Smartphone GPS

Status
Not open for further replies.
supton

supton

Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Messages
23,865
Location
NH
I think I have an account on howardforums... but I'm on here more often.

Time to put more minutes onto my Tracphone. Really I've got no complaints about it. I make like 5min of calls per month, and 5 texts, and I'm good.

But, yesterday we went for a family hike. The sign said 2 miles to the top. Where did we turn around? No idea how far we had gone. We do have GPS units in the cars for when we take trips; didn't think of grabbing one of those. But I'm wondering if it might be time to find some smartphone and put it onto Page Plus with a minimal dataplan (really only want the data when on vacation, I'm usually someplace with WiFi--and I prefer my iPad mini anyhow).

Are the GPS units in the smartphones any good? I'm not looking for crazy good maps (although it'd be nice). I'm absolutely not interested in a $45/month dataplan. I'm just wondering if, for the cost of a new GPS unit, if "for but a bit more" I could get a phone and GPS.
 
The chips are fine. You're probably more interested in what apps there are for topographic purposes. Also, the power management may be poorer on the smart phone than on a topo handheld device.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
But I'm wondering if it might be time to find some smartphone and put it onto Page Plus with a minimal dataplan (really only want the data when on vacation, I'm usually someplace with WiFi--and I prefer my iPad mini anyhow).

You don't necessarily need a data plan either. There are apps out there (Osmand, for example) that allow you to load and store maps directly in your phone's memory/storage.

However, for hiking/off road type excursions, you may need some specialized maps.
 
That's the thing, some of the trails I go on are simply unmarked/small local ones. Wouldn't expect those to be on maps. More of, where have I been, how much elevation change, how far have we gone sort of thing.
 
Phone GPS is typically A-GPS (assisted GPS), meaning it leverages the GPS system in addition to the cell towers for precise location. If you are out of range of towers, or have a very weak signal, the margin of error goes way up.
 
The offline map applications for smartphones work exactly like the ones for standalone GPS units. The traditional smartphone GPS apps require a data plan - and connection.

I find they both have their uses. My iPhone's GPS (Telenav, Maps, etc.) are better at finding "the next Starbucks" while on the road, but they also have an annoying habit of losing connection at the most inopportune times. I find the worst place for the smartphone GPS apps is downtown in big cities where the data connection can be spotty. This makes the directions lag and you can miss a critical turn at times.

On the other hand, when you have a decent data connection I prefer my phone. You always have it with you and you never have to update the maps. So for those reasons I tend to use my phone the most but there are times when I make a point to bring along the GPS unit.
 
A friend of mine was competing in an autonomous vehicle competition (basically, take an RC car and make it drive itself around a course) and using a smartphone as the "brains". He was using the built-in accelerometer, compass, and GPS, along with some external ultrasonic sensors, to get around the course. Long story short, he wound up disabling the GPS because it was introducing too much error.

He told me that if he let the thing converge for a good 15 minutes before driving, it was reliable and helpful, but for the competition they were not allowed to do that.

Long story short, phone GPSes are not as good as standalone devices... but for hiking, they're probably good enough.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Phone GPS is typically A-GPS (assisted GPS), meaning it leverages the GPS system in addition to the cell towers for precise location. If you are out of range of towers, or have a very weak signal, the margin of error goes way up.

The GPS Test app on my phone reports accuracy within 10 feet, regardless if I have the wireless radio on or off. Not sure how reliable this is though.
 
> Long story short, phone GPSes are not as good as standalone devices... but for hiking, they're probably good enough.

Like I said, the chips are just fine.

http://www.csr.com/news/pr/release/455/en

My now 3 year old smartphone has a better chip in it (SIRFStar IV) than my standalone car GPS, Garmin 3590, a SIRFStar III. Since that Garmin was released, the car GPS market has dropped quite a bit, and pricing pressure is downward, precisely because the smartphone market is better as a car GPS than a standalone device for the vast majority.


The SiRFstarIV GSD4t at the heart of the Samsung GALAXY S II is a host-based GPS receiver optimized for smartphones and other mobile consumer devices that contain their own powerful application processors. The essence of the SiRFstarIV breakthrough is its ability to continually maintain “better-than-hot-start” conditions in the GPS receiver for fast location fixes without having to be kept fully turned on all the time and draining precious battery power. Because of its SiRFstarIV architecture, the GSD4t is able to deliver superior performance with low-power efficiency in a compact design.

High Performance: The GSD4t receiver provides high performance, with navigation to -160 dBm, tracking to -163 dBm and excellent pass margins for E911 and 3GPP. It can maintain its full rated -160 dBm acquisition sensitivity without network assistance.

Low Power: The GSD4t receiver requires only 8 mW in 1-Hz TricklePower mode — two and a half times less energy than the SiRFstarIII architecture.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: dparm
Phone GPS is typically A-GPS (assisted GPS), meaning it leverages the GPS system in addition to the cell towers for precise location. If you are out of range of towers, or have a very weak signal, the margin of error goes way up.

The GPS Test app on my phone reports accuracy within 10 feet, regardless if I have the wireless radio on or off. Not sure how reliable this is though.



Go somewhere with less-than-optimal line-of-sight to the sky. In a city with tall buildings, phone GPS is laughably inaccurate unless it can take advantage of the cell towers.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm

Go somewhere with less-than-optimal line-of-sight to the sky. In a city with tall buildings, phone GPS is laughably inaccurate unless it can take advantage of the cell towers.

Well yeah, but that holds true for any GPS, not just the phone one.

Besides, the OP is hopefully not going to be hiking around tall buildings.
smile.gif
 
My Samsung Galaxy Centura on Tracfone works fine for driving with Google Maps. Never used the GPS stuff for anything else.
 
Not tall buildings. [Do we have tall buildings in NH?] But I had an old Garmin E-Trex(?), geez must have been 10+ years old. That thing would constantly lose signal. I'm told the chips got better. But I often am in dense woods on the side of a mountain. Like hiking Mount Kearsarge.

Don't see this item replacing the GPS in the car. That's a standalone unit, tells me what to do next, and it's paid for.
wink.gif
 
Last edited:
When I travel outside the US I don't get data. I just use google maps. You can zoom in on what you want cached via wifi and say "ok maps" and google will cache a 10 by 10 mile square. You can cache 10 of these. It's worked well for me in the past.

This is for android, I have no idea about iphone.

And yes the gps in my Galaxy s4 works very well.
 
My Galaxy Note 10.1 is WiFi only and I can cache Google Maps data as you describe.

A reasonably modern smart phone without data can do this as well.
 
Have to say, I'm now suddenly doubling my desire for a smartphone: I figured out how to link my iPad to my truck so I could listen to music. Get this: if I turn the truck off it pauses the music! Then when I start it, after a minute or two it starts again!

Tracfone has some cheapie smartphones. I'm 99% sure I really want an iPhone (wife and kids have iPod Touches, I have an iPad mini) but I'm too cheap for a plan, so I might have to go with Android.

Oh... That reminds me, if it's Android it might run that Torque app, hmm...
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Have to say, I'm now suddenly doubling my desire for a smartphone: I figured out how to link my iPad to my truck so I could listen to music. Get this: if I turn the truck off it pauses the music! Then when I start it, after a minute or two it starts again!

Tracfone has some cheapie smartphones. I'm 99% sure I really want an iPhone (wife and kids have iPod Touches, I have an iPad mini) but I'm too cheap for a plan, so I might have to go with Android.

Oh... That reminds me, if it's Android it might run that Torque app, hmm...


There's apps like that for iOS as well. I use it all the time!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Shel_B
Using GPS Coordinates to Find Locations
Replies
10
Views
582
Shel_B
G
Radar Detectors
2 3
Replies
48
Views
1K
D1sc
JHZR2
Horrendous AT&T cell service
5 6 7
Replies
129
Views
6K
Joe1
A
Here is a sound bar recommendation - JBL BAR 500
Replies
3
Views
1K
alarmguy
Thermo1223
Stop using GPS Truckers...
2
Replies
38
Views
2K
CanAmAndMore
Back
Top