Bubble GPS Spot Tracker (Spotwalla) w $0 subscription/fees

[gixxerjasen]

Nope, didn't know that, good to know!

You just ruined my productivity at work for the rest of the day.

 

[RossKean]

I'm always up for new thoughts and features, and appreciate them greatly.
2 general thoughts I'd like feedback on.

1. Does everyone know they can get their SpotWalla history as a gpx file (and other formats) directly from the devices page in SpotWalla? It's an incredibly useful feature in my opinion, that many people don't seem to know about.

2. One of my fears with storage is that people will forget they are storing, even if it is to the external card. I would hate to end up with a multi GB file sitting on your phone because you forgot to uncheck a box. Many of the Bubbler GPS users dropped a lot of points this summer. Also, since the export of the data was available form SpotWalla directly, the intent of Bubbler GPS is to not duplicate functionality which already exists in other easily accessible apps, unless it can be significantly enhanced or streamlined. I could give you point to point driving directions for example, and it works, but in the end, it was Google maps with less features. At least in my opinion

Further on the duplication of features, I played with showing a map locally on the phone using mapquest maps for the travels of the current day. In the end, it was just the same from a mobile perspective as viewing SpotWalla in your mobile web browser (minus all the cool SpotWalla features of course, just talking about the "map of today's travel")

1. Just had a look and it wasn't immediately obvious how to download a GPX file from Spotwalla. Any hints?

2. If 1. is possible, there is no need to store data separately on the device. Not worried about storage on my 'phone - 16 GB internal memory plus a 16 GB micro SD.

Again, I am very pleased with both applications and would not be disappointed if there were no changes. It would, however, be nice to get the GPX data for the trip and create a route in Mapsource, Basecamp, S&T etc. I understand that it would have to be edited because of the "resolution" defined by the (5 min) sampling rate.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Looking at your trips, drop down the list and choose "Downloads" and then choose the file type of choice.

 

[RossKean]

Found it 2 minutes after I posted, thanks.

 

[gixxerjasen]

It always works that way.

 

[JTBubbler]

And if that isn't slick enough for you, in SpotWalla, go to devices, click on your device, choose "Browse messages" and check out the top of the page if you want your download to span trips, or to include items not part of a trip. The "browse messages" page itself is a great troubleshooting aid.

Now, since I am not affiliated with SpotWalla outside of providing an app which feeds it some data, I think it's ok for me to say this here...

If you think this kind of stuff SpotWalla provides is cool and makes your life better than it would be without it, there's a donation link on the left hand side of the SpotWalla home page called "Supporting SpotWalla" which leads here https://spotwalla.com/help/index.php#donate. I am sure it would be appreciated since Jason has decided to offer this service, as well as storing your data and pictures, without charging for it.

 

[THE919]

Anyone knows of something similar for blackberry?

 

[gixxerjasen]

I can create Spotwalla maps of trips in the past, just by creating a new trip, and providing a start date/time and finish date/time in the past.

I want to say that this particular feature is genius. This past weekend I rode across town to a mini tech day. The last few miles to the guy's house were filled with fantastic sweepers on freshly paved road. It was as if the road had been paved by angels.

I mentioned this to the host and he pulled out his maps and plotted me a route back to my town that took me back down that road and down a few others I wasn't aware of. Just before leaving his house I kicked off bubbler to start storing points. I had a great ride home and enjoyed myself on some low traffic fun roads in my backyard that I didn't know about.

On getting home I promptly created a trip for that (after the trip obviously) in order to store those roads for later use. Sweet!

 

[mikerider]

Do you know we can get our own 'location history' from google (if you are using an Android phone):

maps.google.com/locationhistory/b/0

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

Well that's sort of cool.

 

[jefferskn]

Is anybody having problems with Spotwalla displaying maps today? I tried out bubbler lite yesterday and then I went into spotwalla and Trips and it showed my points on a map correctly. This morning I uinstalled bubbler lite and purchased bubbler pro and now I can't get a map to display on spotwalla. Bubbler says its uploading points fine and when I go to trips on spotwalla and view my gpx file it shows points in the file but when I go to view trip its a just a blue screen with the normal stuff on the left but no map displayed on the right side. I'm not sure if there is a problem with the spotwalla website or something I'm doing. It worked fine yesterday so that is why I bought the pro version of bubbler. The same thing happens when I tried to view my trip from yesterday, no map displayed. Could somebody who has used this for awhile go into their spotwalla account and see if trips are appearing correctly and displaying maps. Thanks

 

[JTBubbler]

Is anybody having problems with Spotwalla displaying maps today? I tried out bubbler lite yesterday and then I went into spotwalla and Trips and it showed my points on a map correctly. This morning I uinstalled bubbler lite and purchased bubbler pro and now I can't get a map to display on spotwalla. Bubbler says its uploading points fine and when I go to trips on spotwalla and view my gpx file it shows points in the file but when I go to view trip its a just a blue screen with the normal stuff on the left but no map displayed on the right side. I'm not sure if there is a problem with the spotwalla website or something I'm doing. It worked fine yesterday so that is why I bought the pro version of bubbler. The same thing happens when I tried to view my trip from yesterday, no map displayed. Could somebody who has used this for awhile go into their spotwalla account and see if trips are appearing correctly and displaying maps. Thanks

I just created a trip for today and it worked as expected https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=ab4f53d1263d88780

Double check your points do not exist within a secure zone you created within SpotWalla.com. You can do this by logging in to SpotWalla.com, click on devices. Hover over the device you are using with Bubbler GPS and a menu will pop up. Choose "Browse Messages". Messages highlighted in pink are within a secure zone and will be hidden if your trip says to do so. You will need points in grey, in the time your trip is set up for, to display points.

 

[Yeti]

I used Bubbler for my Iron Butt ride in June, worked brilliantly. If anyone using an iPhone wants something similar, the IronButt "Archive of Wisdom" suggests this:

https://rvtechtools.com/swconnect.html

Jefferskn, I can see maps for my June trip with no issues, but haven't uploaded anything for a while. Will try a route on the way to a rally tomorrow, and check it out.

 

[jefferskn]

When I go to spotwalla now and login, it has my name in the upper right corner but when I click on devices it prompts me to login again. This is a loop if I keep trying. However, I can click on trips and that page comes up looking fine without prompting me to login. I was in devices earlier this morning without any problems. I logged out and logged back in with the same result. Spotwalla won't let me get to the Devices page, as soon as I click on Devices it wants me to login back in again.

 

[FJRMGM]

I have been interested in this app for a while now so thanks for all the positive comments.

this requires your GPS function to be ON on the phone when using, right? Anyone notice any negative battery usage effects from having the app running?

 

[jefferskn]

I logged into the Spotwall website from my HTC One phone and was able to click on devices without being prompted to login again. I checked "browse messages" and none of them are pink and they are all within the date range I am selecting for my trips. I also tried the view trips option from my phone and it displayed the map and locations fine just like on my home pc. It is clearly an issue with my pc at work. Very odd but at least I know its not spotwalla. Thanks for the help everybody.

 

[nankoweap]

When I go to spotwalla now and login, it has my name in the upper right corner but when I click on devices it prompts me to login again. This is a loop if I keep trying. However, I can click on trips and that page comes up looking fine without prompting me to login. I was in devices earlier this morning without any problems. I logged out and logged back in with the same result. Spotwalla won't let me get to the Devices page, as soon as I click on Devices it wants me to login back in again.

About the only thing that would affect this is if your browser is denying session cookies which SpotWalla uses to be aware that you are indeed logged in. What browser are you using at work?

 

[jefferskn]

My work pc has IE9 on it. I had another guy at work with the exact same pc as me try "The Friends" link to view a trip and he didn't get the map to show up either. Something to do with the security or something on our work pc's. At least I know it's not the Spotwalla website. I should have tried to view a trip on my phone first before I even posted the problem but I didn't even think of it.

 

[JTBubbler]

I have been interested in this app for a while now so thanks for all the positive comments.
this requires your GPS function to be ON on the phone when using, right? Anyone notice any negative battery usage effects from having the app running?

Fjrmgm. Yes, the phone GPS must be on to acquire a point. It's much more accurate that way. The gps itself does not stay on however. It typically only turns on for a few seconds at every cycle (5,10,15 minutes etc) .

Not sure I am unbiased as I wrote it, but most people don't notice the battery drain. It does depend on your phone a bit. If you have problems already, it's not going to help things.

I made a free version (lite) for this reason so people could check it out and see if it works appropriately for their needs.

Joel

 

[nankoweap]

My work pc has IE9 on it. I had another guy at work with the exact same pc as me try "The Friends" link to view a trip and he didn't get the map to show up either. Something to do with the security or something on our work pc's. At least I know it's not the Spotwalla website. I should have tried to view a trip on my phone first before I even posted the problem but I didn't even think of it.

IE is problematic. You may also want to add spotwalla.com to IE's compatibility list...

https://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/use-compatibility-view#ie=ie-11

I know sometimes it's not possible, but If at all possible, I encourage you to use any other major browser. Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera work like a charm.