Top Android App

Mashable.com named AllSport GPS one of the 8 best Android Apps for Health and Fitness. Reviewer Jolie O'Dell says, "This app is on the spendier side of the Android Market, but many users rave about its capabilities. AllSport GPS allows users to track routes, distance, time, speed and calories burned. Users get maps, virtual races, downloadable routes, elevation and speed graphs. The app also lets you share workouts online, including on Facebook."

Our content partner Backpacker magazine also made the Top 8 for their GPS Trails app. "For the true outdoors lover, or for those who need a little mobile support to feel at home in the wild, Backpacker provides a portable trip database and personal navigation device," says O'Dell.

Congrats to the Trimble Outdoors and Backpacker teams. And, a special thanks to all our dedicated app users who have provided support and constructive feedback. We're here to make the app better for all of you. -kris

New Phones

It's been a busy month for our engineers and QA team. We added more GPS-enable phones to our supported phones list in April. Here's a big welcome to all the new faces on AT&T and T-Mobile.

APP DETAILS

• AllSport GPS now runs on the Samsung Sunburst (AT&T), Samsung Strive (AT&T), Samsung Highlight (T-Mobile), and Nokia 3711 (T-Mobile).

• Outdoor lovers can navigate trails and collect trip reports with Trimble Outdoors on the Samsung Highlight and Nokia 3711.

• And, Geocache Navigator runs on the Samsung Sunburst, Samsung Highlight, and Nokia 3711.

Best Cycling Cities

Our friends at BICYCLING magazine released their shortlist of the 50 best cycling cities in the U.S. These hotspots support a vibrant bike culture, savvy bike shops, and many have bike-friendly features like bike lanes.

See their top five ranked ciites below, including rides endorsed by the editors themselves. Or, use our site search to find a rides by city name or zipcode.

TOP 5 CYCLING CITIES

1. Minneapolis, MN
2. Portland, OR
3. Boulder, CO
4. Seattle, WA
5. Eugene, OR

Now, wirelessly send it to your AllSport GPS or Trimble Outdoors mobile app. Then go ride.

Read more about Bicycling's list at bicycling.com/topbikefriendlycities.

-Kris

Photo: A mountain biker rides the swoopy trails of Betasso Reserve in Boulder, CO.

Coming Soon: Trimble Outdoors 4.1.0

So everyone knows how YouTube changed the world of video-on-internet and ever since, there have been two ways to do video online: the way YouTube does it, and the same old way it's been done since Al Gore invented the internet all those years ago...

Well I have some good news! in Trimble Outdoors 4.1.0, which will be launching soon on Android, we are going to support full integration with YouTube directly from the handset! There will be a new setting in Trimble Outdoors that allows you to enter a YouTube username and password, and when you do this, your videos will be directly uploaded to YouTube when your trip is uploaded. Of course your videos will still show up in your trip's Media Gallery, and on the map on where you recorded them on trimbleoutdoors.com. The big difference is that when you view them, you will get the lightning fast experience that you have become accustom to thanks to the magic of YouTube.

Here is an example of how your videos will tie into a TrimbleOutdoors.com trip:

So when is this going to be available you ask?

Well we are working out the last few kinks now, and should be launching this in the first or second week of May, so the wait isn't long now.

Other (less important) Features in the 4.1.0 release of Trimble Outdoors will include:

• We have added Bing's Shaded Relief maps (aka Terrain Maps)
• We will keep your points in order when they are uploaded (currently they end up in a somewhat random order)
• We have Added Sounds when GPS is Acquired or Lost to keep you in the know.

I'll keep you posted as we get closer to launch.

Your Geocache Questions

We’ve had a few people ask how to get caches from geocaching.com into Trimble Outdoors for Android. While this Android app isn’t optimized for geocachers, here are three ways to get cache locations into Trimble Outdoors:

Option 1: Hit Send to Phone button on geocaching.com
Best for: Finding quick single caches mentioned on geocaching.com

• You found a cache on geocaching.com. Now, hit Send To Phone.
• On the next page, log into your Trimble Outdoors account (it’s the same username/password that you use on your Android phone). Hit send to phone.
• Now open Trimble Outdoors on your Android phone. From activity list screen, hit the Menu button>My Trips. Hit Menu again and browse your Online Trips. Pick the trip or geocache file. The file is now wirelessly loaded on your phone.
• In the field, open cache file (Menu button >My Trips). Select file. Now, go to the Guide Trip tab, scroll down to the Points list. Find the cache you want and press the touch screen. Select Go To. Use the Navigate and Map tabs to help guide you to the cache.

******

Option 2: Import a .gpx file
Best for: Importing .gpx files found online or for uploading lots of geocache locations at once.

• Go to trimbleoutdoors.com and login.
• Next, hit the “Post A Trip” tab in the site’s main navigation
• Select Option 4 to import a .gpx file you downloaded from geocaching.com or other sites. Browse for file on your computer and Upload File.
• Hit Save. Rename file and preview the map, if you want.
• Now open Trimble Outdoors on your Android phone. From activity list screen, hit the Menu button>My Trips. Hit Menu again and browse your Online Trips. Pick the trip or geocache file. The file is now wirelessly loaded on your phone.
• In the field, open file (Menu button >My Trips). Select file. Now, go to the Guide Trip tab, scroll down to the Points list. Find the cache you want and press the touch screen. Select Go To. Use the Navigate and Map tabs to help guide you to the cache.
******

Option 3: Manually input cache coordinates
Best for: Finding a single geocache.

• Launch Trimble Outdoors on your Android phone.
• Select General Navigation, and let the phone acquire satellites.
• From Map screen, hit Menu > Mark Point. Now manually enter the coordinates for the cache you want to find. Hit Save. (Note: To change the coordinate format, go back to the main activity screen. Hit Menu button>More Options>Settings>Position Format. Select preferred format. The app defaults to decimal degrees. )
• Next, go to My Trip tab. Scroll down to the Points list. Find the cache you want and press the touch screen. Select Go To. Use the Navigate and Map tabs to help guide you to the cache.

Hope this helps. -kris

Best iPhone App for Sports

AllSport GPS made iPhoneness.com's "5 Best Sports GPS Apps for iPhone" list. The site says, "[AllSport GPS] comes handy with road cycling, mountain biking, walking and other sports and fitness activities. Enables you to compete against yourself as well." We're honored to be on the list. High fives! -kris