New Farkle

[Sunny]

GPS:

Moto, I just did a bit of research on your query, and yes, my understanding of cellphone/gps functionality is correct. I phone and Android phone gps will function correctly without a cell phone signal. Google is your friend.
Mike

GPS devices uses satellite to find the coordinates on the ground. Old school Garmin just showed a blank screen with a point with your coordinates.

Then came GPS devices that had in built maps and the ability to put that point on the built in map.

The New Cell Phones can show your location on a map even if there is no cell signal. But this is where the issue / confusion starts:
1) Most cellphones download only a part of the map (typically of the area you frequent) , so if you are in Spokane the cell phone will have the map of that area. Now if you switch off the cell signal and wifi and come to New Jersey, you will either see a blank screen with dot OR a very basic map with the dot. Based on your location, the cell phone download the required map area on the fly using cell phone data or wifi. That is why in bad cell reception, people don't see the map and feel that GPS does not work without cell signal.

2) This happens if you open your app mid flight, as no cell signal / no WiFi, you only see a moving point

3) Google remedied by allowing you to download maps for offline use OR as with many app , having the full map downloaded for offline use.

I hope this helps bring some clarity.


But I like this Car Play GPS .. it has android auto also ... i have recently started using the android auto in my car and have started loving it (usual apps available, no need to add address etc to the car system etc.) ... this devices if good , will be a good investment ....

 

[Fieroguy]

So, up until now, I could only find the Car Play for Motorcycle device on Chinese websites. Didn't want to risk it so I held off. However, now it is on Amazon with a $40 off instant coupon. That caused me to do some further online (YouTube) research and the reviews were good. So, even though it cost a few buck more through Amazon, even with the coupon, I feel a little better about making the purchase. Should be here in a few days. So far my two biggest concerns... ability to use the touchscreen with gloves and being able to move easily from one bike to another have been answered. My only other concern that I haven't heard addressed yet, is how well the screen looks in sunlight. I do like that the mount has a built in sun shade though. Will let you know how it all works out. Looking forward to Apple Car Play on the bike. Might just replace the Garmin Zumo.

 

[mikesim]

Keep us informed....

Mike

 

[Fieroguy]

Received the unit today. So far I've only had a chance to plug it in, turn it on and set the date and time. Why that wouldn't be an automatic function, I'm not sure. But anyway, so far, so good. The screen is bright and sharp. I think it will perform well in daylight. I'm very impressed with the hardware it comes with, from the protective case with built in visor, to the RAM ball mount that comes pre-installed and includes all handlebar mounting hardware, if you need it. For the price, roughly $200, I think it is very reasonable. Will let you know as I delve deeper into this thing.

 

[Fieroguy]

Okay, so got the unit connected to my iPhone. Just for reference, this is the IYING Wireless unit capable of Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Here is a link to Amazon...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ71FFM3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Full disclosure, I paid about $275 with the instant $40 off coupon, plus tax. The unit arrived in a well padded box and contained all the accessories. Overall impressions:
-The unit is very light, which I believe is owed to the fact that it does not contain an internal battery. Therefore, this cannot be used as a standalone unit and must be connected to a power source via USB connection to operate. Nor does it maintain the date/time internally once it is entered. However, it does display the correct date/time once connected to the iPhone via Bluetooth.

- It's small. Do not believe the pictures they show of the unit on the bike on Amazon. The images are Photoshopped and not representative of the actual size, which is a 5" screen measured diagonally. I notice that most car units of this type are 7" and cost less, but they are not waterproof as this one claims to be.

- The display is bright and sharp! I'm actually happy with the size and I think it will work well for my application. If you've used Apple Car Play in an automobile, you'll be instantly familiar with this device. Its all there, from apps to settings. Works as stated. Just for giggles I used Google Maps and had it display a satellite image and it was amazingly sharp and detailed. I couldn't believe how good it looked even zoomed in all the way.

- One annoyance I've discovered is that once it is connected to the iPhone, I haven't found a way to get back to the unit's own home screen and settings in order to make changes to volume or brightness levels. To get there you have to hit the power button to turn the unit off and then back on again and make those changes before it automatically connects to the phone via Bluetooth. Kinda weird.

- This does not have the quality feel of a Garmin unit, nor did I expect it to. It feels a little cheap and a little plasticy. The cords/wiring provided are "okay" and work. I will be interesting to see how things hold up over time. I will be carrying along extra cords and my Garmin as a backup, just in case. What is impressive are all the RAM Mount hardware that comes with it. I do not believe these are actual RAM products, but the quality seems good.

- All told, I wish the unit cost closer to $200 than what I paid, and I could have gotten it cheaper if I ordered direct from China, but chose the safer Amazon alternative. If Apple Car Play on the bike is important to you, check it out. It has a lot going for it.

Next is to pair the unit with my Sena on the helmet and see how it does. Hopefully we'll get a warm day and I can take it on a road test. Will let you know.

 

[mikesim]

Thanks for the continuing report...

Mike

 

[Fieroguy]

Well Mike,
After several gyrations to get the unit to pair with my Sena 20S headset, I can report that the unit does work as advertised, with one caveat...

First, it is important to know that the unit does some fancy footwork when connecting to the phone and the headset. It connects directly with the headset and via Bluetooth to the phone. (I use a iPhone XS). Then it switches the phone connection to WiFi. I don't know or understand the reasoning for this but that's what it does and this is spelled out in the manual.

Volume seems to be pretty good. I did notice some background static during music playback, route directions and phone calls. Depending on how far away I was from the unit would effect how intense the static became. Imagine talking to Houston from the space capsule, but not quite that bad. Reducing the distance between the headset and the unit improved the quality of the sound.

I'm gonna play with this thing some more and probably do some comparative analysis with the Garmin setup. There are pluses and minuses to each system and it will be interesting to see which compromises I am willing to live with for each.

Hope this helps.

 

[mikesim]

Thanks for the info.

Mike

 

[Fieroguy]

Another update on the CarPlay for Motorcycle unit...

Now that I've had some time to play with this unit and have it hooked up correctly, I must admit that I am very impressed with this unit.

Once I got the unit to connect to my phone and headset, everything came together and started working great! Music, directions, calls and notifications (texts), came through loud and clear.

In comparing to the Garmin, see photo, the unit measures 5" diagonally, while my Garmin is only 4.5" and now appears small compared to the CarPlay unit.

Pros:
Lots of adjustments for sound levels. Separate volume controls for System, Navi and CarPlay, plus a Master Volume adjustment. This system can get quite loud and using the 16 band equalizer (!) made it possible to dial in the sound just right.

The display is bright and clear and also comes with several adjustments for day or night which is can be selected 'on the fly'. (Not sure if it switches to night mode at a certain time).

The touch screen works great! As good, or better than my Garmin screen.

Despite my previous entry, it is easy to move between the system screen and the CarPlay screen. I just had to find the right icon to click on. It's there.

Overall everything works and works well. I can see this being a Garmin replacement for me most of the time, and a companion to the Garmin when GPX files are necessary or as a back up.

The RAM style mount and visor mount are nice touches. Comes with everything needed for a handlebar mount, although I used an existing RAM ball mount on my bike.

The unit also comes with power connections to wire the unit to a 12V source or plug into a USB port. I chose the USB method as I had access to a USB port and the cord was long enough.

Cons:
Quality. It just doesn't have the heft and feel of a stand-alone GPS unit. Again, I attribute some of this to the lack of an internal battery, but it feels plasticy. I will be curious to see how this holds up over time. Is it really waterproof? I can't say that it exudes a lot of trust, but I could be wrong.

Lack of battery. Not sure why they chose this design. I can certainly see advantages and disadvantages, but this unit must be connected to a power source to operate.

Connectivity. External connections include a microSD port and a mini-usb port. I would have liked a 3.5mm headphone jack or aux out port so I could use the unit in my car and plug it into the aux port on my vehicles which do not have native CarPlay. That would have been awesome! There is a crappy built-in speaker on the unit, but I think this unit will be relegated to motorcycle use only. Unless I can connect it wirelessly to the car somehow. Hmmmm... more on that later. Still, a headphone jack would have been nice.

Summary: Connecting this unit to my phone and headset presented some challenges at first, as I didn't understand the logic behind it. Once I figured all that out and got to do a deep dive into it's capabilities, I really have come to like this unit. At the price point, $275, it seems a little on the high side, but as the unit currently performs and for everything it contains in the box, I think it is on point and I am happy with my purchase. Do I recommend it? If your goal is to have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity, then yes. The jury is out on whether it will be a full on replacement for my Garmin. I like routing and having a GPX file to import. I use Google Maps on the CarPlay unit, and while I have done some routing, I am not experienced enough to know if it can attain the same level of granularity I get with the Garmin.

Apologies for the low quality pics. Used lo-res as I didn't want to take up too much bandwidth. The display is bright, but not washed out as it appears in the pics. .

 

[Fieroguy]

Well, this little motorcycle CarPlay unit continues to surprise me. I was concerned that it wouldn’t work in my 2014 Acura MDX as the unit doesn’t have a headphone out jack to plug into the vehicle’s aux in port.

My worries were quickly dispensed when I put the car stereo in Bluetooth discovery mode and it found and connected with the CarPlay unit.

As it was after sundown, I had to lower the brightness, which was easy and the display looked great. The unit was completely functional and I’m happy that this CarPlay unit will see double duty on my bikes and in my vehicle.

Granted, all this bought me was the ability to have the unit’s audio play through my vehicle’s stereo, but it is such an improvement over the unit’s built in speaker. It makes it feel integral to the car’s stereo.

 

[Sunny]

I am impressed ... and tempted... I have started using android auto in my car and like it ...

1) if you don't connect it to a phone, does it have a built in android system to make use of unit based maps etc... amazon shows a android like screen .

2) if it has android, what is the verson ?

3) Amazon mentions a TF card slot.. what is the purpose....

 

[Fieroguy]

Hi Sunny, I'm not an Android user so can't comment on that. As far as I can tell, the card slot on mine is for storing music. I haven't used it though so I'm not 100% sure. Another drawback to this unit is the lack of decent documentation. Most of what I've learned is through trial and error. There is a manual included but it only covers the most basic of instructions.

 

[Fieroguy]

Up until now I've been using the CarPlay unit with conductive gloves. Yesterday I went for a ride and wore my thicker, Winter, non-conductive gloves.

Whereas the Garmin screen is pressure sensitive and worked with any kind of glove, this unit requires the user to wear conductive gloves that work with a touchscreen.

 

[mikesim]

There is a product called "Any Glove" that you can apply to non conductive gloves that make 'em work with a touch screen.

Mike

 

[Mwethers]

Hi all, based on this discussion I bought the unit being discussed - the C5 - and it was just over $300 AUD delivered.
I don't know if they have updated the model or it is different for Australia but the connection for me was totally seamless - just plug in the power and the phone automatically connected to the unit by Apple witchcraft and once the Bluetooth connection was selected on my phone that too is automatic. On starting the bike and power on my intercom everything is automatic and I don't have to do anything.
So far so good and I love this unit. No cons for the unit itself so far.
Riding into direct sunlight and trouble seeing the instruments the sun shade on the unit makes it perfectly readable which is a fantastic thing. I am using it with google maps only at the moment and that is seamless. Have not tried it in rain as yet but as I don't intend to use the ports on the sides I don't see why it should be a problem.
Very bright and clear to the point that at night it is too bright. Again one of the comments above mentioned it was hard to adjust but on my unit it is push the icon on the bottom left twice and enter the settings menu.
Only issue so far is all my problem...I am six foot and I find that the unit is right on the bottom edge of the instrument cluster at normal riding position. I would like the unit about 2in higher but that would impact the line of sight to the instruments. I also used a ball joint knuckle I had in the shed which is a little shorter than the supplied one so with the stock one it would be too tall. Also I could lift and tilt the unit a little which would work but I find that with my touring screen extension I get dangerous amounts of glare at night time so thats not an option for night time.
Overall I would highly recommend this for the extension of my iPhone and being a fraction of the cost of a motorbike specific GPS.

Mark

 

[Sunny]

took the plunge, ordered for $92 shipped, lets see how it fares ....

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805264227482.html

 

[Coyote Chris]

Moto, I just did a bit of research on your query, and yes, my understanding of cellphone/gps functionality is correct. I phone and Android phone gps will function correctly without a cell phone signal. Google is your friend.
Mike

I use an app called "copilot" It takes for ever but you download a map of the US or ? to your SD card ....then the app only needs to access the phone's GPS to show you how lost you are. Apps like Google Maps need cell phone coverage. I have never owned a stand alone GPS but would assume they have stored a map of the US on them and all they need is a GPS signal. I personally like maps in general but there are times I stop and look at my phone if I need to. I personally am not good at multi tasking and looking at a screen for info under way means you stop riding the motorcycle.....I am OK with looking at the speedo, etc but being distracted for me means over 2 seconds.....and that is what death is waiting for.....
Chris the guy who has not hit the deer or another car yet.

 

[DirtFlier]

It appears the days are numbered for the dedicated GPS unit as most people now use their phones for such tasks plus many cars have GPS on the panel display. Gold Wings and also high-end H-Ds also have GPS, both using Garmin devices specifically made to their order. Hikers, bicyclists and motorcycle riders are the only ones who rely on a dedicated GPS but that is a tiny potential market.

Deb's 590 died so he opted for an XT and loves it. My 590 is still working so I'm not anxious to jump on the XT bandwagon but maybe next year?

 

[Mellow]

It appears the days are numbered for the dedicated GPS unit as most people now use their phones for such tasks plus many cars have GPS on the panel display. Gold Wings and also high-end H-Ds also have GPS, both using Garmin devices specifically made to their order. Hikers, bicyclists and motorcycle riders are the only ones who rely on a dedicated GPS but that is a tiny potential market.

Deb's 590 died so he opted for an XT and loves it. My 590 is still working so I'm not anxious to jump on the XT bandwagon but maybe next year?

Not so sure... The dedicated ones are much easier to use so far than any of the ones they are integrating into the bike's software/dash display.

The RT, '21 and up, has a large display and you can integrate Tom Tom maps via your phone. But, the software is very buggy in my opinion and there have been several updates from BMW. It also doesn't have weather like you can have via the XT or other Garmins. When you stop for gas it might take several mins to reload/start after you take off and then may not work the same way each time. They have a long way to go before they are zumo-like.



I much prefer the zumo and if you happen to have multiple bikes, it's easier to switch between those.



I think mirroring a phone using android auto or car play would be a much better than trying to support manufacturer gps software. I love the screen of the RT and don't use any of the bmw connected app which is fine, you just don't need it.

The XT has some issues with regards to imported routes and bypassing waypoints automatically vs routes created on the unit. The older units would go to the next waypoint once you get so far past one and get you back on track whereas the XT will keep trying to get you back to the waypoint you missed. Adding a skip waypoint icon help that but hopefully Garmin will fix this in a future update.

 

[mikesim]

It appears the days are numbered for the dedicated GPS unit as most people now use their phones for such tasks plus many cars have GPS on the panel display. Gold Wings and also high-end H-Ds also have GPS, both using Garmin devices specifically made to their order. Hikers, bicyclists and motorcycle riders are the only ones who rely on a dedicated GPS but that is a tiny potential market.

Deb's 590 died so he opted for an XT and loves it. My 590 is still working so I'm not anxious to jump on the XT bandwagon but maybe next year?

I have the Zumo 595 on Traveller and I am well pleased with it. When I bought the V-Strom I tried to get a mounting base for the 595 but could not find one. I bit the bullet and bought the Zumo XT2 and love it. The only thing I really miss on the XT is the tire pressure monitoring feature. I got the one that Mellow suggested in an earlier post and like it. I much prefer the dedicated GPS vs my cell phone.

Mike