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NeonGeo - New Android Geocaching App

michaelnel

By michaelnel
in GPS technology and devices

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michaelnel

+michaelnel

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I just started using a new geocaching app for Android called "NeonGeo" http://www.neongeo.com/. It's less than 1/2 the price of the Groundspeak geocaching app and is already five times the program. The developer is really fast to jump on problems and fix them. Unlike C:Geo, it uses the Groundspeak API to interact with the site in a TOS-compliant manner.

 

If you geocache with an Android phone, I would highly recommend checking out NeonGeo!

Edited by michaelnel
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michaelnel

+michaelnel

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How does it work in comparison to c:geo, quality-wise? From what I see it appears to be very comparable, but I'd like to learn more before buying.

Thanks.

 

It seems to me to be as good quality-wise. NeonGeo is definitely faster with showing stuff on the live map though. You drag the map around with your finger and the caches show up immediately, along with a list at the bottom of the 4 or 5 caches that are nearest to the center, then you can tap on one and it gets to be about 3 times the height it was with more details, tap it again and you get a really nicely formatted description page.

 

You'd have to use it to appreciate it. As with all market apps, you can install it and play with it for 15 minutes, and if you don't want to keep it, you can get a refund.

 

And the developer is highly principled. I bought it, and ran into a bug involving the use of a bluetooth gps, a bug for which there is a totally adequate workaround that makes it work with my bluetooth GPS. However, during the night the developer refunded my money and apologized for any inconvenience, and further said that if I buy it again he will refund it again.

 

Imagine that from the big boys.

Edited by michaelnel
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michaelnel

+michaelnel

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Does it have a built in compass/pointer arrow?

 

Yes it does, and it's transparent and overlaid on the map at the top of the screen while you are navigating to a cache. Very nice!

 

ss-480-0-0-XL.jpg

 

There is also a separate page that displays the compass, coordinates, distance to go, etc.

Edited by michaelnel
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JL_HSTRE

+JL_HSTRE

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Yes it does, and it's transparent and overlaid on the map at the top of the screen while you are navigating to a cache. Very nice!

 

ss-480-0-0-XL.jpg

 

There is also a separate page that displays the compass, coordinates, distance to go, etc.

 

Distance can be show in feet instead of meters, right?

 

Does the app show you GPS accuracy? (+/- N ft)

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JL_HSTRE

+JL_HSTRE

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That might be a lot trickier to accomplish. PDOP estimation isn't a trivial math exercise. It also assumes that the author has access to data from the GPS chip that might not even be available to him.

 

I have a GPS Status free app that displays this information. GeoHunter also displays it (possibly requires the GPS Status or similar app to do so though). So it is certainly possible - and IMO very important.

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michaelnel

+michaelnel

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That might be a lot trickier to accomplish. PDOP estimation isn't a trivial math exercise. It also assumes that the author has access to data from the GPS chip that might not even be available to him.

 

I am using a bluetooth GPS through the "mock gps provider" interface, and the data is readily available as reported by the device. He doesn't have to calculate it, he can just read it and display it. So at least it is doable fairly easily for that type of GPS.

 

The internal GPS, I dunno, I don't use it, but GPS Essentials and GPS Status apps already report it for the internal GPS so it isn't like he has to start from scratch. I suspect the internal chip reports it too.

Edited by michaelnel
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LukeTrocity

+LukeTrocity

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I just started using a new geocaching app for Android called "NeonGeo" http://www.neongeo.com/. It's less than 1/2 the price of the Groundspeak geocaching app and is already five times the program. The developer is really fast to jump on problems and fix them. Unlike C:Geo, it uses the Groundspeak API to interact with the site in a TOS-compliant manner.

 

If you geocache with an Android phone, I would highly recommend checking out NeonGeo!

Question. How do I know its not violating TOS? I see it says powered by geocaching live, but how do I know its not site scraping and using the api? For instance last I knew "favorites" were not included in the api, however that info loads into this app. I can't pretend I know what I'm taking about entirely, just wondering.

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ecanderson

+ecanderson

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Question. How do I know its not violating TOS? I see it says powered by geocaching live, but how do I know its not site scraping and using the api? For instance last I knew "favorites" were not included in the api, however that info loads into this app. I can't pretend I know what I'm taking about entirely, just wondering.

Because gc.com has specifically noted that they were working with the author of this application to use the new API. Read that a day or two ago - could have well been in their feedback system under the 'get us an API to use' suggestion (worded similarly, and right at the top of the heap by votes - easy to spot).
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LukeTrocity

+LukeTrocity

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Question. How do I know its not violating TOS? I see it says powered by geocaching live, but how do I know its not site scraping and using the api? For instance last I knew "favorites" were not included in the api, however that info loads into this app. I can't pretend I know what I'm taking about entirely, just wondering.

Because gc.com has specifically noted that they were working with the author of this application to use the new API. Read that a day or two ago - could have well been in their feedback system under the 'get us an API to use' suggestion (worded similarly, and right at the top of the heap by votes - easy to spot).

Thanks for the info!

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michaelnel

+michaelnel

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Read that a day or two ago - could have well been in their feedback system under the 'get us an API to use' suggestion (worded similarly, and right at the top of the heap by votes - easy to spot).

 

It was in the release notes for the latest atrocities perpetrated upon the site.

Edited by michaelnel
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JJnTJ

+JJnTJ

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Question. How do I know its not violating TOS? I see it says powered by geocaching live, but how do I know its not site scraping and using the api?

The slow, slow page scraping of c:geo kept me from using it very often. Neongeo has the best feature of the "official" app: it is fast.

 

I really, really, really like this app. It's a stunning accomplishment, and it's less than two weeks old.

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TXHooligans

+TXHooligans

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if you hit help.. (where there is a web address you can't click on to visit) they use the new GCLive logo. I think the logo means they are using the new API or whatever it is.

 

He has updated this sucker several times.. like once a day or something.. VERY responsive.

 

I have some things I'd like to see in it, but I'll watch and see how it goes. It is VERY usable.

 

Maps do not zoom up as far as the google map in the official app. This annoied me, but caching today, didn't seem to be a problem. not loading another layer of higher resolution maps may save some data charges... dunno.

 

It also has trail dots it leaves to show where you've been. nice while driving, but they seem a little far apart while walking through a park or something.

 

The settings show that you can cache the map to your phone so you aren't loading it over and over which may save some data charges for those of you not fortunate enough to be grandfathered on an unlimited data plan.

 

This will be a great app in prolly a week or so. Give him a month and it will dwarf everything else out there.

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baloo&bd

+baloo&bd

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It seems to me to be as good quality-wise. NeonGeo is definitely faster with showing stuff on the live map though. You drag the map around with your finger and the caches show up immediately, along with a list at the bottom of the 4 or 5 caches that are nearest to the center, then you can tap on one and it gets to be about 3 times the height it was with more details, tap it again and you get a really nicely formatted description page.

 

Does it have a true live map like cgeo, i.e. as you move along it populates the map?

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jawbreaker1222

+jawbreaker1222

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It seems to me to be as good quality-wise. NeonGeo is definitely faster with showing stuff on the live map though. You drag the map around with your finger and the caches show up immediately, along with a list at the bottom of the 4 or 5 caches that are nearest to the center, then you can tap on one and it gets to be about 3 times the height it was with more details, tap it again and you get a really nicely formatted description page.

 

Does it have a true live map like cgeo, i.e. as you move along it populates the map?

Im curious of this aswell. Now that google maps is gone. It effects the software i was using and i need to find a new one.

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PurdueMarc

PurdueMarc

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Another simple question- I see that everyone so far is a premium member, but what if you don't pay for premium access? Neongeo indicates that you can only view the details of 3 caches per day. What does that mean? Can you still navigate to them, log visits, view the hint, etc? I'm just wondering how much of a limitation that is.

 

I love geocaching, but I don't get to do it enough to justify the $30 a year. :(

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JJnTJ

+JJnTJ

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Neongeo doesn't have what c:geo calls a Live Map. It has something better. It stores all caches you download into a database (you can have several databases if you like). It then uses the Maps app present on most Android devices already (from Google) to display the caches in the database on the map.

 

You can also add your own custom maps, including all of Google's maps.

 

I have not looked at the free version, so I don't know what limitations that has. I use the paid version every day.

 

However, it probably isn't worth it for non-members, since Groundspeak limits non-members to 3 caches a day.

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dakboy

+dakboy

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Neongeo doesn't have what c:geo calls a Live Map. It has something better. It stores all caches you download into a database (you can have several databases if you like). It then uses the Maps app present on most Android devices already (from Google) to display the caches in the database on the map.

 

You can also add your own custom maps, including all of Google's maps.

You can do this with c:geo, with some planning. You can load a GPX file (actually, multiple GPX files) into c:geo's "stored caches", and then view that on the map.
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Mike Fitz

+Mike Fitz

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So it doesn't have a live map like C:Geo? That was the best thing about it, you didn't have to plan ahead and pre download caches. Say I fly out to another state, rent a car, and decide to do some caching on the way to my destination, or on a side trip once there. I could open C:Geo, look at the live map, and see caches along the way while driving and pull off the highway into any areas with a couple caches.

 

Can I do this with Neongeo? If not, how do you pre download caches in an area you you might be driving through?

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Mike Fitz

+Mike Fitz

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yes it does.. it's great.

 

yes it does.. it's great.

 

Are you sure, because I have the latest and it does not. The API, as I understand, does not support it. It only shows the cache within X m iles and as soon as you hit the edge of that given area, you have to do a refresh.

 

Neongeo doesn't have what c:geo calls a Live Map. It has something better. It stores all caches you download into a database (you can have several databases if you like). It then uses the Maps app present on most Android devices already (from Google) to display the caches in the database on the map.

 

Neongeo does have a live map. I just used it this morning.

 

OK, some say it does and some say it doesn't. :) Can I go out and drive down the road and have the map travel with me and show caches along the way without pre downloading any caches?

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baloo&bd

+baloo&bd

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yes it does.. it's great.

 

yes it does.. it's great.

 

Are you sure, because I have the latest and it does not. The API, as I understand, does not support it. It only shows the cache within X m iles and as soon as you hit the edge of that given area, you have to do a refresh.

 

Neongeo doesn't have what c:geo calls a Live Map. It has something better. It stores all caches you download into a database (you can have several databases if you like). It then uses the Maps app present on most Android devices already (from Google) to display the caches in the database on the map.

 

Neongeo does have a live map. I just used it this morning.

 

OK, some say it does and some say it doesn't. :) Can I go out and drive down the road and have the map travel with me and show caches along the way without pre downloading any caches?

 

I am not sure. Why people are not understanding your question, however the answer is no, there is no li e map. You can look at the nearest caches, then map them out, but when you drive out of the area, you have to reload the nearest caches. In a previous thread it was stated the API will not support a live map function.

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TXHooligans

+TXHooligans

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open the app.. press Settings. in advanced section press Downloading. check the box that says Auto Cache Download. below these words it says "Download caches automacically when you move".

 

in my defense.. i pan the map around all the time looking at caches.. i also have the map set to save 2000 of them. so i can drive around quite awhile without downloading a new cache. i also tend to have a few pocket queries loaded at times as well.

 

however, i do have the box checked to "download caches as i move" and i think it does just that.

 

i'll look for this other thread about what GS allows and does not allow. i tend to stay away from such things.

 

i guess when we crash into a crowd of (insert group of something tragic here like puppies, kittens or baby sheep)the paper will read we were refreshing our list of caches cause the app didn't automatically do it. oh the humanity!!!

 

be safe and by all means have fun!!

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Mike Fitz

+Mike Fitz

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Hmmm... Another yes and another no. Maybe I can rephrase my question.

 

With c:geo, I could get in my car, fire up the live map, and start driving. The map would progress as I drove just like Google maps and when a cache location came into the map frame an icon would pop up where the cache was located. As I drove, any caches within the map frame would continue to pop up no matter how far I drove. If I saw a cluster of caches pop up just off the highway I could drive to the location. No action needed from me to reload maps, caches, etc. they just popped up like POI's.

 

Can this or any other program do that?

 

Edit: TxHooligans posted while I was typing, maybe that's the answer?

Edited by Mike Fitz
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dakboy

+dakboy

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Hmmm... Another yes and another no. Maybe I can rephrase my question.

 

With c:geo, I could get in my car, fire up the live map, and start driving. The map would progress as I drove just like Google maps and when a cache location came into the map frame an icon would pop up where the cache was located. As I drove, any caches within the map frame would continue to pop up no matter how far I drove. If I saw a cluster of caches pop up just off the highway I could drive to the location. No action needed from me to reload maps, caches, etc. they just popped up like POI's.

 

Can this or any other program do that?

 

Edit: TxHooligans posted while I was typing, maybe that's the answer?

I did it this morning.

 

There's a free demo, why not just download it & try it for yourself to see if you get the answer you're looking for?

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