Back in July I posted a theoretical comparison between the iPhone and the Edge 705 for mountain bike navigation and made this point:
Speedometer / Odometer / Elevation
The iPhone doesn’t track these things for you but the Edge 705 does (and it does it very well I must say). Unfortunately Garmin’s lead may not last for long since iPhone app developers are sure to throw together a simple (and I predict free) application to do just this. Winner (for now): Edge 705.
Sure enough, speed and elevation tracking software for the iPhone is available now, and while I haven’t found any free programs, they are certainly cheap (like $2.99 cheap). Perivision talks about using his iPhone on an electric bike and posts this interesting screen shot of an (unnamed) iPhone program:
There’s also a piece of iPhone software called iTrail that tracks the usual suspects (speed, elevation, distance) and even records your route GPS track-style. Although the name implies it’s good for trail use I’m not sure I’d take an iPhone on a rocky track – and what about reception under tree cover? The good news is that iTrail costs just $2.99 at the iTunes store. Screen shots:
 
Of course there are other smartphone options for GPS riding – check out the singletracks GPS forums to connect with other GPS-enabled smartphone users and stay tuned as we deliver the latest GPS / mountain biking news from Interbike in less than 2 weeks!
