I rocked a Garmin for years, moving through models from the early 2000s through a Montana 600. Then I went to a cheap, rugged Android burner phone for navigation that I only use with Gaia and Spotify. I’m happy with this solution, though of course the screen can be brighter.
I’ve clicked on a couple of Carpuride (dumb name) ads and now I’m swimming in phone mirroring solutions.
With many of us moving away from Garmin solutions (great hardware, not the best “maps,” and software / OS that is just shit), I thought it would be useful to start a thread to consolidate the club’s experience with these other non-Garmin offerings.
And since this thread is about me, me, me, this is what I’m personally looking for:
Powered via hardwire to the battery or fusebox. I don’t want to be a the mercy of a USB cable going bad, a 12v USB socket plug vibrating lose on the trail, etc.
On the topic of power and mounting, I’d prefer a dedicated powered cradle mount vs a RAM + cable solution. My ideal setup would be: dedicated cradle on each bike, mounted center and visible, cradle is hardwired to battery, unit locks in securely to the mount.
Software: I only need to run (1) navigation software (Gaia is preferred but I’m open to exploring other options), (2) Spotify, and (3) Google Maps for getting pavement directions. Don’t care about making phone calls or receiving/sending SMS via voice to text.
Bluetooth connection to Sena.
Don’t need dash cam and TPS add-ons, on though TPS might nice on the big bike…but a $5 tire gauge works just fine too.
So, share with us what you have, your personal experiences with it, your knowledge of the options out there, etc. Like I said, the algorithm is throwing Carpuride and Chigee at me all day long…
DMD phone or Tablet. Entry price is higher, but they have cradles, run on android and built in map and menu design is very good. Downside, other than price, is its dedicated and won’t relay anything from your actual phone.
I’ve done android auto units. They are ok, but disconnect on occasion and your phone generally gets hot if charging at the same time as wireless mirroring/nav, requiring bar mount for cooling typically.
Can you run Spotify on the unit? I don’t hotspot the burner to iPhone. I have premium Spotify, download playlists and play the app native to the burner.
Burner = I don’t have a SIM card, just use WiFi to manage Gaia and Spotify on the phone
Yes. That is what I do. It also runs any Android app like normal, so you can pop over to Gaia or OnX if that’s your thing, or Google Maps if you are just touring and need to find stuff. In those instances, I’ll hotspot to my real phone for data, or make sure I have offline maps for Gaia/Onx. I usually have offline maps in a few Apps as not all routes are accurate between them. But Navigation via the DMD maps is probably my favorite. It even shows distance until route start. You can try this on your burner today.
Other notes:
DMD Phone and Tablet Buttons -
They have extra hardware buttons (phone only has 1 extra). You can assign these to other functions which is very useful. They also have handlebar control options. I use the hardware button for 2 functions. Media Pause/Play, and Touch-lockout for when its raining.
DMD Unit Hardware -
Better software options since it’s ‘theirs’. Including automatically turning off or on with Power, like a Garmin. If you chose to skip a screen lock, it will launch into its UI like a Garmin as well. Very polished.
DMD Updates -
They are active on facebook and update probably once a week with some fix or feature.
Career software/hardware designer here. DMD software on one of their devices (phone or tablet) is the way.
Nothing else comes even remotely close in terms of GPS signal refresh rate and accuracy (it’s 10x faster than iPhone), ease of use once you set it up for how you like it, and seamless integration with GPX track import from Google Docs (or dropbox or whatever) and anything else you’d want to do on a phone or tablet. The tablet is super bright, nearly on par with a modern Garmin device. And like John said, the piggybacking on your phone’s cellular signal is automatic; turn on the DMD, and it’ll grab your phone’s cellular when you need it. And, DMD’s default maps are quite good.
And yeah, you can use any other app you’d use because it’s Android. Android’s a pain in the ass at first, because there are no standards (nerds call that “freedom”), but once you get it dialed for how you want to use it, you never have to think about it again.
My basic usage is:
Build route with Gaia, or with DMD.
Put Gaia gpx file on Google docs
Google docs is seamlessly integrated in DMD, so I just open DMD, and turn on the track. That’s it.
Separately, I sometimes use Google Maps for in town stuff, although DMD’s in town nav isn’t half bad either.
I have my DMD tablet set up so that it automatically pairs with my phone when I turn it on. If you wanted a separate phone number with a separate SIM or e-SIM, that option is available too.
Other than Android being clunky AF, I have no qualms with the DMD device.
Relevant links:
Robert Baldinger has made several useful videos that you can find on his channel:
And here’s another Scandinavian review on the tablet.
I’ll add that I build routes in onx or gaia… but just export them on the DMD. Because the apps are on my device, and signed in, I just switch to that app, export to phone folder, then import to DMD.
Similar process but skips a step of putting the files elsewhere.
Rich, that large thing on my bars you keep picking on is the mount for the tablet that I run DMD software on. I dont have the DMD tablet itself, I run a MUCH less expensive Oukitel 8” rugged tablet.
USB cable charging in a RAM mount, so doesnt meet your criteria, but the point is that there’s another rider in the group running DMD through an Android device. The tablet of course runs any app you can get in the store, so If I’m trying to figure out a Plan B on the fly I find myself toggling between OnX and DMD, as each provides slightly different info from the other, and I have Google maps for point-to-point street nav.
I build routes in OnX, export the .GPX to a moto travel folder in the cloud (I use MS OneDrive), and then import into DMD from the tablet.
The Oukitel tablet only puts out 420 nits (420, brah), but I’ve never found it to be anything but sufficient, esp. in DMD which has a punchier color scheme for it’s map compared to OnX.
Tablet is bluetooth enabled. I control pan and zoon in and out with a bar-mounted Remotek One.
This set-up is mirrored from Jason’s who has much more interest and patience for figuring out this kind of thing than I do.
That’s the big bike long ride set-up. The big screen is nice for longer routes with some road mixed in. You can zoom in enough to get turn-by-turn detail while moving at highway speeds and still see some context. For shorter ADV or dirt bike rides I just throw my phone on and open DMD there.
DMD software on one of their devices (phone or tablet) is the way.
