Is the iPhone 3Gs reliable for starting? (And help selecting a true GPS.)

[IndianaGentry]

I've looked through the first 4 pages of this thread, and found no topics on the iPhone. Maybe the info is somewhere else, but I haven't found it. As a person who has never used GPS before, I actually have 2 lines of questions:

 

1) Is the iPhone 3Gs good enough to get started with geocaching? I already have one, but I wonder if it has the necessary accuracy for geocaching? Battery life is always an issue with iPhones, too. Do iPhones (generally) have enough battery life to last long enough for geocaching?

 

2) If I buy a dedicated GPS unit, I'd like to be able to use it internationally. I'm heading back to Thailand in 2011, and would like to be able to use it there. In recent years I've done places like Scotland, the Arctic Circle, etc. I'd like to make sure it is capable of loading maps for places like these. I'm guessing there is probably a pretty short list of GPS units capable of this... but I could be wrong. (It happened once before.)

 

I would not say that "money is not an issue," but I don't mind spending money on something that has lots of useful features. I just don't want to pay extra for bells and whistles that really are not useful.

 

What units will serve me well for both uses?

 

I'm still searching and reading through links, so I'm hoping to hear your personal experiences. Thanks!

Edited December 20, 2010 by IndianaGentry

[+geodarts]

Your post raises a number of questions - from the iphone and handheld gpsrs to caching in a foreign country. There is a lot that could be said about each of these things.

 

Many people have started with the iphone 3gs and continue to use it for caching. I use it as a supplement to my handheld, but have always found the caches I have sought when using it.

 

But to me, there are a number of caveats. Its accuracy will not be as good, particularly under difficult conditions (like tree cover in a canyon). I have run into people 400 feet from the cache location, walking the wrong way, although when they reached the cache location it got them close enough for the find. So you have to let it settle in, pay close attention to the map, and recognize that there may be a fairly broad search zone.

 

Battery life and durability (using it under a variety of conditions) may be issues as well. I have a morphie battery case for an extra boost with the first problem. Magellan has a toughcase that is said to protect the gps, provide extra battery, and have a better gpsr chip. But the use of the iphone may depend on how you want to cache, where are located, whether you will be within network range.

 

As a supplement to my gpsr, it is a great tool. I use the Groundspeak app to find caches on the fly, that are outside of the pocket queries that I do as a premium member, or to log in a single cache or two. I use another app, Geosphere, to map the results of a pocket query, filter the map for particular cache types, and read longer cache descriptions -- it is handy when planning a route or doing caches where the graphics on a page are important (such as earthcaches). It really is one of the main reasons why I will probably stay with the iphone when my contract runs out.

 

For caching in a foreign country, you would have to be very careful of roaming charges using an iphone. People have had unpleasant surprises upon their return. There are various tricks to the trade, and apps that support offline maps, but it is a separate topic in and of itself.

 

If you get a handheld, it should work fine in any country. Geocaching has been a fun part of many of our trips by taking me to interesting locations and helping me discover things I would have otherwise have missed. I note virtuals and earthcaches in particular, and look for caches before I leave that might be fun to do -- but the "five minute" rule limiting the search time serves me well in not letting it become too much of a distraction.

 

I recommend becoming a premium member so that you can use pocket queries to load your gpsr before you leave with caches that are in the areas where you will be visiting. For me, the garmin units have worked well. There are a lot of mapping options for most areas of the world, both commercial and free. My current unit (62s), loads 5000 caches and supports paperless caching (description, hints, recent logs). I still find that geosphere complements it well -- but it has been easy to use, accurate, and reliable. Some people like the touchscreens of the Oregon units. The gpsr reviews on the geocaching site are worth reading so that you can get a sense of people's experience with the unit, and a lot depends on your personal preferences.

 

A few years ago, I used an old magellan explorist on one of my trips to england. It tended to route us along unusual routes with some very narrow roads, but got us where we needed to go. I switched to Garmin, in part, because the units seemed to offer a wider range of maps. They have worked fine for me wherever I have been.

 

Since you are just starting out, the iphone should be good for you to get a feel for the game, to decide if it is as fun as you think it is going to be. It may be all you need. But for traveling, a handheld would serve you well.

Edited December 21, 2010 by mulvaney

[IndianaGentry]

That's some good info- thanks for taking the time to respond!