General GPS operation questions...

[CenFlo]

Originally Posted by rsfeller

Yes I would do a search but since PPCgeeks doesn't allow 3 character word searches I have to just ask...

Got GPS working easily on my XV6900 with the new official Verizon wm6.1 ROM and the Vahalla GPS cab. Not a single problem so far. As a matter of fact this locks on sat(s) about 3 times faster then my Garmin hand held and even locks in 20 sec while in my basement as I type now!

Questions:

1. I see the sats(s) so I'll assume this is true GPS and not some "magic" with the cell phone towers, correct? (I only ask because I'm blown away by the lock time and the fact I'm in the basement and my Garmin barely works on a cloudy day!)

2. if I do not start any software (say Google Maps) to call to the GPS does it in fact stay off and not consume my battery? Or does the GPS need to turned on/off somewhere in the phone config that I have not found yet? (again I'm amazed at the lock speed and cannot believe that the GPS is not already running before the Google Map calls for it).

3. What other software does anyone recommend for interactive directions or fun?

thanks.

I'm no expert on cellular GPS or standard, but I use it for hand held and in my boat, both Garmin units.

The hand held units are low power and normally take a while to lock. The GPS in my boat locks on much faster than my hand held.

The GPS on our phones use AGPS (Both satellite and cellular towers) to determine the location via triangulation and trilateration. It's similar to the same way your phone voice/data moves from one cell tower to another.

The location feature should only use power on our phones when you are calling in to play the tracking. Granted your phone is always being located when you have it on and are in contact with the tower(s) and switch. Hence the term "standby" time.

I just put amazeGPS on my phone today and it's a really cool app, it appears to be quite the resource hog and makes my phone very slow, even when I exit the program. Had to do a soft reset today after messing with it.

I personally like the GPSToday app the best. http://www.geoterrestrial.com/ It's got all the features I need and I like the GeoMail that comes with it.