iPhone caching apps

[+Amberel]

I've recently (yesterday) got an iPhone, having used Windows Mobile/PocketPC phones for about 8 years. Some things are a lot better, some things are a lot worse, but I'm not intending to start a war, I'm just trying to find out how much of the functionality I had on the WM machine I can replicate on the iPhone.

 

What I'm used to is MemoryMap with OS 25,000 maps linked to CacheMate for UK caching. I use GSAK to generate the cache lists rather than using the PQs directly, and this is important because I cache on OpenCaching, TerraCaching and NaviCaching as well as Groundspeak.

 

For car SatNav I use TomTom Europe.

 

For ski-ing, I download OpenStreetMap maps that show the ski-lifts and runs, calibrate them, and display them in OziExplorer CE, which also allows caches to be loaded as waypoints.

 

While I now have an unlimited data tarriff, I'm reluctant to be dependent on network coverage in the field - quite often I have no signal, and when I'm abroad it would be prohibitively expensive to be continually downloading maps off air. As a consequence I would like to store both maps and caches offline if possible.

 

For the iPhone I have purchased Groundspeak's app, which looks quite nice. But the maps aren't a patch on OS 25,000 maps, there appears to be no way of pre-loading maps for use within the application, and I haven't seen how to load files from GSAK.

 

I've also purchased an app called OffMaps (I've been pleasantly surprised at how cheap iPhone apps tend to be). This caches OpenStreetMaps for use offline, but the maps I've downloaded so far don't show the ski-lifts or pistes, which defeats much of the object. And I can't see any way to load cache waypoints into it.

 

And at present I have no SatNav app - there appears to be several choices but it's not clear if they store all their maps offline, and which is best.

 

So currently I'm a VERY long way from being able to leave my Asus P750 at home. Has anyone solved any of these problems?

 

Thanks for any advice,

 

Rgds, Andy

[+The Blorenges]

I've got the Geoacaching app on my iPhone. It works well but you do need a data connection (although the latest update lets you keep cache information for offline use). Not having the data connection is the biggest drawback to it. When it does work using Google maps/satellite view is brilliant (and with the compass in the 3GS even better). The geocaching app GPS shows an accuray of either 56 feet or 156 feet and never seems to change! But it seems to get you to the cache.

 

You can get a free app to display OS maps but it needs a data connection. Route Buddy do full versions of OS maps to buy (Cost about £8 each) but I was very disappointed in them. The 1:50K (landranger) go fuzzy when you zoom right in! They do work offline of course.

 

As for Memory Map, GSAK, cachemate etc they won't on the phone as far as I know so I'm still using my PDA for caching.

 

Chris (MrB)

[+Amberel]

I've got the Geoacaching app on my iPhone. It works well but you do need a data connection (although the latest update lets you keep cache information for offline use). Not having the data connection is the biggest drawback to it. When it does work using Google maps/satellite view is brilliant (and with the compass in the 3GS even better). The geocaching app GPS shows an accuray of either 56 feet or 156 feet and never seems to change! But it seems to get you to the cache.

 

You can get a free app to display OS maps but it needs a data connection. Route Buddy do full versions of OS maps to buy (Cost about £8 each) but I was very disappointed in them. The 1:50K (landranger) go fuzzy when you zoom right in! They do work offline of course.

 

As for Memory Map, GSAK, cachemate etc they won't on the phone as far as I know so I'm still using my PDA for caching.

 

Chris (MrB)

Thanks Chris,I've done a lot more investigation today, and it does seem that the iPhone is a lot less capable in this area, and there is a real paucity of software. As well as OffMaps I have now purchased MotionX, which looks better but seems to hang for long periods without the buttons responding. But it can download OpenStreetMap maps and store them offline, and it can take GPX files with up to (wait for it) a massive 12 waypoints . I haven't yet tried this because the only way to transfer the GPX file is by mailing it to the phone, but if I mail if from my computer, it comes back to the computer immediately and so will never reach the iPhone - somehow I've got to stop it being received back for long enough to close Outlook, then do a mail blink on the iPhone.

 

But during my investigation I did come across something that indicated MemoryMap were working on an iPhone version; if that's true I'll wait for it to come out. For myself, in the majority of cases I find that 25000 OS maps are superior to Google maps/satellite images, but of course that's a matter of personal preference. But, of course, MemoryMap without CacheMate won't be half as good.

 

The indications I got from my searches are that the basic iPhone GPS receiver is poor compared to most others. This is compounded by the limited API that Apple provide to developers, e.g. they do not provide information on the number of satellites being used, the signal strength, the DoPs and so on. Add that to breathtakingly bad battery life and a non-replaceable battery, and it looks to be so drastically inferior to either of my existing solutions (PocketPC PDA/phone and Oregon 550t) that I'll almost certainly abandon any idea of moving over to using that as a primary caching GPSr and just use it in "emergencies", i.e. if I go caching without having planned to, and find myself without anything better.

 

It means I'm still looking for the perfect "all in one" caching machine . Shame - as a phone it's probably a bit better than my Asus P750, and the web browsing and email is definitely better. Music is as good or better, and videos are better, not that I use them much. And I've found an excellent eBook reader for it. But no one machine seems to get it all right .

 

Rgds, Andy

 

Rgds, Andy

[+The Blorenges]

I think you can get quite a bit to work on the iPhone if you jailbreak it which I'm not prepared to do!

 

Chris (MrB)

[+Amberel]

I think you can get quite a bit to work on the iPhone if you jailbreak it which I'm not prepared to do!

 

Chris (MrB)

Yes, I've come across that expression without really understanding what it entails, but I think I'll leave that at least until I'm much more familiar with the machine .

 

Rgds, Andy

[+Amberel]

... It means I'm still looking for the perfect "all in one" caching machine . Shame - as a phone it's probably a bit better than my Asus P750, and the web browsing and email is definitely better. Music is as good or better, and videos are better, not that I use them much. And I've found an excellent eBook reader for it. But no one machine seems to get it all right .

 

Rgds, Andy

Well, I took it caching for the first time today, and it will almost certainly be the last, assuming I decide to keep it at all. The iPhone is very pretty, and was quite impressive while I was "playing" with it, but it's all fallen apart when I tried to actually USE it.

 

Firstly, with two very limited exceptions, it's a single app machine. To run a second app you have to kill the first. That sounds like something I might be able to work around, except if I'm running an app and I want switch on wireless networking, or make a voice memo, or collect eMail, or look up a contact, check the battery level, look at the date or time, take a photograph, or whatever, I have to shut down whatever I'm doing and then start it all up again afterwards. I wouldn't have believed this unless I'd seen it for myself, it wasn't something I even considered before getting an iPhone. We've gone backwards about 20 years.

 

Secondly, you can't send or receive email attachments. Or, you can receive them, but you can't do anything with them. Again, I never thought to ask if it could do this, it never occurred to me that it wouldn't be able to. This will affect me considerably.

 

The battery life is a joke. It lasts less than half as long as my WinMobile PDA, even with 3G turned off to save power!

 

And here is the main point of this comment, and what makes it relevant to caching. The GPS is abysmal. The GPSrs I currently have include the iPhone, an Oregon 550t, an Asus P750 PDA/phone, an Acer X960 PDA/phone, an eTrex HCx and several older models (yes, I collect them, and my job involves GPS :-)). The ubiquitous eTrex is probably a good reference. If we mark the eTrex HCx as 10, I rate the GPSrs as:

 

Acer X960 12

eTrex HCx 10

Asus P750 7

Oregon 550t 6

GPS 3+ 3

XDA Orbit 3

XDA Orbit 2 2

XDA Stellar 2

iPhone 0.5

 

Note that these ratings are just for raw GPSr performance, and aren't intended to take into account facilities such as mapping that the unit provides. I'm very familiar with the performance of all the other units. Today I had the iPhone in one hand and alternately the Acer and the Oregon in the other hand. (BTW, before you all rush out and buy an Acer X960 I should point out that it does suffer from some significant shortcomings in other areas).

 

I'm really very disappointed with the iPhone. A great shame, as the touch sensitive screen is exceptional, as is the web browser, and the soft keypad is excellent. It's good as a media player. And it is good as just a plain phone. And, of course, it's spectacularly pretty. But none of that will help me if the machine can't do half the things I need it to.

 

Rgds, Andy

Edited January 12, 2010 by Amberel

[+drdick&vick]

Just a quick one for the iPhone lovers, I have recieved an email today from Memory Map to the effect that they hope to have an application out soon (via Apple Apps store) that will enable you to upload Memory Maps (1:50000 & 1:25000) to your iPhone.

[+Amberel]

Just a quick one for the iPhone lovers, I have recieved an email today from Memory Map to the effect that they hope to have an application out soon (via Apple Apps store) that will enable you to upload Memory Maps (1:50000 & 1:25000) to your iPhone.

Hi Richard,

 

Should I decide to keep the iPhone that may be good news. The online maps and satellite images aren't anything like as good as 25000 OS maps, even when you can readily download them, which you can't when you are out of network coverage or (without huge expense) when abroad. There are offline caching map applications available and I've purchased two of them, but the maps they are allowed to cache are not very good, and, more importantly, the apps can't do anything else useful apart from just displaying maps. And because the iPhone can only do one thing at a time you can't have programs interacting like MemoryMap and CacheMate do. As a consequence I've uninstalled both the apps I bought.

 

The reason I said it only "may" be good news is that the GPSr performance is so abysmal that it's probably not worth even switching it on. I documented my previous experience in London. Yesterday afternoon I turned it on when travelling home from Woking on the train. My old WinMobile phone happily tracked right down the middle of the railway line on the OS maps. The iPhone ranged from a quarter of a mile out, to over 2 miles out, and most of the time it was over a mile. It just jumped from one badly wrong location to another. I assume the GPSr never ever got a lock at all and it was just using cell phone location, but it doesn't give you any useful information like that. And even then the maps couldn't download fast enough to keep up.

 

I'll be abroad for the next two weeks, but I'll be taking my old phone.

 

Rgds, Andy

[+currykev]

Amberel's comments are justified.

The iPhone is the best bit of kit I've had in a long time.

Email, mobile internet, and some excellent applications.

I also think it's a good companion for cachers, as it can store caches easily with PQ's and you can log caches

quickly and (mostly) efficiently out in the field.

But I would NEVER use it alone to go caching.

Apart from the serious issues with the battery, I just couldn't trust it 100%

Why do you think the Oregon's are so popular?

[team tisri]

Amberel's comments are justified.

The iPhone is the best bit of kit I've had in a long time.

Email, mobile internet, and some excellent applications.

I also think it's a good companion for cachers, as it can store caches easily with PQ's and you can log caches

quickly and (mostly) efficiently out in the field.

But I would NEVER use it alone to go caching.

Apart from the serious issues with the battery, I just couldn't trust it 100%

Why do you think the Oregon's are so popular?

 

If the GPS chip is the problem why not get a Bluetooth GPSr device?

 

I use one of those - when trying to navigate across Virginia the GPS in my phone (which also runs my TomTom) decided to totally lose its satellite lock just as I approached a truly hideous intersection, leaving me to take a best guess which of the many roads I wanted (needless to say I picked the wrong one).

 

So for about £50 I bought a Freedom gizmodo that uses the MTK chipset, links to my phone (or anything else) via Bluetooth and gives me a decent satellite lock. It's also small enough to hang on a keychain or a belt loop. On a recent caching trip in London it hung on my belt loop under my coat so it wasn't even obvious it was there.

[Neath Worthies]

If the GPS chip is the problem why not get a Bluetooth GPSr device?

Exactly! That's what I use with my iTouch which doesn't have a built in GPS. Of course although the iPhone/iTouch has a native Bluetooth interface, in their infinite wisdom Apple have designed it only to connect to a bluetooth headphone. You cannot use it for anything else such as a GPS.

 

Fortunately you can Jailbreak your device and then install a third party Blutooth app which does the job very well.

 

Some (many?) people won't want to Jailbreak their device for fear they may do some damage but I've found it to be no hassle at all. I did screw up the process first time I tried it so all I did was to do a factory reset and restore an earlier backup from iTunes. After that it was childs play, even for me

[+Amberel]

If the GPS chip is the problem why not get a Bluetooth GPSr device?

You may not be surprised to hear that I already have one of those, a Pretec with SiRF III chipset. The above list showed only some of my numerous GPS receivers . The reason I have one is that my earlier phone/PDAs were not as good GPS receivers as the later ones, the XDA Orbit could not have static navigation turned off, and Orbit 2 and Stellar have the poor QualComm chips.

 

While it does work well enough, I found it to be a nuisance. I didn't like having 2 devices to keep charged, and to have to remember to switch the unit on first, and to switch on bluetooth on the phone before starting my GPS application.

 

To get best performance I mounted it horizontally on a bit of Velcro on top of my backpack. But that means you can't take off the backpack when searching in dense woods, etc. - or you can, but the display device shows where the backpack is resting, which isn't that useful .

 

It also suffered from the batteries lasting only about 10 hours, not a full caching day in the summer, and being not easily rechargeable in the field.

 

So while I used it for quite a long time, I was pleased when I got a PDA/phone good enough not to need it, and I wouldn't go back to using it.

 

And while the GPSr performance is the most obvious problem with the iPhone, it's not by any means the only problem. I find relying on the phone network for maps to be a lot less than ideal, partly because I'm frequently out of network coverage and partly because doing so when abroad costs, quite literally, hundreds of pounds.

 

The iPhone doesn't have (as far as I know) any geocaching apps that even begin to compare to the MemoryMap / CacheMate combination, with OS 25000 maps and a database of several thousand caches generated by GSAK. I have the Groundspeak iPhone app, but while it is very pretty it is considerably less functional than my WinMobile applications, i.e. maps only with network coverage, no facility to use GSAK generated data.

 

And when you're running the Groundspeak app you can't do anything else, e.g. check your email.

 

The battery life has already been mentioned - my Asus P750 runs MemoryMap / CacheMate plus occasional phone calls and regular email checks for 11 hours. The iPhone can't manage even 5.

 

And to cap it all, it doesn't do anything that the WinMobile phones don't do just as well.

 

There are a couple of small advantages. The sheer bulk of an iPhone, normally a bit of a liability, means the screen is physically larger. This would be nice for maps (if it could use decent maps). And the touch sensitive screen is good, though this is a very complicated subject, with many pros and cons compared to a WinMobile touch screen input.

 

So there is a lot more to it than just the GPS receiver.

 

My apologies for this turning into an anti-iPhone rant, it wasn't what I intended when I started the thread, at which point I didn't know anything about the iPhone and was trying to find out. It's only as I've used it that its gross weaknesses have become apparent.

 

Rgds, Andy

[+rutson]

But during my investigation I did come across something that indicated MemoryMap were working on an iPhone version

 

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/n...tter/1410154891

[+Amberel]

But during my investigation I did come across something that indicated MemoryMap were working on an iPhone version

 

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/n...tter/1410154891

When they say the same maps, it's not clear if they mean just the same range, or if anyone who has already bought a map for PPC will be able to load it into the iPhone app. I'd like it to be the latter, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

I have had a minor success due to having bought the iPhone. I was sent a new 3G SIM with the iPhone, and now that I've pretty much given up on it I've put the new SIM into my ancient Asus phone. To my surprise, the Asus now does 3G - I thought it was too old for that .

 

Furthermore, as my tarriff now has unlimited data, I downloaded the Google Mobile maps app, and the only mapping function that the Asus couldn't do that the iPhone could, i.e. online satellite maps, has been sorted. And, of course, other than that the screen is much smaller, it does it a lot better than the iPhone did because it's got a halfway decent GPSr .

 

Rgds, Andy

[+currykev]

My iPhone died on me today after 6 hours.

And I was only logging caches.

[+Amberel]

My iPhone died on me today after 6 hours.

And I was only logging caches.

Was that suposed to be a or a

 

Rgds, Andy

[+walkergeoff and wife]

Amberel's comments are justified.

The iPhone is the best bit of kit I've had in a long time.

Email, mobile internet, and some excellent applications.

I also think it's a good companion for cachers, as it can store caches easily with PQ's and you can log caches

quickly and (mostly) efficiently out in the field.

But I would NEVER use it alone to go caching.

Apart from the serious issues with the battery, I just couldn't trust it 100%

Why do you think the Oregon's are so popular?

When you say that is stores PQs, does that mean that there is a Cachemate type application for the iPhone.I am researching which is best - Blackberry or iPhone. I use an old Palm and Cachemate, but the screen is wearing out. My old GPS12 is faithful and accurate so I am not looking for a smartphone to take of GPS responsibilities. I simply want a PDA with Wi-Fi so I can take it on holiday, rather than my laptop, and log caches after every trip using the hotel Wi-Fi.

 

It is a fight between the Blackberry and the iPhone.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Many thanks.

 

Geoff

[+Morton]

I simply want a PDA with Wi-Fi so I can take it on holiday, rather than my laptop, and log caches after every trip using the hotel Wi-Fi.

For what you want to do, the iPhone together with Groundspeak's app will be ideal. I've never used a BlackBerry so I can't comment on that.

 

Overall, the Groundspeak app for the iPhone is disappointing - and because of the way they control their data, nobody else gets a chance to develop a better one. However, it's great for logging, and it's great for doing the occasional urban cache. Here's something I wrote a while ago...

 

==

 

The iPhone app is frustratingly limited, but still good enough to be worth buying.

 

Forget any thought of using it for multis, or anything else even remotely complicated like that. It doesn't understand additional waypoints and you can't change the coordinates it has stored for a cache (except by a baroque arrangement involving uploading a modified GPX file to gc.com).

 

Also, don't expect your iPhone's GPS to be as accurate as a dedicated device. Some people swear that it is, but that certainly hasn't been my experience. I've got a 3G.

 

What it *is* good for: If you unexpectedly have a few minutes waiting for a train or something, and just want to have a quick look to see whether there's an easy cache nearby. Before I had the app, it had never struck me to want to do this, but now that I can I've found it's good fun.

 

Also, it's brilliant for logging. Basically you can submit a draft log called a "field note" from your iPhone, which is private to you so you don't have to worry about any typos etc. Then they all show up in your account on the website, where you can easily tidy them up and submit them properly. I like to write "proper" logs but I always found it a bit of a chore if I'd been on a big trip - now that I can do them in bits and pieces during the day, it's enjoyable again.

 

The £5.99 price tag is a bit steep for an iPhone app, but not very much in the overall scheme of things. So I say go for it.

[+Graculus]

As a reviewer I'm seeing caches coming for review that were placed with an iPhone. In just about all cases the coordinates have been inaccurate. So I decided to do a few tests with mine and also some research on how the iPhone GPS actually works.

 

It uses both the GPS signal and triangulation from the mobile network to determine the position. If the GPS signal is weak or not available it triangulates its position from the radio signal. This is not an accurate method.

 

I took mine outside into the garden with a clear view of the sky. I also took my Oregon GPS too for reference. Immediately going to the compass screen I had a reading but no idea of the accuracy (it doesn't say). Opening the geocaching application the accuracy shows 156 feet. Leaving it a while this goes down to 56 feet (it never goes lower than this). I also use the MotionX application which turns the iPhone into a 'normal' GPS. This too shows the accuracy as 256 feet then 156 feet then 56 feet as well as the GPS signal strength - it also warns you when the GPS signal is weak or missing. Writing down the intial readings and comparing them with later when the 'accuracy' had improved showed them to be quite a long way out (100 feet or more).

 

Taking readings immediately the apps opened showed them to be very inaccurate. Leaving the phone for 5 to 10 minutes gave readings that were the same as the Oregon - therefore pretty accurate. The 56 feet accuracy is misleading - it is better than that. Switching to Google Maps showed me in my back garden! So I was impressed. It seems if you use the phone immediately you switch it on or if you get a poor GPS signal it is not very reliable.

 

You can use the geocaching application to place caches. Just navigate to any cache and on the compass screen it gives a readout of your current location.

 

Chris

Graculus

Volunteer UK Reviewer for geocaching.com

UK Geocaching Information & Resources website www.follow-the-arrow.co.uk

[euicho]

I LOVE my iPhone for caching. It's been a godsend. I still consider myself a noob (54 caches) but I've tried caching without it and I don't know how you fine folks do it. Whenever the urge grabs me, I open the Groundspeak app, search for caches near me, and away I go.

 

I certainly it's nowhere near as accurate as a dedicated GPSr, but I've never had any trouble finding caches. I'm very impulsive so I can't see myself printing out or inputting by hand all the descriptions, when it was last found (in case it's been muggled), hints if i need them, etc. I love that the app finally lets you store data for offline use, as that is the one *major* drawback (MotionX helped with this but it means a lot of manual inputting). The battery life also does suck, but I just plug in to my car charger when driving between caches and that seems to work well for me.

 

I too was concerned about hiding caches however. I currently use MotionX for getting coords. I wait to get a good signal and take multiple readings, and my averaged coordinates look good on google maps, but aren't dead on (off by ~10 feet at times). That makes me wonder, is that just the normal accuracy for GPS, or are the google maps slightly off? Or are they dead on, and my iPhone just isn't quite as accurate as other GPSrs? I'd love some feedback on this.

 

Maybe the iPhone isn't perfect by itself, but I'd say paired with a good GPSr, and using offline storage, most anyone could go paperless.

[+Arenalife]

I'm having LOADS of fun using a new Iphone, just looking for caches while out and about is amazing, if anything it's too easy as I used to enjoy looking up a cache, entering the numbers into my gps and heading out, now you're just three screen presses away from navigating to a cache from opening up the app. It feels a bit too sanitised and safe if anything. I had a weird experience the other day, was driving along and remembered there was a cache along this road somewhere, so I pulled over and whipped it out (phone) and its showing it 10ft away! Nipped out of car to pile of rocks and there it was! Major cachers instinct??!?

 

I've found accuracy fine so far, the last 2 caches it actually read 0ft whilst straddling the cache location, again, too easy! When I'm walking down the street the location on satellite maps is actually tracking which pavement I'm on, can't ask for more than that. The compass is brilliant, no more straight line walking to find out which way you're pointing (too easy again?). The battery lasts me 2 days with a bit of surfing and caching, dont know how to complain about that, it's not like you cant just plug it in in the car either.

 

Only having one app open at a time is annoying and surprising after being used to computers but it is a phone, not a hardcore computer. I think the functionality is a galactic leap over a normal phone and I love having it.

 

The memory map app is out now but it has terrible reviews, doesnt have a lot of features of the pocket pc version. You can use your existing v5 maps but it still costs 20 quid.

 

Ok an iphone might not be perfect, but theres no way I'd go and spend out on 'just' a gps now. I have my little pocket one for backup and that will be fine for me.

[+keehotee]

My old GPS12 is faithful and accurate so I am not looking for a smartphone to take of GPS responsibilities. I simply want a PDA with Wi-Fi so I can take it on holiday, rather than my laptop, and log caches after every trip using the hotel Wi-Fi.

 

It is a fight between the Blackberry and the iPhone.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Many thanks.

 

Geoff

 

If you "simply want a PDA with Wi-Fi so I can take it on holiday" why are you restricting yourself to the iPhone or Blackberry? There are dozens of other smart phones and pdas out there that outperform both of them for what you say you want.

[+Graculus]

I too was concerned about hiding caches however. I currently use MotionX for getting coords. I wait to get a good signal and take multiple readings, and my averaged coordinates look good on google maps, but aren't dead on (off by ~10 feet at times). That makes me wonder, is that just the normal accuracy for GPS, or are the google maps slightly off? Or are they dead on, and my iPhone just isn't quite as accurate as other GPSrs? I'd love some feedback on this.

A 'normal' handheld GPS will show an accuracy of between 30 to 15 feet normally. With the 'high resolution' signal enabled (WAAS/EGNOS) and time for it to read all the available satellites then it will show between 12 and 6 feet. This is not a true accuracy figure but it is good enough to illustrate that you are within 20 feet generally. The tests I did with my iPhone and GPS showed if you wait until you get a good satellite 'lock' then they are as good as each other. This is why MotionX is useful as it tells you what the GPS status is. The geoaching app does work fine but I notice when walking to a cache the 'countdown' distance doesn't update quickly like it does on a normal GPS. It seems to freeze for several seconds then jump by 30 to 40 feet. Most frustrating.

 

Don't forget the person who placed the cache may not have been that accurate. Coupled with any inaccuracy you have can mean you are quite a way out. When placing a cache it is important to take several readings, walking to the cache location from different directions and then average them out.

There is a free version of the OS map application out now. You get 400SqKm of free maps with it (not a lot but you can get your home location for free!) and you can buy more maps - not hugely expensive but annoying when you've already got MMap on the PC

 

Chris

Graculus

Volunteer UK Reviewer for geocaching.com

UK Geocaching Information & Resources website www.follow-the-arrow.co.uk

[+flookbird]

I've been using my iPhone for all my caching since I started in November and have found 216 caches with it so far! I have now bought an etrex Venture HC as I've been warned about poorer GPS signal in the summer and am worried about the wear and tear on my phone. However, I am certain I will still be using my iPhone an awful lot as I can't imagine going out without the hints/descriptions/recent logs and most importantly the satellite maps!

 

My battery tends to last about 4 hours constant use and then I have a powerjolt extra battery, which charges up in my car, at the same time I can have my phone on charge too! This gives it an extra 90 mins or so of life.

 

Was surprised to see that someone earlier in the thread had written that the iPhone app doesn't cope with additional waypoints - I have done a few multis and puzzles with it now; all you do is click a button on screen which allows you to store additional waypoints.

 

This was also useful when placing a number of caches in a small area, as I was able to add each location as a waypoint within the map for another cache and check that they were far enough away from each other.

[+The Blorenges]

I have now bought an etrex Venture HC as I've been warned about poorer GPS signal in the summer and am worried about the wear and tear on my phone.

In spring and summer there are more leaves on the trees than in winter and heavy tree cover will affect the GPS signal strength. It will affect all GPS devices but the 'H' model ones and the later ones like the Colorado/Oregon/Dakota have more sensitive receivers so the effect is less but they will be affected. Always worth checking when you are placing a cache what the satellite signal is like and the estimated accuracy figure. While this is not totally accurate it does give an indication of what the GPS is receiving.

The Garmin will indeed be much more robust outdoors. I'd happily run a damp rag over my Garmin to clean than my iPhone

Chris (MrB)

 

[+drsolly]

>>Furthermore, as my tarriff now has unlimited data,<<

 

Possibly you already knew this, but in mobile-phone-speak, "unlimited" means "limited" (I really don't understand how they get away with this nomenclature). With Vodafone, my "unlimited" data plan gives me a limit of 500 mb per month, which Vodafone assure me is more than I could ever use, although perhaps they didn't know that the Geocaching.com front page is 1mb (I can't imagine why it's that big) before you start looking for caches. And forget about video on iPlayer. 30 minutes is 300 mb. Other "unlimited" plans can be as large as 1000 mb/month. You probably want to find out the limit on your "unlimited" plan, and what happens if you go over it.

 

Of course, if you can use Wifi, that doesn't come out of your "unlimited" data usage.

 

And if you use wap.geocaching.com the amount of data is a *lot* less. But you lose a lot of the info on geocaching.com.

[+The Blorenges]

Hmm I've just gone through my contract and it is unlimted (O2). Can't see any restrictions. I use the phone for loads of things including watching Freeview TV and that must hammer the data!

 

Chris (MrB)

[+currykev]

Have to agree with MrB

I've never been charged more than my £30 monthly fee.

I've had whole nights with streaming internet radio in a non wifi area.

Maybe DrS should change his mobile provider?

[+drsolly]

Hmm I've just gone through my contract and it is unlimted (O2). Can't see any restrictions. I use the phone for loads of things including watching Freeview TV and that must hammer the data!

 

Chris (MrB)

 

From O2's web site:

 

... your SIM Card cannot be used:

 

...

 

- in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other O2 customers.

 

 

http://shop.o2.co.uk/glossary/F#Fair_usage_policy

 

This usually transalates to "You can't use more than X megabytes per month", and service providers are often very coy about what X is.

 

Vodafone is 500 mb, Tiscali is (I think) 1000mb.

 

Here's a page that has figures for several providers.

 

http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/what-d...sage-allowances

[+Amberel]

From O2's web site:

 

... your SIM Card cannot be used:

 

...

 

- in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other O2 customers.

 

http://shop.o2.co.uk/glossary/F#Fair_usage_policy

 

This usually transalates to "You can't use more than X megabytes per month", and service providers are often very coy about what X is.

That O2 link is for consumer tarriffs only, and is quite interesting:

 

All usage must be for your private, personal and non-commercial purposes In addition, your SIM Card cannot be used:

 

- in, or connected to, any other device including modems;

- to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (VoiP), P2P or file sharing

 

But my phone is on a business tarriff (though still much the same price). I've searched the O2 business user site and can't find anything at all about fair usage policy there. I can't help thinking that they would have a hard time imposing extra charges if they make it so hard to find out that they are applicable.

 

Rgds, Andy

[+The Blorenges]

When I was in Cairo in January I couldn't use the geoaching app because of the prohibitive cost of the data connection so I used MotionX which turns the iPhone into a stand alone GPS receiver. I entered cache waypoints manually. But it couldn't display maps because it to needs a data connection. You can however download Open Street maps to the phone and store them locally. I wish I'd known that before I went to Cairo!

I've just downloaded the whole UK Open Street maps which takes up about 4Mbytes on the phone. Means you can use the iPhone off line with a GPS and with maps.

Next is to see how to transfer waypoints directly from the geocaching website into it.

 

Chris (MrB)

[+drsolly]

From O2's web site:

 

... your SIM Card cannot be used:

 

...

 

- in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other O2 customers.

 

http://shop.o2.co.uk/glossary/F#Fair_usage_policy

 

This usually transalates to "You can't use more than X megabytes per month", and service providers are often very coy about what X is.

That O2 link is for consumer tarriffs only, and is quite interesting:

 

All usage must be for your private, personal and non-commercial purposes In addition, your SIM Card cannot be used:

 

- in, or connected to, any other device including modems;

- to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (VoiP), P2P or file sharing

 

But my phone is on a business tarriff (though still much the same price). I've searched the O2 business user site and can't find anything at all about fair usage policy there. I can't help thinking that they would have a hard time imposing extra charges if they make it so hard to find out that they are applicable.

 

Rgds, Andy

 

Does this apply to you?

 

http://businessshop.o2.co.uk/tariffs.aspx?...d=15&mode=1

 

The data limit is 0.5mb, according to that table. Surely that's a mistake? Surely they mean 0.5 gb? But 0.5MB is what it actually says on their web site. And again, under their TandC page, it also says 0.5 mb

 

http://businessshop.o2.co.uk/tandc.aspx

 

And under "Charges outside your allowance" it says Data £1.8/MB

 

Also, at the bottom, it says "Full terms and excessive usage policy apply." That policy includes

 

An excessive usage policy operates and no customer may use their SIM card:

 

* in, or connected to, any other device; or

* in a way that adversely impacts the service to other O2 customers.

 

And then there's "Web bolt on ters" and O2 Web Max Terms.

 

... don't ask me what that all boils down to. I think these phone providers are *deliberately* vague about what you get for your money when you buy "unlimited" data transfer.

 

I found those pages quite easily, so I don't think your defence "I couldn't find it" would work.

[+piggletfamily]

we have started using the iphone alonside our garmin and it is great ish !!! we were caching yesterday in the new forest and as we traveled to "under the greenwood trees", the iphone told us it went offline, arrggghh quick change of plan and we found crabhat instead, this was our 200th cache so we wanted to do it then. when we were logging them this morning we have found that Greenwood trees is not offline so not sure why the geocaching app told us it was

answers on a postcard please lol

piggletfamily

[+Cushie Butterfield]

Mine did that to me too, at Brown Bridge in Warwick

[+Amberel]

Does this apply to you?

The bit that applies to iPhone users is the iPhone bolt on. This has an excessive use policy, but this only covers what you use it for and does not specify any volume of data:

 

1) ... internet use, email and Visual Voicemail (VVM) on the iPhone device only

 

2) You may not use your SIM Card in any other device, or use your SIM Card or iPhone to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (Voip), P2P or file sharing or use them in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other customers of O2 or O2's suppliers

 

There is a separate tarriff for when you use the iPhone as a modem for anotebook or PC, this is called tethering, and that does have an AVERAGE limit of 0.5GB/month with a cost of 15p/MB thereafter.

 

I still think it is hard to find. Clicking on "business" and then "business tarriffs" makes no mention of excessive use anywhere. That, and what you say about it being deliberately vague, suggests to me it would be very arguable in court, but of course it's the lawyers who would get most out of that.

 

Rgds, Andy

[+Amberel]

we have started using the iphone alonside our garmin and it is great ish !!! we were caching yesterday in the new forest and as we traveled to "under the greenwood trees", the iphone told us it went offline, arrggghh quick change of plan and we found crabhat instead, this was our 200th cache so we wanted to do it then. when we were logging them this morning we have found that Greenwood trees is not offline so not sure why the geocaching app told us it was

answers on a postcard please lol

piggletfamily

Did it actually use the word "offline" and not "disabled"? In other words, was it saying that the CACHE was disabled or the PHONE was offline?

 

Rgds, Andy

[+The Blorenges]

we have started using the iphone alonside our garmin and it is great ish !!! we were caching yesterday in the new forest and as we traveled to "under the greenwood trees", the iphone told us it went offline, arrggghh quick change of plan and we found crabhat instead, this was our 200th cache so we wanted to do it then. when we were logging them this morning we have found that Greenwood trees is not offline so not sure why the geocaching app told us it was

answers on a postcard please lol

piggletfamily

 

Were you using the Geocaching iPhone app? Normally if there is no network it just won't connect (and tell you so). I've not seen mine come up with 'offline' before. Curious to know exactly what you mean.

If you have a GPS app (like MotionX) it isn't dependant on the network, just the GPS. However you have to enter coordinates/waypoints in yourself (as you would with the Garmin).

 

Chris (MrB)

[+rob.marsh]

I use the iPhone 3G alongside my etrex legend, as a second opinion and to log finds.

 

Recently an odd thing has occured to me as it seems to have done with pigglet family.

 

As I have approached GZ, the cache status on the Groundspeak app changes to inactive/disabled (wording escapes me), shown on the status bar on the cache page. I checked online at home and hey presto, its active. Thankfully I ignored the app and found them any how. It only happens as I approach GZ. Its odd.

 

Ill upload a screenshot if it happens again.

[+The Blorenges]

Inactive caches - this is the post in the main forum for the iPhone application. Seems the problem is known and Josh Lytle the app developer has responded. It should be fixed in the next release of the app.

Chris (MrB)

[+rob.marsh]

Cheers!

 

The first time it happened it did panic me a bit. I semed every cache I got near I was causing to go inactive! LOL!

[+flookbird]

It does this to me every now and again - it says a cache is inactive - but you can still find it. It often occurs at the same time as it tells me my username is 'awaiting verification' and then says my account has not been verified. Again, it still lets me find the cache, I just have to wait a little while to be able to submit my log.

 

The first time it happened to me coincided with a day when o2's network coverage went down - not sure if the 2 things were related. I save caches I am looking for to my favourites on the app, so that even if I have no network coverage, I can still navigate to the cache/read the hint/description etc.

[+piggletfamily]

yep i ment inactive, it only happened to one of the caches so really odd, thanks everyone for replying.

christine