It puzzles me why some ROMs have better GPS performance than others. I was on JPJPA earlier and had usable GPS navigation experiences in town, I flash JP8 and all hell breaks lose So to me, this ruled out that my phone has a hardware problem.
You can say that I live in a densely populated area in Boston, and after going through a lot of forum literature , today I carried out a little experiment.
I made a round trip to some place here in Boston, selected Copilot on my way to go, and Google Nav on my way back and here are the results:
Google Nav with "Use Wireless Networks" under location settings:
HERE
Google Nav without "Use Wireless Networks":
HERE
CoPilot:
HERE
In both trips, I took Beacon St and Longwood Ave (notice the difference).
Now while CoPilot is not exactly perfect, it performs way better than Google Nav! It didn't have to reroute or recalculate. (The circle you see in the beginning is me stopping by a gas station, yes, it was that accurate, it messes up only at the rail intersection of st paul & beacon)
I noticed a difference in the lock pattern and speed when using different programs. For example, GPS Status seems to take the longest to get a lock from a Cold Start, but once it locks, programs like CoPilot lock quickly using a Hot Start (reusing data from GPS Status)
Google Navigation, and several other programs however, seem to be using something entirely different. It seems Google Nav (and Maps btw) take the same amount of time to get initial lock whether (a) I used GPS Status prior or (b) did not use it at all.
I can only speculate at this point, but I think that Android provides more than one API to obtain GPS accuracy. I suspect that CoPilot and GPS Status (among others) use their own calculations to determine GPS position using raw satellite data, whereas Google Nav uses some built-in APIs in Android that give positioning data that are false. I believe that Google Maps uses some AGPS settings regardless of what you set in "Location and settings", and that, messes everything up. (You can see in my tracks above how google maps have bigger arcs when I made a u-turn, instead of showing a sharp turn).
A nice test would be to disable radio completely; that way Google Nav can't access AGPS data. But of course you run into the problem that Google can't operate without a valid data connection.
I just wanted to share my observations, if you guys have more ideas, lets share
Google Navigator is overrated. Co-Pilot, Navigon, NDrive are far better applications. If Trapster became an integrated layer in Google Nav, I'd use it.
Well written article btw.
Billus said:
Google Navigator is overrated. Co-Pilot, Navigon, NDrive are far better applications. If Trapster became an integrated layer in Google Nav, I'd use it.
Well written article btw.
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Thanks,
thing is, Google Nav did work fine in JPJPA. I'd like to use it instead because it has the latest listings and some pretty accurate traffic conditions. If we can find the problem, or find out what data or files Google Nav accesses, then we could possibly fix this problem on multiple ROMs.
Gmaps is perfect for finding and typing locations to go to, co-pilot more for the actual navigating, .. while you're driving; gmaps is way easier to use then co-pilot. But yea, less inaccuracy probs with co-pilot besides having a slower fix.
madmack said:
I suspect that CoPilot and GPS Status (among others) use their own calculations to determine GPS position using raw satellite data, whereas Google Nav uses some built-in APIs in Android that give positioning data that are false. I believe that Google Maps uses some AGPS settings regardless of what you set in "Location and settings", and that, messes everything up. (You can see in my tracks above how google maps have bigger arcs when I made a u-turn, instead of showing a sharp turn).
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coPilot and other nav apps force lock on roads besides real position until they can't do it.
Google Maps doesn't do it
And no, they can't access raw gps data, the only way is through google api
Oletros said:
coPilot and other nav apps force lock on roads besides real position until they can't do it.
Google Maps doesn't do it
And no, they can't access raw gps data, the only way is through google api
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Click to collapse
see above tracks. While GoogNav might "lock" you on a road, I'm posting the actual GPS coordinates that were received. It may have looked like I was on a road on my screen, but you can see the google nav tracks above that show the points the program received. The pointer hovers all over the place.
madmack said:
see above tracks. While GoogNav might "lock" you on a road, I'm posting the actual GPS coordinates that were received. It may have looked like I was on a road on my screen, but you can see the google nav tracks above that show the points the program received. The pointer hovers all over the place.
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Click to collapse
All the tracks where recorded with the same program?
Oletros said:
All the tracks where recorded with the same program?
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Click to collapse
Yup. my tracks
madmack said:
Yup. my tracks
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Click to collapse
So, all the GPS data has nothing to do with the program used (Google Navigation, coPilot), it's collected from the same source, Android GPS API
Oletros said:
So, all the GPS data has nothing to do with the program used (Google Navigation, coPilot), it's collected from the same source, Android GPS API
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Click to collapse
Dude, my tracks *listens* to whatever the GPS is receiving when other programs are using it.
So the main program that was running was either CoPilot or Google Nav. They're the ones invoking the GPS location commands (we know that because my two tracks are so different than each others).
My Tracks, in both cases, sits in the back seats and writes notes.
madmack said:
Dude, my tracks *listens* to whatever the GPS is receiving when other programs are using it.
So the main program that was running was either CoPilot or Google Nav. They're the ones invoking the GPS location commands (we know that because my two tracks are so different than each others).
My Tracks, in both cases, sits in the back seats and writes notes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What? My tracks uses GPS API to collect data, it doesn't sniff anything from other programs
Oletros said:
What? My tracks uses GPS API to collect data, it doesn't sniff anything from other programs
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Click to collapse
You might be right, but then how do you explain the two different tracks posted above ?
regardless of who is right or who is wrong, using any dedicated offline GPS software is way better than google maps/nav
of all the fews currently available for Android, i find Copilot to be the most accurate one, it shows the speed/stops exactly as when a police have a speed gun tracking me.
It is always in the correct lane of the road.
using the other GPS software have some sort of lags, or performance is poor, or the display is lousy, etc.
I agree with using Copilot
On my AT&T Captivate, my gps lock is hit or miss. I was having some major issues getting a gps lock using Google Nav but when I closed Google and opened Copilot the gps locked in after about 8 seconds and held. Google Nav kept kicking on and off. Google Maps had me doing a U-Turn on my way home taking me away from my destination, Copilot was right on track.
Related
I've looked around a bit for this, but I can't seem to find any information.
Last night I installed the "leaked official" Sprint update for the touch and the GPS doesn't seem to be working properly. I've tried google maps and live search, but it never locks satellites. I think it might be configured wrong?
Anyone know what to do about this?
Since I understand that most of these site's search capabilities won't give you much, I won't flame you..
Any GPS program that I have tried does not start the internal GPS itself. If the GPS isn't running when the program starts, you will not get a lock.
The most popular way around this is to use a GPS "primer" that will start it for you. I like AstroGPSLauncher. Its a nifty little program that starts your GPS and then your program all with the same shortcut. The ZIP file has a couple common shortcuts included. Do a search for AstroGPSLauncher and I am sure you will come up with the shortcut that you need.
Welcome to the forum!
I use Sprint navigator (New rom) and or MSN live search and neither require a GPS primer, in fact they lock on surprisingly fast.
i am using the same new rom. gps worked once but once i customized my rom and let it go cold, i have a tough time getting the gps to lock. i am using htc gps tool V1.1.1.0 and still have trouble. matter of fact..all the leaked gps roms i have tried its doing the same thing.
GPS works in Google Maps and Live Search Maps
Works in both for me. Didn't have to change any settings.
I thought it wasn't working at first
In Google Maps you have to have My Location enabled and select Use GPS in the menu
In LiveSearch Maps you have to select Center on GPS in the menu to show your position on map
select View, Lat/Lon to display your position
It takes around 30 seconds to get a lock for me in Redmond, Wa area once I select Use GPS
Google maps it shows it's tracking 6 satellites.
LiveSearch map does not show the number of satellites.
How to display GPS coordinates?
see prior post
I'm a bit new at these things, so forgive my niavity. I understand what GPS is, but I don't understand what I'm able to do on my phone with GPS - does the quickGPS app somehow link into other apps that can make use of GPS? What are these other apps and where do I find them? Does googlemaps make use of GPS?
First and most importantly (imho) is gps navigation.
Think TomTom, Garmin, etc. Being able to use your phone for navigation is nice..and yes, google maps uses your gps, which is awesome. It is slightly off though, like a couple of meters. (So you can't use it as a golf-buddy)
Also, for those who drive their cars on tracks, the possibility of being able to time yourself on the track is nice, not to mention potentially having a map of the track, with logging capability. I would love to be able to analyze results and find out which line was truly faster on which corner. Yeah there are already products that do this, possibly superior to anything the Diamond could do, but since I already have the phone...even if it was .005 seconds off I'd be happy.
Also, geotagging photos. (like..take a photo and it would automatically add the location.)
There are many other reasons...but gps navigation I think is the best.
Geotagging photos would be very interesting, any software for this? Similarly, any free GPS navigation software? (or any non-free software)?
You can geotag Diamond-made photos by its internal software (they actually get geotagged in the moment you make them) with a tweak. To geotag photos made by another camera, you need software which saves GPS data on PPC (aka trace, track, NMEA data) and a program which matches photos to location saved by Diamond.
And GPS nav software you got in 1st reply. TomTom, Garmin, AutoMapa etc. are commercial GPS programs. Google Maps can be free (not sure of that), but since they get maps via Net, they make you pay for data transmission. Most commercial programs work offline.
Hi,
Have anybody tried google navigator on the HD. I heard it's supposed to work with the hd. Anybody know if a dataconnection is needed, or can we download the maps and use it "offline" with the built in GPS reciever ??
anybody know where we can find a trial ?
oldings said:
Hi,
Have anybody tried google navigator on the HD. I heard it's supposed to work with the hd. Anybody know if a dataconnection is needed, or can we download the maps and use it "offline" with the built in GPS reciever ??
anybody know where we can find a trial ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Attached Google.
This is freeware
thx for reply. But isn't this the same that came pre-installed with the HD.
I tried Google Maps but that uses the data connection. I heard on google navigation you can save maps on storage and the use it "offline", so no need of data-connection, only GPS reciever.
Sorry, I should have read your thread properly, been a long day.
Google Navigator attached
I haven't used this application to be honest, but just installed it and a data connection appears to be required. I'll play with it and let you know if this can be disabled.
I have also downloaded the trial from http://www.pdafun.net/
and first time I started it I saw it downloded dato. I then used HD tweak to stop all data connection, and went in to Google navigator and changed som settings.
I can still start the prorgam wihtout any problems and activated GPS. It find my postition(still noe data connection used, yet). But don't know how to get a map. I only see a "world" map.
SO would be nice to know how we can download offlien maps so we can use with GPS and not need to use dataconnection, since it says it's possible
Without sounding flipant, the CAB is 1.73Mbs so I would expect it does not contain map data, bearing in mind that TomTom Maps are in the region of 1Gbs.
Maybe you have to download from somewhere else though.
<double post>
The map are downloaded using Data connection, they are download on demand by the software.
Google Navigator
the meaning of offline Navigation in this Software is that you can specify an interested area and tell the program to download the related topo, road maps, etc to the device over a data connection at a a given Zoom level. (wifi or gsm)
once the download is complete you can switch off the data connection or remove the sim and use the application to locate/Navigate your self in the downloaded area. The purpose is to enable you to use the phone to navigate yourself in a area without network coverage and/or to cutdown on the data download cost over GSM.
FYI
Google Navigator works fine on the HD except for the 3D view. it creates some areas of the map to disappear. I wrote to the developers on this bug and they said they will correct that error in their 4.9V but till the latest version the problem is still there.
is it just me or is the trial version of this completely useless? what is the point in disabling the only features that actually make this different to google maps? surely a time-limited version rather than feature-limitedwould make more sense?
I for one will certainly not be shelling out for this unless I know it works (and on my phone too).
this is most unlike google, who's software (until now)I have always been most impressed with. google maps is simply phenomenal, but does lack the turn-by-turn voice commands necessary to operate it whilst driving.
the data, for me (and many who own this type of device - why on earth would you have a device this capable without some data included?!) is not an issue. but i need to see it in action before I can abandon Tomtom properly...
is this software actually from google or just based on google maps? I still can't work out why I have to pay for this when everything else google is free (and this looks decidedly shoddier)?!
kindregards
dr_nick
Apparently Google Navigator has nothing to do with Google. The developers are just using the name "Google" because it taps into the Maps database. Caveat emptor.
Google Navigator is one of the worst PDA Apps I've ever seen.
Not only do they #1 -- Use the FREE google maps service, and charge you for their crappy front end, but #2 -- Put the name "Google" in the title of their product, so you think it's actually from a reputable source.
Google really needs to put a stop to this company because they are basically ripping people off.
hello guys,
i stumbled over an app called navdroyd in the market. it promises 100% offline turn by turn routing and tts with osm and android tts voice (sdk >1.6). does anybody has some experience with this app? it sounds really promising so I tried the free mapdroyd app from same developer.
navdroyd $6.49/€4.99: http://www.androidpit.com/en/android/market/apps/app/com.osa.android.navdroyd/NavDroyd
mapdroyd free: http://www.androidpit.com/en/android/market/apps/app/com.osa.android.mapdroyd/MapDroyd
mapdroyd works like a charm. you can download worldwide mapcontent via wifi an store them on sd but i'm missing the ability to search and set pois, which navdroyd provides. I think this would be a really awesome alternative to navigon or motonav for people without a dataplan. but before I purchase this app, maybe somebody can share his experience!?
hi there..
i've try both apps on my phone and yes navdroyd is much better than mapdroyd. actually both interfaces and appearance are quite similar but the diff is u get "cruise mode" on navdroyd which provides you 3d navigation =)
ahm ... yeah, that was already clear for me ... just like its named navdroyd and their homepages mapdroyd.com and navdroyd.com discribe: mapdroyd shows map and navdroyd navigates you ... i wanted to know how good this works, not which abilities each program has
e.g ... i'm interested if navdroyd announces only directions or also streetnames via text to speech and if navigation continues if the display is turned off (for motorcycle navigation)... etc
Why dont you simply buy the app, you have 24 hours to ask for a refund! Navdroyd has a simulate route feature, which gives a nice demo of the software.
I have used navdroyd now a couple of times for actual car navigation. It does work pretty well, announces instructions in time, also reads out road names (with comical results when the names are not english), recalculates routes if you miss a turn and so on....
It feels a bit rough still in some places, given its still a very early version. The search function is too basic for my liking, and the routing has a tendency of generating too many keep left/right messages when in fact you simply need to keep driving ahead on the same road.
I only used it in the car, and the display is kept on all the time, so dont know about switching the display off, or even switching to a different app ?
Given it uses OSM data, there still can be data gaps, but hey you can just go to openstreetmap and add the road!
Finally, the developers are very responsive and I have submitted some bug/missing features reports, hopeful this will all be added soon. Just email them if you still feel you have questions.
Anyone care to review this app?
were my brief comments not enough ?
does it have offline routing?
i was wondering how it does it considering it uses OSM maps (yes i know you pre download them).
cheers,
Cool but realistically MotoNav is just as easy. 1 State file and bam.
I wish Google Nav would have something like this. Where I have problems with Google Nav is when I get out of Airports and trying to pull data whilst in a concrete parking garage isn't fun.
Google Maps is worth its weight in gold but I can't get into the Navigator. I use Google Maps to search and navigate mosty and use MotoNav as a backup.
you cant actually go to specific addresses like someones house
Yes its 100% offline routing and maps ... so no need for a data connection once you have downloaded the maps initially. they are pretty small, the whole of the uk for example is 103mb.
because its based on OSM, it doesn't have that many addresses at the moment, but I find that street name in general is more than enough to get where you want to go. You can also search for junctions between two streets which might help as well.
HA
petzlux said:
were my brief comments not enough ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HA!.....................
sorry for bumping this old thread but I had a question:
After paying for the app, do you have to pay for each map you download or is all that free?
Also, does this offer POIs, such as Dunk n' Donuts, restaurants, or gas stations?
Thanks.
yeah, opnce you have bought the app, the maps are free.
2 things, and i hope the Navdroyd people read this, I have been fairly disappointed in the customer service ( i know, $5) but i offered to help with the maps in my local area, as at the moment they are VERY old and near on unusable. well actually, they are unusable as there are WAY too many unnamed streets, which are named in OSM...
secondly, the POIs seem a little limited, not sure about other areas (im in Perth, Western Australia)
well one more, they don't seem to update the maps too often (definately not every 6wks as they say). As a result there is no use updating OSM for your area as you don't see any changes.
Navdroyd people please read this! I would like to assist!!!
Palitu
i'm not very happy with navdroid, ended up driving totally wrong with the out-dated maps, heck, the street where i grew up isn't even on the map (im from belgium)
Wow... they tore down your street? bummer!
alloin said:
i'm not very happy with navdroid, ended up driving totally wrong with the out-dated maps, heck, the street where i grew up isn't even on the map (im from belgium)
Click to expand...
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One option would be to contribute to the OpenStreetMap project and fix those problems you know of
wwwald said:
One option would be to contribute to the OpenStreetMap project and fix those problems you know of
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Click to collapse
no, that wont work, i have gone through and updated this on OSM and there hasn't been any changes.
Not only that, the OSM has the streets alread named. Not sure why they don't cross over onto NavDroyd...
Is there a way to replace the maps from Navdroyd for other ones like google or something more updated?. The area where I live doesn't have the street names and has very limited POIs.
Ahkbal said:
Is there a way to replace the maps from Navdroyd for other ones like google or something more updated?. The area where I live doesn't have the street names and has very limited POIs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope
you cannot... amking up the length of the message
Palitu said:
no, that wont work, i have gone through and updated this on OSM and there hasn't been any changes.
Not only that, the OSM has the streets alread named. Not sure why they don't cross over onto NavDroyd...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is with the update frequency of the NavDroyd maps. They use their own "micromap" format, so the OSM data have to be "compiled" into that format every once in a while.
It's actually in their FAQ, see questions "How often do you update NavDroyd's map database?" and "Can I download OSM maps and use them directly in NavDroyd?".
(sorry, I'm apparently not yet allowed to post external links)
Are there any full-featured GPS programs available? Some do maps, most do diraections, some do "breadcrumbs". I am looking for something that will do at least MOST of the features of a dedicated GPS...Maps, directions, breadcrumbs, ETA, speed, etc. I really don't care if it's free or paid, but I'm just surprised that I haven't been able to find one (if it exists)
whats wrong with Google Navigation, its arguably the the best full featured GPS Navigation software out and its free.
ghostrida said:
whats wrong with Google Navigation, its arguably the the best full featured GPS Navigation software out and its free.
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does it do breadcrumbs, he said he needed that, i have never seen it but would be cool if its there.
i have a mygig RER 30gb hd w/ navigation in my jeep, i use my incredible for navigation now cause the maps are always up to date (and for free) and i can search a much larger database of points of interest plus better voice search! android FTW!
nothing is wrong with google nav. its great. but, it requires constant internet. i too would like to know of a good offline navigation app.
Standalone
They don't seem to make them ... iGo MyWay looked good but it doesn't seem to be for sale.
One BIG problem with Google Maps is that it sucks up battery juice like crazy (I'm guessing a combination of GPS power and constant internet). I love it for quick and dirty navigation, but just wish that there was something more robust. On WM I had iGuidance, Delorme, etc. Just surprised that there's nothing to compete with them on android.
I use Co-Pilot
OruxMaps has an offline mode and can accept maps for offline use in several formats, including KML, which you can download from google maps or google earth.
It can also load your maps in everytrail.com or mapmytracks.com
I haven't played with it a lot yet, but so far it seems to have everything you mentioned.
Garmin would be nice
I use Garmin MobileXT on my TP2 but would like it on my DINC. I wonder if someone could port the Garmin APK from the NuviFone that T-mobile just released ??
I'll be looking at OruxMaps for now, thanks for the tip.
(Sorry about the bump)