+user13371 Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 (edited) To me, the really interesting part of this article ... http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08...at_84_u_s_.html ... is mention of "...the accessory kit ... will amplify the GPS signal, support both hands-free calling and music through the stereo system, and charge the iPhone from the car's 12-volt port." Re-radiatiing antenna? Data fed through the dock connector? If it can be as small as that picture, then a similar "outdoorsman" kit for the iPhone (combining a battery pack, re-radiating antenna, ruggedized/weatherized case) might be feasible. That could turn the iPhone into a really amazing outdoor GPS, and it would still be easily "pocketable." Edited August 16, 2009 by lee_rimar Quote Link to comment
+Redwoods Mtn Biker Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Interesting idea, but I'm not sure who would run with it. It would need to be a hardware manufacturer. TomTom seems to have little interest in the outdoor / handheld arena. Garmin appears to be boycotting the iPhone. DeLorme probably has their hands full. And Magellan is, um, Magellan. Quote Link to comment
+Tahoe Skier5000 Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Its $99! Are they joking with that price?? The iphone's GPS sucks, update rate is too slow and battery life is terrible. In no way would the iphone be a good substitute for a dedicated road GPS, which you can buy, out the door for as little as $100 these days. Sorry tomtom, ain't gonna happen. Quote Link to comment
+Riverwolf Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Its $99! Are they joking with that price?? The iphone's GPS sucks, update rate is too slow and battery life is terrible. In no way would the iphone be a good substitute for a dedicated road GPS, which you can buy, out the door for as little as $100 these days. Sorry tomtom, ain't gonna happen. Announcement of TomTom for iPhone It seems that the TomTom car kit will enhance the GPS receiving and allow your iPhone to make and receive phone calls, listen to music via your car stereo and charges your iPhone at the same time. While I agree that $99.99 is a little much in addition to the "optional" car kit (price not known...by me anyway), I can understand how it will be desirable by many people...including myself. I am looking to upgrade my AT&T contract soon to an iPhone and also want a GPS for the car that I can move about easily. This seems to be a great answer to my desire for both items in one fell swoop. TomTom has come up with a winner in my opinion. Quote Link to comment
NordicMan Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Does it improve the iPhone's GPS precision though? All I often hear is how great the iPhone is for Geocaching with the exception of it's precision. So much so that currently most people are encouraged NOT to use iPhone coordinates if they're hiding a cache.. Quote Link to comment
+Riverwolf Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Does it improve the iPhone's GPS precision though? All I often hear is how great the iPhone is for Geocaching with the exception of it's precision. So much so that currently most people are encouraged NOT to use iPhone coordinates if they're hiding a cache.. I don't know about improvement of accuracy, but accuracy isn't something that's particularly paramount in vehicular routing. Quote Link to comment
NordicMan Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Well it's very relevant to THIS forum Quote Link to comment
+Riverwolf Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Well it's very relevant to THIS forum Very true. However, the way it sits now, its use is designed for vehicular routing. I can see the potential for geocaching later on but I doubt it'll happen anytime soon. I think that TomTom has come up with winning app though...especially since the car kit will "enhance" the GPS and there are plans on support for the iTouch in the future. Quote Link to comment
+Riverwolf Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 (edited) Deleting Duplicate Post. Edited August 17, 2009 by Riverwolf Quote Link to comment
+Rockin Roddy Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Its $99! Are they joking with that price?? The iphone's GPS sucks, update rate is too slow and battery life is terrible. In no way would the iphone be a good substitute for a dedicated road GPS, which you can buy, out the door for as little as $100 these days. Sorry tomtom, ain't gonna happen. Are you kidding me? The OP goes into another thread talking about paperless GPS units and brings up this phone? He shoots down the PN-20 because it's accuracy isn't the best and I come here and see this?? And he expects we're to take him seriously? Truly? I don't know Lee, maybe you're just having a bad day. But please, don't make suggestions or even hint that this JUNK would be better to use than a true GPS unit...even the worst of them out today. Someone might actually take you seriously and find themselves buying something that is obviously just a PHONE! I love the fact that someone said hiders are being steered away from using the iphone to take coords....really, really telling! Quote Link to comment
+Riverwolf Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 I don't see anyting where the OP is touting the iPhone as the beat all, end all of GPS receivers. It seems that the OP was pointing out that TomTom was putting out this new app with a GPS enhancement through a car kit and thought that maybe something might come through in the future to make this "pocketable" eventually. Seems reasonable to me. As for caching using jut an iPhone, I personally know of one person that uses it exclusively as their GPS and have heard of many others. Seems they are getting it done with something that is inferior to a PN-20. Quote Link to comment
+Tahoe Skier5000 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 That could turn the iPhone into a really amazing outdoor GPS, and it would still be easily "pocketable." The iphone could never, and will never be an "amazing outdoor GPS", end of story. Sealed battery? Maps that need cell service to load? A 5 second update rate (or thereabouts)?! You have to be kidding me if you think the iphone would make the perfect outdoor gps. If this is the direction GPS units will be going in the fuure, I will never be buying another one again! Sealed rechargeables are where I draw the line. Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 (edited) ...$99 .. Sorry TomTom, ain't going to happen... Tahoe, I actually agree with you on TomTom's chances in this market niche - but only for the reason of pricing. The iPhone is usable as a "road GPS" with considerably less expensive software, mount, and power connection.* But the rest of your remarks don't match my experience. I've taken road trips with the iPhone and the update rate is fine for freeway driving. I've used it for geocaching and it's accurate enough -- I wouldn't consider it for surveying or search and rescue work, but it's good enough to get you to where the cache is. And I have no problem with the battery life because I carry spares (or plug it in when I'm in a car). And... that's going off the original topic, a bit. I was originally just commenting on how interesting TomTom's approach is -- if they're using the dock connector's device interface to feed GPS data (as opposed to just making a re-radiating antenna), this opens a lot of possibilities up for iPhone expansion -- both as a GPS and other uses. --- * My road setup: - a cigarette-lighter-adapter to USB power connection - a $6 windshield mount from a cheap Hong Kong wholesaler - XRoad's GMAP WEST, $20 when I bought it but has gone up a bit since then. Edited August 18, 2009 by lee_rimar Quote Link to comment
+Riverwolf Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 The iphone could never, and will never be an "amazing outdoor GPS", end of story. That may be true, but your prediction based on your bias against the iPhone doesn't make this a definitive statement, "end of story." Since you seem to know the future, can you provide me with the winning numbers of the next 250 million dollar Powerball? Sealed battery? Maps that need cell service to load? A 5 second update rate (or thereabouts)?! You have to be kidding me if you think the iphone would make the perfect outdoor gps. If this is the direction GPS units will be going in the fuure, I will never be buying another one again! Sealed rechargeables are where I draw the line. Those may be the features that currently encompass the iPhone but I personally am not looking to replace my Garmin 60CSx with it's replaceable batteries, quick update rate and maps that I can load from a secondary program onto the MicroSD card that remains in my GPSr. However, the iPhone with this TomTom apps seems to work as a vehicular GPS quite well from the demonstration and the fact that TomTom has taken a stand alone unit and made it available into the iPhone is just awesome. Previously, you had to rely on Google Maps and an arrow that displayed where you were...and no driving directions. Yes, yes, I know there were some other GPS apps with turn-by-turn directions available, but TomTom seems to be a more trusted name. I'm not all that thrilled about the price of the app and the car kit together - I saw that an online store in the UK was offering presales for the car kit for almost $200 but included the app - but I can tell you that when I upgrade to the iPhone next month, the TomTom app and the car kit will be one of the first purchases I make for my iPhone. And you shouldn't "draw the line" at sealed rechargeable batteries. It may very well be that the GPS's of the future will only have those 5 years from now. I don't see it happening, but the possibility exists. Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Maps that need cell service to load? A 5 second update rate (or thereabouts)?!Mistaken facts: 1) "Maps that need cell service to load" -- TomTom, Sygic, XRoad, Navigon, and several other products for the iPhone load maps resident on the phone. 2) "A 5 second update rate or thereabouts" -- Update rate is set by the software. I think the default in Google Maps may be about 5 seconds, but other software adjusts it as needed. Sealed rechargeablea are where I draw the line.Okay, you got me there. But I do carry spares - in a charger that holds 4 AA batteries and doesn't take much more space than that. You DO carry spare batteries when you go out, don't you? Quote Link to comment
+Tahoe Skier5000 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 (edited) The iphone could never, and will never be an "amazing outdoor GPS", end of story. That may be true, but your prediction based on your bias against the iPhone doesn't make this a definitive statement, "end of story." Since you seem to know the future, can you provide me with the winning numbers of the next 250 million dollar Powerball? What are you talking about? I own the 3G iphone and like it. I'm just saying that it would make a lousy GPS device at the price TomTom is asking IMHO. And I actually do think I have a pretty good grasp of general consumer interests and future predictions. Edited August 18, 2009 by Tahoe Skier5000 Quote Link to comment
+Rockin Roddy Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 I don't see anyting where the OP is touting the iPhone as the beat all, end all of GPS receivers. It seems that the OP was pointing out that TomTom was putting out this new app with a GPS enhancement through a car kit and thought that maybe something might come through in the future to make this "pocketable" eventually. Seems reasonable to me. As for caching using jut an iPhone, I personally know of one person that uses it exclusively as their GPS and have heard of many others. Seems they are getting it done with something that is inferior to a PN-20. Maybe not in this thread.... As for your friend, PROUD of them to muddle through it with a tool not nearly as good as most GPS units for around the same price, I hope they enjoy it enough to stick with it! I also hope your friend doesn't accidentally drop that phone and break it while trying to find a cache somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. If this does happen, I hope they can also find their way back out of there...without the aid of a GPS. And, if they can't, I hope they carry a back-up phone so they can call someone to come and find them... Just saying! Quote Link to comment
+user13371 Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 (edited) ...Tahoe, I actually agree with you on TomTom's chances in this market niche - but only for the reason of pricing. The iPhone is usable as a "road GPS" with considerably less expensive software, mount, and power connection.Yet it might have better market chance than I thought it would... http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009...min-doomed.aspx Relevant excerpt: Despite the reservations and the $99 price tag, the TomTom app for the U.S. and Canada was already the No. 2 most popular paid GPS application in the App Store as of Monday afternoon, and it's only a matter of time before TomTom starts releasing updates to iron out the kinks. I really thought the $99 price would sink it... Edited August 19, 2009 by lee_rimar Quote Link to comment
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