thebruce0

Extending from all the above feedback, you could get a proprietary battery which requires a plug to recharge once it's dead (so really useful for one charge if you're out for a long time), or you can pick up a AA battery pack for iPhones and just take a handful of batteries wherever you go (which could be shared as emergency power backup with a handheld gpsr, flashlight, and any number of other devices) -- I picked up this little guy a while back for $20 and it has been spectacular, giving my iPhone 4S a full charge on 4 AA's. And using rechargeables is by far the cheapest route. Just make sure you use the heavier AA's, the ones intended for cameras and electronics and whatnot (not the lighter ones intended for remotes, controllers, etc) Above and beyond that, I reiterate the points above about needlessly using battery power - if you're not needing the GPS, turn it off between caches (the official Geocaching app doesn't have that option at the moment, afaik, but Geosphere does); and if you're traveling between caches by car then plug it in and get whatever juice you can get

Yep. Just set up one forwarding email address which forwards to whatever addresses you want to receive emails, then use that as your account email here. Include your phone's email address in the list of forwards. Another nice trick if you use gmail is that you can append text to the pre-domain recipient, and still receive it to the same account. eg, if my email were mypersonalemail@gmail.com, you could set up mypersonalemail+geocaching@gmail.com, and you would still get the email. You'd then be able to set up filtering for that recipient, and even forwarding (where you'd enter your mobile phone email). Lots of little tricks out there. But again, as described above, the easiest route: * set geocaching.com account = mycachingemail@wherever.com -> setup forwarding to: mypersonalemail@wherever.com,mymobilenumber@myprovider.com

I created an email alias I use for gc.com, and that forwards emails to my personal email account and my phone's email service. So while I don't get full email content in SMS messages, I at least get a new email notification from Rogers, including the sender address (so I know if it's from geocaching.com, Groundspeak.com, etc). If you're a good programmer, you could set up a script that could send you a txt msg after checking and parsing any incoming emails automatically but that's a bit of work... at least with this notification method, I know to open my email app and check for new email. Now, different providers may send different email notification content, so I'd say just play around with it, see if you can get email to your phone - that should happen immediately.

AA battery pack extension for smartphone, battery problem solved (inasmuch as one would get/carry extra AA's for a GPSr and/or flashlight already ) But again, much of this was discussed in the thread JessandTodd linked above.

Higher end smartphones have much better GPS reception and processing power. If you have an older smartphone, better to use a GPSr. If you have a newer smartphone (and have checked that its GPS capabilities are much improved), then it should do fine on its own, but your caching experience may well be improved by pairing with a GPSr. If you're really curious, you could look up geocaches that are placed with the intention that people record their accuracies at GZ for comparisons. Some of those are pretty interesting

Jes, I can give you loads of tips for geosphere to really make it shine if you want =) will email

I'll bet the JuicePig is behind that. He's all zany and madcap like that. Hey all the Ontario reviewers are coming. Make 'em walk the plank, Matey's. ARRRRGGGH!! Go get yer pirate on! GC3KQG3 it'll never go'way.

Why do you email yourself the PQ?? Geosphere downloads it directly from the site.... I have yet to find a use for th emailed PQ. Not for the iPhone or gsak or geosphere....strange. Emailing, for me at least, used to be useful for importing to GSAK, older versions... until I started just downloading off the site. You could say it saves you having to return to the website to deal with responding to notifications. You can also set a script to deal with email attachments, and so on... though these days it makes much less sense than to link directly to the files. Yeah, ngrrfan, bookmark your Pocket Queries page in Geosphere and download them right from the website. Easier and quicker. Or, you can even directly bookmark the PQ download link if it's one you consistently run (like a close to home PQ). The only thing, IMO, Geosphere doesn't have over the official app is the ability to do a live search to the geocaching database. But it's rare I ever need to do that (at most, a home PQ download per day has enough 'live' info to cache with). Plus version 3 will most likely be getting Live API support.

I save field notes in Geosphere, making note of anything that I want to remember. Upload them to the site and post when I get home. Or post while mobile if logging asap is essential. Field notes are win. My first 3GS died to a pond. My 2nd 3GS survived complete submersion. My 4S was wounded with a crack not 2 months after I got it, and the screen has been cracked since yet remains perfectly functional. They're not that fragile

*brushes off math skills*..and l33t google skillz..*

I'm not sure if there's an online trilateration tool... I haven't been able to find one. But there are equations for it, and it's easy to do visually. This might call for a trilateration tool

I do most puzzle solving on my PC, so not much field solving needed. But I have a few puzzling apps, like GCTools and iGCT, haven't tried iGeoknife... also I have a site http://ref.wikibruce.com with references to loads of ciphers and solvers and whatnot, designed to be quick for mobile browsers too (haven't tested outside iOS yet tho ) Coordinate tools are next edit: no issue with gctools: user error.

So I just tried out geo sphere. Not bad. Downloaded a few PQs in there, but I am unhappy with the maps. No topos? At this point geosphere only has google maps. I'm hoping the next major version (which is reportedly coming very soon) will have more map selections. IF I use topos, I typically switch to a different app anyway. When navigating to the cache, one map is enough (and once topography is determined, imo satellite is sufficient). I can send over some bookmarking tips if you like, suggestions, both for waypoint view and general bookmarks. Those really help streamline common features =)

Whoever wrote your signature?

It's all about caching styles... if you use your device in a way that you require it to be rugged and tough (or just desire it to be that way) then the iPhone (or any smartphone for that matter) may be too 'tender' for you. Personally, I've never been in a situation where I wished my device could take more damage, so its ruggedness is a non-issue for me (and I've been through a number of rough and dangerous terrains; even though all it takes is one drop or submersion). But that's me. As for battery, an external pack that takes AA's that can be shared among other devices (like a flashlight) is more than sufficient to use the phone on most any excursion. And, just as with being prepared in the context of battery use, when hiding caches always do whatever work is necessary to ensure accurate coordinates, whether on a GPSr or a smartphone. I'd say if you're hiding away from civilization, especially under heavy canopy, then definitely use a GPSr as it would be more trustworthy to get accurate coordinates. But a high end smartphone is certainly sufficient to hide caches, as long as you do your utmost to ensure they're correct (eg, don't turn it on then take your first gps reading as the correct coordinates - don't do that if you have a GPSr either =P) But again, people have different experiences, and different preferences, and devices have their strengths and relative weaknesses, so determine which device best suits your own needs. When you cross into 'high end' anything, chances are you can do most anything sufficiently with competing devices, but you can be more picky about details (like when choosing a pro SLR camera model )

Have you switched your default GC.com map to Leaflet? Click Set Map Preferences in the lower right left and make sure Leaflet is chosen. GME won't function with Google maps as the default. edit: oops, fixed, thanks Menai Scouts

Oh I'm not concerned about heat either - when in open air. At least the air is cycled. But if the air is trapped, it won't reach some arbitrary heat maximum (outside temperature, or as much wind blows across the surrface, etc). In a closed environment, it will keep getting hotter, and hotter, until it technically can't take any more. I'm not concerned about heat with the iPhone in general use, but in a closed, air-tight, non-vacuum container, yeah, I'd want to know how long it can remain inside until it should be removed to cool down

Any kind of waterproof container will have heating issues when containing active electronics, to my best knowledge (unless of course it has cooling mechanisms). I purchased a waterproof case for an old Canon camera years ago, and it had a warning not to keep the camera contained for an amount of time because without air circulation it heats up dramatically... and quick. So yeah, the iPhone can get really hot before any noticeable issues appear, but that happens faster in the sealed container, and there's no recycling of air (eg you can't blow on it to help keep it cool ) I would presume the waterproof container for the phone would come with a similar warning. *shrug* I haven't worked with too many waterproof containers for electronics, so I'm not sure if there are different types that work to keep inner temperatures cooler. It would be fun to be able to use the phone under water though, even for short amounts of time (and I doubt it would get too hot too fast to hinder any regular enjoyment of the accessory! Extended use, perhaps)

You go yellow (I assume ~1/3 power?) after a full charge after only 2 miles of trail? That's... what phone model are you using? (Android's just the OS)

Neat! What's the approx time before heat becomes an issue, if it is an issue?

Oh, and also, an LED toggle for night caching and still being able to navigate with the app (instead of switching apps)

See, this is one the absolute biggest draws for me to the Geosphere app. The developer implemented a GPS toggle right from the get-go, and it is unbelievably useful. The fact the official app doesn't have that is a major turn-off, and one of the only reasons I reserve its use for active location searches. I use the Geosphere app for loads of map features, maintenance, logging, planning, and field puzzling, none of which require use of GPS. The only time I have GPS turned on (a fraction of the time) is when I'm actively navigating towards a waypoint. Otherwise, off it goes. Yes, the ability to flip off the GPS is a major feature, not complicated, and I'll add my voice to the chorus of support for having it implemented in the official app Sleep mode doesn't always turn off the gps - it all depends on how the programmer implemented the background tasking. Geosphere, for instance, keeps the gps active when it's on even if the screen is blanked. But if the app is minimized, the GPS isn't active. Munzee, IIRC, turns off the GPS when the screen is blacked. EveryTrail, if actively tracking GPS location, will keep the GPS active even when it's minimized and backgrounded so you can use other apps while it continues to store your track log. It's a pretty dynamic system Groundspeak, let us flip off the GPS please

Same. The auto-brightness adjustment is useful, and the screen isn't really a glare style screen. It really more about brightness visibility than glare, and I've never had a problem with that (if it's too dark, manually brightening it has always been enough) Yes! I used to have a proprietary battery pack for the iPhone, but I hated requiring an outlet when on very long extended trips in order to regain any extra power. And the cable for it started having problems so it wouldn't recharge, effectively making the battery (which was still good) useless. I picked up this little guy which takes 4 AA's and provides a full phone charge. I always have 8 rechargeable AA's with me (whether for flashlight or phone or other device), so the ability to use AA's for phone recharging is IMO the most optimal choice for the road. In addressing the OP... I'm used to charging my 4S every day and a half or so (that includes lots of data use and some active geocaching with GPS on), or charging it up to full and having backup batteries when going on an extended caching trip. What's your acceptable period for recharging a phone? What length of unassisted battery life are you aiming for?

Would be interested in seeing what happens with this, if it's still a danger or not. It's doubtful, but who knows

Awesome, thanks for being so on the ball with the feedback!