Database Users

[Q] Google Maps with GPS

hi everyone ! can anyone tell me how i can use Google Maps with Gps technology ?? when i select "Use GPS" it says "Network Unavailable"

You're connected to the Internet?

An activated GPRS, EDGE or UMTS is necessary.

sharax said:
You're connected to the Internet?
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no i'm not !
Dnst said:
An activated GPRS, EDGE or UMTS is necessary.
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you mean if i want to browse maps with gps, i have to connect to the internet ??

Oh yes the maps are not on your device they are downloaded!!

Google Maps gets your location from the GPS sensor, but then has to go online to download the actual map data for that area.

so if the map of the area we are in, was downloaded befor then i think there wont be any problem ! i think it would be just like the quick gps software in diamond ! am i right ?

I think that should be a way of download the map and use it offline. Some cracker should make it easy

diogoperas said:
I think that should be a way of download the map and use it offline. Some cracker should make it easy
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hehe, i tried 5 different apps and currently use gpsVP /w cached Gmaps imgs
pretty good for a free app, altho not totally easy to set up as there is no info...
since there is no maps for japan that i know of, never tried a commercial product, then again i prefer gmaps and my brain for navigation

diogoperas said:
I think that should be a way of download the map and use it offline. Some cracker should make it easy
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in the last few versions of gmaps just install it onto the storage card and then you can just save whats in the applicationdata\googlemaps folder and use that offline

Dnst said:
An activated GPRS, EDGE or UMTS is necessary.
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Can also be Wifi.

hey everybody, first post here....
i read that i should not start new posts if theres one going already.
I got my diamond about a month ago, its an alltel cdma diamond with original ROM, no registry tweaks, pretty much stock.
the GPS is being finicky. ive tried atleast 10-15 different GPS applications (all freeware or trials) and they are alway hit or miss. sometimes i get a 6-12 sat lock in seconds, even indoors... but sometimes i cant lock on outside even after 15min or more (even if i had a lock on less then 8hrs earlier). Ive been trying to find a pattern to why it sometimes works (certain settings, maybe after a resets, quick gps, etc)
side note, i used the G-Watch app while in poland where i have no phone coverage. it worked perfectly everytime i turned it on with almost instant lockon. but back in florida every program i try sometimes works and sometimes doesnt, even if i turned the phone to airplane mode.
question 1- is this considered normal for the alltel diamond
question 2- does the software that costs money (ie tomtom) work any better/more consistently
question 3 - could there be something wrong with my phone
question 4 - any ideas how to make it more stable
thanx for the help

also, on some of the gps programs, it will say i have found up to 8 or so sats, but wont lock onto any of them...
thanx again

Do you have to have data plan for GPS?

I have T-Mobile USA. Can I use the GPS without a data plan?

What is meant by data plan ?

azahidi said:
What is meant by data plan ?
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Internet Plan
I only have a plan with minutes and no internet.

DanRo80 said:
Internet Plan
I only have a plan with minutes and no internet.
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Some GPS applications, e.g. Garmin mobile and many freeware GPS apps, do not require internet connection. Google maps mobile requires internet connection, of course.

azahidi said:
Some GPS applications, e.g. Garmin mobile and many freeware GPS apps, do not require internet connection. Google maps mobile requires internet connection, of course.
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And you are not able to use QuickGPS for faster detection of the satellites.
But I do not know if this is necessary/useful for these programs.

MvBoe said:
And you are not able to use QuickGPS for faster detection of the satellites.
But I do not know if this is necessary/useful for these programs.
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True that QuickGPS is supposed to assist in faster GPS detection. However I am not sure how much faster, I mean by how many seconds faster (no empirical measure). From my experience, satellite detection without QuickGPS updated for a few weeks, is still quite fast, a few ten seconds - but still dependant on the sky/cloud condition. I am talking from where I live - equatorial. I am not sure about north of the tropics (Europe and N.America)

A definite no!
You do not need a data plan to use the GPS! Depending on which cellular company you go with, some of their people will try to tell or sell you on a plan. You do not need it.
For WM 5 and above, it is recommended that you let WM manage your GPS for all programs. To do this go to the System Settings tab and select the External GPS app (why it is called external is beyond me). Then move through the tabs to configure the GPS. Ideally, use a port that is not in use. I typically use 9. Then click the box to have WM manage the GPS for all programs that need data from it.
Now, you just need software and there is plenty of free programs out. One utility I recommend is GPS Toggle (http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-gps-toggle.html ). This small Today screen plug-in will turn on the Jade GPS to quote warm it up for you. If the GPS has not been turned on in awhile, it can take up to 10 minutes or longer to have it lock onto four satellites which is what is considered necessary for satellite navigation (satnav). During this period, the satellites will use your time signal as one of the primary pieces of info to sync your GPS. Then based upon the positon of the satellites, they will identify your location. Once they have downloaded enough data to the GPS and are in sync, your GPS will become satnav capable.
Another app you might to look at is GPSToday (http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-gpstoday-v0-9.html#). I recommend setting this app as separate one and not a Today screen plug-in but that is your choice after reviewing what it is capable of doing. I love that it can geotag pictures taken by Jade which basically takes quote dumb or pictures that do not have typical computer info written into them. You can even use it to mark where you parked your car (at a stadium or large event), store the coordinates and have it navigate back to your car. Another good use is for geocaching.
These are just two small apps. What you really want now is iGO8 (highly recommended), TomTom or another commercial software program.
__________________
WM 6.5 HTC T3232 (clone)
running iGO8

Everywhere I look it seems that iGO8 is only for iPhone, but people say they are using it. I am also in the United States.

DanRo80 said:
Everywhere I look it seems that iGO8 is only for iPhone, but people say they are using it. I am also in the United States.
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If you look here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=472110&highlight=gps+software), it might give you an idea. iGo8 has been used on Jade.

azahidi said:
If you look here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=472110&highlight=gps+software), it might give you an idea. iGo8 has been used on Jade.
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Yeah, I was in there. It's just that the website said that it was for the iPhone and it looked like it was for Europe only. Nevermind, I am just dopey. I see that it is also for America and Canada.

Rogers SE X10 Questions

So my dad got this phone but he doesnt want it anymore so he is giving it to me. However, my plan does not have data and im not planning on getting any so I have some questions
1) What kind of features will/will not work. I noticed that the CoPilot GPS can preload maps but how good is the GPS without data/wifi? (My C905a does within 800m with Wi-Fi -.-)
2) Rooting the phone allows me to use apps not from the Android market right? Whats the risk of bricking the phone? And if I break it, what cost will rogers or any other trusted place repair it for?
3) Do most Android/other apps work without data/wifi.
Thanks!

1) Everything will work, apps that need internet will need you to be near wifi
GPS is way better than wifi at locating..
2) No. You don't need to root for that.
3) Yeah.

zephyrix said:
1) Everything will work, apps that need internet will need you to be near wifi
GPS is way better than wifi at locating..
2) No. You don't need to root for that.
3) Yeah.
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So what are the main advantages of rooting? How good is the GPS without any internet?

xGary said:
So what are the main advantages of rooting? How good is the GPS without any internet?
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I don't have a dataplan either, and got X10, for use with WiFi.
Something like CoPilot Live works perfectly, it just needs to download maps via wifi, and once downloaded, doesn't need internet. Try out MapDroyd (it's FREE but doesn't give navigation, but it's offline maps, so once downloaded to your phone, it doesn't use internet), or NavDroyd is a simple navigation program costing $5.
Google Maps needs constant internet connection pretty much.
Advantage of rooting, for now, isn't much in that sense; there's a few apps that need root access to do more tweaking (such as AdBlock and setCPU) but you can live perfectly without it.
Call Rogers and tell them to block data on their end, so you don't accidentally start using data and get billed hard
Oh, and there's a Rogers app on there called My Account, I think... it won't work with wifi connection, it needs 3g connection. it just tells you about your usage, like minutes and texts and data and things like that. You can get all that info online from the rogers website anyway, but you asked what won't work, and that's the only thing that won't work i think

xGary said:
So what are the main advantages of rooting? How good is the GPS without any internet?
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The advantage of rooting is better battery life, more sensitive touch screen and faster in pretty much all tasks. Well worth it and the risk is pretty minimal if you fallow the guide.

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

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.