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What the hell is the point to have GPS on the tilt when it has the worst reception in the world? I have to have the phone either touching the window or on the dash to even get a signal in my car. And if I am in a wooded area, dont even think about getting a signal....is there any way to boost the signal? seems just like a waist of battery life when it dosent work half the time.
Damn i cannot wait until there is a manual on off switch for GPS, then my battery will last a little longer
Um, what? Not sure how to say this nicely, but you need to read some on the GPS in the Tilt. GPS isn't on unless you are using a program that accesses it directly. And, other than being a tad slow to initialize, it's been rated as a rather good GPS device. At least I have zero problems with it. You might try using the QuickGPS program next time before you try the GPS out on anything. What program are you using for the GPS?
GPS isn't running unless you're running a program using it, so there goes the battery savings. Obviously you're not going to get the performance of a $500 GPS unit in a $300 phone with GPS. Agreed though, I couldn't even pick up a signal until I came to a stop today and held the phone out the window! I pretty much just plan on using it on the golf course...
You guys are nuts, it's working beautifully for me, even out in the mountains... It tracks perfectly via Live Search (although it was disconcerting to have it a bit off while driving over a bridge! )
I actually get pretty good signal, i keep the phone in the center console under the stereo and still get almost full reception. Question i had about quickGPS is when you update it do you have to keep it on to get the benefits of using it? or can you just update and then close it?
You can update it and you are good for 6 days. I too have to say that my Kaiser's GPS works really well, even gets a few birds indoors.
I'm using TomTom 6. I've never owned any kind of GPS but I can often get a signal inside my home if I'm close to a window. As I understand it it, this is actually quite a sensitive GPS.
Add me to the list of satisfied owners.
-James
My GPS works great also... something else you may want to realize is that with anything that utilizes a signal from a satellite then it needs to be line of sight... It is possible for the signal to penetrate some structures but its going to be best used when it has a clear view of the sky.
Am also very satisfied with the GPS-reception although my old E-ten Glofiish X500 was a little better at this (but worse on all other stuff... ;-)
Also be aware of the fact that GPS-units in cars with embedded sun-protection in the windscreen (not sure how you call this in English, it is basically this blue-ish thin layer of foil over the whole windscreen) get much worse reception than in cars without this. Usually French cars have this by default.
The QuickGPS (assisted GPS) tool usually does not improve things for me btw.
Edward
I think its quite likely the people complaining has anti-frost layers on their screens.
Surur
surur said:
I think its quite likely the people complaining has anti-frost layers on their screens.
Surur
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Click to collapse
Didn't think about it before, but my Land Rover has the heated windshield with wires running throughout. Probably doesn't help. I'm thoroughly satisfied with it overall though.
Many cars now have a vaporized metal layer in the glass for whole window defrosting, it makes a great shield for blocking satellite signals...
Can't complain about the GPS, its not as good as a dedicated device (Garmin Nuvi). But nice to have with Live Search if traveling without the nuvi.
Performance is not bad in the car. It helps if you're stationary to acquire sats. Anyone know if there is an app to check the sat tracking?
Actually I find it better than a Nuvi (assuming you load a good Nav app on the phone) because you get nav and things like Live Search and Google Maps which together, are pretty awesome.
You can search for GPS viewers but here's one...
I don't have a problem with using any GPS app TT, Copilot, iGo etc and the reception on my unit seems to be peachy, i get sats in my house as well as in cars with front demisters and sun shielding foil (i must just be lucky).
Not had it cut out on me except in tunnels that are too long to keep the signal (although through the Alps I kept full signal for 17 km in a tunnel through a mountain thanks to their internal antenna).
Very happy with the GPS built in its worth the money for the phone on its own for me.
Russ
QuickGPS
I have been using it in my car via Google Maps "Track Location" command from the menu and it has worked like a charm for me. I agree with initiallizing it while stopped, it takes about 30 sec - 1 min to initialize then works great. My car is old and doesn't have any new advances that may interfere.
I was showing it to a friend indoors after using the QuickGPS program (Start -> Programs -> Tools -> QuickGPS) and he suggested that it uses a combination of cell towers vs it's GPS info it downloaded. Don't know if you can use this info to help you out but it may explain a bit.
The GPS works great on the Kaiser. That you don't have to mess with it, i.e. it turns itself on and off completely on its own only when needed is awesome. If you think its onl all the time, you are either running a GPS prog constantly or just confused.
It picks up a signal very very well. The onyl thing I will say is it is n't the most accurate. I mean it isn't quite as accurate as a true Sirf III chipset unit. So, it isn't the best for using for golf (i.e. it can still be a few yards off, enough to matter). But for driving, directions, routing, etc. it works nearly perfectly.
RemE said:
Actually I find it better than a Nuvi (assuming you load a good Nav app on the phone) because you get nav and things like Live Search and Google Maps which together, are pretty awesome.
You can search for GPS viewers but here's one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the cab I'll give it a try. I like to keep things lean on the phone... still trying to make it a phone first, before anything else... So I try to keep apps to a minimum.
In a pinch, MS Live is great! I do prefer the larger screen on my Nuvi for driving... and it seems to do a better job tracking when I'm speeding down the highway.
I am surprised how well it works, I have a Garmin 2610 (yes its old, about 4to 5 years old) I put the Kaiser with TomTom 6 side by side on the car dash and they both perform great, the garmin a bit faster in aquaring Sat signal, but as I drive acuracy and speed its about the same. I still prefer the Garmin due to larger screen but its a dedicated GPS unit the kaiser is a Phone with GPS, but over all I think the GPS on the kaiser is great.
My $0.02 cents (Canadian)
GPS and Tilt
Actually I have a Dell bluetooth GPS receiver and I can confirm that the Tilt GPS works way better than Dell. It takes only few seconds to lock onto the satellites. I am more than satisfied.
I bought my first Captivate at the very beginning of August. I wanted the GPS to work, so I could use it instead of a separate GPS unit sometimes. After about 5 days the GPS was really struggling to lock. I put it outside under the open sky for 5 minutes with GPS Test, and it saw lots of satellites but used zero. I reset the phone and poof, it worked properly again. That seemed like a strange bug to me. I heard an update was coming by the end of September, but that was going to be outside my 30 days, so I returned my Captivate to Best Buy and got my $230 back, no problems.
Sept 7, I bought a new Captivate, now only $150 at Best Buy. This one worked fine and the GPS never completely failed like the first one did. But I didn't test much as I waited for the update. September 22 I forced the update on my normal unrooted captivate, and it went fine. I did some testing and the GPS seemed to track OK and lock in a reasonable time. Now its a week later and it still seems good.
Here are a couple comments.
First a note on my GPS experience. I own 3 GPS units besides the Captivate, and older MIO C230, a Garmin eTrex Centure HC, and SPOT 2 GPS Messenger. I also have extensive experience with a Garmin Nuvi 1390T. I ride a dirt bike in the desert and have used tracks to navigate extensively.
- Time to get satellite lock. The Captivate does often take a while to lock on the satellites. But so do all my other GPS devices. Sometimes they lock quickly, but often they can take a minute or more. This is related to whether they have stored data on where they are, and thus know where to look for the satellites. At any rate I don't always get a quick lock on the Captivate, but it has never failed to get a lock under a clear sky if I give it up a minute or two. 10m resolution is typical once locked under a unobstructed sky. For those having trouble with this: Are you giving the Captivate a clear view of the sky and a couple minutes? Yes, sometimes GPS's lock indoors and really quickly. But in my experience this isn't always true. What I'm saying is the Captivate works similarly to the other GPS's I use. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow. But it is always locking under a clear unobstructed sky within a couple minutes.
- Google maps. After it locks, the captivate shows my location on the map well. As I said above, sometimes lock takes a minute or more. And it requires a clear view of the sky most of the time.
- Track quality. I tested with "My Tracks". I run around town on a scooter every day, so its easy to turn on the tracker and and see what happens. I put the Captivate in my pocket on my thigh, back side facing the sky. The only thing obscuring its view is my body. Basically, it seems to work fine. It certainly works as well as my Garmin eTrex. The eTex tracks are always a bit rough too. Yes, the Captivate track does sometimes cut the corner or the curve and is off the street that I actually rode on. But it basically follows my route well. It has always followed me when I loop around a block, or drive down a short dead end and come back. I can definitely tell where I went and what roads I took when I look at the track. I'm not bothered if it shows me 20-40 feet off the road on occasion (as I have noted, so does my Garmin eTrex). I expect this with a 10m resolution.
- Navigation. I've been using the google Navigation app on drives in the car. I mount the Captivate in a mount on the dash, so it has a clear view of the sky through the glass. It's not on the seat, or in the ashtray or in a cup holder. It's mounted to the windshield close to the front, so it has a good view of a broad expanse of sky. This is exactly how I mount the Mio GPS or Garmin etrex or Garmin Nuvi when I use those in the car. Used like this, my Captivate navigation has been excellent. Frankly, its far better app than the Mio or Garmin Nuvi 1390T that I have used. The searches are quick and I like the presentation. Obviously, in Navigation the app knows to lock you on the street. And when I drive past an indicated turn it always notices immediately.
Summary: So I don't know what has changed since my first Captivate, but this one seems fine to me. I don't know if it's the hardware, or the SW update. But so far mine works as well as the other GPS devices I have used. If it keeps working like this for another week, I'm definitely keeping it. I'm sure some have trouble, as I did with my first Captivate. And I do think some others expect too much: I don't expect the Captivate to be "THE BEST GPS" I have ever seen. I expect it to lock within 2 minutes, work for navigation in my car, to find me on a google map and to record a track of where I went. This all seems to be working for me. (And usually it locks in well under a minute for me). I think I'll keep it... if this performance keeps up.
IMO, YMMV
Carl
vintagephone/Carl. Yours is a very useful write up. I use a Garmin GPS for Geocaching, some street navigation and bicycle riding in the country. What you wrote should be very helpful to someone not so familiar with GPS devices in general. Thanks.
= Ron
I completely agree. People looking at 'my tracks' and showing that there are some slight variations - we don't even know if the google maps is 100% accurate, as I know there are certain places where it doesn't match up directly with the road. I think as long as no errors are being presented during navigation (mine is doing fine in navigation mode) there is not really any complaining that can be done. Even my built in car GPS makes a mistakes once in a blue moon.
I'm not sure what Garmin Nuvi you're using, but I have a 2 yr old 250W and it smokes this phone. The phone has me driving through people's yards and buildings. It has gotten better since the JH7 update, its almost what I would call usable now. Try doing a Mytracks track on it, its a joke how far off it is. Its certainly unusable for that.
derek4484 said:
I'm not sure what Garmin Nuvi you're using, but I have a 2 yr old 250W and it smokes this phone. .
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I'm very familiar with the Garmin I used, a Nuvi 1390T. Negatives for the Garmin included horrible traffic reports, and searches for my destination took forever. Basic Navigation was OK, if you knew the address of where you were going. And if you were going someplace more than 30 miles away (a common undertaking in the LA basin), you just couldn't get there. Searches on the Nuvi only include locations within 30 miles. Frankly, the search was much worse than on my old Mio. I had the Nuvi 1390 for a couple weeks and returned i just as I got my second Captivate. For basic GPS navigation, the Nuvi was OK, but I saw no advantage over the Captivate. Are you mounting your Captivate in the same way and place you are mounting your Nuvi? I actually use a modified Nuvi windshield mount with my Captivate, so my mounting is literally identical.
Now, you Captivate my not work as well as mine. My original Captivate was worse than this one. As I said, YMMV (your mileage may vary).
I use a Garmin V GPS receiver for Geocaching and some other activities which demands a very high degree of accuracy. This receiver will use as many birds as it can find (seldom less than five) to determine its location but a cell phone GPS receiver may limit the number of satellites it tracks to conserve battery power.
Using four satellites, the accuracy of the Garmin V typically comes down to a target area that is two to twenty feet in diameter. This unit is fast; I can watch the current location triangle move past streets just as I am able to make out the street signs.
The Captivate I ordered will not be here until later today so I can't report anything about my experience with that device. I have been using an HTC device (AT&T "Tilt") and Google Maps for several years now and can report it has very good GPS accuracy and speed when compared to the Garmin unit. I would be pleased indeed if the Captivate even comes close to the performance of the Tilt.
As with any GPS device, it has to have line of sight visibility with at least three satellites to report its position with any reliability. Clouds (with heavy moisture), trees and tall buildings can reduce GPS accuracy substantially. Bicycling through heavily forested areas reduces the accuracy of my Garmin V from a few feet to hundreds of feet. As it takes a few minutes for the receiver to "lock on" and recalculate its position, after pedaling through a forested area I can be a mile up the road before the display catches up. Even at bicycle speeds (15MPH) I have missed turns simply because of trees!
With the Tilt, moving on foot around tall buildings, Google Maps sometimes can't figure out where I am. In the car, I usually pull the sunroof shade back so the Tilt gets a clear shot at the sky.
One final point: If I have the Garmin running at home, shut it off, then restart it again when I am fifty miles from home, it takes maybe five minutes to find three in-view birds. There is a feature in the Gamin that allows me to move its cursor to about where I think I am and it, then it uses this information to find new birds. I use this feature frequently and it usually saves two or three minutes locking on to a new set of birds. That feature is not available with the Tilt and it can take a full five minutes for it to find three birds when I change location with the GPS receiver turned off.
I hope these comments are useful. A cell phone with GPS capabilities is understandably no match for a single-purpose GPS receiver and particularly so when the two devices sell for about the same price.
I doubt that it is Maps or myTracks that is off (although I had wondered about this as well) because when you run the Captivate side-by-side with an N1, the N1's lock and track are very fast (almost instantaneous) and flawless. Of course we all know the Captivate's lock and track issues. The N1's track would not be so perfect if it were an issue with the base map accuracy, when the app on both phones is the same and accesses the same data.
The issue can also be seen running GPS Status or GPS Test together too, the N1's lock is always better, although I see no appreciable difference in SNR values for each satellite. It is just like the Captivate simply will not lock, even when it sees the same satellites. That is why I am sure it is the driver issue and therefore fixable.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I was wondering if anyone else experienced EXTREME improvements today after updating Google Maps?? I am to 10-20 meters of accuracy compared to the normal 400 meters. It actually shows me at my house which is WAY WAY in the country!
Most of the time I'm at 10 meters, sometimes it'll get to 5 meters. Maybe it's improved, maybe not.
Mines still off by 5-6 miles. Odd because when i first got it my location was only off by 1/2 mile.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I didn't get to drive but I did get a very fast navigation lock that never happens for me. Also I got a lock inside my house within 10 meters. And the navigation lock was also inside.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Well I tried it with GPS off, here in australia, and my location was only 2 houses off. This is a massive improvement. But that's just based on cell phone towers i guess.., dunno about actual GPS improvement but that would also be nice
Noticed this as well. Was in Orchard Supply earlier and tried out the GPS because my brother was asking about it (he's been thinking about getting captivate). Was able to get a very accurate lock INSIDE the store showing in about 20 seconds where I actually was in the store which was nuts (actually it was pipe fittings aisle ). Tried navigation home from class during the afternoon and it took about 10 seconds to get a lock and never lost me the whole way. My GPS was working fine before but now it's even more accurate/faster.
I second this. I tried with the GPS at home. Locked very quickly, and about 10 meters. Navigation seems working fine too.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Sounds like GMap finally defaults to use A-GPS mode which means faster lock. Accuacy? Not affected.
TRY THIS
Referring to INDOOR accuracy with GPS module off.
I'm noticing that if I have WIFI AND USE WIRELESS NETWORKS ON, the indoor accuracy has improved massively. If I turn WIFI OFF but leave Use Wireless Networks ON, I seem to get standard cell tower location of 500 - 1000 meters.
So, Im assuming this update has enabled Google's version of Skyhook in maps.
Im pretty sure thats what it is since I dont have to be connected to an access point for it to work. Just have WIFI ON.
Nice.
Everyone should disable Skyhook from the LBSmode. I had it disabled since my phone got updated to JH7 but for those how don't...
My settings from factory are:
Skyhook OFF
GPS plus OFF
I to see a improvement. I drive 80 miles one way to work and never lost lock. This has never happened before.
What is GPS plus?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
drfubar said:
Referring to INDOOR accuracy with GPS module off.
I'm noticing that if I have WIFI AND USE WIRELESS NETWORKS ON, the indoor accuracy has improved massively. If I turn WIFI OFF but leave Use Wireless Networks ON, I seem to get standard cell tower location of 500 - 1000 meters.
So, Im assuming this update has enabled Google's version of Skyhook in maps.
Im pretty sure thats what it is since I dont have to be connected to an access point for it to work. Just have WIFI ON.
Nice.
Everyone should disable Skyhook from the LBSmode. I had it disabled since my phone got updated to JH7 but for those how don't...
My settings from factory are:
Skyhook OFF
GPS plus OFF
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Click to collapse
Wi-fi location fix has been in Google Maps for a long time now. It is not new.
Here's my opinion on this. I have nothing to back this up other than what I interpret from behavior I have seen, so it is strictly my opinion/guess.
Ignoring any GPS hardware or software issues there may or may not be, I think that Google Nav has issues from time to time. I don't know if it is because it relies on 3g data to paint maps and determine routes or whatever, but I think it seems to "lag" sometimes. And if it gets a bit off track, it takes too long to recover. Maybe it does it more on a system that struggles with GPS accuracy a bit more, I don't know.
So, my guess would be that an update to Google maps would not contribute anything to a faster GPS lock or more accuracy from GPS, since I guess this happens at the OS level.
However, what we see when navigating, is Google NAV(maps) interpretation of the GPS. So, when it teleports you off the road maybe it's because it isn't smart enough to think, "Hey, a car doesn't just teleport off a road, so I'll wait a couple more seconds to see if it returns before I show it off the road". It already does this to some degree since your accuracy under good conditions can be 10 or 15 meters which could easily put you on a lawn or sidewalk but NAV continues to show you on the road.
So, maybe, Google Maps updates can help make the Nav experience better by being smarter about interpreting GPS data and showing your position within the context of driving a car down the road.
My $.02
Bob
foxbat121 said:
Wi-fi location fix has been in Google Maps for a long time now. It is not new.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do your maps show better accuracy or not? Since that is the topic of the thread you might as well refer to the topic. Or are you just trying to show everyone you know better?
One thing is that the feature was there, another is if it worked properly.
Now it works. Before it didn't.
My navigation isn't the best but I am thrilled to have a quick lock in the boonies where I live... GPS worked decent but lagged in little rock our biggest city.... but I haven't been to the city since the update... I'll let everyone know if it can now navigate there. ... I know my location contributes to the issues!!!! But again I was thrilled to be getting locks!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I updated Maps yesterday and the AGPS sometimes says I'm in Georgia now(I live in PA), lol, in the middle of a highway no less. However the GPS is working better. I got my first lock ever as well as the first time my GPS has ever seen more than 3 satellites(saw 6).
All I can say is that I would be VERY surprised if an update to Google Maps helped GPS locking, how many satellites it sees, or accuracy at the GPS layer on the device.
However, I would not be surprised if a Google Maps update helped with navigation use or even placing you on a map, since it Google Maps can modify it's interpretation of the GPS position.
If your GPS was spotty before, then thinking you are seeing more satellites or better accuracy, using something like GPS Status, is just a placebo.
However, this is pure speculation on my part. I suppose it's possible that Google have modified something at the device layer that controls the GPS chip, but I'm thinking not.
My feedback would be to exchange your phone if your GPS is spotty. I did and my new phone has pretty much perfect GPS.
Bob
How can you tell the actual accuracy in ft or meters in google maps?
If anything for me GPS lock is take longer than before update.
mudfarmer said:
Mines still off by 5-6 miles. Odd because when i first got it my location was only off by 1/2 mile.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
If it is of by that much it is only giving you a network provided location...not a gps position. Turn off use wireless networks to see a gps location
Sent telepathically using vulcan mind meld app.
Hello,
I'm encountering some issues with my Samsung Nexus S GPS. I got the i9023 (Europe/SLCD) version of the phone, which is running default rom (stock), freshly updated to 2.3.4 (via official OTA!).
I couldn't figure why, when using Maps, my position would usually be around 1 km away from where I am. I found out later, this time using Navigation, that it is desperately searching for a GPS signal, that it can't find. Sometimes I manage to get a lock, when I keep it running for like 30 - 40 mins, but it immediately disappears. GPS Statuts keeps showing 0/5 sats.
I was convinced that my GPS chip was defective.
But today, I was hanging out in the city and tried running Navigation. I got a lock, for the first time, within a 15 sec delay. That was the first time that I managed to get live GPS tracking. I've walked a bit around, and the tracking was really, really accurate.
Back home, in my apartment, again I can't get any signal. I live in the 3rd floor, walls aren't that thick and, as for an anecdote, in the same room, my iPhone 3Gs instantly finds my position.
I've bought this phone 6 days ago and therefore still under warranty. Question is, can we say my GPS chip is defective ? Is it worth requesting a replacement ?
Thanks !
1st) You cannot expect to get gps reception inside even with professional equipment. When your iPhone gets a fast fix it's most likely WLAN triangulation. As Apple uses a different database than Google, it may work on on your iPhone and not on your Nexus for a paticular place and vice versa.
2nd) It's unlikely that your gps is broken if you can connect to GSM/UMTS/CDMA2000 networks as gps is processed using the same chipset.
3rd) That 1km-off-fix might be celltower based location, 1km sounds quite plausible.
4th) Try _NOT_ to move until you get GPS fix.
5th) Keep internet access while trying to get a fix. The Nexus S as most phones on the market use assisted gps, where your phone contacts a server that provides data which enables your phone to track its position more easily.
6th) Good luck.
Yes, well, I had 2 friends which came to my place, in my room, and just activated GPS on their iphones and it located them straight away, to our exact position. So it was definitely the GPS tracking and not triangulation.
Indeed, when MY phone locates me off 1 km, this is definitely triangulation or cell-towers.
Of course, when I try to get a fix in my apartment or on my balcony, I just put it on a table and must wait for at least 30 mins to get a lock, and it disappears quickly. Doesn't seem normal to me ...
Finally to answer your 5th point, I got 3G, so a perfect fast & smooth inet connection.
GPS testing should always be done outside, you are not supposed to use it indoors.
What is probably happening there is that the other devices are more sensitive and can still get a lock. You might be able to get a lock if you place your phone very close to the window.
I got a Nexus S recently and noticed that the GPS is quite weaker than the one on my old HTC.
Although the Nexus is faster to get a lock (if you let it use 3G) the GPS itself is less sensitive and accurate.
It looses signal easier, for instance, if i go under some trees, and it takes more time to get signal back after loosing it, for example, if you go under a bridge, the old HTC would get the lock back in 2 seconds after leaving the bridge, the Nexus took half a minute.
Having said that, i think it's good enough for driving navigation, i have done some tests and on the road it behaves well enough.
You shouldn't be surprised, this phone is very similar to the Galaxy S and that had terrible GPS issues, this nexus is better, but still weak.
Thank you for your feedback, temp9300 !
I guess the Nexus S can't compete with iphone's. But it's ok, as long as it works fine outdoors, this is what matters.
Aside from the standard Google Maps, are there any good GPS systems to go along with this phone? Should I just rely on Google Maps?
Google Maps should come with the built in Navigation and it works very well IMHO.
unclespoon said:
Google Maps should come with the built in Navigation and it works very well IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pre-render? Can you have satellite view pre-rendered?
I spent the day driving around in a roughly 25 miles radius, to put the gps of the device to the test. I used google maps as it came pre-installed on the phone and this was my first full day with it.
Gps works as a gps, and functions even with wireless and cellular service disabled. (duh, but had to check it wasn't getting location via 4G)
Worked extremely well, and the radius to my location only raised above 10 meters a few times. Generally speaking I feel comfortable in saying it'll peg the phone to 10 meters through gps alone pretty consistently.
This was at speed in a vehicle, and on foot through parking lots and such. Even though it said to within 10 meters, I found that on foot it pegged the phone to about 3 feet. (1 meter) I could tell this by coming to and crossing roads marked on the map, and being zoomed in gauging how far that road actually was in front of me)
Using GPS only for location services, I lost reception whenever I entered a building, but sometimes it would find it again. Some of the buildings I walked into have enough electrical interference that cell phones don't get reception, so it was a good run of places to test it.
I got a handful of errands run in the process, so it was a pretty win situation.
For an out of the box solution, i'm impressed. It did much better then my year and a half old bottom of the line garmin nuvi 255w. Granted I bought that as the cheapest one I could find at the time, so it's no surprise this phone has a much more advanced gps functionality.
One of the reasons I purchased this device was to replace my GPS. When I bought the GPS unit I wasn't sure it would be worth the money at the time. Since then i've capitalized on having it by getting a job that entails a lot of running around to different locations, and a GPS unit is a necessity for the work. I've been looking to get a better GPS unit then a low end model for a while now.
I'm definitely on the lookout for other GPS capable map apps to use for navigation - what's better and why?
I'm excited to finally try Satellite imagery on my next trip. Most coverage areas certainly cover the traveled highways, so it should be very interesting.
Now if I can just find that pesky windshield mount!
After a few days of heavy usage, i'll say that using google maps in satellite view for gps navigation in a vehicle absolutely chews through battery power.
Not too bad with regular map view.
Also, more time spent on foot gets me to reasonably often within 4 meters on foot in the more populated areas.
I've been intentionally not using my car charger while doing all my running around, it's giving me a good guage of how much battery it eats. Car charger is a necessity if using satellite view.
Edit:
Is there any way to download the google map database for offline browsing? I know you can pre-cache map data using the google labs option in the maps app, but can I download something like my state, for instance, and access it offline?
Anyone know if it works in flight or what the maximum altitude might be?