+Tavisman Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 If you could decide what your next GPSr could do, what would it do? I thought of this when a friend of mine showed me his HTC, which had a metal detector with it. Here is what I have got already… (please add or correct me) |---------------------------------| - Garmin - | -- Apple - | ---------- | |_________________________________| Oregon 550 | _ iPhone _ | __ HTC ___ | | Paperless Geocaching .......... | ... Y .... | ... Y .... | ... N .... | | Metal Detector ................ | ... N .... | ... ? .... | ... Y .... | | Magnifier ..................... | ... N .... | ... N .... | ... N .... | | Photograph with waypoint ...... | ... Y .... | ... ? .... | ... ? .... | | Barcode reader* ............... | ... N .... | ... Y .... | ... ? .... | | Field Notes ................... | ... Y .... | ... ? .... | ... ? .... | | Type out log (@ GZ)............ | ... ? .... | ... ? .... | ... ? .... | | Upload photo to GC.com (@GZ) .. | ... ? .... | ... ? .... | ... ? .... | | Upload log to GC.com (@GZ)......| ... ? .... | ... ? .... | ... ? .... | | Upload sound to GC.com (@GZ)....| ... N .... | ... N .... | ... N .... | | Upload video to GC.com (@GZ)....| ... N .... | ... N .... | ... N .... | | Cellphone to PAF................| ... N .... | ... Y .... | ... Y .... | |_________________________________|____________|____________|____________| You never know GC.com TPTB, Garmin, Apple, HTC or others may be watching. Notes: * A CO prints a barcode on the cache container or logbook, the gadget scans it and automatically opens up a find log to be typed. Quote Link to comment
+Castle Mischief Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I know exactly what my next GPSr will do (PN-40), but the one after that... (IN THE WORLD OF NEXT TUESDAY!) How about blue tooth-enabled shared processing? Multiple units in close proximity to each other would share information and increase the accuracy of each unit. Think of it like averaging your coordinates but with multiple units simultaneously. Quote Link to comment
+Tavisman Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 How about blue tooth-enabled shared processing? Multiple units in close proximity to each other would share information and increase the accuracy of each unit. Think of it like averaging your coordinates but with multiple units simultaneously. That would actually be cool! Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 After getting an Oregon I'm going to go with "have a better screen" as what my next GPS will do. That and actually be useful for paperless caching. The Oregon can get there but it's not there yet. Quote Link to comment
+sTeamTraen Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 My next GPSr will, ideally, not die after 6 months like my first Colorado, nor have the middle of the wheel fall out due to the rubber perishing after 10 months like my replacement Colorado. Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I can't say what I want my next GPSr to do because this is a public forum. It would have been nice though if my colorado had a camera built in...oh well, next time... Quote Link to comment
+Mule Ears Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Holy Creeping Featuritis, Batman! My next GPSr will be smaller, lighter and have longer (preferably infinite) battery life. It will never lose signal, not in the deepest canyon, at the bottom of a mineshaft nor under dense forest canopy. Tracklogs of my trips will be perfect, with no breaks or 100-mph phantom sidetrips. Elevation fixes will be so accurate that I'll be able to go back to that lookout tower in New Mexico and tell the nice fire-spotter lady with certainty whether or not she's above 10,000 feet. It'll accept routes of unlimited length and complexity, and take waypoint labels longer than six stinkin' characters. My next GPSr won't have maps, HD color screen, Bluetooth, cappuccino machine, or MP3. It will be tiny, reliable and indestructable. And if I want to have it before my Foretrex 201s wear out, I'd better get cracking, because none of the major manufacturers seem to be working on my next GPSr. Quote Link to comment
+FierceDeityLink1 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Hopefully some sort of Bluetooth tethering or Wi-Fi so you don't have to have offline PQ databases anymore... Quote Link to comment
+SkellyCA Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Well when I'm hiking deep in the woods and I just gotta go, it better wipe my butt! Quote Link to comment
+WhiteRockBob Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Find tricky micros for me, that would be nice. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I want it to be smaller while having a larger screen. And while we're asking for things that go against known laws of physics, a car with a gas tank that fills up as I drive would be nice. Quote Link to comment
+epoli Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 HTC or any other windows mobile phone can do Paperless geocaching and Upload log to GC.com Quote Link to comment
+Jeep4two Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Fold out OLED screens to allow for larger maps, making topo more useful while in the field (while still having a good quality standard screen for typical usage). Also: GSM / CDMA card slots to support 3G and 4G wireless Internet features like direct access to GC.com, instant Pocket Queries, logging, forums, video (Live Caching), Skype, heck you name it. I could see huge potential for wireless applications tied to a high quality and accurate GPSr that's rugged and dependable. Of course now is when I would have to wish for some new battery technologies to support all this power hungry technology so I don't have to drag a 40 lb. 12V car battery along the trail. . . Maybe a solar generating T-shirt (with a Garmin or DeLorme or Magellan logo as appropriate). Quote Link to comment
Keystone Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum. Quote Link to comment
+McDowra Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 my next GPS will have customer support, so that narrows it down to a PN40 for me Quote Link to comment
meathelmet Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I'd like one that does laundry. Quote Link to comment
photomankc Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 More screen, less unit. Touch screen is now a must to me. More accessible card slot. I don't want to disassemble it to swap cards. Stability. Less extraneous stuff... butt wipers, cameras, games, mud flaps, wheels, dials, walkie talkies, and buttons and instead a more dependable and accurate receiver. Quote Link to comment
+Woodstramp Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 #!- One that has a perpetual battery. (not too much to ask) #2-Is wirelessly coupled to a "3D-sunglasses mounted -Heads Up Display". (for discreetly vectoring bogies on the fly) Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I'd like one that takes pictures. Audio recording would be nice too. Do they make topo maps that also can give voice directions? Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 ...magnifier...Current iPhone 3GS has digital zoom built in. Prevous iPhone 3G didn't, but I keep mine in a Griffin case called the Clarifi -- which has a sliding close-up lens. I use it frequently for photgraphing smnall parts, serial numbers, etc. Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) field notes & update logsiPhone app supports field notes and you can also log in to GC.com from the field to post a log. Edited July 7, 2009 by lee_rimar Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I'd like one that takes pictures. Audio recording would be nice too. Almost any GPS equipped smart phone does this, including the iPhone and HTC devices in the OP's list. Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Andynshe: Much of your wish list... "support 3G...wireless Internet...direct access to GC.com, instant Pocket Queries, logging, forums...Skype..." ...already exists in a variety of smart phones, including the ones the OP mentioned. About the only thing "new" you're asking for is a ruggedized IPX7 case and a field replaceable battery Quote Link to comment
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