iphones?

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TeamMina
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iphones?

Post by TeamMina »

With the price of iphones dropping to less than $100 and iphone3gs under $200, we were considering trying one out since we're already with AT&T (Cingular). We've never played with one, but wanted to know if anyone has any experience with them, esp. for geocaching. We know the 3Gs say they have GPS functionality, but can they be used like a traditional handhelds? And if the gc.com gets along with them fine. The closest either of our machines have come is the WAP system my little Nokia phone uses for gc.com. Which sometimes works in a pinch, but isn't all the useful.

Thanks!
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OnDHunt
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Re: iphones?

Post by OnDHunt »

I am in New Hampshire for a family reunion and my unclie-in-law loaded a geocaching app onto his phone. It looked pretty cool because it pulls all the information for a particular cache right from the internet. The only downside was that as we went hiking, he did not have access to a wireless network and then he hit a dead zone for what ever service he was using. Once he did that, his GPS stopped working! Sounds like it is only good more urban areas.
I am an amazed cacher!
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Re: iphones?

Post by Mighty_Mo »

That sounds like cell phone triangulation. What is the accuracy of the that. I doubt it's anywhere as accurate as the current GPSr.

That said if it gets you within 30 feet then put the GPS away and start cachin'
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iamanomad
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Re: iphones?

Post by iamanomad »

I believe the iPhone 3G and 3Gs will work as a GPS without the need for Cell towers. From what I've read they use whatever is quickest to respond initially for location purposes. Using an application that zeros in on the GPS chip such as iGeocacher (great app BTY!) allows you to use your iPhone in the boonies (I haven't tested it thoroughly yet as I'm used to getting my DNF's with my Garmin 60csx). I use the app strictly for the paperless caching. The next time I'm in a dead zone (all too frequently with AT&T), I'll give it a shot.
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Re: iphones?

Post by GizmoGuy411 »

iamanomad wrote:I believe the iPhone 3G and 3Gs will work as a GPS without the need for Cell towers. From what I've read they use whatever is quickest to respond initially for location purposes. Using an application that zeros in on the GPS chip such as iGeocacher (great app BTY!) allows you to use your iPhone in the boonies (I haven't tested it thoroughly yet as I'm used to getting my DNF's with my Garmin 60csx). I use the app strictly for the paperless caching. The next time I'm in a dead zone (all too frequently with AT&T), I'll give it a shot.
Maybe... Maybe not.

Cell phone use the A-GPS system which can depend on cellular reception to accomplish server side computations, even if the phone has a good sat signal reception. The iPhone however as you said seems to function in GPS only mode also. It will just take a LOT longer to get a location.

You test may also not work, as without a cell tower signal, you will not be able to get the maps. Also some applications time out if they can not get a location fast enough. If you can find an application that shows the lat and long, then will help you prove that a cell connection is not absolutely required for the iPhone.

A-GPS was mandated by the FCC to provide a location for "911" services. To assist in triangulation, the cell towers are used to approximate the location before the cell phone can get sat signals. The cell towers also have data to account for anomalies, and process data from the phone, then return corrections accordingly. The server also provides WAAS service, like better quality GPS units have. With the cell tower servers doing part of the processing, it can be accomplished faster than the phone doing it all like a regular GPS unit does. From what I understand, if a cell phone is "A-GPS" only and not "A-GPS/GPS" then it can not get a location without a connection to the cell network.

When I was in Paris, I found that I was able to get a get location on BlackBerry Storm, faster than on my Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. In some cases I was never able to get a signal on my Garmin at all. At home in the suburbs, the results are exactly the opposite. I attribute this to the fact that in Paris, there is obviously a much higher density of towers than here in cow and corn land. The GPS sat signals are also obviously going to be better in the country than in a heavy urban area too.
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iamanomad
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Re: iphones?

Post by iamanomad »

I'll try to test it this weekend. I did put the iPhone in airplane mode and iGeocacher seemed to work fine.
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Re: iphones?

Post by TeamMina »

SEATTLE, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Groundspeak, Inc., the creator of
Geocaching.com, introduced a free Geocaching Intro application to Apple's
iTunes Store this week. The Geocaching Intro is the second iPhone Application
introduced by Groundspeak, which also offers a premium Geocaching application
for $9.99. Groundspeak's premium Geocaching application has been a top-ten
application within the paid navigation category of the iTunes app store since
its launch in November of 2008.

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by
adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. iPhone and iPod Touch owners can
use Groundspeak's iPhone applications and their device's Wi-Fi and/or GPS
capabilities to participate in geocaching. The basic idea is to locate hidden
outdoor containers, called geocaches, and then share your experiences online.

Groundspeak's Geocaching Intro application walks users through their first few
geocaching experiences and provides instruction on how to participate.

Features Include:

-- Access three geocaches near your current location
-- View geocache description and hint
-- Access geocache size, difficulty and terrain ratings
-- View your location and geocache location on the embedded map

-- Navigate to geocaches with a simulated compass arrow or directly from
the map screen



According to Jeremy Irish, CEO of Groundspeak, "The Geocaching Intro
application is a free and simple way to experience geocaching for the first
time. Participants can learn the basics of the activity and those looking to
get more involved can upgrade to the premium Geocaching application, which has
the full range of features needed for geocaching."

Learn more about geocaching and Groundspeak's iPhone applications at
http://www.geocaching.com.

Visit the Geocaching Intro (http://itunes.com/app/geocachingintro) or premium
Geocaching (http://itunes.com/app/geocaching) application on iTunes.

Groundspeak, a Seattle-based company, has been in the business of
location-based adventures since 2000. It is Groundspeak's mission to inspire
global play using location-based technology. Groundspeak currently owns and
operates Geocaching.com, Waymarking.com and Wherigo.com.
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TeamMina
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Re: iphones?

Post by TeamMina »

We finally got to test out the iphone last Friday morning. Took our GPSMAP60CX with it. Biggest difference is the distance-to-cache doesn't work nearly as fast. With the 60CX, if you're heading straight at the cache, ours usually drops the distance in 8-10 foot increments. Maybe only a second between distance updates. With the iphone, I had to stop and wait for it to catch up every so often. Not quite sure about time elapsed between distance-to-cache updates, somewhere like 5-10 seconds. Seemed stuck at one point on being 48 ft away. Went to 60CX to find cache. After logging, checked iphone, had me at 4 feet. That was just a quick cemetery hit on the way to work, so a few more tests will be required before giving it a grade. However, sure was nice being able to look at the cache page & log find from the field! :)
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TeamMina
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Re: iphones?

Post by TeamMina »

We just found this app called PiGo, which is supposed to make it possible for iphone users to download wherigo cartridges and be able to play them.

When you log-in initially, it logs us into the groundspeak website.
But when you go and search for wherigo carts to download, it sends you to the wherigo site, and reports you are not logged in.

However, the button for logging in is inoperable.
And the one for new sign-ups takes you back to groundspeak.

Weird.
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Re: iphones?

Post by GizmoGuy411 »

TeamMina wrote:We just found this app called PiGo.....
Just checked this out, and it requires OS4.1, so no go for the iPad yet.

Will have to keep an eye on it.
Last edited by GizmoGuy411 on Sat 2010-11-13, 15:14:15, edited 1 time in total.
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TeamMina
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Re: iphones?

Post by TeamMina »

GizmoGuy411 wrote:
TeamMina wrote:We just found this app called PiGo.....
Just checked this out, and it requires OS4.1, so no go for the iPad yet.

Will have to keep an eye on it.
if you find out something that will magically make it work, PLEEEEEEEEZE let us know :)
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