iPhone 3G

[amf]

For those with an iPhone 3G (with built in GPS), what application do you use to record your tracks?

I use TrailGuru but it only records tracks every 10 meters. I will try out EveryTrail which records every 1 meter. Is the 1 meter interval enough for accuracy?

Thanks!

[Jan]

1 meter is just great

[amf]

I have a Nuvi 360 and it does not record tracks. So I use my iPgone 3G instead for such function. I have tried many applications that records tracks/routes/WPs like:

MotionX GPS: I use the paid version ($2.99). The lite and free version has limits in the number of tracks and WPs you can record. I find this the most accurate and full-featured GPS app for the iPhone. It's like having a separate GPS device! Check it out: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...299949744&mt=8

You can email your tracks so you can check it out with Google Maps or Mapsource.

I also have Trails, EveryTrail, GPS Kit, GPS Tracker, Path Tracker, TrailGuru and TrackThing. Nothing comes close to the accuracy of MotionX though.

[amf]

This is a mini review of the iPhone application MotionX GPS.

I bought this at Apple iTunes App Store for $2.99. A lite and free version is available but you can only save 1 track and 3 waypoints. This paid version can save up to 101 tracks and 303 WPs.

This shows the current coordinates, altitude, dist. to WP, WP bearing, Signal bar and accuracy in meters. It shows 76m because I'm inside the garage but inside the car, the best I can achieve is 17m (that's why I'm looking for a re-rad antenna).


This is the track window. you can set it to auto zoom to fit the entire track in the screen.


Stopwatch window. Use it to create your track. You can also resume your stopped track and take a picture. Each time you take a picture, a WP is created. When you save the ttrack, the last picture taken is assigned to the track. Pretty cool!


The navigation window. You need to be moving to register the numbers here. The numbers are distance to WP, Speed Over Ground (SOG), WP Bearing, Course Over Ground (COG), Velocity Made Good (VMG), WP name, ETA and Time To WP. Impressive!


to be continued...

[amf]

This is the saved track details page.


This is the saved WPs page.


You can email your WPs and tracks too right from the iPhone. A saved track can be navigated too which gives you the direction to a saved track.

This application is like having a dedicated GPSr device right in your iPhone. I use this to submit the tracks in roadguide.ph and I find it very accurate. The developer informed me that the app logs tracks every 700 milliseconds!

If you have an iPhone and want a full-featured GPSr device too, you're in luck. This will save you thousands of pesos.

Thanks!

allan

[ritzandrico]

Thank you amf!

I have a nuvi 660 and it also does not track. I installed the GPS tracker last year , it served the purpose of tracking. I am buying the Motion X GPS to compare.

Salamat uli.

Rico

[yaozer]

My friend is asking whether there is a Garmin equivalent software for the iPhone 3G. Mobile XT doesn't seem to support it. What do you guys use?

[amf]

My friend is asking whether there is a Garmin equivalent software for the iPhone 3G. Mobile XT doesn't seem to support it. What do you guys use?

There is none yet.

[travelbug]

iphone gps

hey guys

corrct me if im wrong but the iphone 3g doesnt have dedicated gps hardware right?!?

from what ive read around the web it uses cell tower triangulation. so if you turn off the phone part of an iphone, the gps wont work....

[amf]

hey guys

corrct me if im wrong but the iphone 3g doesnt have dedicated gps hardware right?!?

from what ive read around the web it uses cell tower triangulation. so if you turn off the phone part of an iphone, the gps wont work....

The iPhone 3G has a GPS chip. The 1st gen iPhone doesn't have one.

[travelbug]

The iPhone 3G has a GPS chip. The 1st gen iPhone doesn't have one.

your right. but i read this article saying that the gps antena of the i phone 3g is inherently weak and thats why it needs the cell tower triangulation in order to get valid fixes.
again i have no way of validating this article as i dont own an iphone.
just food for thought guys......


cheers

[StraightSix]

I find the iPhone 3G's GPS receiver to be quite good.

After reading this thread I decided to get my iPhone and measure the TTF from a cold start. AGPS positioning was almost instantly (with Google maps still loading) and the GPS fix took 50 seconds.

Now, for the second test. I took out the SIM, turned off the WiFi, and tried to see how long it will take to get a GPS fix (without AGPS). It only took 1 min 10 seconds to get a fix.

Of course it's not an exhaustive test ... just to get an idea, really. But those times are definitely better than what I get from other PND's and Nokia phones, which usually take more than 2 minutes.

BTW, the fix was acquired from inside the office, about 5 feet away from my window. So I guess it's not that insensitive.

Now if only the iPhone has a proper satnav application ...

Cheers.

[amf]

Now if only the iPhone has a proper satnav application ...

Cheers.

One app is already available that has turn by turn voice navigation and maps that can be stored locally. It's not available via iTunes though so I won't discuss it here.

And yes, the iPhone acquires sat signals pretty fast but the best accuracy I can get is 9m (even with an external GPS antenna). My BB 8900 acquires sat signals roughly at the same length of time but logs an accuracy of 0.80m!

[StraightSix]

Interesting ... The worst I got from my iPhone was 3 meters, when I was inside the office earlier today. On most times it's spot on. It would've been nice to know how many satellites were in sync then, but the application hasn't that feature.

0.8m is a pretty impressive accuracy for a civilian GPS, even for military I think. Do you happen to know what GPS chipset is in the BB 8900 and was it unassisted GPS at that accuracy?

---

I reckon from what you posted here and in the other thread means the application is in legal limbo ... so no problem. If that's the case then the piece I read re: Apple closing its doors to proper satnav app could still be true.

[amf]

The worst was 3 meters??? And what's the best accuracy? What application were you using that indicated the 3m accuracy?

BBs use Sirf chipset.