+dsandor Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 First, the Geocaching.com app for the iPhone is amazing. Unfortunately the iPhone bites. Is an app for the Android officially going to be developed for the Android OS? I dumped my iPhone for the Google Nexus and I only keep my iPhone charged up now for the Geocaching.com app Thanks! Quote Link to comment
+Team Bacmac Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 A friend recently bought Trimble Outdoors for her Android. I'm doing some research so I can help her figure it out (she's new to geocaching). It was only $20. Melissa Quote Link to comment
robertlipe Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Trimble Outdoors looks like it's a different program than their Geocache Navigator one that would be somewhat like the Geocaching.com app for iPhone for a cacher. Groundspeak has said they have an Android app in development. THere are a number of other programs available today with a range in features and price. The thread http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=215136 is pretty old in Android-years; the info from last Feb isn't necessarily still accurate, but it gives a pretty good list of options. The search of this forum brings up many apps. Quote Link to comment
+FatPants Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 I just picked up a Droid eris, I'd love to see an official geocaching app for it. Quote Link to comment
NordicMan Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 I hear a lot of Android users like the GeoBeagle geocaching app,, give that one a try Quote Link to comment
+Big Pickle Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) Best App I have seen is [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
Crude Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 I think the speed at which android is gaining popularity is catching entities like geocaching.com off guard. Now it gets interesting. Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 (edited) Best App I have seen is [removed by moderator] I'm going to agree. It still has a bug now and then but it's working and being upgraded regularly. And its FREE! Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
John E Cache Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 (edited) Best App I have seen is [removed by moderator] I just gave it a try. The good news is that it does live gc.com queries and no PQs required. The bad news is that needs and uses a lot of connect time. Plus, I really don't like giving my gc.com password to a third party app, but I guess I have nothing secret on gc.com. Who needs an official app? Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+Egnix Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Who needs an official app? I just got a Droid and I'd like an official app. Quote Link to comment
John E Cache Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Who needs an official app? I just got a Droid and I'd like an official app. "Need" and "want" are different. On the iPhone you "need" to pay for the official app to get live caching. The Apple business model is different that the open Android model. It will be interesting to see what you get when you pay for the official app(assuming it will not be open and free). Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 (edited) Best App I have seen is [removed by moderator] I just gave it a try. The good news is that it does live gc.com queries and no PQs required. The bad news is that needs and uses a lot of connect time. Plus, I really don't like giving my gc.com password to a third party app, but I guess I have nothing secret on gc.com. Who needs an official app? I don't know that the third party app does anything with the password other than using it to access your membership status for premium member caches. I doubt the password is stored anywhere other than your phone (but I could be wrong) and it's not much different than entering your password in a browser to access the site. Overal, i think it's awesome, especially how you can get to the satellite view. That's VERY handy. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
craig.shuck Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 I'm a newbie too. I have a different challenge, I have an Archos IT5 internet tablet which runs android. Its a hard to find any geocache apps that work. I think its the large screen 800x480. Its just been updagted to Android 1.6. The GPS navigation software by N-Drive (French company?) has an adventure mode, and lets you enter coordinates, but its not as nice as a dedicated caching software. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment
+BikeNfind Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 (edited) Best App I have seen is [removed by moderator] Thanks for the tip. Just D/L'd the app and for my Droid to try it this weekend. From my desk seat, the program accurately placed the caches nearby after the GPS was activated and locked into my home location. I like the selection for type of caches. Only 2 bars of service, so it can't be evaluated yet. I did like the satellite photo option. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
RedDogPatch Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 (edited) Best App I have seen is [removed by moderator] Just picked up my new Motorola Android cellphone with the latest firmware. Downloaded last night after reading several worthwhile reviews. Surprised~! The darn thing works perfectly~! Went out for my daily walk this afternoon with the Android in hand..Found geocaching within 30 minutes of each other. The compass pointing was extremely accurate, and quite responsive to the heading of my walking. I haven't researched this to know if it's a issues or not, but it would be nice if you could store all of the coordinates for the planned activates in a "log entry" of sorts to be recalled. This would allow you to go to a new set of coordinates for the next geocaching without having to enter them while in the field.. I give it a 5+ star~! Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
TnAnConyers Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) I've been using Geobeagle on my myTouch3G. [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] Geobeagle runs pretty flawlessly on Cyanogen's mod and up until yesterday was running pretty good on OpenEclair (ASOP 2.1) but after the latest update, it force closes when trying to view the map. Anybody else using Geobeagle able to get the "Did Not Find" sms log to work. Logging a find via SMS works exactly as it should but when I try to log a DNF I get an error message back stating I need to use an @ in front of the Geocache code instead of an X. I could have swore that it work when I first started using it. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+SpiritGuide Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) I've been using Geobeagle on my myTouch3G. [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] Geobeagle runs pretty flawlessly on Cyanogen's mod and up until yesterday was running pretty good on OpenEclair (ASOP 2.1) but after the latest update, it force closes when trying to view the map. Anybody else using Geobeagle able to get the "Did Not Find" sms log to work. Logging a find via SMS works exactly as it should but when I try to log a DNF I get an error message back stating I need to use an @ in front of the Geocache code instead of an X. I could have swore that it work when I first started using it. I don't think this is a Geobeagle problem. You can also send the SMS message directly outside of Geobeagle and it fails. There must be an issue with how Groundspeak has set up DNF logs using the TextMarks service it is based on. The new Geooh app in the market can also log finds using SMS, but it too can't log a DNF. I recall a forum post from someone else complaining about DNF's not working. It is not the apps, but the underlying service that may be broken. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
TnAnConyers Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) I've been using Geobeagle on my myTouch3G. [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] Geobeagle runs pretty flawlessly on Cyanogen's mod and up until yesterday was running pretty good on OpenEclair (ASOP 2.1) but after the latest update, it force closes when trying to view the map. Anybody else using Geobeagle able to get the "Did Not Find" sms log to work. Logging a find via SMS works exactly as it should but when I try to log a DNF I get an error message back stating I need to use an @ in front of the Geocache code instead of an X. I could have swore that it work when I first started using it. I don't think this is a Geobeagle problem. You can also send the SMS message directly outside of Geobeagle and it fails. There must be an issue with how Groundspeak has set up DNF logs using the TextMarks service it is based on. The new Geooh app in the market can also log finds using SMS, but it too can't log a DNF. I recall a forum post from someone else complaining about DNF's not working. It is not the apps, but the underlying service that may be broken. That's what I assumed as well. It's the "x" portion that's getting kicked back. There has to be a list of accepted modifiers for the SMS somewhere. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
V8CJ Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) I have been using [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] for about two weeks now and today was the first time I got to test it. live gc.com, its free, and when you enable the "follow me" it put me right on top of the cache every time. And did I mention it is free? There was nothing that had to be loaded. the most simple app that could come out for the Droid with Geocaching capabilities. I have tried trimble, geobeagle, and gcdroid and they all required too much user input per cache. [Deleted] requires an account with gc.com and that is it. The only drawback that I see the Devs need to do is to allow logging from the app. It does use alot of battery power with the GPS on most of the time when using the app, but it is worth the FREE download. Bob Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 First, the Geocaching.com app for the iPhone is amazing. Unfortunately the iPhone bites. Is an app for the Android officially going to be developed for the Android OS? I dumped my iPhone for the Google Nexus and I only keep my iPhone charged up now for the Geocaching.com app Thanks! Just look up geocaching in the andorid market. Download all the free ones and try them all. Keep the one you like. If you know what you like (from using the Apple App) you can zero in quickly on the right one including the paid ones. I'm kicking the tires on 4 Andorid caching applications and haven't yet done enough caching with them to know what I think (or don't think). Quote Link to comment
+bswanderer Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 just got a droid and have spent the day checking out a couple of aps. Geobeagle, unless there is an easier way, was far to anoying trying to zoom in on caches through the geocaching.com web page. But once selected, did a very good job of getting me there. Cachemate worked very well, at first used it with just google maps, got me ontop of it accurately. Than used the compass and the rest. The only real problem is having to go back and forth, if I use the map to see what is around me. than having to go back to the main screen, locate the cache I see (easy enough to sort by distance) and navigate to it. This program would be perfect if you could go from the google map page, select the cache, and go directly to the navigation. Also would be nice to go from the navigation compass directly back to the visible map through the menu function. If I'm doing this wrong in cachemate, and there is an easier way than I've described, please let me know. Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) just got a droid and have spent the day checking out a couple of aps. Geobeagle, unless there is an easier way, was far to anoying trying to zoom in on caches through the geocaching.com web page. But once selected, did a very good job of getting me there. Cachemate worked very well, at first used it with just google maps, got me ontop of it accurately. Than used the compass and the rest. The only real problem is having to go back and forth, if I use the map to see what is around me. than having to go back to the main screen, locate the cache I see (easy enough to sort by distance) and navigate to it. This program would be perfect if you could go from the google map page, select the cache, and go directly to the navigation. Also would be nice to go from the navigation compass directly back to the visible map through the menu function. If I'm doing this wrong in cachemate, and there is an easier way than I've described, please let me know. Try [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] You will LOVE it. Its seamless to view satellite view which is very helpful. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+bswanderer Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) Try [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] You will LOVE it. Its seamless to view satellite view which is very helpful. installed. at first glance it does look perfect: ability to quickly go from map view of area caches to tracking a single one with one selection (i'm lazy, what can I say). I will give it a full try. thanks. and wow...no more need for pocket quarries. Do you know if its usage is limited if not a paid member of geocaching? (I currently am, but just wondered.) also..it is showing caches that i have found and giving me the option to log them. does [removed] not able to look at that info in geocaching.com or not scripted to recognize found caches? Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) Try [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] You will LOVE it. Its seamless to view satellite view which is very helpful. installed. at first glance it does look perfect: ability to quickly go from map view of area caches to tracking a single one with one selection (i'm lazy, what can I say). I will give it a full try. thanks. and wow...no more need for pocket quarries. Do you know if its usage is limited if not a paid member of geocaching? (I currently am, but just wondered.) also..it is showing caches that i have found and giving me the option to log them. does [removed] not able to look at that info in geocaching.com or not scripted to recognize found caches? I look at [removed] like I do a DVD player. I don't know HOW it works, I'm just really happy it does. (I do think you need to be a premium member of GC.com to see the premium member caches, just like when you search online) Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+GeePa Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) I may be wrong, but from reading the comments on [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] it appears that it may violate the TOU for geocaching.com. Does anyone know? Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) I may be wrong, but from reading the comments on [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] it appears that it may violate the TOU for geocaching.com. Does anyone know? The violation is theoretical by some at this point. The PTB have not spoken on the issue as far as I know. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
John E Cache Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) Best App I have seen is [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] The compass pointing was extremely accurate, and quite responsive to the heading of my walking. Just curious. What has "heading of walking" got to do with Android? I always assumed that the Android GPS API was location based only. It is used mainly for location based searches and location based social networks. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+GeePa Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 The violation is theoretical by some at this point. The PTB have not spoken on the issue as far as I know. Ok. Sounds like a really really cool app. I hope they don't ban it. I have been thinking of getting an Android phone and this might just finally get me to make the switch. Quote Link to comment
+xtcdukes Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) I may be wrong, but from reading the comments on [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] it appears that it may violate the TOU for geocaching.com. Does anyone know? Where exactly did you read this? I shall be very annoyed if after trudging through Geobeagle, Cachemate AND Trimble (which all suck because of the forced web integration due to android browsers having trouble with direct to phone downloads of geocache files) if [removed] gets nerfed. I just downloaded this today and finally caching isn't a massive three to four step production. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) I may be wrong, but from reading the comments on [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] it appears that it may violate the TOU for geocaching.com. Does anyone know? Where exactly did you read this? I shall be very annoyed if after trudging through Geobeagle, Cachemate AND Trimble (which all suck because of the forced web integration due to android browsers having trouble with direct to phone downloads of geocache files) if [removed] gets nerfed. I just downloaded this today and finally caching isn't a massive three to four step production. This looks like a cool app with lots of potential. It may even be enough to get me to switch from Windows Mobile to Android on my next phone. As for the TOU, unless the developer has some deal with GS, it is definatly a violation according to the GS interpretation (screen scraping). I still think that as long as it is not Automated, it is not in violation, but GS does not seem to aggree with me, and they are the boss. I echo your sentement on the Windows Mobile platform. The only app that realy works properly is Tom Hiro's app (cant say name or will get erased), but it is taboo. The good thing about Tom's app is that you can import GPX files and use those quite easyly to avoid the TOU violation Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+GeePa Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) I may be wrong, but from reading the comments on [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] it appears that it may violate the TOU for geocaching.com. Does anyone know? Where exactly did you read this? Like I said, I may be worng (actually I hope I am). I read the features listed on the [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] and I read the other posts here on this thread. The one that got me looking was that they added the ability to log a cache from the phone. Unless they have been given permission by Groundspeak then there is no way I know of to log directly from the phone without automating the access to the geocaching website and thus violating number 5 on the TOU below: 5. Access and Interference Much of the information on the Site is updated on a real time basis and is proprietary or is licensed to Groundspeak by our users or third parties. You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission. Additionally, you agree that you will not: (a) take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; or (b ) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site or any activities conducted on the Site or other measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Site. (text bolded by me for emphasis) I have heard that Groundspeak is going to release an Android app similar to the iPhone one soon so I am wondering if they would actually give this permission. Currently I know of only two applications that are allowed (e.g. have the express written permission) to automate access the site and these are their own iPhone app and the Trimble app. Using any other app that does that and you risk being booted from the site. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+lib3rty Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) I may be wrong, but from reading the comments on [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] it appears that it may violate the TOU for geocaching.com. Does anyone know? Where exactly did you read this? Like I said, I may be worng (actually I hope I am). I read the features listed on the [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] and I read the other posts here on this thread. The one that got me looking was that they added the ability to log a cache from the phone. Unless they have been given permission by Groundspeak then there is no way I know of to log directly from the phone without automating the access to the geocaching website and thus violating number 5 on the TOU below: 5. Access and Interference Much of the information on the Site is updated on a real time basis and is proprietary or is licensed to Groundspeak by our users or third parties. You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission. Additionally, you agree that you will not: (a) take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; or (b ) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site or any activities conducted on the Site or other measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Site. (text bolded by me for emphasis) I have heard that Groundspeak is going to release an Android app similar to the iPhone one soon so I am wondering if they would actually give this permission. Currently I know of only two applications that are allowed (e.g. have the express written permission) to automate access the site and these are their own iPhone app and the Trimble app. Using any other app that does that and you risk being booted from the site. I'm not a lawyer, but I'll add my two bits anyway: "robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Site" establishes a certain class of applications - when I think of apps in this class, I think of search robots, etc., that crawl websites for content, images, etc., and typically create a database or index and extract data from the site - where the interaction with a site is completely automated and the intent is to harvest or extract information from websites. See Wikipedia Web scraping article. In other words, apps that run basically without any human (i.e., manual) interaction with the express intention of creating a local database/index of website content. IMHO, [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] is not within this class, but rather falls within the same class as any browser. As long as [removed] does nothing more than a user with a browser would do - i.e., it only issues/receives one (or many, but related to the same url, e.g., images, css, js) HTTP request/response(s) per user action, and presents some representation of the response(s), then I don't see how this could be considered "automated means" - it's a manual means of accessing site content - just like every user accessing the site with a browser. And clearly using a browser is not a violation of the TOU. To me, [removed] is simply a customized browser - one that understands the particular semantics of this site and presents a simplified view of its content. Additionally (IMHO), gc.com would be shooting themselves in the foot if they decided such apps violated the TOU. These apps are exactly the vehicles that will drive more and more users to sign up for premium subscriptions and make gc.com more and more money. If I were the PTB of gc.com I would welcome such apps with open arms, and in fact encourage further development. A public web service API would be a great way to do this. (But please don't start another API discussion - I read through many many pages of arguments on another thread about why this might be a bad idea, and found nothing convincing. - IMHO, gc.com is missing a great opportunity here.) Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+SpiritGuide Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) According to the quoted Wikipedia article it says "Web scraping is also related to Web automation, which simulates human Web browsing using computer software. Exemplary uses of Web scraping include online price comparison, weather data monitoring, website change detection, Web research, Web content mashup and Web data integration." The difference between using a browser and [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] scraping is that gc.com is no longer in control of the intended display format of the content their servers send out. The scraping removes all their advertisements (lost revenue), partner links, disclaimers (TOU's), and anything else they expect to be displayed in the "browser". If gc.com wanted others to access data without using their planned representation (i.e. their web pages), then they'd open up their API which is being used by their iPhone app and Trimble's app. I am not defending Groundspeak and their restrictive policies. I think they are shortsighted not to open up public APIs and access to data outside of their web site. But it's also silly to ignore the obvious that [removed] is scraping data from gc.com web pages. An open and approved web API from Groundspeak would make it easier for [removed] to do what it does and allow other apps to do the same without fear of violating the TOU. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) I aggree with this, but in the end it is GroundSpeaks playground, and they have the sole right of interpretation. They have made it clear that apps like Tom Hiro's (that opperate, as far as I can tell, the same as [removed]) are in violation. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+lib3rty Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) [copied post snipped by moderator] According to the quoted Wikipedia article it says "Web scraping is also related to Web automation, which simulates human Web browsing using computer software. Exemplary uses of Web scraping include online price comparison, weather data monitoring, website change detection, Web research, Web content mashup and Web data integration." The difference between using a browser and [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] scraping is that gc.com is no longer in control of the intended display format of the content their servers send out. The scraping removes all their advertisements (lost revenue), partner links, disclaimers (TOU's), and anything else they expect to be displayed in the "browser". If gc.com wanted others to access data without using their planned representation (i.e. their web pages), then they'd open up their API which is being used by their iPhone app and Trimble's app. I am not defending Groundspeak and their restrictive policies. I think they are shortsighted not to open up public APIs and access to data outside of their web site. But it's also silly to ignore the obvious that [removed] is scraping data from gc.com web pages. An open and approved web API from Groundspeak would make it easier for [removed] to do what it does and allow other apps to do the same without fear of violating the TOU. Whatever the reasons gc.com has for not providing a public API, it certainly cannot be what you argue. They already provide their data without ads, partner links and disclaimers in the form of GPX files. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+SpiritGuide Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) Whatever the reasons gc.com has for not providing a public API, it certainly cannot be what you argue. They already provide their data without ads, partner links and disclaimers in the form of GPX files. YES, exactly!... GPX files are the approved form of data access from gc.com and that is how apps that don't violate the TOU load in data. That is the raw data downloaded by using authorized Groundspeak web pages (with their ads, links, and disclaimers) in the process. No one is simulating a browser and scraping to get the data without displaying the web page it came from first. The unfortunate part of this technique is that it is not real-time which is why people prefer [reference to unauthorized application removed by moderator] and the iPhone apps because there is no intermediate manual step of dealing with gpx files. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+lib3rty Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) Could you point me to where gc.com has said Tom Hiro's app violates TOU? I'm interested to hear what they've said about this. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) Could you point me to where gc.com has said Tom Hiro's app violates TOU? I'm interested to hear what they've said about this. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=240017 There are not too many references because GS deletes them. The thread listed above has lots of fun discussion, and some blanket statments from GS. Edited February 23, 2010 by Keystone Quote Link to comment
+GeePa Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=240017 There are not too many references because GS deletes them. The thread listed above has lots of fun discussion, and some blanket statments from GS. And that thread has a nice link to this one: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...164191&st=0 There are not many of us around here that like any of this, but that does not mean we can do much about it if we want to continue to get the benefits of using the site. Just stating what we have come to know through Groundspeak's own words Quote Link to comment
mathteamguru Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Hi guys, I'm a grad student studying computer science and for one of my classes we are supposed to build a mobile app. I have at least a year of programming experience on the Android, so I thought of making a nice Geocaching app (which I could release for free). Right now we are in the design process, so I thought this might be a good place to ask: What type of features would you like to see in an app? Obviously it has to have the basic feature of showing different caches on the map and allowing you to use the phone's GPS to guide you to the cache... but what else would you want? Some ideas I had were: Showing the path (by recording the GPS points) you took on your trip Allowing users to add photos and comments to each cache What else should we include? -Sam Quote Link to comment
+JohnE5 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 (edited) -Offline use. Saving a cache to your phone when out of 3G coverage. -When searching for a multi, allow a field to input the next stage and direct you to it. By the end you should be able to see all the stages as waypoints. -Logging straight to the site. With autotext filled in. When I log I always want the time and then a note about the cache then the number that find was to me. I.E. "2/18/2010 1300 (Found with my Droid) Great cache, never seen cammo like that before. 498" -Sort by features. Like, Terrian/Difficulty stars. -Travel bug tracking. And my most hopeful of all... -Augmented reality! When you click on "Google Maps" from a cache listing and its close enough to a street you can see roughly where the cache is located in street view. Its really helpful. Edited February 18, 2010 by JohnE5 Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 (edited) -Offline use. Saving a cache to your phone when out of 3G coverage. -When searching for a multi, allow a field to input the next stage and direct you to it. By the end you should be able to see all the stages as waypoints. -Logging straight to the site. With autotext filled in. When I log I always want the time and then a note about the cache then the number that find was to me. I.E. "2/18/2010 1300 (Found with my Droid) Great cache, never seen cammo like that before. 498" -Sort by features. Like, Terrian/Difficulty stars. -Travel bug tracking. And my most hopeful of all... -Augmented reality! When you click on "Google Maps" from a cache listing and its close enough to a street you can see roughly where the cache is located in street view. Its really helpful. HaHa... All of those features are currently available in Tom Hiro's Windows Mobile app (the sorting functionalitiy is not quite what you want though). When he developes the offline mode, it will even blow those feature requests away (currently, for offline use, you have to build cache lists or import GPX files to access the caches). Additionaly, for offline caching, you can load in "Static Maps" from google (street/satalitte/or terrain) for use when not connected to your carriar. Edited February 18, 2010 by Andronicus Quote Link to comment
+JohnE5 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Is win mo the same as android? Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Is win mo the same as android? No - win mo is Windows Mobile - A Microsoft creation Android is the phone only OS that Google developed Quote Link to comment
mathteamguru Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 That's a really good list of features. If any one else has other features they think would be cool, please list them. Offline caching features is definitely do-able with the static maps. We're working on making that an automated feature, where you pick a start/destination point, and the phone grabs all the Google map tiles you need. Augmented reality is an interesting feature I hadn't thought about - but also very doable. Thanks for the awesome feedback. -Sam Quote Link to comment
+JohnE5 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 HaHa... All of those features are currently available in Tom Hiro's Windows Mobile app (the sorting functionalitiy is not quite what you want though). When he developes the offline mode, it will even blow those feature requests away (currently, for offline use, you have to build cache lists or import GPX files to access the caches). Additionaly, for offline caching, you can load in "Static Maps" from google (street/satalitte/or terrain) for use when not connected to your carriar. Good for you. Notice the subject of this thread? Quote Link to comment
+RobAGD Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I have an HTC Hero and started playing a bit with GeoBeagle, and have downloaded a few more of the free apps and I plan on trying a few of them out over the next week or so. While I have been away for a while my poor GPS V has died a quite death in my center console. I was shocked at how well the Hero and the App did on getting me to the cache. Both that I found today I had accuracy in the 20ft-28ft range. I look forward to an official CG.Com app. -Robert Quote Link to comment
+JohnE5 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 (edited) When can we expect a forum for android users? I'm bouncing between forums now trying to keep up on the latest. Edited April 6, 2010 by JohnE5 Quote Link to comment
Team ATTKR Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) Best App I have seen is [removed by moderator] I'm going to agree. It still has a bug now and then but it's working and being upgraded regularly. And its FREE! It appears that the Windows Mobile version is now authorized, but the Android version isn't? What really gets annoying here is that I don't know if the app we're not supposed to use is GCzII or Geooh or something else entirely, so I'm not sure which one I'm not supposed to use. How am I to avoid downloading the specific app if I don't know which one it is? If I am correct, GCzII is the one by Tom Hiro and is the unauthorized app. Am I correct? Maybe it's one of these, though: GeoBeagle Orienteer Columbus Hintdecoder for Geocaching Geocaching Tools BackCountry Navigator Demo WhereYouGo GeoHunter AlpineQuest GPS Hiking lite SmartMaps Free GeoPointer GPS - Grid Reference GeOrg BCaching Connector Bluetooth GPS Provider Caesar's Cipher / ROT cipher Edited February 13, 2012 by Team ATTKR Quote Link to comment
Team ATTKR Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I guess I'll find out if it gets [removed]... Quote Link to comment
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