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Geocaching on the iPhone - Submitted to Apple


Jeremy

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I will be buying this as soon as it is posted on iTunes. This is awesome. Time to sell my Garmin on Ebay.

 

For those looking to download their lists to their iPhone, try iGeocacher, I currently have 2500 caches loaded and use it constantly seeing how there are many places where I live that I don't have a cell phone signal. Works like a champ.

 

I will definitely buy this application when it is available. Ten dollars to add another useful tool to my bag is a bargain. Thank you Groundspeak!

 

I have already been successfully using the iphone as a paperless geocaching machine using Igeocacher. This app lets you load caches to the phone and works even when cell phone reception is spotty.

 

I have been so impressed with the ability of the iphone to find geocaches that I was able to sell my Garmin Colorado ( which I liked very much )

 

Garmin Colorado and Auto Routing Software = $ 500.00

 

Versus

 

Geocaching.com APP = $ 9.99

 

IGeocacher ( when no cell available ) = $ 14.99

 

= $ 375.00 savings PRICELESS

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Nice. Great to see an 'official' app that is able to use the website.

 

The two biggest things I would like in an iPhone app are...

 

1. Multi/Puzzle aware - one that can be used for recording notes, adding waypoints and navigating to them whilst out in the field.

 

2. An ability to upload GPX files so that the device can still be used in out of range areas. You don't have to go far places in NZ to lose coverage. And not all of us actually have data plans either.

 

Cheers Gav

 

Add to that a way of logging finds in the field like GPXsonar and then being able to email them to you computer. Then the iPhone will be a great caching tool.

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This all looks quite good although its a shame it won't hold gpx downloads. One question though - When saving an item, will it display all images etc? Often the one thing i'm lacking when out with my old Palm is the images for puzzles/multi caches or spoilers.

 

Why would you need downloads? The iPhone is unlike a traditional handheld - what it does best is to show you what's nearby. I have been using GPSRs for years for hiking, kayaking and caching - I have always wished I could see what's nearby on the fly. It makes it much more spontaneous - You don't need files - it frees you from the download.

 

What about when you go to no bars country? Can you still see what is nearby on the fly?

 

Jim

 

Of course not - but again - that's not how you use and iPhone to find anything - whether it's a Chinese restaurant or the cheapest gas in the area - It's built to work on the fly based on your location. I get service more places that I thought I would - but it's not a true replacement for your handheld GPS especially if your planning a trip - but for caching in a new area or while on a business trip - it's great. For me I always wish I had taken the time to plan to cache. Last week I had to kill a couple fo hours while my car was being serviced in a neighboring city - it was great to just get out and see what I could find in the area.

 

I think the point is that both of these apps do very different things, and depending on how one likes to play the game either of both can be useful. Case in point - for years I've used both cachemate on my palm and geocache navigator on my phone, both in addition to my garmin 60csx. Each had a role to play depending on the various situations. iGeocacher very neatly fills th role of cachemate, so I don't miss my palm anymore, and the new Groundspeak app will fill the role of geocache navigator, so now I only need 2 devices to be a happy geocacher instead of 3.

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I have read that Windows Mobile 7 will have a marketplace for applications like the iTunes store (as does the Android platform). What has been hard in the past for little guys is to get on the carrier's "deck." Getting on Verizon is next to impossible.

 

Geocache Navigator by Trimble has been on a variety of mobile devices for some time. They either have a monthly fee or they are free to download (like on the N95). Monthly rates and ad supported applications are two approaches while the iPhone is a "buy once" price structure.

 

Unfortunately there is still a hole for us Windows Mobile types. Marketplace is cool but that's been handled by sites like Handango.com for years. Trimble supports Nokia and Blackberry devices but not Windows Mobile. Applications exist like Cachemate and Beeline GPS but what I really want is to be able to run 'live' off the phone and skip the whole download a pocket query and import it to the phone step. This functionality is particularly great for those days I load the wrong PQ into my GPS, or when travelling.

 

Verizon's deck - I would imagine this is a problem on certain Windows Mobile Smartphones but surely this isn't an issue on the Pocket PC products - most vendors do not block a .cab file on the device as this would pretty much kill the appeal of having a WM device. You could push it out via any number of sites. Note - I am not talking about the restricted java environment but instead I mean .NET applications or native code applications --- stuff designed for Windows Mobile. Java+GPS is a particularly awful experience on Pocket PCs right now.

 

Or, if there's no will to create a program for WM users - is there a geocaching.com API that could be tapped by a third party developer (I'll bet the answer is no, but I'll ask to be sure).

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:) I'm thrilled about the soon to be released app!! Using Geopher Lite has had it's advantages, I think I've found a cache or two with it ... but the lack of a functioning compass kept me from really using it for more than looking up nearby caches and loading the coords into my Garmin. I'll drop $10 for this app without batting an eye. Woo hoo!!
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Congratulations!

Now for the rest of the world on the Verizon network who can't use Iphones yet.... :)

Let me know when you have a blackberry or lg version.

Great news, though.

Don't forget, these Apps work for iPod Touch, as well. Every function except for gps and phone. I love mine, and now, with the release of the "new" Touch, older generations are cheaper!

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Congrats!

 

Feature request:

- Option to upload iPhone cam photos along with log entry, geocoded, of course. :laughing:

 

Feature ideas:

- Sometimes when a posted coordinate appears to be off, people will report their own readings. Having an option to add your reading to a log entry would make this an easy thing for folks to do.

 

- Add a separate 'encrypt-me' field to logging so that your posts can contain both plain text and encrypted hints.

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Great to see an application which is supporting location based services. But will it use the Geocache as a 'workspace' so all the child waypoint (even created on the trail) be stored under the GC so the don't mess up your list of other non-geocaching waypoints every time? That would be a really nice feature in a dense country as the Netherlands.

 

Cheers CorgiTeam

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What resolution is the iPhone 3G capable of -- is it 3 meters (WAAS) or 10 meters?

 

What is typical resolution in this new app (beta tester reports)?

 

I ask because Geopher gives me typically +/- 56 feet. That's right, 10,000ft2 of searching. Not so great. Don't know if that is a function of Geopher, iPhone, canopy or what (in suburban areas with lots of cell coverage, mind you; again, on a 3G).

 

I'd gladly shell out $9.99 for an app with better resolution -- but I'd like to know what it is capable of / what hardware is capable of first.

 

Thanks,

 

TC

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The iPhone 3G not only has GPS but it uses WiFi positioning and/or cell tower location to get your relative position.

What is WiFi positioning? I've never heard of it.

 

Is it possible to navigate to a cache if you're out of range of a cell tower, like if you have a list of the closest 3 caches but then lose signal in the woods?

Edited by Skippermark
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Let me know when you have a blackberry or lg version.

Trimble makes Geocache Navigator, which works on some BlackBerries. Not sure about LG phones. I use it and love it. It's a bit more than the iPhone version, at $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year for the BB version.

 

It also doesn't work with Verizon. Works great with AT&T, though.

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I feel compelled to gloat. For years, if not decades, users of Apple products, e.g. Mac users, felt like orphans. All of the good stuff had been written for the Windows platform.

 

It sure feels nice to have a REALLY GOOD APPLICATION that runs on my platform, the iPhone, but not on the competitors' platform.

 

[/endgloat]

 

It's about time - I have had more people tell me that the solution to my GPRS problems was to buy a new computer or that I should run windows on my Mac.

 

I am really excited about the new download - how many more days?

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So will it be able to be downloaded directly at the app store? I saw this and I was so excited that I thought it might be out and searched through the app store,, Not there Bummer then I read the article. I have the first generation that uses the edge technology. I had not heard that GPS would actually be released with the 3-G I phone. I wouldn't run out and throw away your spare though. I had an HP Ipaq phone with a similar application on it and later found the device has GPS, WOW!!!! also before apple allactually allowed you to load its phone will applications we had mod software to allow other features to work, It was ironically called Jailbreak. it was said that you could modify your Bluetooth setting to pair with a bluetooth GPS recieved and download map overlays or simply run straight coordinates. Inside the new 3-g May lie a small gps reciever but I am not sur how much you could rely on it. After I had a successful jailbreak for my phone I tried it on a friends and turned it into a brick. So now I just get stuff from the App store, Please let me know when the development team lets this launch. I definnitly want a crack at it.

 

Thanks,

 

Charstew <_<

Edited by charstew
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So will it be able to be downloaded directly at the app store? I saw this and I was so excited that I thought it might be out and searched through the app store,, Not there Bummer then I read the article. I have the first generation that uses the edge technology. I had not heard that GPS would actually be released with the 3-G I phone. I wouldn't run out a through away your spare though. I had an HP Ipaq phone with a similar application on it and later found the device has GPS, WOW!!!! also before apple allowed you to load its phone will applications we had mod software to allow other features to work, It was ironically called Jailbreak. it was said that you could modify your Bluetooth setting to pair with a bluetooth GPS recieved and download map overlays or simply run straight coordinates. Inside the new 3-g May lie a small gps reciever but I am not sur how much you could rely on it. After I had a successful jailbreak for my phone I tried it on a friends and turned it into a brick. So now I just get stuff from the App store, Please let me know when the development team lets this launch. I definnitly want a crack at it.

 

Thanks,

 

Charstew <_<

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So will it be able to be downloaded directly at the app store? I saw this and I was so excited that I thought it might be out and searched through the app store,, Not there Bummer then I read the article. I have the first generation that uses the edge technology. I had not heard that GPS would actually be released with the 3-G I phone. I wouldn't run out a through away your spare though. I had an HP Ipaq phone with a similar application on it and later found the device has GPS, WOW!!!! also before apple allowed you to load its phone will applications we had mod software to allow other features to work, It was ironically called Jailbreak. it was said that you could modify your Bluetooth setting to pair with a bluetooth GPS recieved and download map overlays or simply run straight coordinates. Inside the new 3-g May lie a small gps reciever but I am not sur how much you could rely on it. After I had a successful jailbreak for my phone I tried it on a friends and turned it into a brick. So now I just get stuff from the App store, Please let me know when the development team lets this launch. I definnitly want a crack at it.

 

Thanks,

 

Charstew <_<

The Gen 2 iPhone has a built in GPS, if that is what you are asking. The App will be available through the App store on iTunes, or directly on your Gen 1 iPhone (or Gen 2, and all iPod Touch models) via a link on your home screen (provided you have updated your software to at least the January release). Many people have said that the GPS works great and can geocache with the Gen 2, while others complain about battery life and accuracy issues. (I don't think it uses WAAS)

 

You'll see it posted here, I'm sure, when it is finally available on the App store. Apple will be in charge of the release timetable, so we can all patiently wait the App here and discuss how great it is to have something for a Mac platform!

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The iPhone 3G not only has GPS but it uses WiFi positioning and/or cell tower location to get your relative position.
What is WiFi positioning?
It's essentially the same thing as positioning based on the location of the cell towers, except that it uses WiFi networks rather than cell towers. Some names (e.g., linksys) are too common to tell you anything useful. But others are specific enough to give you a general idea of the location.

 

Cell tower positioning and WiFi positioning are approximate, but they can be used to give the GPS chips a head start figuring out the location, so it takes less time for the GPS chips to lock on.

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Some names (e.g., linksys) are too common to tell you anything useful. But others are specific enough to give you a general idea of the location.

 

Wrong. SkyHook Wi-Fi positioning uses the router's MAC address (unique to every device), not the SSID, so even if every wireless router in the world had "linksys" as its SSID, Wi-Fi positioning would still work.

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Hi folks!

 

Why the heck don't You develop a _good_ tool for Windows Mobile?

 

There are millions of PDAs and Smartphone basing on this, but just a fistful of that crappy toy made by Apple....

 

Sorry for that statement, but i just couldn't resist

 

Franz

Edited by massafranz
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I've not been Geocaching yet (been meaning to for years) but I have been training for a 50km walk, so have been walking a lot and using the iPhone to record my trail.

 

Obviously results may vary, but:

 

I've used GPSKit, a ~$12 app i think, to record my path. It makes a gpx file, i can have groups of waypoints and it can narrow them, it can work without a data connection, but needs data if you want a realtime satelite map of where you are, eg it can't save it's own map.

 

It works well, it has NO CACHE functions though.

 

So i'll deffinately be grabbing this app when it comes out <_<

 

I found if i drop the screen brightness, the iphone can record walkies for approx ~ 4 hours. However I've made an external belt back NIMH pack with regulator that keeps the charge topped up. Using this i can get over 10 hours before the pack goes flat, and then i have 4 hours of iphone use left, enough for me easy.

 

It's great to go for a walk, get home, and see in google earth exactly where you've gone.

 

(never had a GPS till now)

 

I found that it locks on very quickly, and had no trouble keeping good accuracy even with the phone buried in my backpack.

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Quick Question:

 

Would it work on the iPod Touch?

The first post in the thread explains this:

 

"It also works with the iPod Touch and first gen iPhone though you will need WiFi for the Touch and the compass won't work on the first generation iPhone (naturally)."

 

Hope that helps.

Edited by Quiggle
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maybe when this is done you can fix Wherigo?

 

All snarkiness aside, we have a team actively working on the next generation of Wherigo. It will be a lot more flexible and will become the platform for our mobile strategy.

 

So there'll be a Wherigo player for the iPhone?

 

And there'll be a Waymarking tool similar to the geocaching that you mention in this thread?

 

Please?

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Wrong. SkyHook Wi-Fi positioning uses the router's MAC address (unique to every device), not the SSID, so even if every wireless router in the world had "linksys" as its SSID, Wi-Fi positioning would still work.

I'm sooo confused. So the phone reads the MAC address of nearby Wi-Fi routers? How does the router/switch/whatever know where it is?

 

And, I'm guessing that Wi-Fi positioning only works if there is a network closeby, so if you're out in the woods, the iPhone would rely solely on the internal GPS?

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Regarding the iPod Touch, I'm looking forward to having saved files on hand when out of wi-fi range, but does the saved file make a bookmark in Google maps? Map bookmarks can be viewed without a connection, so that would be really useful. Thanks!

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I'm sooo confused. So the phone reads the MAC address of nearby Wi-Fi routers? How does the router/switch/whatever know where it is?

 

And, I'm guessing that Wi-Fi positioning only works if there is a network closeby, so if you're out in the woods, the iPhone would rely solely on the internal GPS?

The simplest way to describe the WiFi location function is that it works! If you go to "Maps" on your homescreen and tap the gunsight in the corner of the Map app, it will locate you, based on where the internet juice is flowing in and out of your wifi router. My Touch does it wherever there is wifi within a pretty good range.

 

Regarding the iPod Touch, I'm looking forward to having saved files on hand when out of wi-fi range, but does the saved file make a bookmark in Google maps? Map bookmarks can be viewed without a connection, so that would be really useful. Thanks!

The pressure is being applied for the 2.0 release, I'm sure!

 

On the Touch, your best bet is to go with something like iGeocacher, so that you have off-network (and off-wifi) availability of the GPX listing. You'll get full color listings (minus the photos, since you won't have internet connectivity) of the caches you have loaded. It's perfect! The only thing is, remember that most Google Map functions will NOT work off-network. Therefore, on a Touch, unless you screenshoot your map of caches while ON network, you will not be able to view that map OFF network. (That's the bummer of wifi-only on the Touch)

 

The App Groundspeak has developed would be great for a Touch while connected to a wifi network. However, you can save the $10 and just load the caches on Safari...it's a full version of Geocaching.com accessed by your account, so it will be like surfing on a computer at home. If you save (one at a time) cache listings using the Groundspeak App, you can view off-network. But, you could also do a screenshot (press menu button and power button at same time) of a cache page while viewing a cache page in Safari and save the finger taps and the money for the app.

 

 

All this to say, this App will be GREAT for iPhone users, and HANDY, for Touch users. Those two Apps combined are the greatest possible way to go paperless on an iPhone or iPod Touch...and cheaper than buying a new GPSr! <_<

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Hi folks!

 

Why the heck don't You develop a _good_ tool for Windows Mobile?

 

There are millions of PDAs and Smartphone basing on this, but just a fistful of that crappy toy made by Apple....

 

Sorry for that statement, but i just couldn't resist

 

Franz

 

Jealous

 

I also couldn't resist! <_<

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Now THAT is the best news I've heard in a long time!

 

If it eventually allows you to save and view caches from an entire PQ that would be even better. And if it does get to the point that Wherigo capability is added, I may finally upgrade from my Touch to the iPhone.

 

All that aside, THANK YOU for this new development - I'll be dropping my $10 ASAP!

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Now THAT is the best news I've heard in a long time!

 

If it eventually allows you to save and view caches from an entire PQ that would be even better. And if it does get to the point that Wherigo capability is added, I may finally upgrade from my Touch to the iPhone.

 

All that aside, THANK YOU for this new development - I'll be dropping my $10 ASAP!

 

If you have a touch and really want the feature you describe, take a look at this...(link)

 

Load your PQs and have them on hand, off-network for your Touch. I'm sure many would hope that v2.0 of Groundspeak's App will have something similar!

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This is SO cool.

 

Does the GPS aspect of it require the 3G / GPS, or can you use the Cell Tower-locator technology, get vague coords from that, and still determine what are the closest caches?

You can still use the coordinates found by doing a wifi locate, but it will not be as accurate as a GPS fix. I don't know that it can use cell towers to locate, but that is a question better taken up by someone more familiar with the Gen1 iPhone.

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