a bit of help for a GPS question please - General Topics

I've run a search on the forum but can't see anything that specific on this as far as guidance goes. dunno if this is gonna sound noobish but here goes.
GPS + tom tom.
would I be correct in saying that if you don't have a contract, ie you are on pay as you go, then GPS won't work cause data transmission needs to be part of the contract?
It's just, that up till now I always thought that being pay as you go I wouldn't be able to use GPS on my XDA unit.
however, I'm now wondering if I've got this wrong as a lot of the GPS units are bluetooth so I'm starting to wonder if I'm some kind of moron.
help advice etc appreciated to clear up my misunderstanding.

GPS use GPS satelites they dont have anything to do with the gsm network
you can use tomtom gps with pda's which are not phones
if you want

so as long as I have a gps receiver that is bluetooth compatible it won't use up any call credit etc and I will be using the likes of tom tom on the XDA 2s?
have I got that right? so I would pair the gps reciever to the phone and that would be about it.

gps dont use gsm ever no matter if you use it 24/7
and first swollow your sim card it dont mean anything unless you set tomtom or something up to get traffic or spycam stuff over gprs
you simply cant get gps from gsm they are 2 100% seperate things
gps is free and require it's own antenna you can use bluetooth ones
or you can use wired ones
it's all the same
p.s. your picture show you have a xda1 if that is the case then you dont have bluetooth and need to get the wired gps antenna look at tomtom's site which one is compatible with xda1

Tellan, sounds like u r confusing gps and gprs data. Gps is part of a sat nav setup(no cost for signal), while gprs is used to transfer data to and from ur xda(charged by how much data is transferred).
You may have found that u cannot access the internet on payg o2, this is not a fault on either the xda or the settings you may have. O2 dont allow it on payg in the UK! Though there are settings available that give u free access on payg, pm me if u want them.
Back to gps look on ebay uk and you will find a supplier selling the older style (leadtek 4951, I think) with all cables required for car fixing & xda charging for approx £40 delivered. Got myself one couple of months ago and it works great.
Word of caution dont bother with Tom Tom 5 go for TT3, 5 is full of bugs and can cause lots of problems. I had to resort to a hard reset to get things working properly.
Hope this helps, if u have any queries just ask again.

aaaah. that's were the confusion lies.
BTW I now have a XDA IIs coming and I will be selling my loyal XDA 1 shortly once I have everything transferred over.
right, so now I need a car kit and tom tom 3. what's a reasonable price to be paying for that stuff.
I'm asssuming with the car kit for the XDA IIs that I'm needing it to charge in the cradle as GPS munches battery power for breakfast.
BTW I'm going to get a 2400mah battery. from what I've seen on the web it's only a shade bigger at the back and will still fit the standard case.
any particular BT GPS recievers that are heartily recommeneded over the top of others.

If you get a wired gps it will charge the phone and gps, you will then just need a cheap mount. Look on ebay and you will get it cheaply. Just search on www.ebay.co.uk for "xda gps"

Related

Anyone using the Navman GPS 4400 with XDA II in Australia?

I am looking at getting a GPS module for use with my XDA II and want navigation software for when I return to Australia in a few months time.
I'm currently in Sydney on holiday and came across the Navman GPS 4400 Wireless receiver with Australian navigation software for AUD$849
I'm new to the idea of PPC GPS having previously used a stand alone GPS so I have a few questions to anyone currently using the Navman GPS 4400 with XDA II Australian software combination.
Is AUD$849 a good price?
Does it work well with the XDA II?
If I use a BT headset can I use the BT GPS at the same time?
Is the map coverage good, fair or poor?
Thanks.
Ed
NAVMAN and Upgrade ROM
I have used the 4400 with an XDA II in Europe, but I'm afraid that after a recent upgrade to the new O2 Asia 1.60ROM I have lost the functionailty completely. TOWA's BTTools 1.02, which worked well with the 1.52 ROM will not work with the upgraded ROM, nor will the BTTools 1.1. I can only set COM7 on the profile, which is precisely the COM port not available on the NAVMAN.
I could not use the BT Headset with the BT GPS at the same time.
As far as map coverage in Australia, I have seen it and it appears to be quite good.
I paid AU$1080 for the Euro maps so your price looks good, but check out the LeadTek GPS unit as well. It seems to have the edge over the 4400 as far as low strength areas are concerned.
Cheers
Fixed, of all the simple things
After yesterday's post, a friend and I had another try to get things working between the XDAII and the 4400, and succeeded.
Firstly make sure you unbond all other Bluetooth devices first so that the NAVMAN gets first pick of the ports.
Install "BTTools", the new 1.1 versions does work. When you bond with the 4400 you will still need to run the "enablechar.exe" program. You will be offered port 7 on TOWA's connect page.
When you open the NAVMAN software, select port 7, 57600 speed.
Here is a little tip that I overlooked. There will be a red box just to the left of the port selection box. If you tap that it opens the port and turns green!!!. How NAVMAN expect you to just find that is amazing as it is not labelled at all. Stupid Software design. (or possibly stupid operator ).
Anyway, happy driving when you get back.
About the only downside of a phone pda combo is that when the phone rings you lose your GPS screen, usually at a critical turn.
Cheers 8)
Thanks for the updated information Camstech, greatly appreciated.

GPS Navigation Possible?

I saw a friend who just got the HTC Tilt and had a TomTom navigation program installed on it that worked without pairing it with a bluetooth gps receiver.
I know that the xv6700 has the built in gps (for 911) and was wondering if anyone has gotten a navigation program to work with this phone without purchasing an additional BT GPS Receiver.
NOPE!
If you do a search you will find this question has been asked lots of times!
Sorry, I too hoped it would work!
Works Fine
I use the Tilt with TomTom everyday. It works fine using the built in GPS.
I'd love to see a hack to be able to use TomTom on my xv6700....anyone come up or leading up to one ?
I have a XV6700 with TomTom but in order to get it to work I had to go and get a Bluetooth GPS antenna. The built in GPS chip does not work with TomTom only E911. Using it with the bluetooth it works REALLY great.
HTH
Once and for all, the 6700 has E911 GPS only, it cannot be used wtih turn by turn gps applications. If you really want/need some form of inaccurate navigation and don't want to buy a bluetooth gps unit, your options are Microsoft Live Search, Google Maps, or Navizon.
This thread should be closed.
Apache GPS
I've recently upgraded the Titan to the new radio version that allows for built in functionality. Does anyone know if the new Apache radio will work, or if a newer one is coming out?
as many times as this has been posted and with the post above yours you still ask this question. the apache has no real fuctioning gps chipset. it functions for 911 location only. end of story
i would like to beg to differ, the 6800 does not have a dedicated GPS chip but the same GPSone chip the 6700 has... it may be a newer version of the chip but it does the same thing the 6700 does. if someone who isnt closed minded cares to take their time to try to extract the information from the 6800's radio firmwares and impliment it on the 6700 it should work.. the only thing that could stop us from using that chip is if it is hardware locked. all you have to do is redesign the radio firmware and put it into an existing kitchen rom... I will try to figure it out but ive never worked with building custom roms before and it will likely take a long time to get anywhere... i am sure someone who is any good at kitchen roms would be willing to take a crack at it
yeah but you miss the big picture. a chip isnt worth a hill of silicone if you dont have an antenna to hook to it
madmattco said:
yeah but you miss the big picture. a chip isnt worth a hill of silicone if you dont have an antenna to hook to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, if the problem is *also* that there is no antenna attached, will it be possible to solder a connection from the chip to use the phone antenna??
willfck4beer said:
So, if the problem is *also* that there is no antenna attached, will it be possible to solder a connection from the chip to use the phone antenna??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if there is no antenna attached, then how is the e911 getting its gps signal fix?
Jeff
most do it by triangulating between 3 or so cell towers
the program GPS Today has a feature that can used cell phone tower based positioning instead of a GPS receiver. i've never tested it because i have a 6800 with fantastic GPS, but its worth a try. Its free and pretty damn cool, so that would be crazy if the solution was that easy. try it out.
http://m.geoterrestrial.com/
There was a long thread about this over on pdaphonehome a while back. In short:
YES, the PPC-6700 DOES have stand alone GPS functionality. There was an email from HTC posted where they confirmed this. The reason it does not work stand alone is because Sprint requested it be disabled (I guess they wanted to charge for their own navigation package). But there is built in GPS that can use cell tower triangulation and regular GPS. Some people actually had the Verizon version working in a roundabout way for a while.
I went so far as to install Sprint's Nav software after I got on a plan that included navigation (for my wife's Instinct). It ran fine, but could never get a signal.
Sorry to bump an old thread-
Since the GPS hack is out for the XV6800, can it, or something similar be applied to the PPC6700?
iornslave said:
i would like to beg to differ, the 6800 does not have a dedicated GPS chip but the same GPSone chip the 6700 has... it may be a newer version of the chip but it does the same thing the 6700 does. if someone who isnt closed minded cares to take their time to try to extract the information from the 6800's radio firmwares and impliment it on the 6700 it should work.. the only thing that could stop us from using that chip is if it is hardware locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, I'm not sure where this info came from or what planet this phone came from, but it is completely inaccurate. Here's the story and please, DO NOT post anymore "Can I" questions on this as it is not a viable issue.
The 6800 (known by HTC as the Titan) has the Qualcomm MSM7500 "cell phone on a chip" chipset. This includes their GPSOne gps solution. It is an integrated GPS receiver for the phone. It is unique to the Qualcomm systems as it is their technology. In essence, it is a standalone gps receiver as it requires drivers to run and can be used independently of other functions.
Now, the 6700 (known by HTC as the Apache) has the Intel Boulevard chip. It is not a "cell phone on a chip" solution as the MSM7500 is. The 6700 would have had the Qualcomm solution (maybe not the 7500, but equivalent for the time), but legal matters complicated things and HTC signed with Intel instead. The Apache HAS gps built in as does EVERY cell phone made after a certain date set by the government requiring ALL cell phone manufacturers to include a GPS solution for E911 location requirements. These solutions only need a 2D fix and are not processed in the same manner as an NMEA enabled GPS receiver. As it would be possible to intercept these signals and process them through an intermediate driver, it would be practically worthless as the fix is only approximate (30 meters+-), half or all the data is tower triangulated (aGPS) and the value of the fix is geek value only.
So, if you want to mess with it, go ahead. Just remember, a seperate GPS receiver is a lot less hassle and a lot cheaper.

Best Bluetooth GPS Receiver ????

Hi all..
I am trying to but an external gps bluetooth receiver for vox via a friend in the US . . can you please tell me which is THE BEST model~make within 100$ .. i dunno much about the latest technology in receivers... if u can please leave some information as to wat all to look for in a bluetooth gps reciever... thanks ...waiting for replies....
I can't speak as to which GPS receiver is the best, since I have only owned 1 and have not even tried another one, but I guess that says something too. I have a Holux M-1000 bluetooth gps receiver, that I bought off ebay for about $40 or so about 8 months ago. It has never failed me, only losing reception where all other gps's lose their reception (parking garages, basement, elevators, etc.), and actually has much better reception than my other gps PNA's.
I believe it can connect to 30 or so satellites, and has battery life of about 16 hours for me for it's rechargeable battery. It's not bad, and it is cheaper, cost-wise, than some other more expensive receivers.

[Q] Post your GPS tracks / review here please - As pathetic as Galaxy S?

This topic has been mentioned in other threads but I figured it could be separated to be easier to read. I'm curious about the precision of the Sensation's GPS as I require a reliable GPS unit (for driving and walking navigation).
It does not need to be able to land a tomahawk missile with 2 meter accuracy but it would be good if it can hold to locks and have good precision. Ideally, please post some tracks obrained with MyTracks or similar software.
Details like TTFF times are irrelevant to me. I don't care about how long it takes to lock and all that... only that it tracks accurately after lock, and holds on to locks (been burned before as you can see from the signature, ahah).
I'm also very interested in GPS performance. We each have our own special interests, some focus on audio chips, others 1080p recording, or browser flash zooming. I travel a lot so for me a key is GPS.
As much info as you can post regarding lock times (which I do care about), accuracy, and reliability would be greatly appreciated.
No one is using GPS? You Brits not into traveling?
GPS is good for me
Been using it in the car quite often in the last 3 days.
Works a treat. Probably about 5-7 seconds to lock, then max 5m accuracy at all times.
before i used my desire (pretty much same as the sensation tbh, couldn't fault the Desire with GPS) and also used my gf's Galaxy s1, omg that phone is SO bad with GPS...sometimes it thought i was on completely different roads. Got me very frustrated...and rerouting took ages on that.
Overall...i can't fault it. Pretty much exactly the same as the desire...which was great
Barff1984 said:
GPS is good for me
Been using it in the car quite often in the last 3 days.
Works a treat. Probably about 5-7 seconds to lock, then max 5m accuracy at all times.
before i used my desire (pretty much same as the sensation tbh, couldn't fault the Desire with GPS) and also used my gf's Galaxy s1, omg that phone is SO bad with GPS...sometimes it thought i was on completely different roads. Got me very frustrated...and rerouting took ages on that.
Overall...i can't fault it. Pretty much exactly the same as the desire...which was great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for the update. Just what I wanted to hear. Your description of the SGS is all too familiar. Really looking forward to getting my hands on the Sensation.
While iv not used the navigation, ive used google maps abit playing around etc.. and seems to be very accurate - more then my old desire anyway and i thought that was good !
samnada said:
No one is using GPS? You Brits not into traveling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the reviews I see on the net, it seems no one uses GPS anymore, at least not on phones. Most reviewers don't even bother to dedicate a single paragraph to GPS performance, those that do, mention some lame irrelevant notes on how fast the first lock was and how accurate it showed their location at the time and how all the bars looked colourful and pretty during the 8 seconds before they closed the application and went on with the review to the really important matters like mentioning if it synchs with Facebook fast enough and if the weather widget is really accurate or not.
Expecting them to drive around 10 minutes and walk around as much and record and show tracks on a map would be too much. It's a "if you want GPS, why don't you buy a real GPS son? This is just a phone!" world, even when phones cost 500€+ and list GPS+Sat Nav capability on the box.
One thing is for sure, I might get called all sorts of nasty things again but I'm not spitting out 599€ like I did for that SGS I again to later find out that its tracks look like something that a drunk 8 year old with a crayon XXXX'ed all over a map in total darkness.
And to the crowd mentioned 2 paragraphs above, it's not that I navigate a lot, but when I do, I like to use the phone, and since it was pricey and the specs state it has GPS and is navigation capable, I like to navigate with it or tend to curse. A lot.
If all else fails, I can perhaps use the same well-proven method I have used with Samsung's fine Galaxy S. I just give them my 599€, use it, find out it is crap, store the pathetic tracks for public display, return it and recover my euros and any eventual bonus points for credit card usage.
But I'd rather not.
So; Anyone lost lately? With a Sensation? Anyone?
Bump on this one.
Should be easy for someone to download gps-status and put a small 2 minute movie on youtube.
Same as the others here I am using 'a phone' most of the time for GPS purposes.
The lock time is not the single most important thing in GPS reception. Also accuracy and jitter are very important.
My best GPS receiver in the phones I owned was the Touch HD. Good and stable lock and especially no jitter. Meaning when driving at 100kmh it would show 100 and not 102-98-101-etc etc
My HD2 is now has a fast lock, but lets not talk about the other GPS capabilities.
I am doubting between the Sensation and the ... drumrolls... Galaxy S2!
I have seen some pretty bad S1 movies and comments but it seems that with the S2 they have done a good job on the receiver.
This is one compared to the Desire S http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZzJyKtPkHw
That looks pretty impressive but only shows the receivers sensitivity.
lukesan said:
Bump on this one.
Should be easy for someone to download gps-status and put a small 2 minute movie on youtube.
Same as the others here I am using 'a phone' most of the time for GPS purposes.
The lock time is not the single most important thing in GPS reception. Also accuracy and jitter are very important.
My best GPS receiver in the phones I owned was the Touch HD. Good and stable lock and especially no jitter. Meaning when driving at 100kmh it would show 100 and not 102-98-101-etc etc
My HD2 is now has a fast lock, but lets not talk about the other GPS capabilities.
I am doubting between the Sensation and the ... drumrolls... Galaxy S2!
I have seen some pretty bad S1 movies and comments but it seems that with the S2 they have done a good job on the receiver.
This is one compared to the Desire S http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZzJyKtPkHw
That looks pretty impressive but only shows the receivers sensitivity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS and compass demo vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mivpOyvNU30
samnada said:
GPS and compass demo vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mivpOyvNU30
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow great demo...
Sorry for my ignorance, but do i need to be on a 3G to be able to use the maps the way it is used in the video?
mazinya said:
Wow great demo...
Sorry for my ignorance, but do i need to be on a 3G to be able to use the maps the way it is used in the video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes Google maps needs to download the info...
I'm not sure if you can cache
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
mazinya said:
Wow great demo...
Sorry for my ignorance, but do i need to be on a 3G to be able to use the maps the way it is used in the video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The video shows several different apps.
Google Maps, Earth, and Navigation do require a data connection to initially download the map segments. Nav now caches the segments used for a specific route so that once you're underway you can lose the connection and still navigate and even recalculate routes.
I haven't owned a HTC phone, but it's my understanding that the Locations app from HTC uses TomTom maps which are resident on the phone, and do not need a data connection. I also believe there are two levels, free and premium, so some features are only available if you pay.
http://pocketnow.com/android/htc-desire-hd-locations-navigation
Being abroad i wont be using 3G connection as it will make me go bankrupt very fast so i would like to know that if im traveling abroad and i wanna navigate myself just like in the video i will be able to do that without any kind of internet connection
mazinya said:
Being abroad i wont be using 3G connection as it will make me go bankrupt very fast so i would like to know that if im traveling abroad and i wanna navigate myself just like in the video i will be able to do that without any kind of internet connection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WON'T WORK.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
mazinya said:
Being abroad i wont be using 3G connection as it will make me go bankrupt very fast so i would like to know that if im traveling abroad and i wanna navigate myself just like in the video i will be able to do that without any kind of internet connection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on which specific apps you want to use. Google apps (Maps, Navigation, and Earth) require a data connection. As I indicated, my understanding of HTC Locations is it uses maps stored locally on the phone, so no data connection is required, although getting a GPS lock without a connection can take a bit longer since A-GPS can't be used.
Another thing to consider is buying a local SIM in the country you travel to. Rates are typically MUCH cheaper. I was in Paris last year and bought a Orange SIM with 1 month of unlimited data for about 20 Euros total. I used 3G most of every day navigating around the city, translation, etc., and it worked perfectly. It takes a bit of research in each country to find the deals, and get it set up, which can be somewhat of a challenge where language is a barrier, but it can be well worth the effort. I plan to do the same in Italy in October.
samnada said:
Depends on which specific apps you want to use. Google apps (Maps, Navigation, and Earth) require a data connection. As I indicated, my understanding of HTC Locations is it uses maps stored locally on the phone, so no data connection is required, although getting a GPS lock without a connection can take a bit longer since A-GPS can't be used.
Another thing to consider is buying a local SIM in the country you travel to. Rates are typically MUCH cheaper. I was in Paris last year and bought a Orange SIM with 1 month of unlimited data for about 20 Euros total. I used 3G most of every day navigating around the city, translation, etc., and it worked perfectly. It takes a bit of research in each country to find the deals, and get it set up, which can be somewhat of a challenge where language is a barrier, but it can be well worth the effort. I plan to do the same in Italy in October.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for great advices. Looks like the HTC locations is the money free solution then.
Its odd as i always thought that navigating while driving and navigating while walking is the same in a manner that they are both require a satellite lock and not an internet connection... I really thought its as simple as that.. load the program, get a satellite lock and start navigating.. Guess not
mazinya said:
Thanks for great advices. Looks like the HTC locations is the money free solution then.
Its odd as i always thought that navigating while driving and navigating while walking is the same in a manner that they are both require a satellite lock and not an internet connection... I really thought its as simple as that.. load the program, get a satellite lock and start navigating.. Guess not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not quite that simple. It depends on the specific app you are using, where the maps are stored, and also whether you want the fastest initial GPS lock or not. In general things work better with a data connection, but with some apps it's not required.
Another point I may not have been clear about, the Locations app has a free and a premium version. Some features are only available with the paid premium upgrade. You'll need to check with your phone vendor, or HTC to get the details of the features in each version and the pricing.
I can confirm that you need no internet connection to use HTC Locations. As I travel a lot I us it quite often. Navigation while walking is free. For driving navigation you have to pay. HTC offers diffrent periods you can buy. So for my last trip in Spain with rented car I paid cca 4 euros for 1 month driving navigation. Before that I visited Wien Austria and since I walked around on foot I paid nothing. And to download maps its free.
So as you can see I realy like built in HTC Location. Cheers
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
I think the gps is pretty good. Just had gps status on for some minutes on the bus and out of town I had a lock in what seems like <1 sec with progressively more satellites up to around 10. A constant error of 3-5m with dop/hdop/vdop 1.4 1.0 1.1.
Then when I entered the city (Amsterdam, btw, near central station) the dop went up to 2.0 and an error of around 6m.
Most importantly for you, I think, is that when I was still out of town I checked gmaps and saw that we were actually driving on the bus lane in a straight line. Unfortunately had no time to check maps here.
So how does that sound to you? Coming from an HD2 without agps on android, this is pretty impressive to me. With WM I never had an accurate status program, though I remember the gps being fine as well.
samnada said:
Depends on which specific apps you want to use. Google apps (Maps, Navigation, and Earth) require a data connection. As I indicated, my understanding of HTC Locations is it uses maps stored locally on the phone, so no data connection is required, although getting a GPS lock without a connection can take a bit longer since A-GPS can't be used.
Another thing to consider is buying a local SIM in the country you travel to. Rates are typically MUCH cheaper. I was in Paris last year and bought a Orange SIM with 1 month of unlimited data for about 20 Euros total. I used 3G most of every day navigating around the city, translation, etc., and it worked perfectly. It takes a bit of research in each country to find the deals, and get it set up, which can be somewhat of a challenge where language is a barrier, but it can be well worth the effort. I plan to do the same in Italy in October.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A little bit off-topic, but did u get unlimited voice on that Orange SIM too?
cuz im planning to visit Paris in July for a month, and i was worried about what i should do in that regard....

Gps in the watch ia useless if you dont have a service plane.

I went out and got the 300$ from att (i have sprint) because the non gps was 250 so isaid why not get gps for 50 more and a mic and speaker. ..but guess what u cant use gps WITH OUT A SERVICE PLAN. The gps is useless... doesnt work for anything. Nike app doesnt use the gps. Ill try a health and see... i have network off with gps on. Anything that can use GPS asks for service connection... really sucks if you ask me.
Samsung must fix this. Its pointless having gps tied behind a carrier pay wall. Seeiously im super upset about this. Huge bummer. I dont want to carry my phone on me for runs to have gps when it already inside the watch .....
Even with the service plan GPS is not good enough. I did 4 walks and runs so far with different results from my runkeeper running on Galaxy S4 smartphone. Not sure if it is a software issue or GPS chip or reception issue.

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