Google Maps inaccuracy

[stktrader]

So I got my droid today while visiting NYC. I am warming up to it. I came from a world 8830 BB, and I don't think I can go back to a BB. I don't mind the physical keyboard, i do like the flexibility of using the 3 options to type, touch landscape, portrait and physical.

I am very disappointed with the inaccuracy of the Google maps. I am avid user of google maps, online, via my BB, and have never had accuracy problems. It seems like on the droid, Gmaps is using triangulation, b/c it does not pin point my location very well. Also, the voice lookup is great, but it sucks when the address is right, but the pin point address on the Gmap is off by 5 blocks. This is a serious problem when trying to navigate.

I know Gmaps is still in beta, but shouldn't the data be pulled from the same source as when you use Gmaps on the web or on a BB?

Anyone else having the same issues?

 

[syntrix]

If you look up the end address in another mapping program, you'll find it's 5 blocks off in a lot of cases.

I've run across this on winmo6.5 trying to get to a house that I've never been to. Then I try in something like mapquest (or GM in a pc), and it's all off too.

I have found that in my short time with droid, that the gps is very accurate. Typically around the house, winmo would have me way out in my backyard, but droid puts me almost in the right spot inside my house!

 

[stktrader]

This is my first experience with GPS, since I never wanted to pay for the vznav. I am wondering if being in NYC with large buildings, messes with things. I will have to report tests I do in LA when i get back into town.

 

[syntrix]

This is my first experience with GPS, since I never wanted to pay for the vznav. I am wondering if being in NYC with large buildings, messes with things. I will have to report tests I do in LA when i get back into town.

Yes, large buildings can mess with gps devices in general. Like in one of my experiences above, it got me close, but I was still driving around for a while (I never wrote down the # of the address), and winmo GM won't show your destination.

But this droid is new. Like I said on another forum, speak on the home page, "navigate <destination>" and it pulls up nav and locks and loads. This is a HUGE bonus for the droid on the go.

But new construction and some addy's won't show up in GM or even the others. Just takes some time.

 

[QrafTee]

It's a beta, they say it's a beta, you know it's a beta... it is a beta. Unfortunately we'll have to deal with it until the final release which--from Google's history--may easily be 5-10 years from now.

 

[s-one]

Interestingly I too came off a bb curve and google maps of course you might guess it was butt slow on it. Now that I'm Droidn its blazzin. But here's a relative point, my wife is still on her bb with AT& and when I turn on the Latitude feature in google maps from the Droid, my location is dead accurate but she is off by a mile. So in my case gmaps and verizon are doing much better than AT&.

 

[syntrix]

**snip** But here's a relative point, my wife is still on her bb with AT& and when I turn on the Latitude feature in google maps from the Droid, my location is dead accurate but she is off by a mile. So in my case gmaps and verizon are doing much better than AT&.

Yeah, I've had like 4-5 phones on ATT and every single one has me almost in the neighbors yard.

My TP2 on VZ was very accurate, and the droid is that much MORE accurate. I'm sick of ATT and their data network, I can never get any sustained speed from them, but VZ rocks in this aspect!

 

[stktrader]

check this out. In setting, then location/security settings, you can force "use gps satellites" instead of having both GPS and use wireless networks for my location.

I am going to try this today with this one setting to see if in NYC the gps is more accurate..

 

[stktrader]

I probably should have tested out my suggestion, since only have this GPS satelites checked doesn't give your location, which tells me that the phone is using some triangulation. If it was using straight GPS it would be much more accurate. THoughts?