GPS Receiver for Vibrant [UPDATED] - Vibrant Accessories

Hey all,
I was looking for an external GPS receiver for my Vibrant. Requirements are: Bluetooth connection, USB-charging, turns on and off automatically, cheap, accurate. I intend to use it in my car by putting it in my glovebox and leaving it plugged in constantly.
Upon research, I have decided to get this:
Globalsat BT-359CS Laptop & PDA Bluetooth GPS Receiver (Ebay it or amazon it)
I found one for $23 shipped from Ebay. Found reviews of it working flawlessly and accurately on Android 2.2 and above. I have a Mazda 3 with a little compartment in the center so I put the receiver in that compartment so it is never seen. I run a USB charging cable to it which is always plugged in. I have a Griffin car cigarette adapter which gives me 2 USB ports (1 for GPS receiver, 1 for charging Vibrant). Now, here are the benefits of the setup and its drawbacks.
Benefits:
-I can use CM7 or any 2.3 ROM now with excellent GPS
-EXCELLENT GPS (much better than Vibrant GPS, even when working, 48 sec cold start, locks on within 10 sec usually if it has been powered on in the past 2 weeks, 1.5ft accuracy)
-Less battery drain on phone (phone is no longer using its GPS)
-Hassle free (turns on and syncs with one button on the phone)
Cons:
-Not integrated into the phone
-Preferably used in a car as it only lasts 10 hours on battery (in a car you can use it plugged in 24/7 like me)
-Requires a working Bluetooth
-Price ($20-35) shipped
-CM7 bug: While using Bluetooth, I notice my Wi-Fi connection was SEVERELY throttled...I was testing it at my house, shouldn't be an issue on the road.
Now...I use this GPS with Sygic navigation. I had it download the maps for my state and the total installation is ~300MB and maps are stored on the phone. I am using the latest CM7 with a 1.4Ghz overclock. It runs PERFECT, better than I had wished for.
To use the GPS, here are the steps I need to take:
1. Open glove compartment and turn on the GPS unit (it powers off automatically)
2. Press a widget button on my home screen from the app Bluetooth GPS Provider. The widget turns on Bluetooth, then connects to my GPS receiver automatically.
3. Launch my favorite GPS navigation app-Sygic or Copilot.
4. When done, simply press the widget again...it disables Bluetooth and kills the app automatically.
As you can see, using the GPS receiver is very easy and hassle-free. It is EXTREMELY accurate and stays hidden in my car unless needed.
In short, I love it.

I have been using an old 2003 dell gps receiver with the vibrant for a long time. it is accurate usually within 2 foot. and just works.

}{Alienz}{ said:
Hey all,
I was looking for an external GPS receiver for my Vibrant. Requirements are: Bluetooth connection, USB-charging, turns on and off automatically, cheap, accurate. I intend to use it in my car by putting it in my glovebox and leaving it plugged in constantly.
Upon research, I have decided to get this:
Globalsat BT-359CS Laptop & PDA Bluetooth GPS Receiver (Ebay it or amazon it)
I'mma try getting it for $25 or under shipped. Found reviews of it working flawlessly and accurately on Android 2.2 and above. It will be put in my glovebox of my car and I will never see it again but will have the best Vibrant GPS ever (cold start lock in 48 seconds). According to the reviews, I only need to enable the bluetooth and run an app (Bluetooth GPS Mouse) when I want GPS and launch my favorite GPS app (such as CoPilot or Google Maps). The unit then automatically syncs with the phone and provides GPS info. Since I can automate things with Tasker, I can make it so that GPS Mouse launches when Bluetooth is enabled and bluetooth gets enabled when I launch CoPilot or Google Maps. Hence...everything would be fully automatic...in theory. I will test when I get the unit.
Benefits:
-I can use CM7 or any 2.3 ROM now with excellent GPS
-EXCELLENT GPS (much better than Vibrant GPS, even when working, 48 sec cold start!)
-Less battery drain on phone (phone is no longer using its GPS)
-Hassle free (turns on and syncs with one button on the phone)
Cons:
-Not integrated into the phone
-Preferably used in a car as it only lasts 10 hours on battery (in a car you can use it plugged in 24/7)
-Requires a working Bluetooth
-Requires Tasker to be fully automated
-Price ($20-35) shipped
I will update this topic when I get my actual unit and am able to confirm all of the claims from my research I posted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://cgi.ebay.com/GLOBALSAT-BLUET...S_Accessories_Software_ET&hash=item4aa98f8e7c
10char!

jrafael said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/GLOBALSAT-BLUET...S_Accessories_Software_ET&hash=item4aa98f8e7c
10char!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my question is, how does the phone know it is a gps? I mean you turn on google maps and hit location, will it know to use the bluetooth signal rather than its own gps? I am very interested in this.

I am also very interested in this, I am getting into bicycle touring and having a longer lasting, faster locking gps would be excellent.
I am subscribing to this thread

DaSmittyman said:
my question is, how does the phone know it is a gps? I mean you turn on google maps and hit location, will it know to use the bluetooth signal rather than its own gps? I am very interested in this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
www.amazon.com/review/R22ZJF3VXMXFRR
Found better price
cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-GLOBALSAT-BT-359CS-BLUETOOTH-GPS-RECEIVER_W0QQitemZ390317888228QQcategoryZ156955QQvarZQQcmdZViewItem#vi-content
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App

hmm its only 15 dollars on the link from Ebay lol of course its from someone out of country(out of USA i mean)

DaSmittyman said:
hmm its only 15 dollars on the link from Ebay lol of course its from someone out of country(out of USA i mean)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look at my post above $26 shipped from us seller.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App

http://www.bestandroiddownloads.com/download/apps/navigation-gps/bluetooth-gps-provider
this program does it all for you. there are others, but this is the one i use. i go geocahing and have an expensive gps receiver and 2003 dell gps mouse (which they dont sell anymore) is usually more spot on location. i let my kids use the expensive one now, which i never did before finding this program. vibrant NEVER jumps around when on the road and is always spot on. glad i found the receiver in the box in storage after i found this program. now i dont get lost again
i haventy found any programs that do not work with it. i use
google maps
geobeagle
lattitude
my tracks
ulysse speedometer
and torque a must if you have a sports car

Just wondering how the jerririgged gps is working. Any updates?

Hey all, I have updated the OP. In short, this is PERFECT for our Vibrants.

}{Alienz}{ said:
Hey all, I have updated the OP. In short, this is PERFECT for our Vibrants.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you very much for this im ordering one now finally i can go on roadtrips again with out having to actually read a map
any word on whether or not this works with google maps? or google navi?

This works with Google Maps. Have not tested navigation but I'd assume it does as well.
Google Maps gave me an accuracy of 1 foot. Yes... 1.0 feet lol.

}{Alienz}{ said:
This works with Google Maps. Have not tested navigation but I'd assume it does as well.
Google Maps gave me an accuracy of 1 foot. Yes... 1.0 feet lol.
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Click to collapse
Again thank you for taking the plunge on this first and testing it out, i just ordered the receiver for 26 shipped. cant wait to have gps again

navigation works with the external gps.

I've been using an external solar Bluetooth GPS since I've owned Nokia N80. Now, I use it with Vibrant when I'm hiking or riding motorcycle. It's placed on my backpack so it's always power by the sun, and the Vibrant on handlebar or in hand.
Locks on instantly, accuracy within 1ft, no battery. Model Solar GPS BT2.5MR
On Vibrant, I use Bluetooth GPS Provider to connect. It's available on Market

using the gps unit in the OP i am consistently getting <0.8 m accuracy indoors.

sorry it has taken me forever to get back, it came while I was on a trip. Anyway, just as the OP has updated and several other users, this thing rocks. Even with the "fixes" for gps coming to gingerbread, this is awesome. 1.5 foot or less accuracy. Unfortunately, I can't gps test to work. It does not pick up SATs, but the bluetooth to gps shows the SATs just fine.
EDIT: Does anyone know where I can find a PDF of the instructions, im just curious about the lock button on the back? It doesn't actually "lock" the power button for me.
Never mind, reading the ebay post http://www.satnavcentral.co.uk/BT359_UG.pdf

}{Alienz}{ said:
Hey all,
Now...I use this GPS with Sygic navigation. I had it download the maps for my state and the total installation is ~300MB and maps are stored on the phone. I am using the latest CM7 with a 1.4Ghz overclock. It runs PERFECT, better than I had wished for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is Sygic worth the 10 bucks? Since you mentioned it, I downloaded it but I will have to test it out later.

I have had this setup for a few weeks now and i have to agree that it works extremely well with the Vibrant and Sygic.

Related

Bluetooth GPS

hey can anyone recomend a cheap GPS bluetooth unit for use with a Magician and Tomtom.
cheap and nasty will do,
Look on ebay, there are loads to choose from
Yes check eBay but try to get the TomTom one as it works out of the box. TomTom can be a real pain to get working with other receivers.
ta yeah i was watchin a few on ebay,
was hopefull someone might have suggested a place to get them from cheap or something lmao
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230047740000
ive just got one of these. if you get one go to the web site on the instructions. there is a little gps test program which when you run will find which com port the gps is on (close the prog fully).
When i tried to get it to work on tomtom i couldnt. so after a search on the tomtom site they say to set tomtom gps settings as 'another nmea wired gps with 4800 speed' use the com port found in the test prog for the gps
Works fine so far. only had it 5 days.
thanks yeah i got one last nite, similar to that (16 channels and such)
yep already seen some threads about special patches and stuff.
cant wait to try the Yoda voice that i picked up for tom tom.
"Turn left you must"
i just bought the qstars btq815 from ebay32 channel with solar panel.....got tom tom 6 on the spvm3100, only had phone a week so am real novice but i managed to get it up and running fairly easily only made a short journey to test but all seemed ok
32 Channel? Why?
There's only 24 GPS Satellites and only 12 can be visible at any one time.
Do you know if the receiver will also work with Gallileo when that comes on line? Then 32 channels might make sense....
need bluetooth GPS reciever
can anyone help to find a bluetooth gps reciever that works with XDA ATOM
thank you
well ive been playing with the qstarz bt-q800 for 3 days solid... gps on the window ledge in the house, xda 2i has run flat so many times that it on the psu now im still waiting for the gps to go flat... im really impressed with the battery usage on the gps.
I took the pair of them out for a walk round town yesterday. had tomtom running, walked down to the bus, go on into town. realised i was killing the battery on the xda so left tomtom running, turned the xda off with the pwr button on top. the gps went into standby mode. 30mins later turned on the xda, tomtom reported no gps, the gps then woke up within 20 seconds, and with in a further 40seconds had found my new location. quite impressed.
the bt-q800 also has an external aerial connector too. might think about getting one to fit on the landrover. GPS always has a bit of a problem in it because the front window is almost vertical so the roof covers the dash.
TheBrit said:
32 Channel? Why?
There's only 24 GPS Satellites and only 12 can be visible at any one time.
Do you know if the receiver will also work with Gallileo when that comes on line? Then 32 channels might make sense....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah tomtom standards are about 20, i got a 16.
even the navman will only have 3 active at any one time.
well i finaly got the qstarz to go flat... it was connected and tracking for 18hrs solid on top of being switched on for 4 days and doing several hours a day of tracking in that time,
. Im impressed just at the battery..
Only 3? - that's not good for accuracy and calculating your heading etc - you should connect to 4 at least to get the best accuracy.
yay 2 more days and i git it,
got the phone ready to go,
TOMTOM with aussie maps
including all POI's (speed cameras etc)
6 celeb voices (go yoda and john Cleese)

Quick review of Holux 1000 gps...

Took the dive for a bluetooth gps this week...
Picked up a Holux 1000 from eBay for $24.99 Shipping was $19.99 priority.
Ordered on Aug-7, arrived Aug-10. from ebayseller gpsevyone.
Turned it on. Did a bluetooth discovery on my Wizard w/ WM5. Set it up on com6.
Live Search worked great. Google maps worked great.
BeelineGPS is a really cool tool.
The Holux 1000 seems to be so sensitive it picks up 8-10 sats sitting in my home plugged into a charger. Dont know about battery life yet. Its getting its first overnight charge.
Had it in my pocket walking around inside local market and could see location on my Wizard as I walked.
Anyway, thats my .02$ if anyone is interested.
Holux 1000
Hey,
I got the same unit and I can't believe how sensitive it is. Inside my house 18 feet from the nearest window (which had the metal blinds closed tight) it was locked in a few seconds and was picking up 8 sats. I had expected to need to keep this on the dash of my truck but there is no need I get great signals even with it locked in my console.
I use it with iGO mapping and it is Great! I'll never get lost again.
I'm gonna look into other software to use the GPS for, I'll try the ones you mentioned.
I got mine from buygpsnow.com.
Joe
Holux 1000 sensitivity...
Its very impressive for $25.
My Garmin eTrex Vista could never do that and you are right the warm up time is very quick. Its going to be interesting to see how long the battery lasts.

Good GPS-BT for Hermes WM6.1?

I was wondering if anyone knew a good GPS-BT thingy for the Hermes, one which has good battery and is somewhat portible to carry around..and connects nicely with say CRCs stable ROMs..
Any experience, tips&tricks out there? found nothing in the hermes forum for WM6.1..
I'm not running WM6.1, but I am running WM6 (K's rom). And I am using a G-sat BT-359. I'm assuming to would pair just the same, and work with google maps or MS live search just like it does on WM6.
It is small and stylish, fits nicely in a pocket. It makes it through a day of work for me, no problems (they claim it will get 11 hours on a charge, and it seems it will, but I haven't tried it on a long trip yet). It also paired nicely with my laptop and Street Atlas '05 played quite nice with it.
And the sensitivity is nice, much better than my old usb gps from my laptop, the BT-359 will receive satellites while inside my house, and have my location correct. It also works while in a pocket.
Hope this helps!
http://www.globalsat.com.tw/eng/product_detail_00000076.htm
I just picked up the Garmin 10x. It was 120 bucks, but came with the map software for both my phone and my laptop. Works great, pairs easy. I'm using Pays v3(6.1) and no problems. The reciever gets about 22 hours on a charge.
emugpp said:
I was wondering if anyone knew a good GPS-BT thingy for the Hermes, one which has good battery and is somewhat portible to carry around..and connects nicely with say CRCs stable ROMs..
Any experience, tips&tricks out there? found nothing in the hermes forum for WM6.1..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the Garmin GPS 10x. It's small, rechargeable using the same cable / plug as the Hermes, has excellent battery life, and great satellite reception. I've had it for a little over a year and used it with Google Maps, MS Live, Garmin map software for Windows Mobile, and iNav software. Works well with any of them.
ebay
I got a gtop gps off of ebay 6 months ago for less than 40.00 and i am very happy with it. I have never run out of the battery on the gps. Navizon has paid it off and then some.
I have used a Deluo GPS unit that I picked up for $80 (USD).
It's nice that it uses a Nokia BLS-5 battery, so I don't have to rip the unit apart when the battery craps out.
GlobalSat BT-359
gets a fix in 20 seconds, SirfSTAR III chipset, replacable battery, $60
cant go wrong with this one, it got 5/5 in most reviews
I'm using the GlobalSAT BT-338
About 17 hours runtime on a full battery. Great signal recieving.
You can't go wrong with this one.
I've bought my second GPS receiver for it's size:
www.keychaingps.com
Link is for info only not price- I forget where I bought mine from but was £37 (GBP) inc delivery. Cold sat fix is excellent; always get a good signal. And best of all, put it on your keyring so it's always with you!
I'm using it with TomTom 6 on Hermes Schaps ROM and works great.
thanks for the many options, the hermes seems to work good with an external GPS-module, it's safe to buy one
I might get the keychain one, I only hope that it has a long standby time, I'm sure to forget to charge it and then suddenly need it..
emugpp said:
thanks for the many options, the hermes seems to work good with an external GPS-module, it's safe to buy one
I might get the keychain one, I only hope that it has a long standby time, I'm sure to forget to charge it and then suddenly need it..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My one seems to last weeks on standby- i tend to just 'top-up' the charge every now again just to make sure.
I also just bought the keychain, very good reception in Japan which is known to be a difficult area for gps, very fast, very small, and use time is 9 hour, very good time if you compare with the size.
Bought on ebay for 35£ + 10£ shipping. Best price possible.
And it's not sirf chipset but mtk 51 channels, compatible with 5 Hz information refreshing rate (still to be implemented in softwares...).
Nothing more to say... Enjoy!
(and perfect compatibility with Hermes+Schaps)
keychain seems the way to go for me too
so does it work when walking around with the chain in your pocket or rucksack? when you go tracking for example, or strawling through city streets..I've heard from a friend that his Orbit 2 (touch-cruise) GPS-function is useless for walking around..
I keep it in my pocket or in the backpack, so the bluetooth has a very good range I think. The only thing I noticed was that it needs to be in a very well-spaced area (sorry I don't know how to say it better, I mean you need to see the sky...) to get the primary signal, so I keep it in my hand during the 20 first seconds of switch on. But I think it's the same for every gps receiver.
Besides this, it this perfect. By the way I use it with Garmin Mobile XT.
Toni
Yep, agree with tonidekohlanta, you need to have it out for the initial signal then it can indeed be in your pocket or where ever (within reason of course!) and the signal is still strong.
Auto Powering on GPS
I do like the idea of a keychain for general usage but I would love that I could wire one into my car and as soon as it gets power it would switch on. I have BT3341 which is awesome but I cant mount it on my parcel shelf or anything as I have to switch it on whenever I want to use it. Anyone know of one that will power up as soon as it gets power?
angrypeanut said:
I do like the idea of a keychain for general usage but I would love that I could wire one into my car and as soon as it gets power it would switch on. I have BT3341 which is awesome but I cant mount it on my parcel shelf or anything as I have to switch it on whenever I want to use it. Anyone know of one that will power up as soon as it gets power?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aren't there devices which stay on standby bluetooth-on until the battery drains out? if so, just connect it to your cig-lighter in your car and let it run, forever!
The keychain as a energy save system : it goes on stand by when there is no bluetooth signal (generally when you close the gps software on your device). I didn't really tested the battery life in this case but one time I forgot to switch it off, anf when I realized it three days after, it was still working (but not for long maybe...). Also I heard that when the battery is low, the reception gets weaker.
By the way, keychain is delivered with cig lighter adapter (and the seller on ebay added a normal adapter which works also to charge the phone - very convenient!).
And also I heard somewhere that the holux gps receptor was nice, but I choose the keychain so I cannot say more.
I bought Holux M1200 for me and my wife. Works perfectly with TyTN and Touch. I keep it attached to the sun visor and it has great reception.
emugpp said:
thanks for the many options, the hermes seems to work good with an external GPS-module, it's safe to buy one
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can run into ports detection problems (in software like iGo) in some roms with htc home plugin. But it works fine if U reset software and turn off htc home from todays screen.

[Q] desire just let me down big time - gps?

was trying to walk to the shops and record the walk (my tracks) and listen to some music on the way. was about a 15 min walk all in al. during this time i lost 14% battery life.
gps wouldn't lock on, which means it's constantly searching., i was waiting for a lock whiich means the screens all the whole time. the sun comes out which means i turn the screen brightness on max.
this sucks. i've had probs with the desires gps in the past but nowhere this bad.
now, is there a site that will review the gps aspect of smartphones? i mean, i presume a lot of us have android phones for the free satnav, google maps etc? without a great gps system in the phone then all of those things are useless. this is why i will never get a samsung phone.
i think next time, the gps of the phone will be the deciding factor. i'm using this far more than i thought i ever would.
I also had problems with gps.
Try to pull out battery, left phone without it for about 5 minutes. Next go out and get lock via using maps (and don't move, stay in place after turning on gps). It may take some time (some people reported that it took about 20min, I was waiting about 5). Now gps works like charm.
Sent from my HTC Desire
What ROM and radio are you using? I have noticed that any radio older than the latest one with HD ROMs tend to give bad GPS performance. In the past I've let My Tracks run for over 3 hours and it tracked my movements fine, in those 3 hours I was in a building for about 30 minutes and it lost its battery fastest in those 30 minutes presumably trying to find a fix. Honestly Desire is the best GPS unit I've ever had, it is better than one of the older dedicated navigation unit I had.
I agree re GPS. I drove for 2hours using my GPS without a car charger and I lost 80% of my battery in that time. I realise now that any trip using navigation has to be plugged to car charger or very selective use of GPS.
KaidM said:
I agree re GPS. I drove for 2hours using my GPS without a car charger and I lost 80% of my battery in that time. I realise now that any trip using navigation has to be plugged to car charger or very selective use of GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your phone can navigate you on a full charge more than your car can drive on a full tank and you complain about the phone??? WTF! People really have strange / unrealistic expectations...
pascanu said:
So your phone can navigate you on a full charge more than your car can drive on a full tank and you complain about the phone??? WTF! People really have strange / unrealistic expectations...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should stop driving like a mental. it is realistic for a tank of gas to last more than two hours.
KaidM said:
I agree re GPS. I drove for 2hours using my GPS without a car charger and I lost 80% of my battery in that time. I realise now that any trip using navigation has to be plugged to car charger or very selective use of GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you using Google Locations + Screen on? If so I'm not surprised.
Any GPS navigation I came across was always using the CPU a lot hence the fast battery drain.
If GPS does not want to lock it needs a cold restart- using GPS Tools. Alternatively restarting the phone will do the same. I found that the GPS tends not to lock in urban areas but restarting the phone always helped- for the day.
pascanu said:
So your phone can navigate you on a full charge more than your car can drive on a full tank and you complain about the phone??? WTF! People really have strange / unrealistic expectations...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you drive? a space shuttle?!
@op : the battery drain is not only normal, its actually good..my sister's ip3gs can't even get her through 1 hour of naigation..my revious hd2 gave me low battery warning around an hour and 20 minutes (but that had the huge screen to blame for that)..you can very cheaply get a car charger and even get free screen protectors as gift from amazon or ebay..
'normal' is as far as HTC / android phones are concern.. it seems that in car charger is a must.
in contrast, the nokia E52 i have, lasted at least 5 to 6 hours navigation at the very least, with screen on always..
Using your phone as a gps in the car will drain the battery but not because of the gps but because you have a 3.7 inch screen on all the time, and if during the day, at full brightness. I think a couple of hours in those conditions for any phone with a large quality screen is more than reasonable!!
I use "cardio trainer" to track my runs when i go out, i tracks me all the way without a hickup and i am listening to musing all the time as well and in 1h it will only go down 10% so gps doesn't drain battery it's the screen.
Sometimes when i go out i also have problems getting a fix but it's just a question of closing "cardio trainer" turning gps off then on again, wait 5 seconds and then turn "cardio trainer" back on; works every time!!!!! Desire has a really good gps!!
PS: i'm on stock unbranded froyo
SimpleNick said:
'normal' is as far as HTC / android phones are concern.. it seems that in car charger is a must.
in contrast, the nokia E52 i have, lasted at least 5 to 6 hours navigation at the very least, with screen on always..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u comparing oranges to uhmm..water mellon powered nuclear reactors lol...nokia e52 has a lousy 2.4 inch display..so right off the bat desire has +50% + larger screen surface...plus navigating by watching a screen THAT small is truly dangerous as well..
I've had different experiences with the GPS in my Desire. It was able to lock my position when travelling in a train going 180km/h, on a rainy day (no visible sky at all) in Google Maps (that dot was moving FAST! ).
But sometimes it fails completely to lock my position, and this has happened on both days with completely clear sky and cloudy days. But it usually works. Restarting the device helps.
zlayaa said:
I've had different experiences with the GPS in my Desire. It was able to lock my position when travelling in a train going 180km/h, on a rainy day (no visible sky at all) in Google Maps (that dot was moving FAST! ).
But sometimes it fails completely to lock my position, and this has happened on both days with completely clear sky and cloudy days. But it usually works. Restarting the device helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe there were solar flares
I had similar GPS issues with my Desire, couldn't get a fix at all / waited around 30 mins on couple of occasions. Then I tried this gps assist app, works similar to the one I had on my touch HD / winmo.
Now I get a fix with iGo in a 2-3 seconds
The app name is GPS status and toolbox
Code:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/gps-status-toolbox/com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2
chris2busy said:
What do you drive? a space shuttle?!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jup i lol'ed
sent mobile
I use gps status (free from market) if not moving I get a fix in about 2-7 seconds even at home.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Frustrated with the gps! Any solution?

First of all, my GNex gps works.
But, my experience so far were bad and got into my big frustration.
I went to France by car, about 1200 km.
During this trip I used three devices:
- HTC Desire, stock Android 2.2, no sim card
- Nexus S, stock Android 4.0.4
- Galaxy Nexus, stock Android 4.0.4
All used the same navigation software, Sygic 11.2.6.
Weather was very good, bright and clear.
The navigation performance, HTC Desire is the most solid and stable. No jumpy routing. It was almost flawless.
The Nexus S was also stable, no jumpy routing and again almost flawless. Sometimes between high buildings area, it could lost the gps signal.
The GNex was terrible! Very often the routing was jumpy, especially when my car stop. The navigation think my car was in other road! That caused the routing to spin and I must drive further to stabilize the routing. It was frustrated and I lost confidence with using it as car navigation, period.
The HTC is my main device for car navigation, because its so stable, no jumpy no spinny routing, solid performance. But one day the battery run flat for no reason. Thats why I must use my supposed to be the best device, the GNex to replace it to continue. But alas, as I explained above, it was terrible experience. I was lucky that I brought my Nexus S, to save the day.
This GNex bad car navigation is my biggest frustration.
I cannot fault the weather brcause it was clear sunny and I could get sat fix.
I cannot fault the Sygix either because the other two devices were fine, no problem.
But why is this jumpy and spinny routing on GNex?
Ok, I cannot test Google Navigation, because I cannot afford data connection during this trip, roaming.
So, my question, have you ever got the same experience? Terrible, jumpy, spinny routing with GNex car navigation?
Is there any way to improve? Or makebthe gps work much better?
Is there any ROM specialized to improve the gps for navigation?
Thanks
I believe the GPS unit in the GN is weak compared to my old iPhone 4. Though, I was able to get decent, more accurate performance by disabling "Google's location service". I use the GPS for directions in Google Maps as well as RunKeeper and it's really made a difference for me.
Side note, my iPhone locked in my GPS location while I was at work (5-story building, 3rd floor) without a hitch. The GN tries to lock, but it's 50/50...
I hope this helps... Good luck!
Doubt it'll help...
But it WILL help get a faster lock in the case of a GPS drop.
Mine locks in in like 3-5 seconds after using Faster GPS.
I, however, very rarely use GPS for actual navigation.
In fact...I haven't had to yet with my GNex. So I can't say if I do/don't have a problem.
Before Navigating, i usually open GPS test Plus to lock-in my location...then it's smooth sailing after that. Btw, i use CoPilot Live Premium.
PS. It takes the phone around 10 secs to get an accurate lock in.
babymatteo said:
Before Navigating, i usually open GPS test Plus to lock-in my location...then it's smooth sailing after that. Btw, i use CoPilot Live Premium.
PS. It takes the phone around 10 secs to get an accurate lock in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is this CoPilot?
Does it run smooth?
When the car stop at traffic light for quite long periode, does it jump or spin to other road?
PS: I turned off Google Location Service already, never used it.
My first nexus also had a very bad GPS unit.
I got new one and it was much better but after installing 4.0.4 it is worse again.
If this will not be fixed with the next update I will sell my Nexus and maybe buy a HTC one x.
By the way, this is a short video that shows the problem with my first device. If this is the problem you have you should change your device to a new one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ueTSHyZHyw
Gesendet von meinem Galaxy Nexus mit Tapatalk 2
FWIW, I've had little to no issue using the stock GPS and built-in Navigation.
I get weird GPS navigation sometime where it thinks I'm off the rode to the right and driving through houses basically. Or i get turned around for no reason. The kicker is that I check GPS test and my accuracy is spot on with a healthy number of satellites so I'm not sure just a weak signal problem.

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