. When it comes time to tour this should work out just fine. Time will tell.