GPS devices

[+angevine]

So now I have my first smartphone -- an iPhone -- and it seems to be able to do everything my handheld Garmin does. Is it time to get rid of the Garmin?

 

Thanks!

 

Jeannette, who wrote the book on geocaching

Open Your Heart with Geocaching

www.booksaboutgeocaching.com

[+Keelmann And Cici]

Not sure about the new iphone, but I hear it's similar in quality to the droid. What I've found is that it's not as accurate, and suffers from bounce way more than something like a Garmin.

[+Chief301]

The iPhone 4 is just as accurate as a Garmin handheld, in my opinion (I have both). But hang on to the Garmin...if you find yourself doing long caching days, or bushwhacking out in the boonies, you'll appreciate the longer battery life and ruggedness of the Garmin.

[+pppingme]

Cell phones aren't waterproof, "rugidized" and just don't have the battery life (if you have the screen and gps on all the time) as a real handheld gps.

 

I have an android and have used it to cache, but there's just nothing like the real handheld (I use an Oregon) for caching.

[+Manville Possum]

Garmin has gone really high tech with their GPS units and geocaching with their wireless becon Chirps and QR codes. Now we have LightSquared to worry about. http://www.lightsquared.com/public-policy/

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum.

[+briansnat]

Most cachers I know who have a smart phone still rely on their GPS for most caching. They use the smartphone for opportunistic caching when they may be somewhere and they didn't think to load a PQ. They may also check it to get an up to the minute status of a cache, but for the most part they are hesitant to use it because of the drain on the battery and the fact that it's not designed to handle the abuse that devices received while geocaching. Their handheld GPS units are.

Edited September 16, 2011 by briansnat