My GPS Experience - 350mi Trip

[mindfrost82]

My setup:
- Sprint Vogue
- Leaked 6.1 ROM
- Ran PPST.exe / Gets locks quick
- Garmin 4.20.50wp w/ 2009 maps

My experience:
GPS worked great most of the time. I had it plugged into a car charger the whole time, so I'm not sure about battery drain. I had the audio routed to my BT Moto T505 the whole time. Started Garmin up, got a lock in under a minute, gave me a good route. On the to-trip it never lost sat reception. The only issue I had on the to-trip was when there was a section of road when it kept recalculating even though I was on the road it told me to go on (it was ramps from one interstate to another). This could have been the Garmin maps though and not the GPS.

I had it setup to avoid traffic. Once I get near St. Louis and golden diamond popped up on the map and I tapped it and it gave me an alternate route around a traffic jam. I really like that feature!

On the return-trip, it said it "lost satellite reception" once, but it picked it back up within a minute.

I had the phone in a car-mount, so it was near the front of the car the entire time.

Overall I'm very happy with GPS and Garmin. It works as good as my BT GPS unit did. I do wish Garmin would announce street names like iGuidance v4 did, but I would much rather have the Garmin interface than the iGuidance one.

[batcatman]

Good to hear ur success story, mine is a little gloomy though..i am using igo8, everything works, audio is audible at high speeds but as soon as i connect it thru the cassette adapter, the volume is barely audible...very very low. i am also using almost oem rom. have similar issue with skyfire too. all other audio apps. work fine thru adapter , any help appreciated guys!!

[riironman]

i used sprint navi and when i went to a bad area with no data i lost the navigation! i tried windows live and google maps.

[mindfrost82]

Originally Posted by riironman

i used sprint navi and when i went to a bad area with no data i lost the navigation! i tried windows live and google maps.

You'll run into that problem with any of those apps. The only way to get around that is to use an app that stores the map data on the memory card instead of downloading it as you drive. Live Search and Google Maps are great to find things, but I wouldn't use them for traveling because you might not always have cell service.

With Garmin, iGuidance, TomTom, iGo, etc. you have to load the maps onto your memory card, that way you can still use it regardless of cell service. As long as GPS stays locked, you'll be good to go.

[Runnin_IT]

Originally Posted by batcatman

Good to hear ur success story, mine is a little gloomy though..i am using igo8, everything works, audio is audible at high speeds but as soon as i connect it thru the cassette adapter, the volume is barely audible...very very low. i am also using almost oem rom. have similar issue with skyfire too. all other audio apps. work fine thru adapter , any help appreciated guys!!

Make sure the cassette adapter is fully seated in the player. I usually have to stick my finger in the cassette deck and press on the adapter to make sure it is seated well. If you hear a hum from the speakers, this is most likely the problem.

[Knether]

is Garmin software free or do you have to purchase it? Or the maps?

[vaxick]

Glad to hear the GPS works well in real world testing.

[mindfrost82]

Originally Posted by Knether

is Garmin software free or do you have to purchase it? Or the maps?

You have to buy it. Google Maps and Live Search are the only real free ones. There are a few others out there, but none that have downloadable maps (that I know of).

[Knether]

Originally Posted by mindfrost82

You have to buy it. Google Maps and Live Search are the only real free ones. There are a few others out there, but none that have downloadable maps (that I know of).

Yeah, Down loadable maps are a must honestly. No telling when your signal will drop, and also, it doesn't have a true Turn to Turn system.

No issues with the video drivers making your on screen navigation choppy?

[gedster314]

I've been playing with a warez version of IGO6 and have done a few 100 mile trips. never really lost signal. I did have an issue where it claimed I was at my destination even though I had 3 blocks to go. I was surrounded by huge buildings, so I wonder if it was a signal issue. The calibration seems off, I can be the first car at a light and it will say I have 300 feet to go but it will track me through the intersection correctly. The audible turn warnings seem to work fine.

I also have a Warez TomTom 6 I'm going to try. I'm just going to try them all. Once I find one I like I will buy the latest version, I want up to date maps.

I never had a bluetooth gps but I am happy with how gps is working on my touch.