Using iPhone as GPS?

I currently use a Garmin Forerunner 910XT mounted on my foot strap in my ski. My heart rate transmitter (Wahoo TIKR) transmits on both ANT+ and Bluetooth, so I can record my workout on my iPhone in my PFD as well as having real-time feedback on my Garmin. Is there any mount I could use so I could put the iPhone on the foot strap or closer where I could use that for real-time feedback as well or instead of the Garmin?

I think you're a brave man taking your iPhone to sea...

Having said that, one of the race series in Durban expects you to take your smartphone so that they can track you (both for spectator and for safety reasons) using Endomondo.

But here's an article that has some interesting bike mounts that might be modifiable for skis... Let us know if you use any of them...

mashable.com/2012/08/27/iphone-bike-mounts/

I went to the Epic Surf Ski Center in Tarifa Spain and the instructor (Boyan) had an iPhone in an Epic glooper case which he was using to text his driver to tell him when and where to pick us up while we were doing downwinders on the ocean. I also went to an Oscar Chalupski clinic and he used the same case with his iPhone on the water. If you watch the video of him finishing the Blackburn Challenge with Joe Glicker a couple of weeks ago, you can see him pulling that phone and case out of the pocket on his PFD and tapping the screen on it. So I figure if it worked for them it should work for me.

My only hesitation comes a) from killing an iPhone in a jug of water (don't even ask) and b) the reviews of all the cases on Amazon where in 95% of reviews they say the cases work great and in about 5% of reviews, they have very sad stories...

Maybe after I upgrade I'll risk the old, old one! (My daughter has already booked the current one!)

I ruined my iPhone using a Lifeproof Fre case, because evidently the little gasket around the charging hatch can fall out without you noticing. But the Epic case seems pretty solid.

The problem with Smartphones and GPS is that they absolutely chow the battery when using Apps like Endomondo. What I use is Find my Friend App on the iPhone - not live tracking, but when for instance my wife wants to know where I am on the water, she just fires up the App, hits refresh and my position is marked. She also obviously has an iPhone but can also use the App on her iPad mini. Works for us. I use a Garmin 310XT to record my paddles for later uploading the stats of my trips. Still a bit apprehensive taking my iPhone out to sea though, so I use a Lifeproof case inside a waterproof pouch just for tracking purposes - Belts & Braces approach.

I was already bringing my iPhone along so my wife could "Find My Friends", and then I replaced the Garmin heart rate transmitter with the Wahoo TIKR. I figured if I have to carry the iPhone along anyway, and it can get the heart rate data, and the screen is nice and big, I might as well use it for speed/time/distance/heart rate display instead of the Garmin. But I hadn't thought about the battery issue.

That's a good point... re GPS eating battery life.

Finding a case that is totally waterproof isn't as difficult as finding a case that is waterproof AND still allows you to use the phone. I have a little Pelican case that I'd trust to contain the iPhone.

And the find my phone thing then works like a charm... Good idea!

I would think if your going to take a phone out on the water with you, and you should, it should be able to be used on the water and you should have it on you, not your ski.

I've using the iPhone as a GPS (Motion X) for the past 3 years. Points to watch are: that it only samples every 6 secs, the battery use is high, using the touchscreen when wet doesn't work well and the screen is difficult to see in bright light.

Doing some research on Marine VHF hand held radios, I came across the Cobra MR HH500 FLT BT
www.cobra.com/products/handheld/mr-hh500-flt-bt
Those concerns about using your iPhone as a phone whilst on the water can be reduced by using the Bluetooth features of the VHF radio to make and receive phone calls. Just pair it with your phone which stays nice and dry and you have both a usable phone and a VHF radio for when you need an alternative emergency option.
It sounds interesting.
Has anyone out there used this VHF radio and/or Bluetooth pairing feature?

Good point Rod re waterproof casing screens not working well in the wet. Used my Lifeproof sometime back - correction - tried to use my Lifeproof to text. Holy Schmidt, I didn't write that! Impossible to use in my experience if texting wet, though making a phone call another matter. Waterproof pouch no issues but greater pressure required because they're obviously transferring your touch through a thicker medium.

Problem with all of the above for me is eyesight. I'm long sighted and struggle to see the letters on smart phone keyboard or names in address list. I've added AAA ratings to local emergency numbers (Australian Emergency Maritime and local volunteer services as well SWMBO - she who must be obeyed - to maybe make these calls.

An interesting point from local authority www.transport.wa.gov.au/imarine/marine-radios.asp is the following extract:

"Mobile phone is no substitute

Mobile telephones, although useful as a backup communications system, cannot replace a marine radio.

Reasons to choose radio over mobile phone:

Other boats in the area cannot hear emergency calls made on mobile telephones. A radio call is broadcast and nearby vessels tuned to the frequencies can provide a quicker response than boats called from the shore.
Mobile telephones are difficult to locate using direction finding equipment; where as a marine radio is much easier for searchers to locate.
Marine radio provides better coverage with fewer shadow areas.
Marine radio batteries are heavy duty and last longer than mobile telephone batteries.
There is no need to remember phone numbers.
If your radio is unusable, for example you are in a life raft, or sitting on an upturned boat, a mobile phone would be most welcome."

Rob's marine radio top option (have a pair for mate and my solo Freo Doctor when the wind's up come summer sea breeze) as well as a PLB www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.as...28&intAbsolutePage=1

(Watto your post triggered the spam filter so you may have seen a rude message from it. I had to tell the thing that the post was ok.)

Jeez the rabid beast disabled your login too... It's ok now, but let me know if you have trouble logging back in.

I expect it was the link to a product on a sales website!

It's caught about 10 spam attacks and had two false-positives so far, so the benefits outweigh the negatives... What a life!

my iPhone comes with me every paddle, mainly as a music player, but I sometimes use the GPS feature.

I too have killed a phone with a lifeproof case, although I suspect it was a fake (bought off ebay). Now I use a pouch with a roll top like a drybag that has a headphone jack connecter.

Hey I can tell my (adult) kids I've been banned from a website - kudos! All good Rob, infinitely better than the alternative of spam devil spawn. Mind you it was a bit like finding the beer fridge door jammed at the end of a long day haha. Thanks.