 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups General General TopicsGSMBluetoothProviders AlltelATT WirelessCingularFidoNextelSprint PCST-MobileVerizonManufacturers EricssonNokiaMotorolaCountry Specific Australian GroupUK GroupRelated Topics PocketPCPalmMore Topics ... |
Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / ATT Wireless / July 2008Question about GPS in cell phones
I've never owned a GPS-enabled cell phone. I've been thinking about getting one after my hand-held Garmin GPS unit finally died a couple months ago. I already got rid of my digital camera (most of the time) and my PDA as these features are present in most high-end smart phones now. Be nice to be able to drop one more electronic gadget. A question: I assume the GPS works even when the phone is outside cellular service range. But given that something like Google Maps is downloaded over WiFi or EDGE or 3G data service, what does the GPS display when you're outside the cellular service range? Is it just a set of coordinates? Or is there some sort of provision for a digital map built in--like with a hand-held GPS unit? Thanks in advance! >I've never owned a GPS-enabled cell phone. I've been thinking about >getting one after my hand-held Garmin GPS unit finally died a couple [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >Thanks in advance! If you have mapping software and the maps stored on your phone, then it should work even without cellular coverage.  SignatureJim Rusling More or Less Retired Mustang, OK http://www.rusling.org Good question. Someone told me the At&t Tilt had a good GPS feature. But I have not seen one. My question would be battery life. But I guess it would be powered off of the vehicle anyway. Price is about the same. > I've never owned a GPS-enabled cell phone. I've been thinking about > getting one after my hand-held Garmin GPS unit finally died a couple [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Thanks in advance! > Good question. > Someone told me the At&t Tilt had a good GPS feature. > But I have not seen one. I just bought a Tilt a week ago. I like it so far- faster than my old WinMo phone, and the internal GPS is handy- much handier than lugging around an external BT GPS like I used to. > My question would be battery life. Answer- it doesn't have any! ;-) With push-e-mail and BT running constantly, I barely make it 10-12 hours. > But I guess it would be powered off of the vehicle anyway. I power it from the vehicle when using the GPS. >> Good question. >> Someone told me the At&t Tilt had a good GPS feature. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > I power it from the vehicle when using the GPS. > Todd, wanna sell your old BT GPS? Which model is it? Nasty old thing of no use...dump it cheap. > Todd, wanna sell your old BT GPS? Nah, it's worth more to me as a back up. I still have my old Compactflash GPS card, which by comparison to the BT unit or the Tilt, is blind, deaf, and dumb! > Which model is it? It's a Semsons iBlue. 30 hour battery life per charge, and very sensitive. Uses a Nemerix chipset, which while very good for batteries, takes forever to lock in "urban canyons" like NY or San Fran. > Nasty old thing of no use...dump it cheap. "Cheap" is why I typically don't bother selling old electronics. When my HTC Wizard (WinMo phone) died a couple weeks sgo, I picked up my five year- old WinMo PDA and my Symbian-based BT-enabled Nokia 3620 phone and was up and running right away, with my biz data and apps, until I bought the Tilt. The "last generation" of equipment is worth more to me as a backup than the few lousy bucks I'd get for it. So, if the Tilt should ever go south, I'll need the BT GPS module and the old PDA until I replace it... Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in news:g4sood$vdo$1 @aioe.org: > So, if the Tilt should ever go south, I'll need the BT GPS module and the > old PDA until I replace it... I see your points. Old electronics is nearly worthless about 24 hours after you buy it...(c; Funny we never think of that while extracting our credit cards... >Good question. >Someone told me the At&t Tilt had a good GPS feature. >But I have not seen one. What software have you installed? I do not have the Tilt. Was looking into one, and someone mentioned the GPS worked well. They never responded to my inquiry as to what was displayed. (Numbers, or Mapping software.) >>Good question. >>Someone told me the At&t Tilt had a good GPS feature. >>But I have not seen one. > > What software have you installed? >I do not have the Tilt. >Was looking into one, and someone mentioned the GPS worked well. >They never responded to my inquiry as to what was displayed. >(Numbers, or Mapping software.) Whatever you want, you simply load the software you desire and go from there. > I do not have the Tilt. > Was looking into one, and someone mentioned the GPS worked well. > They never responded to my inquiry as to what was displayed. > (Numbers, or Mapping software.) Nothing is displayed- the Tilt does not include GPS software. It includes GPS _hardware_, and you add whatever software you desire, from free (Google Maps, Windows Live Search,) subscription (TeleNav) or one-time purchase (Garmin, TomTom, iGuidance, etc.) Beer Drinking Dog <photodoglv@yahoo.com> wrote in news:QsCbk.14322$3q7.9762 @newsfe15.lga: > I've never owned a GPS-enabled cell phone. I've been thinking about > getting one after my hand-held Garmin GPS unit finally died a couple [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Thanks in advance! Don't assume anything about a Sellphone GPS. Carriers aren't going to let you even see your lat/long unless they find some way to force you to pay for it by the month. They're certainly not going to let you install an unconnected map program like your Garmin had in it they can't constantly charge you to use. That's crazy! I have a GPS enabled MotoROKR Z6m slidephone. There's no way of seeing anything about GPS on it, even on Alltel where they don't hobble up the phones like most other carriers do....notably Verizon. The GPS you pay for is not for YOU...it's for the cops to aid tracking escaped Americans. >Don't assume anything about a Sellphone GPS. Carriers aren't going to let >you even see your lat/long unless they find some way to force you to pay [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >phones like most other carriers do....notably Verizon. The GPS you pay for >is not for YOU...it's for the cops to aid tracking escaped Americans. Funny, I use my GPS on my Samsung BlackJack II. I can see my lat / long, and use any of a number of different mapping programs - and I have no data package. SignatureTo reply via e-mail, remove The Obvious from my e-mail address. > > A question: I assume the GPS works even when the phone is outside > > cellular service range. But given that something like Google Maps is [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > you even see your lat/long unless they find some way to force you to pay > for it by the month. As I peck this into my AT&T Tilt WinMo phone (unlocked to use on T-Mobile, but running stock, unmodified AT&T software), I'm at 42.26N, 96.20W at an altitude of 1190 feet according to the GPS software I've installed. > They're certainly not going to let you install an > unconnected map program like your Garmin had in it they can't constantly > charge you to use. That's crazy! I'm running (the no longer marketed) Mapopolis as my "unconnected" GPS software of choice. My connected software of choic is Windows Live Search (MS' answer to Google Maps for Mobile- it uses the MS Virtual Earth maps and data.) > I have a GPS enabled MotoROKR Z6m slidephone. There's no way of seeing > anything about GPS on it, even on Alltel where they don't hobble up the > phones like most other carriers do....notably Verizon. No, you have a partially-GPS-enabled CDMA cellphone. It radios raw GPS data back to Alltel who calculates your position based on that info, (plus tower location.) It doesn't have a "full" GPS, like Alltel's PPC-6800. > No, you have a partially-GPS-enabled CDMA cellphone. It radios raw > GPS data back to Alltel who calculates your position based on that > info, (plus tower location.) It doesn't have a "full" GPS, like > Alltel's PPC-6800. Doesn't matter to me at all. My GPS is in my watch pocket: http://europe.nokia.com/A4400067 Hottest GPS receiver I've ever seen. 12 channel, WAAS-compensated, locks up in 10 seconds, about 30 seconds for a totally cold start. By the time the N800 has an Alltel data link, the LD-3W is online and feeding it GPS data no Sellphone company can hobble and screw with. Even has a REPLACEABLE common Nokia sellphone battery...(c; http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/maemo-mapper/ It even plots you on aeronautical charts and weather radar plots, now! http://youtube.com/watch?v=698iql3B824 Even the software and data are free.... Fully compatible with: Open Street Google Street Google Satellite Virtual Earth Street Virtual Earth Satellite Virtual Earth Hybrid (my fav) Yahoo Street Yahoo Satellite Runway Finder mesonet.agron.iastate.edu (Weather tiles) More to come, USER configurable repositories, of course. Downloads maps over wifi before you leave or on-the-fly over sellphone. No comparison.... On Google or Virtual Earth sat photos, it'll put itself in its position inside the car in the exact parking space at the mall.... Leave it running in the car and Maemo mapper will even find your car for you as the BT locks on 50 ft from the car. > > No, you have a partially-GPS-enabled CDMA cellphone. It radios raw > > GPS data back to Alltel who calculates your position based on that > > info, (plus tower location.) It doesn't have a "full" GPS, like > > Alltel's PPC-6800. > > Doesn't matter to me at all. My point was that you continually treat the lack of full GPS on your Motorola phone as another part of the "Great Sellphone Conspiracy" as if the GPS is in there but they're "blocking it." The phone doesn't have a full GPS, and doesn't know where it is unless Alltel tells it where it is. > My GPS is in my watch pocket: > http://europe.nokia.com/A4400067 [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > feeding it GPS data no Sellphone company can hobble and screw with. > Even has a REPLACEABLE common Nokia sellphone battery...(c; So how many "pockets" are you up to? N800 in one, GPS in another, cellphone in a third, and a BT keyboard in your backpack? Whatever works for you, I guess... With the GPS built-into my new WinMo phone, I've shaved my crap-lugging collection from two-devices to one. The included A-GPS software (Quick GPS) is cool- you can download a week of GPS satellite constellation position data at a time (ephemeris data) from the web, cutting cold-start time to just a few seconds, since the GPS already knows what satellites are where based on the phone's clock and the preloaded data. >Don't assume anything about a Sellphone GPS. Carriers aren't going to let >you even see your lat/long unless they find some way to force you to pay >for it by the month. They're certainly not going to let you install an >unconnected map program like your Garmin had in it they can't constantly >charge you to use. That's crazy! And yet, on the AT&T Tilt there it is, a real GPS providing NMEA data even without a SIM card, or out in the mountains where there is no mobile coverage at all. >>Don't assume anything about a Sellphone GPS. Carriers aren't going to >>let you even see your lat/long unless they find some way to force you [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > even without a SIM card, or out in the mountains where there is no > mobile coverage at all. Real data to what? Big deal if it displays lat/long. What's the rent on the map program in it? >>>Don't assume anything about a Sellphone GPS. Carriers aren't going to >>>let you even see your lat/long unless they find some way to force you [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Real data to what? Big deal if it displays lat/long. Well, your ROKR apparently can't and you were whining about that just one post ago. >What's the rent on the map program in it? No rental charges. I have both Mapopolis and iGuidance, each a single purchase for a perpetual license for the version purchased. Mapopolis is out of business now, still works fine. > > And yet, on the AT&T Tilt there it is, a real GPS providing NMEA data > > even without a SIM card, or out in the mountains where there is no > > mobile coverage at all. > > Real data to what? Big deal if it displays lat/long. What's the rent on > the map program in it? What "rent"? You can buy any WinMo-compatible GPS program (or use whatever freeware/shareware.) I generally use three GPS programs on my Tilt (and prior WinMo devices.) One cost me (the excellent but now discontinued Mapopolis) one is free (Windows Live Search) and one pays me (Navizon.) > I've never owned a GPS-enabled cell phone. I've been thinking about > getting one after my hand-held Garmin GPS unit finally died a couple [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > of coordinates? Or is there some sort of provision for a digital map > built in--like with a hand-held GPS unit? You have to buy the mapping software, i.e. for the Tilt it's $99 for Garmin Mobile® XT and it comes on a MicroSD card. "https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=11413". It's $149 for the TomTom program, and you have to buy your own MicroSD card, however you can have other stuff on the SD card besides the TomTom program. "http://www.tiltdepot.com/tomtom-gps-navigator-6-software/10A69A1551.htm" The new iPhone supports GPS, and TomTom has announced a mapping program to be sold through the Apple store, and of course the maps must be stored in the iPhone's memory since there is no memory card slot on the iPhone. Also, Garmin maps are more accurate and they have a more extensive POI database than TomTom. It's not clear if Garmin will have an iPhone product as well, but it's unlikely as they have announced their own phone. If you need a very accurate GPS then get the Tilt, not the iPhone, since you can use the Garmin software. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.