-
After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.
Good smartphone for gps ?
- Thread starter Norine
- Start date
Demache
Android Expert
Most smartphones are pretty good GPS devices. But they generally suck down battery life like no other. I would stick to a dedicated GPS if you need to be on battery life for an extended period of time. GPS on phones tend to be good if your in the car connected to a power adapter or if you need quick directions walking someplace.
novox77
Leeeroy Jennnkinnns!
It's not that smartphones use more battery than standalone GPS units; it's that standalone units allow for much higher battery capacities. Add up the mAh rating of each of those AA or AAA batteries and compare that number with the battery in a smartphone, and you'll see why a smartphone dies so quickly.
GPS requires power from the GPS radio as well as the CPU (constant number crunching to keep up your location). In the past, smartphones didn't invest in as much power in the radio as a standalone unit; therefore the connection was often dropped. Android puts connectivity before battery life when it comes to GPS so you can get standalone-quality GPS, but you might want to have some spare batteries on hand for longer hikes.
BTW, if you didn't know, MyTracks is a great Google app for recording new trails. You can export your trail to Google MyMaps and share with others.
GPS requires power from the GPS radio as well as the CPU (constant number crunching to keep up your location). In the past, smartphones didn't invest in as much power in the radio as a standalone unit; therefore the connection was often dropped. Android puts connectivity before battery life when it comes to GPS so you can get standalone-quality GPS, but you might want to have some spare batteries on hand for longer hikes.
BTW, if you didn't know, MyTracks is a great Google app for recording new trails. You can export your trail to Google MyMaps and share with others.
You also need to consider the app -- not just the device.
Alexandra18
Lurker
Every smart phone has gps, I am using gps on my nokia n8 but if you really want new mobile then Waite for 1 month , there are lots of mobile phones are going to be launched in next 1-2 month like Motorola Atrix, Motorola Xoom, Sony ericsson xperia arc, nokia e9, samsung galaxy s2 etc... they all are well upgraded phones so you will get latest options too.
1. stay away from samsung
2. get a few extra bigger batteries
3. make sure the phone is a world phone .. that uses sim cards.
4. you will need to get a better 3rd party app for maps and gps .. because hiking in places that most likely will not have good carrier reception. that means you will also have to purchase maps for each area you are interested in using it.
5. get a good strong case for the phone.
6. can i come with?
2. get a few extra bigger batteries
3. make sure the phone is a world phone .. that uses sim cards.
4. you will need to get a better 3rd party app for maps and gps .. because hiking in places that most likely will not have good carrier reception. that means you will also have to purchase maps for each area you are interested in using it.
5. get a good strong case for the phone.
6. can i come with?
Thank you very much for your replies, guys !
Dan330, you can come
Well, I thought if I had to invest in a gps device why not take a smartphone and benefit from other options, but usta proposed external receiver , maybe it could work ?
I intend to get offlines maps and take maybe an htc ? but I read that the wildfire wouldn't be reliable outside of the country
I' d like to use it to go in turkey but in most of maps like yahoo , openstreet some roads are missing for the region I ' d like to go, very isolated region by the way...so I don't know
I saw google maps is more detailed.
But how can you get off lines google maps ?
Which htc would you recommand ?
Thank you again
Dan330, you can come
Well, I thought if I had to invest in a gps device why not take a smartphone and benefit from other options, but usta proposed external receiver , maybe it could work ?
I intend to get offlines maps and take maybe an htc ? but I read that the wildfire wouldn't be reliable outside of the country
I' d like to use it to go in turkey but in most of maps like yahoo , openstreet some roads are missing for the region I ' d like to go, very isolated region by the way...so I don't know
I saw google maps is more detailed.
But how can you get off lines google maps ?
Which htc would you recommand ?
Thank you again
when are we meeting up? and where?
you dont need an external receiver... just waste of $$.
you should get an android phone that uses sim cards so that you can use them overseas. just buy a prepaid sim from countries that you will visit.
HTC Desires lines are good. again just get some spare batteries.
Google maps... the new version...only android 2.2 and higher will get the new versions. can let you preload maps. so at your hotel, before you head out to your hike... get on the hotel wifi and load up.
but if you have to change batteries or reboot .. you will loose that info. so a stand alone map like copilot would be a better solution.
you dont need an external receiver... just waste of $$.
you should get an android phone that uses sim cards so that you can use them overseas. just buy a prepaid sim from countries that you will visit.
HTC Desires lines are good. again just get some spare batteries.
Google maps... the new version...only android 2.2 and higher will get the new versions. can let you preload maps. so at your hotel, before you head out to your hike... get on the hotel wifi and load up.
but if you have to change batteries or reboot .. you will loose that info. so a stand alone map like copilot would be a better solution.
i think you are confused....
gps is a radio in the phone.. that receives signals from the same satellites as any other gps systems. htc or any other phone gps will be similar.
some radios are a little stronger than others.. but they should all get you within 5-20 feet from where you are standing. in open sky.
the map to which the gps uses to visualize your location is what you are concerned with. this is what you need to consider.
online maps (google maps) are the most accurate .. for the supported areas. thing is.. if google does not support it.. most likely no other map will either. but online means that you have to have a connection to get the map refreshed as you move. Like i said, google will cache some of the info around you...10 miles-ish.
off-line maps (copilot).. will use the maps that are located on your phone... but they are not a complete or as accurate as your online supported maps. this is because of size.. you can only hold so much on your phone. the info is not updated till you download a new map from the developer (which cost money, so normally do not do but once a year or so).
so your question about some unknown city in turkey.... has nothing to do with the htc phone.. or any phone. it has to do with the map you choose to use.
try this out... go to google maps online: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
look for your city.. and roads info... this will be the same info on your phone using google maps.
gps is a radio in the phone.. that receives signals from the same satellites as any other gps systems. htc or any other phone gps will be similar.
some radios are a little stronger than others.. but they should all get you within 5-20 feet from where you are standing. in open sky.
the map to which the gps uses to visualize your location is what you are concerned with. this is what you need to consider.
online maps (google maps) are the most accurate .. for the supported areas. thing is.. if google does not support it.. most likely no other map will either. but online means that you have to have a connection to get the map refreshed as you move. Like i said, google will cache some of the info around you...10 miles-ish.
off-line maps (copilot).. will use the maps that are located on your phone... but they are not a complete or as accurate as your online supported maps. this is because of size.. you can only hold so much on your phone. the info is not updated till you download a new map from the developer (which cost money, so normally do not do but once a year or so).
so your question about some unknown city in turkey.... has nothing to do with the htc phone.. or any phone. it has to do with the map you choose to use.
try this out... go to google maps online: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
look for your city.. and roads info... this will be the same info on your phone using google maps.
Usta
Android Expert
It doesn't matter where you are, as long as you have the maps for that location. The GPS signal should be able to always pinpoint your location as long as you have a open sky.
I'd recommend to visit Google Maps and see if that village is on the map. If yes, then you can use Google Maps (remember though that they are not offline).
HTC Desire doesn't have a great battery life, especially with the GPS on. That is why I suggested to get a separate GPS receiver if you are seriously thinking about hiking for some long hours. A GPS receiver has a great battery life and doesn't put Desire battery to extensive work. Also, you will need to keep the screen as much as possible OFF, because it is another thing that will drain the battery.
Edit: Dan, I didn't see your post...
yes I am mostly concerned about how getting off line google map just for one area.
That was my question on my last post that apparently didn't show up.
yes I ve been recommanded to make my own map, my problem is don't understand very well how to do it.
But I read somewhere in some forum a comparison that has been made between the samsung galaxy S and htc desire ' s gps , the person using the samsung couldn't rely on the samsung , the gps signal ? if I understand was low, and the satellites around were not all visible also
they put a graph to show how gps of the two devices were different, and the gps of desire simply more "performant" that the samsung.
So that' s why I asked this.
But again the google map is the only detailed map I found so far and I still don't know how to get it offline for a small area.
If anyone could clue me to the right software that can do it.
Which android phone have good battery as I didn't consider that point ?
Thank you again
That was my question on my last post that apparently didn't show up.
yes I ve been recommanded to make my own map, my problem is don't understand very well how to do it.
But I read somewhere in some forum a comparison that has been made between the samsung galaxy S and htc desire ' s gps , the person using the samsung couldn't rely on the samsung , the gps signal ? if I understand was low, and the satellites around were not all visible also
they put a graph to show how gps of the two devices were different, and the gps of desire simply more "performant" that the samsung.
So that' s why I asked this.
But again the google map is the only detailed map I found so far and I still don't know how to get it offline for a small area.
If anyone could clue me to the right software that can do it.
Which android phone have good battery as I didn't consider that point ?
Thank you again
Usta
Android Expert
When you are at home and have access to Wifi, open Google Maps on phone and start browsing that small area, at a different zoom levels. When you are done, just close it. Now if you go offline, you should be able to open Maps and still see that area. Now the Maps are in your phone (in temporary cache). If you clear the cache or use Maps with other areas, the local maps will be gone.
HTC phones traditionally don't have a good battery life. As an indication, try to get a phone with the largest battery capacity and smaller screen size.
yes.. the info is auto saved in cache.. but if your phone is rebooted (by changing battery) the info will most likely be lost (cache will be refreshed).
since you will be outside of carrier coverage... you should turn off every radio on the phone. of course you will want gps radio on. when at in a wifi area, only then turn on the wifi radio. doing this the supplied battery should last better.. depending on how long you will keep looking at the map.
so a big ass battery is highly recommended.
if you plan to be out hiking only during the day.. and back home to charge... you should be fine.. but for mulit day out from charging...
i dont know...
since you will be outside of carrier coverage... you should turn off every radio on the phone. of course you will want gps radio on. when at in a wifi area, only then turn on the wifi radio. doing this the supplied battery should last better.. depending on how long you will keep looking at the map.
so a big ass battery is highly recommended.
if you plan to be out hiking only during the day.. and back home to charge... you should be fine.. but for mulit day out from charging...
i dont know...
I was reading in another forum that the droid Eris will not work with an external GPS unit? Is that true or...? My goal was to get an external 5hz GPS and use one of the free GPS race-track apps for when I took my bike to the track.
?? i am not sure I understand your question or what you are trying to do.
the Eris has a built in GPS radio.. it is pretty good..
works with google maps..and a bunch of other map apps...