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Magellan's new Iphone case with Integrated GPS reciever


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hey i'm pretty new to geocaching and i know that i've had some trouble on figuring out what GPS is right for me. I have an iphone and use that as my primary device. I was looking for something that i could use with my Iphone. I could look up all the caches on my phone, view the hints, etc; and use an accurate GPS to make my way to the cache. I recently came across this article on gizmodo, showing Magellan's new GPS integrated Iphone case. It looks pretty interesting considering that you'll be able to use 3g to look up caches rather than pre-loading them but still use an accurate GPS receiver to get to the cache. It's a little pricey at $200 but it could be promising.

 

500x_toughcase.jpg

 

 

-Nick

Edited by skinbonez11
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That is an interesting idea. I don't know if it would save you preloading either caches or maps, since a lot of the areas where you might actually need a stronger gpsr, an indestructible case, and extra battery will be in places where the network signal might be very weak or unavailable. At that price, its not enough to bring me back to Magellan, since my handheld garmin serves me well, but if people get one I hope they would share their experiences.

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hey i'm pretty new to geocaching and i know that i've had some trouble on figuring out what GPS is right for me. I have an iphone and use that as my primary device. I was looking for something that i could use with my Iphone. I could look up all the caches on my phone, view the hints, etc; and use an accurate GPS to make my way to the cache. I recently came across this article on gizmodo, showing Magellan's new GPS integrated Iphone case. It looks pretty interesting considering that you'll be able to use 3g to look up caches rather than pre-loading them but still use an accurate GPS receiver to get to the cache. It's a little pricey at $200 but it could be promising.

 

-Nick

I've never seen the point of spending $200+ dollars on a GPS case for my iPhone when I can get a good handheld GPS for the same price and still use my iPhone for paperless caching. I don't think these accessories will ever find a market until the price drops. And I don't think the price will drop since the GPS hardware isn't cheap.

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I've never seen the point of spending $200+ dollars on a GPS case for my iPhone when I can get a good handheld GPS for the same price and still use my iPhone for paperless caching. I don't think these accessories will ever find a market until the price drops. And I don't think the price will drop since the GPS hardware isn't cheap.

you might be wrong there. the iphone itself and now the ipad is best proof of that.

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I've never seen the point of spending $200+ dollars on a GPS case for my iPhone when I can get a good handheld GPS for the same price and still use my iPhone for paperless caching. I don't think these accessories will ever find a market until the price drops. And I don't think the price will drop since the GPS hardware isn't cheap.

you might be wrong there. the iphone itself and now the ipad is best proof of that.

On the pricing? An iPhone w/o a contract costs over $500. An iPad w/ GPS starts at $629.

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I've never seen the point of spending $200+ dollars on a GPS case for my iPhone when I can get a good handheld GPS for the same price and still use my iPhone for paperless caching. I don't think these accessories will ever find a market until the price drops. And I don't think the price will drop since the GPS hardware isn't cheap.

 

I think there's definitely a market, granted a small market, but a market nonetheless. I'm currently shopping for a new GPS and the two front runners right now are the garmin oregon 450/550 and the gpsmap62. But now that this item is coming out I'm seriously considering it. I'm assuming that there will have to be some sort of gps software to interface with the gps hardware, very similar to magellans road mate setup for the iphone. So now I can have all the features I want in one consolidated unit, camera, video, wi-fi, cellular network, voice recorder, mp3 player, etc. Whereas if I go with a hand held unit, I'm now carrying around my phone anyways, plus a handheld unit. I currently carry around my iphone 3g in an otterbox case which is pretty good size, plus a legend hcx, so if I could trade off to a unit this size that has everything I'd be stoked.

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I don't understand,, an iPhone/iPad already has a GPS receiver.. why add another one?

 

Also, does that case make the iPhone any more weatherproof?

 

The iphone has a gps, and while it gets the job done, its not on par with a good handheld. And yes this case makes the iphone not only weatherproof but waterproof, where the iphone by itself is pretty susceptible to weather.

 

What I'm HOPING this item does, it turn the iphone into a unit with the same gps reception and durability as a hand held unit.

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Telecacher, I'm guessing it simply seals the existing holes in the case -- and you'll have to crank the volume pretty high and speak loudly to hear and be heard through the case.

 

Of course, you could always use a bluetooth headset. I've been saying this for a few years: That's the way to go if you really want a sealed, waterproof/dustproof cellphone (or outdoor-rugged GPS that can do voice/turn-by-turn directions).

Edited by lee_rimar
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I don't understand,, an iPhone/iPad already has a GPS receiver.. why add another one?

 

Also, does that case make the iPhone any more weatherproof?

 

The iphone has a gps, and while it gets the job done, its not on par with a good handheld. And yes this case makes the iphone not only weatherproof but waterproof, where the iphone by itself is pretty susceptible to weather.

 

What I'm HOPING this item does, it turn the iphone into a unit with the same gps reception and durability as a hand held unit.

Ok thanks. Perhaps someone who gets one can report on how much the GPS accuracy is improved with the case.

 

..sort of on topic, I wonder does the new iPhone 4 improve on it's built in GPS precision compared to the current 3GS? If it does then all it will need is a waterproof case which should be much cheaper than that thing.

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This is EXACTLY what I've been asking/wishing/hoping for on the geocaching with iPhone forums. A case for the iPhone that has additional battery capacity, plus a dedicated GPS receiver that takes over from the iPhone internal GPS receiver, plus an external GPS antenna. Basically, everything on a dedicated handheld GPSr but using the iPhone touch screen interface.

 

Why the additional GPS receiver? Because the one in the iPhone SUCKS for geocaching, that's why! It's OK when seeking in-town hides and you're looking at the aerial photograph and you can pick out a few landmarks and take yourself to the cache by recognizing where you are on the aerial photo. But out in the boonies where there are no recognizable features, aerial photos don't help at all, and then you have to rely on the accuracy of the GPS alone. And the iPhone's GPS is neither super accurate nor does it update your location quickly. The iPhone will show that you are 50 feet away from the cache and 30 seconds later, the little blue dot will still show you as being 50 feet away. Even if you've walked 50 feet closer. The iPhone can NOT update your location as fast as you can walk and often, you find yourself nowhere near the cache, or even having overshot it and then you have to backtrack. Often, you are reduced to just standing there for minutes at a time waiting for the iPhone to update your location so you can see where you are in relation to the cache.

 

Plus, using the GPS on the iPhone and especially while geocaching sucks the battery dry on the iPhone very quickly. I even have an external battery but it plugs into the bottom of the iPhone and the connection is very tenuous when the two are joined. I rigged a backboard device to hold both the battery plus the iPhone securely in place together. That works pretty good, I used it yesterday for a full day of geocaching in fact, but it's a clunky, inelegant solution at best. Having this case with its additional battery capacity is great. It's just like a mophie juicebox case.

 

But the REAL advantage in the iPhone is its touch screen user interface. Hands down, the BEST way to interact with a device. I've been in the market for a standalone GPS for awhile, but now that I'm spoiled by using the iPhone, I just can't get used to the clunky stupidity of a toggle interface like on the Garmin GPS 60CSX, and I'm having trouble wrapping my head around shelling out 400 or 500 bucks for something like a Garmin Oregon, where the maps aren't nearly as nice looking as the iPhone's Google maps, and the interface isn't quite as elegant as an iPhone's, anyway. So what I wished for was something that was the hardware guts of a standalone GPS, plus extra battery, but without the display or OS because it would use the iPhone for that. This seems to fit that bill.

 

All that being said, am I going to go right out and get one of these? I don't know yet. The new iPhone 4 is coming out and with it's new perimeter antenna array and faster processor, etc., it might be a game changer. It will be interesting to see what posters here on the geocaching with iPhone forums have to say after they've gotten the iPhone 4 and taken it out geocaching. Hopefully, it will perform much better than the current iPhone models do, and if it does, I'll be getting an iPhone 4 as soon as I'm eligible to upgrade, anyway. But if geocaching with iPhone 4 is still as frustrating as with the current iPhones, I will seriously consider trying out this GPS case.

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I'm in! I love the ease of using the geocache app but was considering buying another GPSr to use when close to GZ since something that is more accurate than the iphone is needed. This seems to fit the bill perfectly. Now, the question is where to get it. I can't seem to find any information about it other than tech blogs.

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...Why the additional GPS receiver? Because the one in the iPhone SUCKS for geocaching, that's why!...

 

Can I quote you on that, the next (20 lol) times some iPhone groupie starts carrying on about how awesome the built-in iPhone GPS performance is? :)

 

Lol I haven't seen that anywhere. GPS on the iPhone kinda blows. It works fine for car navigation but anything pinpoint you better get a hand held.

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