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MyTracks
Original author(s)Google
Developer(s)Google
Initial release12 February 2009 (2009-02-12)[1]
Final release
2.0.11[2] / 21 January 2016; 8 years ago (2016-01-21)[3]
Preview release
2.0.2.rc6
Repository
Written inJava, XML (content language)
Operating systemAndroid 1.5+
SizeVaries with device[2]
LicenseApache License, Version 2.0
Websitewww.google.com/mobile/mytracks/

MyTracks was a GPS tracking application that runs on Android. The application uses a device's GPS to collect data, allowing real-time review of path, speed, distance, and elevation. Later, this data can be saved to Google Maps, Google Fusion Tables, or Google Docs and shared with Google+, Facebook, or Twitter. The application also allows a user to record annotations along the path, hear periodic voice announcements of progress, and sync with select third-party bio-metric sensors.

Google has announced that as of the 1st May 2016, MyTracks will be deprecated and no longer available in the Google Play Store.[2][4] The app itself continues to work and is still available to sideload via APK repositories.

An in-app popup alerted users that MyTracks would stop working on April 30, 2016;[5] Google has confirmed[6] they will be investing in "other, more wide-reaching, mapping projects".

Features

History

The application made its debut on February 12, 2009 under a closed license.[1] A year later on March 28, 2010, Google announced the release of the source code and open-sourcing of the application, stating "The collective intelligence of the development community will create a more powerful, more intuitive, more useful, and more robust My Tracks."[7] The first major re-haul of the application came on July 13, 2012 when Google released version 2.0 of the application. Version 2.0 introduced a new interface, support for playing back data in Google Earth for Android (although this feature is broken since Google Earth v8[8]), improved charts, and additional statistics.[9] In 2014 the developers announced on the google code project site that My Tracks is no longer developed in the open and that the source will be removed on 01/01/2015.[10] The last open source version was 2.0.5 released in August 2013.[11]

Reception

As of September 2013, the Google Play Store listed the application as being installed on 10,000,000 – 50,000,000 devices, with an overall rating of 4.4/5 from over 80,000 reviews.[2] CNET gave the application 4/5 stars, praising its "Chart, Statistics, and satellite playback" and ability to pause recordings but criticized it for an "unattractive interface" and lack of "athletic-specific features".[12] PCWorld awarded MyTracks with a perfect 5/5 stars, stating "this app is just about perfect. It is intuitive to use and very stable." However, PCWorld did mention they would like to see a few features added.[13]

Forks

OpenTracks is an open source fork of Google's MyTrack that respects privacy. It is actively developed, in 2020 Version 3.7.x was published.

References

  1. ^ a b Shankland, Stephen (February 12, 2009). "My Tracks turns Android phone into GPS device". CNET. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "My Tracks". Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  3. ^ "My Tracks". Jan 30, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  4. ^ "My Tracks no longer available after April 30, 2016 - Google Maps Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  5. ^ "Screenshot about App discontinuation (German)". Google+. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Google statement about MyTracks discontinuation". Google. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  7. ^ Dornbush, Sandor; Damazio, Rodrigo (May 28, 2010). "Code for My Tracks is now yours". Google Lat-Long Blog. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  8. ^ "Google Maps and Earth Help Forum: KMZ file won't transfer correctly from My tracks to Google Earth any more". Google Groups. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  9. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (July 13, 2012). "Google Launches MyTracks 2.0 GPS App For Hikers, Bikers & Runners". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  10. ^ "My Tracks for Android - Google Project Hosting". Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  11. ^ https://code.google.com/p/mytracks/downloads/list?can=1&q=&colspec=Filename+Summary+Uploaded+ReleaseDate+Size+DownloadCount
  12. ^ Cabebe, Jaymar (October 4, 2012). "My Tracks review: Google makes a solid multipurpose GPS tracker". CNET. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  13. ^ Rose, Brent (September 14, 2010). "My Tracks". PCWorld. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
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