How much better is a full GPS device than a mobile phone's GPS

[correaman13]

I have a HTC expresso. I've been geocaching for a couple days now, I've found about half a dozen caches with it. On some sites the phone led me right to the cache, but on other sites it would be off by 20 meters. How much more acuurate are full GPS systems than those on found on cell phones.

[NordicMan]

A dedicated handheld GPSr is purpose built for the task, whereas in a smartphone the GPS portion is just one of it's many abilities. For that reason the smartphone GPS parts have to be small, a tiny receiver running from a (relatively) tiny battery. You figure out which one is a better "GPS device"

 

Having said that, smartphone GPSr's do work quite well, and if their abilities satisfy your needs then you don't need to buy a dedicated GPSr.

 

Having said that,,, even a dedicated GPSr will still have "bad days" of reception, and may sometimes also be off by 20 meters or worse. No guarantees in life

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

20 meters is a bit much (60+ ft), but it'll do in a pinch. A decent GPSr should (not always tho) put you around 20 or less ft.

 

Think of it as using a Lamborghini for four-wheeling -- it'll work, but...

[+Rckhnd]

My GPS doesn't charge me anything to use it.

- BUT, it also doesn't notify me of new cache publications...

 

My margin of error is around 25-30 feet, sometimes GZ is spot on!

[+DanOCan]

I don't have expereience with your particular phone, but I get much better results with my old 60CSx that I do with my new iPhone4. (The iPhone4 seems to be miles ahead of my old iPhone 3G though. I think smartphones are getting better, but I only use mine for caching in a pinch when I don't have my "real" GPSr with me.)

[+dfx]

It should be noted that it also depends on your surroundings. If you're between tall buldings, in a canyon or in a really dense forest, the accuracy of a handheld GPSr also quickly goes down into the basement. Of course in those circumstances, the phone is likely to be even worse.

[+StarBrand]

There are some strong feelings going both ways with this issue but in my experience, a dedicated GPS unit will give you far more consistent results in almost any situation.

 

Not to mention, they are water resistant and built to take drops and scuffs whereas the smartphone would be toast.

[+autigerman]

Not to mention, they are water resistant and built to take drops and scuffs whereas the smartphone would be toast.

What StarBrand said about water resistance and ruggedability (is there such a word?). I carry a smartphone but I want to be able to make a call on it (providing I have coverage) if I get in trouble. Using it for caching in the woods will be a sure way to quickly drain the battery. Most hand-held GPSr units will give an accuracy to coordinates of about +-10 feet providing they have good reception.

[+CachinStrattons]

Just chiming in... Dedicated GPSr will have better accuracy, but many use SmartPhones and are fine and happy.

 

The two unarguable points are battery life and durability. Even a moderate GPSr will be IPX7 Waterproof and will handle far more drops and kicks than a SmartPhone. I don't even have a rechargeable battery in my GPSr... It runs on 2 AA batteries. I just have several rechargeables from RadioShack that I cycle. 4 batteries will last me a solid 15-20 hrs of intensive run-time.

 

Check Ebay... You'll spend $100-$200 dollars on far less-used things in your life... I promise. The accuracy boost is just a bonus

 

---Edited for punctuation because I'm stupid.

Edited March 6, 2011 by CachinStrattons

[+NicknPapa]

Not to mention, they are water resistant and built to take drops and scuffs whereas the smartphone would be toast.

 

Plus, if you touch the screen you don't land on youtube or someplace else that doesn't help at all. I am not familiar with the OP's phone but my HTC Touchpro does that if a raindrop hits it. Or someone sneezes in the same county

[+MoonCatKDT & Peanut]

Here's a good example for you. Today we were out caching and standing in one spot- me with my iPhone4 and KDT with the GPS (Garmin Dakota 10), the GPS stayed zeroed in on one location. My phone on the other hand kept changing every 30 seconds and was basically telling me the cache was within 30 feet in any which direction . Needless to say the cache was right where the GPS said it would be.

 

The phone is good to start with but when you're getting more into it a GPS deff helps a lot!

 

(edited to fix my horrible grammar)

Edited March 7, 2011 by MoonCat & KDT

[+roziecakes]

My husband has an HTC Incredible, and I have a handheld GPS. He consistently gets readings that are about 20 feet off of what my GPS gets, but he does use it for caching with some success, he just gives himself a larger margin of error. Hope that helps.

[+Mark+Karen]

Smartphones are just easier as you can use the app on the phone to download the cache information and to nagivate to it, no need to have two different devices or have to sync with a PC etc.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I have a HTC expresso. I've been geocaching for a couple days now, I've found about half a dozen caches with it. On some sites the phone led me right to the cache, but on other sites it would be off by 20 meters. How much more acuurate are full GPS systems than those on found on cell phones.

A 20 meter error is not acceptable.

[+CachinStrattons]

I am not familiar with the OP's phone but my HTC Touchpro does that if a raindrop hits it. Or someone sneezes in the same county

 

I found this comment hilarious, cuz my friend's phone does this. It's almost more fun to watch her curse under her breath at her phone than it is to actually cache!

[+northernpenguin]

Depends on the phone, and the surroundings. I consistently get within 5 meters with my iPhone 4, and it is almost always in agreement with my Colorado 400t. I will often do Wherigo caches with both devices and both devices will zero out properly in the correct spot. I have been out in groups where the discreet GPS owners boomerang'd right on past the cache while my iPhone took me to it and gave a 1M position.

 

I will also note that I very often use my iPhone 4 in the woods, in the rain (ziplock bag) in the snow, in cities and such. I use my Colorado any time I feel there is a drop risk, or if I'm out caching for more than a few hours to save the battery.

 

Also note if the phone has been in your pocket in sleep mode for the last 30 minutes while you hiked to the cache, then you pull it out and immediately take a GPS reading, the phone has to wait the location services back up and calculate your new location - give it a few seconds to catch up.

[+Subacca]

One consideration for the dedicated GPS route is if you go geocaching out in the middle of nowhere where there is no cell reception. Cell phones require Internet service to download maps where a dedicated GPS has them preloaded.

[+foggybottomboers]

I'll throw another one in there. I am planning on trying out my Droid2 before buying a GPS and make sure we like the sport. But I also have my Garmin, car GPS which has a feature to put in walking mode. Will it be any more accurate than the Droid?

[+TheLoneGrangers]

i used my garmin car gps for a couple months prior to getting my dakota 20. it works fine, but only has a 4 hour battery life.

[N138]

I have used a number of Sony Ericsson phones, the latest is a W995 with a built in GPSr, it's accuracy is pants.

 

I choose to use a bluetooth GPS receiver (Holux M1000) in parallel with the phone, this gets me to within a couple of meters, even in the deepest of wooded valleys. and the batteries last all day, I often carry spares but have never needed them.

 

I find this to be the hardware perfect combination as it is both accurate and allows me to download caches on the fly. I do have to use a waterproof case for my phone in the rain.

 

I could not justify buying a dedicated receiver when a £10 bluetooth receiver from ebay performs just as well and offers even more functionality.

[+northernpenguin]

One consideration for the dedicated GPS route is if you go geocaching out in the middle of nowhere where there is no cell reception. Cell phones require Internet service to download maps where a dedicated GPS has them preloaded.

 

Unless, of course, you download the maps in advance by using a supported app. I have street maps for all of Canada and the USA on my iPhone, and used them extensively for my trip to Florida, without a data connection (Navigon USA+Canada). GPS Motion X will let you precache topo or OpenStreetMap data on an iPhone. Combine this with an app like Geosphere and who needs a data connection. I have 8,000 caches loaded on my iPhone - if Telus suddenly had a nation wide outage I could still take my iPhone out and go caching for a few weeks before I ran out of map or cache data.

 

Smartphones are far more adaptable to new feature sets - you download an app and off you go. GPS Firmware updates tend to come much less often.

Edited March 9, 2011 by northernpenguin