Will the Droid supplant other electronic devices?

[DaNav]

I have to admit to being a total luddite when it comes to electronics on the bike. Or electronics in general for that matter. I do have a cell phone, and a computer, but that's about it.

Anyway, did some touring during the past year with a couple of buds, and realized that certain electronic devices - gps, bike-to-bike communication, radar, etc. would be nice to have. Stopped by RKA - https://www.rka-luggage.com, they're close by - and spoke with Richard about myriad possibilities. Concluded that for about $2k you can have a pretty nifty setup. Nice, but out of our budget, and fairly complicated imho with sooo many different devices and wiring, etc.

Which brings me to my question. Will the new Droid, over the course of the next year, with the improvements that are no doubt coming down the pike, supplant some of these devices by allowing for bike-to-bike, gps, music, weather, restaurants/lodging/gas, etc?? Radar, i know will not be there. It seems to me that if this was a fully bluetooth-enabled device that worked well on the bike it would be a big hit, but that might just be hopeful thinking on my part..

https://www.pcworld.com/article/181554/veri...lete_guide.html

Thanks in advance. I'm really enjoying this site.... learning a lot from you guys.

Brian

 

[ShawnKing]

Which brings me to my question. Will the new Droid, over the course of the next year, with the improvements that are no doubt coming down the pike, supplant some of these devices by allowing for bike-to-bike, gps, music, weather, restaurants/lodging/gas, etc??

As a guy who does this stuff for a living, I can tell you that no, the Droid will not be the end all, be all device you envision in the next year. It won't even be that in the next 2-5 years.

 

[johnny80s]

Which brings me to my question. Will the new Droid, over the course of the next year, with the improvements that are no doubt coming down the pike, supplant some of these devices by allowing for bike-to-bike, gps, music, weather, restaurants/lodging/gas, etc??

As a guy who does this stuff for a living, I can tell you that no, the Droid will not be the end all, be all device you envision in the next year. It won't even be that in the next 2-5 years.

What he said.

 

[MartyA]

I just got the Eris version Friday, still tinkering with it. I understand running the GPS function burns battery. I had a Handspring a few years ago, it went pretty far, but was surpassed by different technology. Some day we will have a do-all hand-held laser beam breath-O-lyzer cell phone tire repair motorcycle oil selector etc., device, but the current Droid is not it and I'd agree as Shawn said not in the next 3-5 years.

I have a Starcom1, Garmin 2730, GMRS radios, shelf, tank bag with power, and even if I was to get a well-reviewed radar detector I am still way under $1000.

You'll find better consultants here.

 

[user 19117]

MartyA's Garmin does rain. Droid... doesn't.

MartyA's Garmin does satellite. Droid... doesn't.

Think about that on rides past, where you didn't have cell coverage. Or it started raining.

 

[sportsguy]

While it might seem plausible to start thinking in this direction when you begin to explore a new technology item such as the Droid, the answer remains... no.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

I was doing a little cell phone shopping over the holiday weekend and looked at both new Droids. I was shocked to read so many reviews that said the battery wouldn't make it through the day and plan on recharging by evening. Even with heavy web useage, my Dare will go three days. I'd never own a cell that wouldn't make it through a whole day. Anything that does everything, seldom does everything well.

 

[k7lvo]

I don't think they'll ever make a single do-all device that I would be happy with, especially on the bike.

The iPhone does the phone and music thing better than any other device I've tried. (They'd just about have to break my fingers to get me to take another PPC-"smart"-phone, and it's all I can do to make a phone call with a Blackberry. No, I haven't looked at the manual, but, then, I haven't looked at the iPhone's manual, either.)

I've got Copilot and the MotionX nav programs for the iPhone. They're fun to play with, and work pretty well on foot or even in the car, but the Garmin 2820 and similar units are s-o-o-o much easier to use. However, I can't really picture walking down the street with my Street Pilot held up to my ear, either. <_<

I can't leave my notebook at home all the time, either, though the iPhone is handling some of its load. Like I said, I don't think I'll every be happy with a one-box-does-all approach, but that's just me - YMWV...

 

[Toecutter]

I luvs my Autocom setup. If interested, call Keith Goudelock (pr. Godlock) at Tulsa Truck Center 918.446.2245

He knows Com and can guide you to nirvana.

 

[mbottoms]

+1 on Autocom and Keith at the Tulsa Truck Center.

Mark

 

[DaNav]

Thanks guys for all your responses. I have heard good things about the Autocom and Zumo 550 units, mixed on Starcom. GMRS or FRS, I don't know. CB - do I need it? Gets into some bucks pretty quick when you add it all up. I didn't expect the Droid to be the magic bullet, but technology changes so fast, it would have been cool to find a small device that integrated at least a few functions. I guess part of the challenge for me is thinking about assembling the pieces. Where do you start and can you get away with, for instance, buying a cheaper gps that is not as good as the 550, but adequate for most needs, same with radar. I need to find the Motorcycle Electronics and Communications for Dummies book that has a nifty diagram that shows how these components link up and what function they serve. if you go to the Autocom or Escort websites you can spend hours reading about different units and accessories, and still end up confused. Kindof overwelming if you're not a techo-geek.

Thanks for the contact info and reference for Keith at Tulsa Truck Center!

 

[Toecutter]

Thanks guys for all your responses. I have heard good things about the Autocom and Zumo 550 units, mixed on Starcom. GMRS or FRS, I don't know. CB - do I need it?

Have you spoken with Keith yet? It all costs, but if you do it right the first time....

 

[Maura]

Consider the wonderfulness of an 'all-in-one' device. You drop it, lose it, have it stolen, battery dies, charging system not working, unspecified warranty covered or not covered malfunction and you are SOL. Everything is over. no phone , no tunes, no gps, no hand-held massager- you have nada, nothing, bupkis. When you have different devices for each function, a problem with one does not take out your entire electronic lifeline.

 

[bikesniffer]

Thanks guys for all your responses. I have heard good things about the Autocom and Zumo 550 units, mixed on Starcom. GMRS or FRS, I don't know. CB - do I need it?

Have you spoken with Keith yet? It all costs, but if you do it right the first time....

Best avatar I've seen in a long time Toe...LMFAO :clapping:

 

[Malve]

I've got the Motorola. GPS is great. I'm pretty happy with the phone. It also has a neat feature on the gps where you can track the location of other friends (riders who use one). That could be really helpful on group rides.

Internet with wifi, check... tunes, check... communication, not sure.

Contrary to the previous post about the drawbacks to all in one devices... the flipside is I can back up just one and for $6 a month insure it and just walk into any verizon store under any circumstance and get "them all" replaced.

 

[TriggerT]

I am also looking at the Droid to cut down on the number of devices I carry on a daily basis, but the battery life issue could be a killer for me.

The RUMOR is that Verizon is going to pick up the i-Phone in 2010. If that happens then the biggest complain about the iPhone, the network that supports it, will become a non issue.

Having had my ZUMO take a crap in the middle of my trip to EOM this last year, I can tell you that relying on one device for everything is a VERY BAD idea. I was really glad a had a bunch of music on the cell phone, so I had something to listen to while riding the slab home. I was also really glad that it was super slab all the way home, so I didn't have to do a lot of navigation. Even with a GPS, a map is a darn good thing to have.

 

[squeezer]

I've been looking at the Droid and there's one weird quirk that kills it for me. The Droid doesn't support voice dialing over Bluetooth. I rarely make calls from the bike or cage, but when I do, I want it to be completely hands free.

As far as all in one devices go, I'd like my phone to do as much as possible, but that doesn't mean I'd give up a separate gps, especially for the bike. The zumo does too many of the necessary things really well. And it also sees significant amounts of rain. I always thought of the gps feature on my phone as a backup.

EDIT: Dang. Turns out the HTC Droid Eris doesn't support Bluetooth voice dialing either. So much for getting an Android phone from Verizon. Guess I'll go for a Blackberry.

 

[ShawnKing]

The RUMOR is that Verizon is going to pick up the i-Phone in 2010.

And that's all it is - a rumor with absolutely no basis in fact but for the wishful thinking of those who hate AT&T or those on Verizon who want an iPhone.

 

[TriggerT]

Don't know about that. A guy I have known for 30+ years has been at Verizon for about 12 years now. I wont say he came out and confirmed the rumor, but his "We here at Verizon do not comment on rumors" when I asked him the question about picking up the i-Phone, was delivered with a smile and a wink. After knowing him that long, I don't think he was trying to pick me up.

Also, has anyone else noticed that Verizon's "Unlimited" data package is LIMITED to 5 or 10gigs depending on what additional service package you want to purchase. I guess they didn't look up what UNLIMITED means. I'm holding off on making any changes until next year.