i pad for geocaching?

[+104daysummervacation]

Well, the household had not had a new toy recently ,this was a situation which needed to be rectified.

My OH suggested we get a Garmin Dakota/Colorado fancy GPS and I thought it is more fun to continue using my I phone becasue of the challenge it poses.

When I cannot find a cache I have placed myself he helps me out with his Garmin Edge bike GPS (" 'edgehog)

 

So, we got him an i pad ,becasue when eyesight is failing due to too many birhtdays, they are really rather cool,everything can be made REALLY BIG!

 

We discovered it has GPS in it.

So ,does anyone geocache with an i pad?

it is big,probably not very accurate,quite fragile but OOOH so cool.

 

Please discuss.

[+104daysummervacation]

Edited August 6, 2010 by 104daysummervacation

[+104daysummervacation]

OOPS!

 

No idea how this got doubleposted ,not sure how to remove.Sorry

 

ALso,found an i pad thread on the general forums,but they are almost exclusively USA cachers,would be fun to hear what UK cachers think.

 

Cheerio for now

Edited August 6, 2010 by 104daysummervacation

[+jeepdelfuego]

OOPS!

 

No idea how this got doubleposted ,not sure how to remove.Sorry

 

ALso,found an i pad thread on the general forums,but they are almost exclusively USA cachers,would be fun to hear what UK cachers think.

 

Cheerio for now

 

I think it might be a little novel at first. But, it would be like taking the Space Shuttle on a flight from London to Paris.

[+little-miss-naughty]

if you want to cache with the i pad you would need the new one with the internet on it or a bluetooth internet dongol for the old one.for paper free caching .

i wouldnt cache with mine as its to big and bulky to carry round the woods with me then when u find the cache u have to find somewere to put it down thats safe not to damage it and if i left it behind i would lose everything not just my gps all my programs ect personal info would be lost for some one to find. it could be used as i have the apps ect for it to but i personaly wouldnt take mine out walking/caching with me. the i phone does the same thing and is much easier to use as its more hand held. but in my opinion its best to have a gps unit.

 

lmn

[+drdick&vick]

played with an iPad yesterday and if I am honest I would not want to be walking through woods etc with one of them in my hands. To large and fragile.

[+Bear and Ragged]

You'll look a bit daft, trying to pretend it's a phone...

[+gazooks]

Using an iPad on a footpath is like saying 'MUG ME !!'

[+MartyBartfast]

Using an iPad on a footpath is like saying 'MUG ME !!'

I don't know, I would think it's much safer to be using one on a country footpath than the train/tube, and lots of people do that every day.

 

Personally I would be more concerned about mud/rain/dropping it/jumping in the sea with it in my pocket (which is what happened to my previous Blackberry last week but it's a work one so I got a free upgrade )

[team tisri]

Seems like using an oversized and underprotected device when something smaller, lighter and far more robust would do a better job.

[+dfx]

Seems like using an oversized and underprotected device when something smaller, lighter and far more robust would do a better job.

but it's got a half eaten apple on it!!! it's omgwtfbbq best evar!!!11

[+drdick&vick]

Just been told by somebody who not only owns one but also sells them that due to the screen size etc it might not be that good on bright sunny days (wots one of them I ask)

[+Jonovich]

You can hold it over your head if it rains I suppose....

[+The Bongtwashes]

 

Personally I would be more concerned about mud/rain/dropping it/jumping in the sea with it in my pocket (which is what happened to my previous Blackberry last week but it's a work one so I got a free upgrade )

You must have large, reinforced pockets.

Personally I think it's too large, heavy, awkward to buy go caching with.

[+Bear and Ragged]

 

Personally I would be more concerned about mud/rain/dropping it/jumping in the sea with it in my pocket (which is what happened to my previous Blackberry last week but it's a work one so I got a free upgrade )

You must have large, reinforced pockets.

Personally I think it's too large, heavy, awkward to buy go caching with.

Optional extras... iTrousers and iCoat, both with extra large pockets!

 

[+Jonovich]

Optional extras... iTrousers and iCoat, both with extra large pockets!

 

 

All you need then is an iCache to complete the set

 

You could always try the Lego iPad, which I'm sure would be far more weatherproof and of course as long as you find all the bits when you drop it, easy to re-assemble?

 

J

Edited August 7, 2010 by Dakar4x4

[+HazelS]

I had a play with one last week in a Mac store, and I was incredibly unimpressed.... It just reminds me of an ipod touch for the visually impared.... simply a bigger version!

 

It would be far too heavy and fragile to use out caching - come on - how would you feel after spending all that money if it got bashed, rained on, left on the floor while you signed the log and all that - because that's what happens to the GPS..... unless you have more money than sense of course!! LOL

[+Kryten]

You must have large, reinforced pockets.

 

...in which to keep the cash to pay for it.

[+The Bongtwashes]

I had a play with one last week in a Mac store, and I was incredibly unimpressed.... It just reminds me of an ipod touch for the visually impared.... simply a bigger version!

 

It would be far too heavy and fragile to use out caching - come on - how would you feel after spending all that money if it got bashed, rained on, left on the floor while you signed the log and all that - because that's what happens to the GPS..... unless you have more money than sense of course!! LOL

As long as it's insured against those risks, it would be easier than getting a refund from Apple when you decide you don't like it.

[+burtsbodgers]

Wouldn't buying a pair of glasses and a decent gps be better, and the glasses could be used for other things as well. Almost as many apps for them you know.

[+The Other Stu]

I had a play with one last week in a Mac store, and I was incredibly unimpressed.... It just reminds me of an ipod touch for the visually impared.... simply a bigger version!

 

It would be far too heavy and fragile to use out caching - come on - how would you feel after spending all that money if it got bashed, rained on, left on the floor while you signed the log and all that - because that's what happens to the GPS..... unless you have more money than sense of course!! LOL

As long as it's insured against those risks, it would be easier than getting a refund from Apple when you decide you don't like it.

 

Good luck getting insurance on that.

 

My new phone comes with free insurance and I'm not sure it's worth the paper it's written on.

 

I can't lose it.

If I'm robbed of it, it sounds as if they won't pay out unless someone is convicted....

As for accidental damage, unless I show that the double layer of cotton wool and bubble wrap were still in place when it was damaged, I'll probably be paid about £4.50 towards a new one.

[+teamhillside]

Borrowed one from work last week to see what all the fuss was about, and I really couldn't find any purpose to it. Keyboard wasn't capable of being typed quickly on, so web browsing was slow (for me).

 

I did like using iPlayer on it (screen was crisp and clear), and my 1 year old enjoyed playing a game of "press the animal and it makes a noise" from a free app, but it felt like that Dom Jolly sketch from Trigger Happy TV - "I'm on the phone".

 

For caching - sure, it would look "cool" perhaps for a short while, but then once you'd sat on it and cracked the screen I think you'd be disappointed!

 

Matt

[team tisri]

Yep... one thing I just love about my faithful 60CSx is that it seems nigh on indestructible. Having got it covered in mud after a long cycle through muddy paths I washed it off under the tap. When I dropped it from waist height onto concrete it bounced and still worked.

 

Somehow I can't see an ipad being so robust.

[+scuba_2]

went out and tested my friends ipad at the weekend acurate to 6 feet the same as my gps it is a bit big and heavy but i like it.

i did buy an iphone 4 at the weekend it has the same gps but it was 60 plus feet out and kept jumping aroung it must use a much smaller antenna. so took it back.

 

hope this helps

ps batt life on ipad is fantastic

[+murphyz]

I sometimes take mine out caching, but not to use as the actual device for finding them. Firstly, the iPhone app is not made for the iPad so when you download it you have to use the 2x zoom feature which is pointless. As mentioned above, on a bright day it's actually quite difficult to view the screen from particular angles; it's much more friendly to use in a dark environment.

 

I find the iPhone much more user friendly in the city, it's more discreet and you can pretend to be on the phone when needed. In the country I'll use either the iPhone or the Garmin.

 

So why take it with me? Well, it depends on my plans. If I have a set route and know I'll be walking a long way and purely caching, I will leave it at home. If, however, I am taking my camera and aim to do a geocaching/photography day then it's good to take it along - especially if my route is not preplanned. I can then pop into a cafe and load my photos from the camera straight onto the iPad for a quick edit and upload to flickr; at the same time I can check out the geocaching.com website on a decent screen and plan areas I want to head off to next.

 

As a sole geocaching device though, I would think not.

Edited August 27, 2010 by murphyz