When used with a quality mapping app such as Google Maps, your smart phone’s GPS radio is a powerful device that can help you get where you’re going better than any traditional map ever could.
But it comes with one significant downside: it tends to deplete your phone’s battery charge in a hurry.
GeoLog is a very handy free app that works with your Android phone’s GPS radio to limit its use to when you actually need it.
For example, if you’re walking or riding a bicycle, the device can easily track your movement without constantly talking with the GPS satellites overhead. And if you’re standing still it doesn’t need to be checking your location at all since it already knows where you are, and you aren’t moving.
The app also has a few other tricks up its sleeve that can help reduce your phone’s GPS radio’s power consumption. For example, if you’re traveling a long distance on an interstate highway, you can set the app to instruct the GPS radio to check your location less frequently.
While it’s true that this provides less accurate location info, if you’re traveling 200 miles on a single highway it’s really not all that important to know exactly where you are during the entire trip.
I must point out that GeoLog is currently in the Alpha stage of the development cycle, which means there are likely to be some bugs roaming around in the code. But judging by user feedback it appears to work well without causing any major problems. If you use your Android phone’s GPS feature a lot, it just might be worth your while to download GeoLog and give it a try.
GeoLog is available as a free download in the Google Play Store.