I carry my Droid for every run and bike ride so I can track how far and fast I’m going. Typically I swap between Google’s My Tracks, BuddyRunner, and Runkeeper. Across the board, every one has exhibited a weird GPS bug that’s alternately amusing and frustrating.
That’s a screenshot from my run today using Runkeeper. I have been working hard on improving my speed, but I can assure you I did NOT run a 3 minute mile. Nor did I cover anywhere close to 7 miles (the actual run was somewhere ~2). Of course, I didn’t find out about the apparent record setting run until after I finished up, so I had no chance to reboot or try a different tracker instead.
This, on top of discrepancies between BuddyRunner, Runkeeper and MapMyRun’s site makes me wonder if the Droid is a reliable tracking device. I’ve run with it in my hand, in a shorts pocket, in a jacket pocket, in a backpack and in an armband. There have been weird bugs and discrepancies at various times using each of those methods. Even weirder, it happens across different apps, so it’s clearly an OS or GPS issue and not specific to how one app accesses the GPS chip. And Google Maps navigation works fine…very odd all around.
Anyone having similar experiences? I’ve been hoping to put together a big review offering up my thoughts on several sports tracking apps for Android, but I can’t do it justice if the GPS system isn’t reliable. So is it me, or is it a general Droid issue?
