Is there a way to allow an app to "wake up" the GPS?

[dcolpi]

Ok, let me set the stage here. I am trying to extend my battery charge time as much as possible so by default I have the GPS in 911 mode usually (turning it on when I need to). This is fine, and I have no complaints about turning it on and off at need.

My problem is that I have no short term memory (10 second Tom from 50 First Dates comes to mind), and I am constantly misplacing things. I have not misplaced my phone yet (fortunatly, I am also OCD about things to compensate for my short term memory issues, and keep my phone in my left pocket or shirt pocket if I have one). But the day will come when I misplace my phone. It has happened before (I usually call it over and over and over walking around trying to find it).

So, I found this program SmartPhone Tracker. Seems pretty cool. Installed it and it is pretty cool. One problem, I usually have my GPS off (to save the battery). So this program doesn't help at all if I loose it since it will most like happen when the GPS is off.

Now my question, is there a way (setting or application) to allow a specific application (say SmartPhone Tracker) to turn on the GPS radio if it is off so it can be used (in much the same way that the phone dials a internet connection if it needs one)? I understand if I have to manually turn it off (like said internet dial up connection), but having the ability to turn on the GPS seems like a good idea that I am sure someone has thought of before me.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[RavenTBK]

No way of doing that that I am aware of.

The power consumption will remain the same regardless of your setting in the Location screen. The GPS isnt active all them time when its turned to "public". Its only active when an application requests its use. SmartPhoneTracker is a fantastic app, I use it as well. If you leave your location set to public, you will notice no more battery drain than before.

edit: holy crap, where'd all my posts go? I used to have like 10 or so in the past two years I've been a member here... hehe

[dannzeman]

Originally Posted by RavenTBK

No way of doing that that I am aware of.

The power consumption will remain the same regardless of your setting in the Location screen. The GPS isnt active all them time when its turned to "public". Its only active when an application requests its use. SmartPhoneTracker is a fantastic app, I use it as well. If you leave your location set to public, you will notice no more battery drain than before.

theoretically thats how it is supposed to work, but then a lot of the things with the 800w haven't worked like they're supposed to work. There's a lot of discussion at treocentral about the gps and its battery use when supposed to be off. I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but that I've noticed increased battery life by making sure the gps was turned off, and so have a lot of other people.

[dcolpi]

Originally Posted by RavenTBK

The power consumption will remain the same regardless of your setting in the Location screen. The GPS isnt active all them time when its turned to "public". Its only active when an application requests its use. SmartPhoneTracker is a fantastic app, I use it as well. If you leave your location set to public, you will notice no more battery drain than before.

Thanks RavenTBK. While I did notice a battery drain just from having the GBS radio on (even without an APP accessing it) when I first got the Treo a couple of weeks ago, testing I did over the last few days don't see this drain (this might be because of the battery patch I put in last week).

For those that are interested, the way I tested was to charge the Treo up all the way, ensured all apps were closed via the taskmanager, turned on the GPS, and let the phone sit for 12 hours. I then did the same thing only with the GBS Radio off (in 911 mode), and noticed no difference in the % battery charge after 12 hours.

Hope this helps

[ivan1.ruiz]

Smartphone tracker works well for me with small power drain..

[JAVIERBOND007]

Originally Posted by ivan1.ruiz

Smartphone tracker works well for me with small power drain..

Same here....

[jmel]

Originally Posted by dcolpi

Thanks RavenTBK. While I did notice a battery drain just from having the GBS radio on (even without an APP accessing it) when I first got the Treo a couple of weeks ago, testing I did over the last few days don't see this drain (this might be because of the battery patch I put in last week).

For those that are interested, the way I tested was to charge the Treo up all the way, ensured all apps were closed via the taskmanager, turned on the GPS, and let the phone sit for 12 hours. I then did the same thing only with the GBS Radio off (in 911 mode), and noticed no difference in the % battery charge after 12 hours.

Hope this helps

what battery patch? what does it do?

[dcolpi]

You can point your palm here to get it: palm.com/800wusbota

Or you can download the CAB file to your PC here: http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBC...,case=obj(7560)

Hope this helps

[dcolpi]

Sorry for the double post... but if that CAB link doesn't work try this:

http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBC...:str(downloads)

It has both the patches from Palm.

[bigwrigg]

Originally Posted by jmel

what battery patch? what does it do?

The patch for battery is in reference to the battery not charging if its completely dead. They recomend you hook the 800w to a computer via the usb cable, then once it comes to life and has x amout of battery, you can then use the supplied charger. With the patch, you can charge a completely dead battery with out having to plug it to a computer.

The other patch is for voice dialing i believe.

The patch doesnt actually fix any issues as far as battery performance goes.