oregonbacon

I have the iPhone 5s and was just introduced to using it for Geocache and I'm 4 out of 4 on finding them... walked right up to them with my iPhone... thought this thread might give me an idea on how to place one since I purchased the Premium Membership via my iPhone (It said I had to be a premium member to place one so I upgraded) but what I noticed after doing it that it won't "mark" the spot I want to place one. Anyway, logged in here thinking someone with a smart phone could give me a suggestion on an iPhone app that is simple and will mark the GPS coordinates so I can place one as well...... yes I know I should find 16 more as recommended but my friend has been doing it for years and said I can do it.. even if I need to call her prior to placement. Bottom line, any suggestions on a simple GPS App for the iPhone 5s or soon to be iPhone 6? BTW, I would like to say I have Verizon for my Cell Coverage (tried all the rest, lots of dropped calls) and given how the conversation in this thread has been going I wondered if the "carrier" may be part of the issue... anyway, enough said about that just thought it could be a carrier issue and wanted to mention that as a possibility. Thank you for anyone who has a suggestion for me... Here in Oregon BTW!

And that's fine. But without knowing how you've used those devices or what models they were, we can say that you either a] weren't using them right, or b] your preference is not in favour of smartphones for finding, let alone hiding. Maybe c] the model you used was objectively below the technical standard you prefer. That doesn't mean "smartphones" are incapable of geocaching successfully. I believe you are intelligent, so I think it's more a matter of (b] than [a] and if it's [c], I highly recommend you upgrade, then determine if it's still over [a]. I have a Galaxy S3 and an iPhone 5s. I did not acquire either of them to be replacements for my Oregon 450. The GPS in both phones works well enough to use for navigating streets or highways, but they are both maddeningly inaccurate on the ground while geocaching. This is true of both, and it is true for the different apps I have tried (including Groundspeak's own app). They simply cannot compete with the Oregon for accuracy. Out in the field, it is almost comical how bad they are compared to the Oregon. Finding a cache with them is a nuisance. Placing a cache with them would be ridiculous. You are blatantly wrong with that statement. Rather, they are simply not accurate enough for your tastes. I ONLY cache with my 5S. I'm now over 6000 finds, in most every environment you can imagine, including heavy forest cover, and remote desert (and that was with a 3GS!). Yes, the 5S is most definitely sufficient for both finding and hiding geocaches. You fail to consider other factors that can be compensated for. If you don't want to have to compensate, that's fine. But do not spread the falsehood that the 5S (or, which I can't speak from personal experience, other smartphone brands or models) are universally insufficient. The proof is in the pudding - 1st hand experience, regardless of subjective opinion based on personal preference. You also cannot blame hardware for failures of software/app experience (especially Groundspeak's own iOS/Android apps, which I personally do not vouch for). You can recommend against using smartphones, you can explain why you don't like them, you have every right to an opinion and to prefer dedicated handhelds. But the facts are that recent models of iPhone and Android-branded smartphones can and do have sufficient GPS technology to be used for successful, and accurate, geocache hiding and finding; even rivaling many handheld models for speed and accuracy.