+TheBeast Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I have just started Geocaching and I got a Lowrance iFinderGo on ebay for $50 shipped, but I have seen that there is a new, Linux-based smartphone that just came out that also has a GPS module. The company that put it out is called ImCoSys and you can find more info out at this website (translation courtousy of Google) I was just wondering if anyone has heard anything about this unit. It seems like a nice little thing and I'd like to hear more about it. Quote Link to comment
+TheBeast Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 I found out more about the GPS module that comes in this phone for anyone else who may be interested. It turns out it's a SiRFIII GPS unit. Some specs on this module... Channels: 20 channel all-in-view trackingSensitivity: -159 dBm Position: 10 meters, 2D RMS / 5 meters, 2D RMS, WAAS enabled Datum: WGS84 Hot start: 8 sec., average Warm start: 38 sec., average Cold start: 42 sec., average Reacquisition: 0.1 sec., average Output message: SiRF binary or NMEA 0183 GGA, GSA, GSV, RMC, VTG, GLL So I guess it's not that great as a GPS, but it has a lot of other features that make it pretty cool... Depends on what you're willing to sacrifice I guess. Quote Link to comment
+tflight Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 So I guess it's not that great as a GPS, but it has a lot of other features that make it pretty cool... Depends on what you're willing to sacrifice I guess. The SiRF Star III chipset is one of the best out there... may would argue it is the best consumer GPS chipset available. It is also the chipset that powers the Garmin 60CSx which everyone here (rightfully) raves about how great the reception is. Quote Link to comment
planewood Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 (edited) I want a cell phone with digital camera, SIRf III GPS, and MP3 player. I also want it to be able to periodically dial up my ISP (automatically) and upload track points to my Internet web site. Edited July 9, 2006 by planewood Quote Link to comment
+HaLiJuSaPa Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Believe it or not, your Lowrance IFinder GO may have a Sirf III chip depending on how old it is. They used to have Sirf II units which are almost as good, so either way you got a good deal. Quote Link to comment
+TheBeast Posted July 10, 2006 Author Share Posted July 10, 2006 (edited) The SiRF Star III chipset is one of the best out there... may would argue it is the best consumer GPS chipset available. REALLY! That's good news! But what does it mean when the specs for the module say that it's accuracy is either 10m or 5 m, but the specs for my iFinder says it's accurate to 3m? Are they talking about different things? Sorry if these are stupid questions but I just started playing with GPS and I still have a lot to learn! @planewood This phone does play MP3's but doesn't have a camera, they say theydesigned it on purpose that way so that it could be used in areas that wouldn't allow cameras, but it does have an SDK and WiFi, so if you are software inclined you should be able to whip up something that does what you want in pretty short order. Edited July 10, 2006 by TheBeast Quote Link to comment
+tflight Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 But what does it mean when the specs for the module say that it's accuracy is either 10m or 5 m, but the specs for my iFinder says it's accurate to 3m? Are they talking about different things? It is either a typo on one of the specs or one company was being more conservative with the specifications. Since they both use the same chipset they will have the same accuracy. Both the iFinder Go and iFinder Go2 have a 16 channel receiver (I couldn't quickly find which chipset) but the SiRF Star III is a 20 channel receiver so it will have slightly better accuracy and much faster acquisition time than whatever 16 channel receiver is being used in the iFinder. Quote Link to comment
+Thrak Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 There is a woman here at work who has a gps capable phone. She doesn't use the feature. When she asked the "phone guy" at the store where she got the phone he said it is a $10 per month charge to use that function. Quote Link to comment
+TheBeast Posted July 11, 2006 Author Share Posted July 11, 2006 ..."phone guy" at the store where she got the phone he said it is a $10 per month charge to use that function. That doesn't make any sense! It doens't cost anything to use a normal GPS! It's probably a feature that they turn on and mark your account $10 a month, but I bet you could figure out how to turn it on if you searched around the internet. Well the phone is not going to come from a store here, it's going to come from the maufacturer, so there should be any such issues! Quote Link to comment
+tflight Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Just remember though when it comes to phones not all GPS systems are created equal. A few phones have "real" GPS systems while others use a combination of GPS like technology along with information like what cell towers you are connecting to in order to determine location. The $10/month charges are for the software you download to your phone and for the technical infrastructure beyond the traditional gps system necessary to pinpoint your location without "real" GPS in the phone. So the $10/month charge is valid since it isn't "normal GPS". I've never had as good of results from those systems though... Quote Link to comment
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