Database Users

how does gps work on da phone

oi guys ive had a look at a few of those suggested threads about gps and yeah nah they dont really answer my question so feel free to link me to a thread if it answers my question
ok so, what the go.. the phone has gps.. but it doesnt work like a gps device eg navman, tomtom etc.. or does it? i've tried stock froyo and cyanogenmod using that google car app and then going to navigation, but it just keeps searching for a signal for ever. i dont want to use data cause it costs money and defeats the purpose of having a gps.. that is if the phone gps actually works like a gps device. if not then thats pretty bad advertising. anyways let me know, cheers

Mine gets connected to satelites on few seconds,performs as good as my Tom Tom does,i am using Navigon app&maps.

the latest google maps has offline support so you wouldnt need data...

what??! thats rediculous! i left mine in that navigation mode where it was looking for navigation or something like that and the gps symbol was flashing for like 15 min straight as i drove to work and nothing! is it meant to take that long?
EDIT: ok i opened up maps with wifi and it went through all that first time use crap. and so it was using wifi and gps it looked like and that was working. but then when i disabled wifi none of the maps load. only the maps that i had previously loaded while on wifi. wtf? arent maps installed..????????? therefore it should just load them.. what the #%^% im starting to get really pissed off with how stupid this design is. the maps are there, cause theyre installed, and the gps is there so.............. what the ^%#* is its problem?

your right it will only save maps you have browsed while on wifi...i believe there is a setting that overrides this though...

nolook said:
your right it will only save maps you have browsed while on wifi...i believe there is a setting that overrides this though...
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do you know where this setting is? oh and i got the gps to work ie i got it to find me and all that. i did some reading and with gps on most phones the first time they connect it takes a while cause its gotta do all this satellite scanning and then eventually it goes yep ok hes in this part of the country, lets set him up with these satellites and so from then on it connects with gps a lot faster

First of all: the design is just great, you are the stupid.
How GPS work on dah phone ? well just like any other GPS: it receives signal from a few satellites around and it find your position based on the time laps between the reception of each signal (signal come with a time sync).
Now, how WELL does the Legend's GPS work ? as good as any other GPS: very nice in a car or outdoor, but very badly indoor and if it was unable to find your position for 15 minute I'm pretty sure you were indoor (or maybe outdoor in a big city).
Also on smartphone's GPS the data connection can help the GPS itself by downloading some data which will speed up the localisation by satellite, but this is not mandatory and if you're not connected you will end up being positionned. It will only take a few minutes (less than 15)
Finally about the navigation system (which is a bit different of GPS itself) Google's is fairly different than other software because it doesn't come with maps but it download them as you need them:
pros:
-maps are always up to date
-you don't have to waste 2Gb or more on your microSD to store them
-it's free !
cons:
-requires data connection (unlimited download recommanded)
If you prefer usual navigation software, feel free to use co-pilot or navigon or tomtom or any of the other regular software. But you'll have to pay (or crack) them.

Nashan said:
First of all: the design is just great, you are the stupid.
How GPS work on dah phone ? well just like any other GPS: it receives signal from a few satellites around and it find your position based on the time laps between the reception of each signal (signal come with a time sync).
Now, how WELL does the Legend's GPS work ? as good as any other GPS: very nice in a car or outdoor, but very badly indoor and if it was unable to find your position for 15 minute I'm pretty sure you were indoor (or maybe outdoor in a big city).
Also on smartphone's GPS the data connection can help the GPS itself by downloading some data which will speed up the localisation by satellite, but this is not mandatory and if you're not connected you will end up being positionned. It will only take a few minutes (less than 15)
Finally about the navigation system (which is a bit different of GPS itself) Google's is fairly different than other software because it doesn't come with maps but it download them as you need them:
pros:
-maps are always up to date
-you don't have to waste 2Gb or more on your microSD to store them
-it's free !
cons:
-requires data connection (unlimited download recommanded)
If you prefer usual navigation software, feel free to use co-pilot or navigon or tomtom or any of the other regular software. But you'll have to pay (or crack) them.
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whoa whoa whoa hang on now. lets not go throwing the word stupid around especially if you didnt even understand what i meant or you assumed i didnt know how gps works in the first place.
my general question was that it wasnt connecting to gps and the maps werent showing so im thinking you need data for the maps to show even though you have the maps installed, and secondly im thinking something is wrong with my gps or maybe it doesnt work like a normal device navman, tomtom etc because its been half an hour and still no connectivity. then i answered my own question as usual via the internet from other forums i found using google which explained what i said above.
basically with normal gps devices they are already setup with a region.. thingy or whatever it is built into the gps device. this means the first time you connect its actually quite quick because it already has an idea where you are in the world. however with phones, they apparently dont have this so the process of connecting for the first time can range from 3 min, instantly or up to 3 hours like numerous people claimed it had taken for their phones. as for mine it took just over half an hour and now it works fine.
the only question left over now is apparently you can get the maps to show without a data connection through some option change in the settings as someone mentioned a bit earlier.
dont go throwing stupid around mate or assuming anything cause now who looks stupid. besides the design is quite silly since none of this was explained. when they say the phone has gps people (like me) generally go oh wow like those car gps' and expect them to work like that. so when they dont we become a bit skeptical and i was right to do so because look at all this crap ^^^that ive discovered. anyways like i said theres still one stupid thing left about all this which is why data is needed to view maps that are already installed. its like those video games that you install and require you to be on the net to play

You were the one throwing stupid at the design while you still seem to misunderstand how google nav (quit calling it GPS please) works.
Maps are not completely loaded, they're only stored in the cache and that's true only for one scale, and around one place. You can hardly use that to explore the map offline not even mentionning navigating.
The new feature only allow google nav to keep guiding you if you lose connection for a little while. But you can't really use it offline.
I think that design is just awesome, although I have an unlimited data connection. If you don't have that kind of service you should take a look at usual GPS softwares.
And I'm not assuming anything, you asked "how GPS works" not "how google nav works"

Nashan said:
You were the one throwing stupid at the design while you still seem to misunderstand how google nav (quit calling it GPS please) works.
Maps are not completely loaded, they're only stored in the cache and that's true only for one scale, and around one place. You can hardly use that to explore the map offline not even mentionning navigating.
The new feature only allow google nav to keep guiding you if you lose connection for a little while. But you can't really use it offline.
I think that design is just awesome, although I have an unlimited data connection. If you don't have that kind of service you should take a look at usual GPS softwares.
And I'm not assuming anything, you asked "how GPS works" not "how google nav works"
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ugh forget it, i already answered my own question and now you're just being picky and all technical when no one really cares. i think 99% get what i mean so i dont care

GPS is working great. Google Maps is the "problem", more precisely not a real problem but the way it was designed. Unlike other GPS navigation software, the maps are not stored locally but in a cache. The latest version seems to have an offline mode but I didn't tested so I can't say if it's totally offline or not. If you want navigation without using your data connection or WiFi, switch to TomTom, iGO, or similar instead.
That's why Google Maps has only couple of MB and iGO for ex. has over 2 GB with all maps loaded...the difference is the space occupied by the maps.
P.S. And yes, first GPS lock is acquired a little bit later.

Rapier said:
GPS is working great. Google Maps is the "problem", more precisely not a real problem but the way it was designed. Unlike other GPS navigation software, the maps are not stored locally but in a cache. The latest version seems to have an offline mode but I didn't tested so I can't say if it's totally offline or not. If you want navigation without using your data connection or WiFi, switch to TomTom, iGO, or similar instead.
That's why Google Maps has only couple of MB and iGO for ex. has over 2 GB with all maps loaded...the difference is the space occupied by the maps.
P.S. And yes, first GPS lock is acquired a little bit later.
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thank you. that clears it all up
now to that other guy, wouldnt it have been easier to just say that ^

I use Igo for my offline nav. It works just like a tom tom. For my geocaching needs, I use geobeagle.
Sent from my HTC Legend using XDA App

GPS without AT&T plan?

I was wondering if I still have to pay AT&T for GPS service, even if I use a 3rd party GPS provider like the Google maps navigator. Thank you in advance

You don't pay AT&T for GPS service, the GPS locator is built into the phone itself. But what you pay for is the data that the phone downloads from the internet. Google Maps is made up of images that are downloaded as you go. GPS service runs by itself. For example, if you don't have service but do have GPS enabled, the phone will just be showing a dot where you are. Makes sense?

profipix said:
You don't pay AT&T for GPS service, the GPS locator is built into the phone itself. But what you pay for is the data that the phone downloads from the internet. Google Maps is made up of images that are downloaded as you go. GPS service runs by itself. For example, if you don't have service but do have GPS enabled, the phone will just be showing a dot where you are. Makes sense?
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he could be paying for AT&T maps which has a monthly charge.

zervic said:
he could be paying for AT&T maps which has a monthly charge.
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Yes I was, but he answered my question anyways, thank you

Plasmamuffins said:
Yes I was, but he answered my question anyways, thank you
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Having the maps installed is the key to GPS navigation -
Without actually downloading and installing a "stand-alone" GPS navigation app, being connected to the internet, whether via AT&T cellular network or via WiFi, is required to actually download maps to your device.
If you want to "go it alone" without any data being processed, you will need to find a stand-alone map/navigation application like CoPilot.

To follow up on DanGeorges' comment a basic GPS map application (no navigation) that I use, without a data plan, is Maps (-). It's free and allows you to pre-cache areas of a map up to a certain zoom level, when you're on wi-fi, for use later on.

DanGeorges said:
Having the maps installed is the key to GPS navigation -
Without actually downloading and installing a "stand-alone" GPS navigation app, being connected to the internet, whether via AT&T cellular network or via WiFi, is required to actually download maps to your device.
If you want to "go it alone" without any data being processed, you will need to find a stand-alone map/navigation application like CoPilot.
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AT&T maps is not google maps. AT&T maps you have to pay for, google maps is free. you're confusing the two.

about GPS works

I have an easy question about GPS, I am using Vibrant without network plan. So I don't know if I can use GPS with out any wifi or 3g? I am using the BV 1.3.1 now.. If that will work, how can I set up?

GPS uses military run satellites to determine you location. The network or data transfer is irreverent. Your GPS will work without network connection.
Now lets say you try to navigate to a location with Google maps. This will not work, although the phone will know your location it can not use the network to DL the maps nor calculate your route. If you use a nav app that store a maps on your SD card, then you'll be fine

SykesAT said:
GPS uses military run satellites to determine you location. The network or data transfer is irreverent. Your GPS will work without network connection.
Now lets say you try to navigate to a location with Google maps. This will not work, although the phone will know your location it can not use the network to DL the maps nor calculate your route. If you use a nav app that store a maps on your SD card, then you'll be fine
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+1 yup plus it will be slower

oka1 said:
+1 yup plus it will be slower
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It will be slower? The GPS navigate will be slower or the phone will be slower? much slower?

oka1 said:
+1 yup plus it will be slower
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Is there any nav app that we can't download free and store the maps in SD so that can navigate without network?

oka1 said:
+1 yup plus it will be slower
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pxc668 said:
It will be slower? The GPS navigate will be slower or the phone will be slower? much slower?
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I don't see how the phone would be slower, in any regard. It would not affect the phones processing speed, nor would the gps run slower. The only thing that could be slower is finding your location from a cold start, using network location can speed this, but imo it's irrelevant. Network location is too inaccurate for navigation.
There are some apps which store maps, but none that are free. Maybe someone else knows of one.

In my experience, GPS lock can be considerably slower without the network. The AGPS works by querying the network to get supplemental information like precise time and maybe ephemeris data (precise sat location) which can make a huge difference in acquiring lock. The phone is capable of acquiring lock without this network aid, but locks can take minutes, and accurate locks can take many minutes.
Of course, the other caveats about requiring off-line maps etc for navigation functions also apply.

I don't have a data plan either but my gps works just fine. It locks onto sats in about 10 sec.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=10488647
thats open source map app where u can drop locations to go turn by turn (initially the maps load over wifi, but u can choose to save them and save them according to the resolution. I live in Atlanta so i only saved the GA portion with a decent resolution, which is nice that i dont have to worry about downloading states ill never need).
i personally use copilot live more (about 1gb for USA maps with poi)
i forgot the price, but it is 100% worth it (almost better than my in car navi)
Running bionix btw if that helps with gps lockon timings
and dont forget to get apn droid from the app store to make sure it disables all cellular network data. only downside is that if you want mms then u have to turn it back on reboot and then download the mms then turn it off again, but i dont get many mms anyway so its ok.

Get CoPilot Live USA.
Its $5 on the market and it preloads the maps for the country on your phone. Works WITHOUT data and the interface is SLICK. Full 3D navigation with really good voice turn by turn.
One of the best purchases I ever made. Hope it helps you too
PS: Maps get updated about every month so they are always current as far as road names and points of interest. Note that since it isn't using any data and data triangulation, if it is the first time you use it after a phone reboot it will take up to 3-4 minutes to lock on. This is normal as it is the same if you try any 3rd party GPS receiver navigation system. Once you've used it once since the phone has booted up, lockon time will be under a minute.

[Q] car home satnav

model zte blade
swedish spring RLS5
Car Home is preinstalled on my orange san francisco
Do I need to be connected to the internet to make it work or will it work offline.
thanks
jcl123

It will use/require data when launching navigation

thanks Harmohn for the reply
so just to clarify I take it this means:-
Turn on wifi before leaving home
Enter post code of destination
wait for gps signal and providing I don't change anything before reaching my
destination it will work till I get there.
Thanks
jcl123

Apologies, I should have been clearer. The navigation app continues to ping for data whilst it's running - the map requires data on the fly to be re-drawn as you journey.
Unfortunately, the built-in google navigation app doesn't cache the whole map prior to you leaving your wifi for offline use.
There maybe a third party app which would be better for offline use, but I haven't researched this mate. :/

Thanks Harmohn
Sounds like I would be better installing something like co-pilot
If I decide to install co-pilot would I be better uninstalling carhome and google maps prior to installation
Thanks
jcl123

I wouldn't recommend uninstalling car home or maps mate, as I remember reading those who had, having problems later for some reason when using apps that access related services.

Offline navigation using the nexus 10

Suppose I want to use my nexus 10 to navigate a trip from Boston to New York... A clever guy might say 'I can just preload the map'. But that won't work because when I try and load that much map it says to me 'not enough storage, map too big'. The thing is I have nearly 30 gigs free on this thing and it looks like it can't get much beyond a few hundred megs of map storage. Is there some way to kick up the storable size of a map selection? I've not found any setting in maps that'll let me save even the state of tiny Rhode Island! Or will this thing save enough map if I set up navigation before breaking the WiFi connection that it'll just work?
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app

Doctor Dedroid said:
Suppose I want to use my nexus 10 to navigate a trip from Boston to New York... A clever guy might say 'I can just preload the map'. But that won't work because when I try and load that much map it says to me 'not enough storage, map too big'. The thing is I have nearly 30 gigs free on this thing and it looks like it can't get much beyond a few hundred megs of map storage. Is there some way to kick up the storable size of a map selection? I've not found any setting in maps that'll let me save even the state of tiny Rhode Island! Or will this thing save enough map if I set up navigation before breaking the WiFi connection that it'll just work?
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
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in google maps use the "make available offline" and break the route into separate slightly overlapping squares instead of one large area which will be too big for it. if you just try to save new york to boston in one large square you are getting tons of extra area you dont need and it wont work. if you break it down i think it will let you save 6 or 7 smaller offline maps. ive been able to use it offline between cincinnati and washington dc doing this and it worked fine.
not sure if there is a way to increase the storage limit it sets but it would be nice.

Best suggestion would be Dave's, Google Maps does not allow making big areas available as offline maps.
Btw doesn't the Nexus 10 have a GPS? I thought this GPS would work without the need of a data connection since the Nexus 10 does not support data connection but WiFi only, could someone please confirm or deny this? If you do need a wireless internet connection, then I would say it's stupid to have a GPS built-in if I can just use the network location future for map use when I'm connected to the internet.

daLareid said:
Best suggestion would be Dave's, Google Maps does not allow making big areas available as offline maps.
Btw doesn't the Nexus 10 have a GPS? I thought this GPS would work without the need of a data connection since the Nexus 10 does not support data connection but WiFi only, could someone please confirm or deny this? If you do need a wireless internet connection, then I would say it's stupid to have a GPS built-in if I can just use the network location future for map use when I'm connected to the internet.
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First off, thanks to Dave for the suggestion. I wasn't making the connection... Thought I needed one saved map. The Nexus 10 does have GPS... But when using my phone for navigation, doesn't it download the maps as it needs them? If this is so, then once you broke the wireless connection , the Nexus 10 wouldn't be able to load maps as needed. I was under the assumption that I would have to preload the maps somehow which of course, Google Maps can do. If this device is smart enough to load all the bits of map it needs for whatever route it calculates... Then all of this discussion is mood anyway. Of course if you set up your phone for wifi hotspot and you wouldn't need to preload the maps it seems to me... that is of course assuming that you prefer to use the Nexus 10 for navigation rather than your phone.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app

Doctor Dedroid said:
First off, thanks to Dave for the suggestion. I wasn't making the connection... Thought I needed one saved map. The Nexus 10 does have GPS... But when using my phone for navigation, doesn't it download the maps as it needs them? If this is so, then once you broke the wireless connection , the Nexus 10 wouldn't be able to load maps as needed. I was under the assumption that I would have to preload the maps somehow which of course, Google Maps can do. If this device is smart enough to load all the bits of map it needs for whatever route it calculates... Then all of this discussion is mood anyway. Of course if you set up your phone for wifi hotspot and you wouldn't need to preload the maps it seems to me... that is of course assuming that you prefer to use the Nexus 10 for navigation rather than your phone.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
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So you can confirm the GPS feature is pretty much useless? that's pretty much what I would be meaning to use it for, Navigation, but like I said before if it only works with a working internet connection then it truly is pointless, why would I bother tethering my mobile's data connection to enable the Nexus 10 when I can instead just use my mobile for Navigation. Has anybody else tried Navigation via GPS only on Nexus 10?

daLareid said:
So you can confirm the GPS feature is pretty much useless? that's pretty much what I would be meaning to use it for, Navigation, but like I said before if it only works with a working internet connection then it truly is pointless, why would I bother tethering my mobile's data connection to enable the Nexus 10 when I can instead just use my mobile for Navigation. Has anybody else tried Navigation via GPS only on Nexus 10?
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Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
I simply have not had the opportunity to try using it for navigation yet. I have several apps that do need to have a good position in order for them to function correctly. In particular the the app that needs an accurate as possible location is called sattrack.
I believe if you pre load maps prior to leaving on your trip then the position will be quite accurate as provided by the GPS. I believe the only issue that I'm bringing up is whether or not the maps preload automatically prior to taking the Nexus 10 on the road.
Yes tethering is perhaps somewhat superfluous... However if you want a bigger display it seems like one way to do it.

Copilot Live is cheap, and works very well ...

Doctor Dedroid said:
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
I simply have not had the opportunity to try using it for navigation yet. I have several apps that do need to have a good position in order for them to function correctly. In particular the the app that needs an accurate as possible location is called sattrack.
I believe if you pre load maps prior to leaving on your trip then the position will be quite accurate as provided by the GPS. I believe the only issue that I'm bringing up is whether or not the maps preload automatically prior to taking the Nexus 10 on the road.
Yes tethering is perhaps somewhat superfluous... However if you want a bigger display it seems like one way to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried it and it works. Download the mapping data of the areas you are traveling and it will navigate offline.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Doctor Dedroid said:
First off, thanks to Dave for the suggestion. I wasn't making the connection... Thought I needed one saved map. The Nexus 10 does have GPS... But when using my phone for navigation, doesn't it download the maps as it needs them? If this is so, then once you broke the wireless connection , the Nexus 10 wouldn't be able to load maps as needed. I was under the assumption that I would have to preload the maps somehow which of course, Google Maps can do. If this device is smart enough to load all the bits of map it needs for whatever route it calculates... Then all of this discussion is mood anyway. Of course if you set up your phone for wifi hotspot and you wouldn't need to preload the maps it seems to me... that is of course assuming that you prefer to use the Nexus 10 for navigation rather than your phone.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I dont think it will save the maps along the route if you have a connection initially but it might.
On both my phone and tablet i usually have the area i normally am traveling within always saved offline- it loads faster and if you lose cell service it still works. If i break it into seperate maps i easily can save a 100+ mile radius from home which is probably 99% of my normal travel. If i am headed on a long trip i just delete a few local files and i save along the route and im good to go. If you save the maps offline make sure you are on wifi and not on cell connection or tethering- only takes a few minutes on wifi but files are a little big to do over cell.
to the questions others had about the gps. its very accurate and quick on the nexus 10. in addition to the navigation i have occasionally used some other apps to map some project sites using it and also to view topo and other maps.

Has anybody tested the device with offline programs like iGO or Sygic (with pre-downloaded maps)?

Hmm... I've tried downloading and using offline maps for trips and I found that it wasn't reliable... when I lost connection the GPS couldn't track my location. However, I will mention that I did not make the entire distance from my starting location to destination available offline... I assumed once I was in the area that I downloaded it would automatically pinpoint my location. Maybe I was wrong to think that?