+3rdrock Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Does anyone know of any units in the future that will allow paperless caching within the unit without having to use a pda? Quote Link to comment
+media601 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Does anyone know of any units in the future that will allow paperless caching within the unit without having to use a pda? Anything that allowed paperless caching within the unit would be a PDA. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Quote Link to comment
+TomKat & kids Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Hi guys Well, PDA is a nice option, but it really seems like it is possible to do most stuff you wish with GPS caching using a proper Java Midlet for a cellphone. I have a Sony Ericsson K750i and I can use a lot of different Java applets that can connect with my Bluetooth GPS - Nav4All, TrekBuddy, MobiTrack... Actually, TrekBuddy was probably the best free tool I found for Geocaching - the tricky stuff was to export maps from PC to cellphone. Then I found Trail Explore and realized that it is not impossible, using NetBeans, to develop own applications accessing GPS, cell phone filesystem, web, cell phone camera and much more. Hence, if you are sharp enough, it should not be impossible to create an application that can both get GPS position, log a trail, load a waypoint route, store and load waypoints, plot position/waypoints/trails on maps, show distance and heading to nearby waypoints, export trails to KML, import loc-files... And, if you are very sharp programmer... extended functionality as http access Geocaching homepage to search for nearby caches, download loc-files, upload log's (where the tool already would now the date, time and waypoint id, so most get automated), upload camera images with the log's, download realtime maps from Google or something similar... Finally, once you get it kicking properly, you need someone to sign your app... Of course, it requires an experienced designer to get it kicking, but what I try to say is that it should not be impossible. Anybody else having the same thoughts, or started doing something on their own? Best regards /Tom Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 How about having your PDA, music player, cellphone, GPS, and Internet appliance all in one? They aren't calling it that, but.... http://www.apple.com/iphone Interestingly, it doesn't actually HAVE a GPS built into it... but I don't doubt the ability for the phone to figure out your position from the cell towers, or the eventual availability of a full-featured GPS that communicates with the iPhone via BlueTooth. Quote Link to comment
+supertbone Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 How about having your PDA, music player, cellphone, GPS, and Internet appliance all in one? They aren't calling it that, but.... http://www.apple.com/iphone Interestingly, it doesn't actually HAVE a GPS built into it... but I don't doubt the ability for the phone to figure out your position from the cell towers, or the eventual availability of a full-featured GPS that communicates with the iPhone via BlueTooth. I thought GPS was integrated into the unit. That is what the article I have read said. Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) thought GPS was integrated into the unit. That is what the article I have read said.No, I watched the keynote and kept waiting for Jobs to demo that - and he didn't. He showed off how smoothly it worked with Google Maps and aerial photos - but no GPS features. But I'll fall back to what I said before - I expect the gadget can get its position from the cellular network, or someone will build a Bluetooth-enabled GPS for it. Edited January 10, 2007 by lee_rimar Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 But I'll fall back to what I said before - I expect the gadget can get its position from the cellular network, or someone will build a Bluetooth-enabled GPS for it.And now I'll fall back even further. Even though it seems like an obvious killer-app, I don't think real GPS is going to be in the iPhone any time soon. All it "needs" to fulfill Apple's vision is for the device to know ROUGHLY where you are, and only when you're within range of your cellular network and/or a WiFi hotspot. Triangualting from cell towers or the WiFi network with something like Loki. Not good enough for caching, but certainly enough to find the nearest seafood restaurant when you get a hankering for calamari. Quote Link to comment
Suscrofa Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 All in on, sure, it is the trend but the big market are city people and this equipment is and probably will not be weather and shock proof like the dedicated GPS we use. To make them such way costs a lot. True I see the dedicated outdoor GPS market share drastically shrinking in comparison to the car and all in one gizmo's but ill it disappear ? Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 thought GPS was integrated into the unit. That is what the article I have read said.No, I watched the keynote and kept waiting for Jobs to demo that - and he didn't. He showed off how smoothly it worked with Google Maps and aerial photos - but no GPS features. It's bound to have some form of determining location. Wireless e911 requires it. But even it if does have a GPS, that doesn't mean there's a user interface for it, or that it's accurate enough for geocaching. The e911 requirements are pretty slack. Quote Link to comment
+Boardslider Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 How about having your PDA, music player, cellphone, GPS, and Internet appliance all in one? They aren't calling it that, but.... http://www.apple.com/iphone Interestingly, it doesn't actually HAVE a GPS built into it... but I don't doubt the ability for the phone to figure out your position from the cell towers, or the eventual availability of a full-featured GPS that communicates with the iPhone via BlueTooth. Well, the Iphone is still vapourware, but th Nokia N95 must come pretty close, I'm just not sure about uploading waypoints.... Quote Link to comment
+Hynr Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Does anyone know of any units in the future that will allow paperless caching within the unit without having to use a pda? Adding a browser into a unit like the 60CSx is not a technical impossibility. This is the only thing lacking in the unit to allow viewing html. If you consider typing in logs to be a requirement of paperless caching, then the rudimentary input functions of the unit would not be enough. If you consider the iQue series from Garmin, you have everything you need in one unit. I have one and used it extensively for geocaching, but found it too fragile and the battery life too short. Packaging that technology into a more robust unit that looks more like a handheld GPSr than a PDA seems entirely feasible. Phones have been mentioned already, but I need something where I won't run out of power for my communications device after a few hours. So I want to keep my phone separate from geocaching. Quote Link to comment
snakyjake Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 ...dedicated outdoor GPS market share drastically shrinking in comparison to the car and all in one gizmo's but ill it disappear ? Thankfully the Delorme PN-20 hasn't forgotten about the outdoor enthusiast. Quote Link to comment
+Thrak Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Interestingly, it doesn't actually HAVE a GPS built into it... but I don't doubt the ability for the phone to figure out your position from the cell towers, or the eventual availability of a full-featured GPS that communicates with the iPhone via BlueTooth. Cell towers are useless. I recently witnessed a pickup drive off of a cliff in the Feather River Canyon. A number of cars stopped to render aid. We had a variety of cellular providers but nobody had service. My GPSr however, had satellite signal. Quote Link to comment
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