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An Android OS phone, such as my Motorola Droid, has a built-in GPS. By tapping into the GPS and do some calculations, one can derive all sorts of interesting statistics about one's motion. In fact, professional car test done by car magazines often use RaceLogic's box for performance measurements. However, that box is several hundred dollars. Can an app on your Android phone do similar things, We will review the following apps: Speed, SpeedView, AndroHUD, Digital Speed, gPC Lite, Race Ace, SpeedProof, and Speedometer. The review will point out what each of these apps can do in addition to just speed, as in a speedometer. Some can do G-meter, automatic lap timing, data logging, mapping, and such. So, which one is good, and which one is junk, While the apps mentioned here have all been tested, their accuracy is not guaranteed or calibrated. Do not expect to use this to defend yourself in court against speeding tickets and such.

Also, because they "derive" their measurements from multiple readings of the GPS coordinates over time, there is a "lag" between your speed change and the display. Professional GPS performance meters measure stuff as fast as it can, often several times a second. The apps can't go that fast. Keep that in mind. GPS signals come from satellites out in space, so for best results, these programs should be used outdoors, in wide-open areas, so your Android phone can get optimum reception of the GPS signals. Accuracy of the signals is much worse in urban areas, and downright useless in tunnels, garages, and so on. SpeedView, in contrast, is a more serious application. It offers one analog gauge with digital reading in the middle. A simple digital speedometer with optional compass display (two letters only, N,S, E, W and combinations) it only works in portrait mode. An analog speedometer with a g-meter, it only works in portrait mode, and it is very prone to GPS glitches. It is so twitchy, while the phone is sitting still, the speedometer still jumps up and down. Multiple calibrations did not help.

Meant for track days where you take a car out to see what you can do, this has a digital speedometer with max speed record, and the 360-degree G-meter graph you sometimes see in car review magazines. It also records full laps as data record (sometimes seen on Motor Trend lap tests). Very impressive app, but a very lousy interface. It is essentially a data logger. I have not looked at the data on how tamper-resistant it is. In any case, it will be pretty hard to convince the judge or commissioner to accept the data without giving the other side, namely the lawyer or the cop a chance to examine the data, at least in the US. Good intent, but don't know about the execution. Interesting app that is more than a car speedo, it claims to work for almost any outdoor sports, including cycling, kayaking, running, motorsports, and so on. It will do a full record of your "lap" or activity, and measure a lot of things, like distance, pace, and so on.

The pro version claims to let you upload your track records, call "live track" to their website and embed into Twitter, Facebook, and so on. However, this wasn't tested. The lite version tested does record track, and more. However, the interface is a bit dated. Overall, SpeedView seems to be the best general purpose speedometer for vehicle use, but it does not log. It has the best GPS spike and GPS drift filter to ensure good accuracy. If you need a little race day help, try Race Ace or Speedometer (pro version,). SmartphonesWhat Is The Difference Between Android And BlackBerry, CommunicationsBest Smartphone in 2012, Sign in or sign up and post using a HubPages Network account. 0 of 8192 characters usedPost CommentNo HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites. Yes, these apps are good but it's just a speedometer or G-meter.