MyTracks for Android is one of Google’s lesser known mobile apps, but it’s actually a pretty useful tool for those who would like to keep a record of their bike rides, runs, hikes and other outdoor activities. Google itself is actually using it together with Team HTC-Columbia during the Tour de France to track the team’s riders during the event. Today, the company is releasing version 2.0 of the free app, which introduces a new interface, as well as support for playing back data in Google Earth for Android, improved charts and additional statistics for evaluating performance trends.

The app made its debut in 2009 and Google open-sourced the code a year later.

There is obviously no dearth of GPS apps for most mobile platforms. Google’s offering is pretty competitive, though, and the fact that it’s designed to work for multiple sports gives it a leg up over some of the more specialized apps in the Google Play store.

Just like many of its competitors, the app is compatible with a number of third-party sensors, including the Zephyr HxM and Polar WearLink Bluetooth heart rate monitors. The app also supports ANT+ compatible sensors (though you need to own one of the few ANT+ compatible phones to make this work)

Users can export their data as standard GPX, KML, CSV and TCX files and also see their data in Google Maps, Google Fusion Tables and Google Docs. Users can also share their routes via Google+, Facebook and Twitter.

Source http://techcrunch.com