Widget: Crumbs! breadcrumb and waypoint map

We've just released a new "breadcrumb map" widget called Crumbs!
https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/61b7f2ff-e5c9-4814-bbd0-0fe12b8eaf82

Crumbs! from dynamicWatch lets you see at glance where you are on a simple map, on your Garmin Vivoactive, Fenix 3, Forerunner 230, 235, 630 or 920XT, D2 Bravo or Epix GPS watch. Crumbs! is a widget that offers some of the map display features of our more comprehensive dwMap watch app, but is just a simple swipe or button push away from your watch face. Widgets launch quickly, show you a small piece of information, then close again. When you open Crumbs! it will try to get a GPS signal and once it has a fix it will show your position and direction of travel, and add a breadcrumb every second to its map.

Map points are only added while the widget is open, but the idea is that you will open the widget from time to time as you move and each time it will add a few more breadcrumbs, giving you a picture of where you have been. The map is saved each time the widget is closed and immediately shown again when it's reopened.

The first point saved, your start point, will be marked with red square, and you can drop 9 more waypoints to mark places on your path. To drop a new waypoint at your current location, tap the screen or press the Down button (depending on your watch model). Press the Menu button (hold Up button on some models) to delete the last waypoint or to clear the map and reset your start point.

More detailed information and user guide: http://is.gd/dwcrumbs

As always, please post feedback and comments here. In particular we're looking for real-world feedback on how well this sort of mapping works as a widget. We've learned a lot from our dwMap watch app, and are confident that works well in the more rich application environment, and we're continuing to refine dwMap (in particular its sometimes slow map redraws).

TeunMo over 9 years ago

Thank! What a fantastic idea for a widget!

I just installed it, but I'll make sure I try it tomorrow and give you a review.

TeunMo over 9 years ago

I tried the widget on my forerunner 920XT, but it doesn't work very well (yet):
- If the widget doesn't have a GPS lock within a second, it doesn't get one at all;
- If it does get a GPS lock, it only adds one breadcrumb (no additional breadcrumbs every second, as advertised).

I hope this can be fixed, because I really like the idea.

mappicus over 9 years ago

I tried the widget on my forerunner 920XT, but it doesn't work very well (yet):
- If the widget doesn't have a GPS lock within a second, it doesn't get one at all;
- If it does get a GPS lock, it only adds one breadcrumb (no additional breadcrumbs every second, as advertised).

I hope this can be fixed, because I really like the idea.

Re your first point, how long have you waited (pressing a button such as Up every so often to keep the widget open)?
Re your second point, are you sure it's only getting one point, because the initial scale is set to a certain minimum and unless you're moving then the points will be drawn quite close together?

Thanks for the feedback and we'll continue to work on the widget.

TeunMo over 9 years ago

I've waited a couple of minutes the first time, while walking, but I didn't get a GPS lock. Later today I first activated device to cache the GPS fix. Then returned to watch face and directly to widget. This time I did get a lock and a bread crumb. I was walking a short distance at that time. About 500 meters. If I understand correctly, the bar at the lower left corner said that 0.1 km (or mile?) is close to 1 cm on the screen. So I would expect to see a trail, since I kept the widget active.

It's close to midnight here, but I'll try again tomorrow.

mappicus over 9 years ago

I've waited a couple of minutes the first time, while walking, but I didn't get a GPS lock. Later today I first activated device to cache the GPS fix. Then returned to watch face and directly to widget. This time I did get a lock and a bread crumb. I was walking a short distance at that time. About 500 meters. If I understand correctly, the bar at the lower left corner said that 0.1 km (or mile?) is close to 1 cm on the screen. So I would expect to see a trail, since I kept the widget active.

It's close to midnight here, but I'll try again tomorrow.

Yes over that distance it should have picked up a few points that would be visible. And yes, it will be either km or mi depending on your watch units setting.