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Release Notes (Geocaching Intro is now Geocaching® app) March 9, 2016


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Someone wrote earlier...

 

"When travelling abroad, I always have data roaming switched off too. Otherwise, phone charges escalate rapidly. So I cache using the offline saved maps and cache info so using a live map download is out of the question unless connected to wifi."

 

Normally I would just download maps to my GPSr and find caches using that, but I'm going to be traveling to a place where it's illegal to bring a GPS receiver (apparently there's no issue with a smart phone) and I know that the Classic app provided a mechanism for downloading map tiles for offline use. I've only played with the new App a bit but haven't found anything that will let me download maps. Is that a planned feature?

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I am concerned by the limitation of the new app for non-premium members to only 1.5/1.5 D/T ratings or lower. This is not nice or fair. It doesn't encourage people to become members of the geocaching community. I've been a premium member for over 10 years including during my 270-some day slump and 522-day streak. People respond much better to having carrots dangled in front of them rather than doors slammed in their faces.

 

When I place a cache, if I want to restrict it to premium members, I restrict it by choosing that box. I choose the difficulty/terrain and type based on appropriate criteria. I recently placed a 2.5/2.0 mystery cache in a local park. I think it is entirely reasonable for a basic member to be able to see that cache in the new app. I am appalled that non-premium users cannot see that cache in the new app. That is not in the spirit of the friendly geocaching community. Please remove that restriction in your next release.

 

I've put out a lot of caches, with a variety of D/T ratings. It used to be that there was a considerable investment of time and money to start geocaching. You had to find out about it, decide if you wanted to invest $200 or more into a hand held GPS, figure out the technological bits about loading GPSs into the device, etc ...

 

Placing caches was done for other people who had the time and money to get into this hobby. There were almost no people of the sort "I think I'll try geocaching this afternoon". The barrier to entry was too high.

 

Smart phones have made this a thing of the past. This is a good thing. It's also a bad thing, as too many people who haven't bothered to read what geocaching is about will find a cache and not replace it, not replace it properly, take a TB and not know what to do with it, or will just find a few caches near their house and trash them.

 

I, as a cache owner, appreciate having different tools at my disposal that I can use to limit who can see my cache. I try to avoid making caches PMO in general. I will if, as happens every couple years, a cache thief blows through the area. Most times we believe it's a young kid who discovered the geocaching app and just wants to be a jerk.

 

Besides making caches PMO, I have the option of bumping up my D/T when appropriate, or only hiding caches that are a bit harder, so that my caches don't become training grounds for new cachers.

 

I think it's a good thing to limit what caches can be seen through the app based on membership level. Other options could be time based as well. Open up higher D/T after they have been members more than {TBD} weeks or months, or after they have found more than {TBD} caches. This lets the newbie cachers find the easy caches near their home to get started, and once they have become more committed via time & effort, more caches open up.

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There's a lot to read in this thread, so my apologies if some of my concerns have been addressed.

 

As a newbie, this is frustrating. I have 47 caches under my best, and I liked challenging myself with tougher caches. And I will admit, this update and new limitations unless you go premium is enough to steer me away from caching for a while. What did I pay for originally?! The reviews I've read are equally as frustrated with the changes.

 

For now, as therapeutic as caching has been for me the last while, I'm stepping away for a bit.

What do you mean by "tougher" caches?

If D/T, you can't go on the site to look up the higher D/T caches?

Nothing's changed there...

- All others (but pmo) you can still access with your app.

I try to stick with 2+ in terrain (cancels out most roadside and parking lots) and can easily find 'em by simply going onto the site. :)

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I think it's a good thing to limit what caches can be seen through the app based on membership level. Other options could be time based as well. Open up higher D/T after they have been members more than {TBD} weeks or months, or after they have found more than {TBD} caches. This lets the newbie cachers find the easy caches near their home to get started, and once they have become more committed via time & effort, more caches open up.

 

I understand the concern for newbies and cache thieves. Thank you for your perspective about the low cost entry point to the game.

 

But I believe that limiting the trademarked geocaching app to 1.5/1.5 for non-premium members will only push people to use other apps that don't have that limitation. Adding that limit to this app doesn't solve the problem.

 

Thinking out loud: Maybe a different solution (sort of building on what you suggest) would be having a new attribute for caches that are for beginners. And new non-premium members (fewer than 25 finds) could see only those caches on any platform. I don't think that's a great solution, but neither is limiting this app when there are other ways (and apps) to view those caches.

 

There's nothing to say that the cache thieves aren't premium members or muggles who stumbled on the cache container.

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Good idea Panomaki, it is madness to already have a phase out point of June when the app is still in development stage.Let the new app prove itself to the experienced premium membership!If the vision is that we should really really want the new app in preference to the Classic, let the customers be part of the decision to switch off the Classic App...

 

AnTs

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Why do people who have paid for an app. in order to see more advanced caches now find their app. will become obsolete and force them to buy a premium membership. Is this not just a cash grab?? Not everyone wants to pay for a yearly subscription but are willing to pay a onetime payment for the app.

I am in the same boat. I originally purchased the paid app a couple of years ago and that app is the main reason I am currently a paid premier member. The offline lists vastly improved my geocaching experience, to the point that I wanted to further improve the search with pocket queries. I know that without the offline lists, I never would have seen the value of upgrading my membership.

 

I don't want to switch from the classic app. If it is disabled or crippled, I will probably start looking for a suitable third party app.

 

As a former software developer, I seriosuly doubt that this is a money grab. Much more likely is simply that the "Classic" app was a crude, early piece of development that is very difficult to maintain and enhance. They re-wrote from scratch, originally as a beginner's app, and quickly found that they had a much better foundation to build on. That is not at all unusual.

 

I am, however, a bit disgruntled that I paid $10, wich is MUCH MUCH more than the typical paid app (more often $1.99 or $2.99) for something that they are now giving away. Still, not about to lose any sleep over that. More disappointed to see, yet again, promises from Groundspeak about functionality yet to come. Been there, done that, should be a souvenir for that. We'll see, but I'm going to breathe normally while I wait.

It's probably a bit of both. But either way, until they get offline lists with map tile download implemented, I can't even test the new app, since I don't have a smart phone with a data plan. I'm not upset about the $10 dollars. In terms of use, the $100 I paid for my GPS and the $10 I paid for the iOS app are probably the best $110 I've spent on anything entertainment related. It's just upsetting to lose something that has worked well for me.

 

I think it's a good thing to limit what caches can be seen through the app based on membership level. Other options could be time based as well. Open up higher D/T after they have been members more than {TBD} weeks or months, or after they have found more than {TBD} caches. This lets the newbie cachers find the easy caches near their home to get started, and once they have become more committed via time & effort, more caches open up.

This is probably one the best suggestions I've read in this topic.

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noncentric said: I know it's not an ideal solution, but cachers can still log online by accessing geocaching.com via a web browser and thereby having full website functionality via their phone.

 

This is not only not an ideal solution. In my opinion, it is not a solution at all to access the website from a phone. Unless the website is also about to be completely revamped to make it phone friendly. Almost all phone screens are basically way too small to handle the data present on the website. Sometimes in the recent past I have wanted to contact someone from the field and the only way was to access their profile and send an email. It was a nightmare to login let alone do anything.

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What do you mean by "tougher" caches?

If D/T, you can't go on the site to look up the higher D/T caches?

Nothing's changed there...

- All others (but pmo) you can still access with your app.

The way the current version of the Geocaching® app works, basic members can access all Events and only Traditionals with D/T less than or equal to 1.5/1.5. Nothing else. All other D/T ratings and all other types of cache are marked as either "Advanced" or simply that you need to upgrade to Premium. Even a dead-easy 1/1 Virtual isn't available.

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I would not disagree with this view. So many TBs go missing we almost never put them in caches that are not PMO or very hard to find. We have a TB hotel that is in a relatively exposed area at a service area but it requires a code to access the cache AND it is PMO. So far in over 2 3/4 years since placing, I believe there have been only 2 TBs go missing and there have been 918 trackables pass through the cache.

 

AnTs

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What do you mean by "tougher" caches?

If D/T, you can't go on the site to look up the higher D/T caches?

Nothing's changed there...

- All others (but pmo) you can still access with your app.

The way the current version of the Geocaching® app works, basic members can access all Events and only Traditionals with D/T less than or equal to 1.5/1.5. Nothing else. All other D/T ratings and all other types of cache are marked as either "Advanced" or simply that you need to upgrade to Premium. Even a dead-easy 1/1 Virtual isn't available.

I understand that (I'm sure he does too...).

- But the person I responded to, all but two finds have been traditionals, so reasoned he was simply referring to D/T as "tougher" hides. :)

 

Edited to add (just thought of it) ...

That would still leave 'em (if only using the basic app) unable to access w/o a means to enter coords. :(

Edited by cerberus1
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I think it's a good thing to limit what caches can be seen through the app based on membership level. Other options could be time based as well. Open up higher D/T after they have been members more than {TBD} weeks or months, or after they have found more than {TBD} caches. This lets the newbie cachers find the easy caches near their home to get started, and once they have become more committed via time & effort, more caches open up.

 

I have seen no strong correlation between the experience and the member status. There are a lot of new cachers who become PM very soon or even before they have found their first cache and there are a number of veterans that are basic members (some never have been PMs, others let their PM-status lapse as they considerably reduced their caching activities out of frustration of how the community has changed). It's a bit strange so to say to argue that some of the most experienced cachers I know should only be allowed to view 1.5/1.5 caches on the app with the argument that many cache owners do not like newbies to visit more challenging caches. The argument mixes experience with member status which is not going to work.

 

It seemed more appropriate to me that those who want to use a GS app, payed for it and that it was an independent decision whether someone wanted to become PM.

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All of the Geocaching Classic app's features are either already included or are coming soon in the Geocaching® app. In addition, we've made significant improvements to those features. Stay tuned for information on upcoming releases.

 

Sure, but not features like the ability to find multis or traditionals over 1.5/1.5, for example, right? ;)

Those count as features too and were available for Basic Members. Suddenly, no more. That's what I mean when I'm referring to "artificially creating value for Premium subscriptions". If the restrictions had always worked that way, it wouldn't matter... But you're taking away from the general public and hiding them behind a paywall after all these years.

Multi-caches and caches with higher D/T ratings remain available to basic members on the website, just as they always have, unless marked for Premium Members only. It's been that way since 2002 when I began playing. I guess I have a different definition of "for a long time" and a different baseline. As I "grew up" using the website, I've not observed basic member functions being taken away when viewed against the constant definition of the basic geocaching experience. The introduction of smartphone apps changed that. I view the smartphone apps as an add-on, though I recognize that for many newer geocachers, the free app's feature set defines their baseline.

Curious now, as I thought the same.

I only had the Intro app a short time, so didn't really play much with it.

I understand that basic members can access the site. That's what I do, but I enter those coords onto a GPSr.

But, and please correct me if I'm mistaken, for basic members using phones (what we're talking about here), the basic app doesn't, or didn't have a means to enter those coordinates from cache pages.

Is that changed now?

If they can, it's a simple fix, and just a little work to enter coords.

If not, I'd like to see that happen, if for no other reason than we'd start seeing validated members.

- They are allowed to see that info on site...

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But, and please correct me if I'm mistaken, for basic members using phones (what we're talking about here), the basic app doesn't, or didn't have a means to enter those coordinates from cache pages.

The paid app and the rebranded Geocaching® app have a way to add an additional waypoint when viewing a cache, so that could be used as a workaround (ie. bring up a cache you can view, then add a waypoint to it), but I don't believe this function was available in the Intro app (someone can correct me if I'm wrong). Other than that, none of the Groundspeak apps have had a way to simply enter a set of random coordinates and navigate to them.

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But, and please correct me if I'm mistaken, for basic members using phones (what we're talking about here), the basic app doesn't, or didn't have a means to enter those coordinates from cache pages.

The paid app and the rebranded Geocaching® app have a way to add an additional waypoint when viewing a cache, so that could be used as a workaround (ie. bring up a cache you can view, then add a waypoint to it), but I don't believe this function was available in the Intro app (someone can correct me if I'm wrong). Other than that, none of the Groundspeak apps have had a way to simply enter a set of random coordinates and navigate to them.

Thanks!

 

Seems something similar to the "workaround" (the "extended workaround basic" app :laughing: )might cut down a lot of the issues seen here, but only for those basic members who did buy that app, and now have no way to get caches they've done maybe for some time. :)

Edited by cerberus1
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Correct , You can use a PQ just like any other normal list of caches and yes Downloading the caches is coming very soon

 

I see that my pocket queries are now showing up in the My Lists section. I don't recall seeing those the first time I looked at the app, but I could be mistaken and they might have been there all along. What I don't see is an option to download the list to my device. Does that mean the PQ will be able to be used without a data connection? I assume not, so the option to save the list to my device is still needed. If, however, by a small chance that you can use the PQ offline without downloading the data, that would be very cool.

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...all players using a smartphone app (i.e., most everybody now).

 

I don't agree. This may be the case in your crowd, but please don't generalize. Smartphone navigators account for a minority of experienced cachers I encounter. Phones are IMO (perhaps) acceptable in an urban environment, but they soon become a hindrance off road, or in inclement weather. Every now and again I'll try using my phone and usually put it away with a frustrated head shake after a short time for the same long list of annoyances and deficiencies.

 

And I've been called a lot worse things than Old School. :D

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...all players using a smartphone app (i.e., most everybody now).

I don't agree. This may be the case in your crowd, but please don't generalize. Smartphone navigators account for a minority of experienced cachers I encounter. Phones are IMO (perhaps) acceptable in an urban environment, but they soon become a hindrance off road, or in inclement weather. Every now and again I'll try using my phone and usually put it away with a frustrated head shake after a short time for the same long list of annoyances and deficiencies.

 

And I've been called a lot worse things than Old School. :D

Ironically, you just did what you're asking jpadc not to do :P

I was agreeing with your points right up until one part - the urban/offroad/weather misnomers once again. Years ago, they would have been bigger issues. Smartphone GPS today is much much better, with recent phone brands rivaling even the best dedicated gps devices. Dedicated GPSrs should ideally always be better devices since they are, well, dedicated to gps technology. But it's quite common that someone who's only experience with a phone is an older or less capable phone, and having used a very capable dedicated GPSr, will presume that all phones are as bad or worse than the one they have experience with. That's not the case.

 

Ultimately, there's just a much wider swath of quality amongst the smorgasboard of smartphone brands than there is amongst GPS devices, so yes it's easier to point at a lower average capability, but these days anyone picking up a relatively new smartphone will have more than sufficient power and technology to make use of the phone for geocaching even in the most questionable of environments. I started with a 3GS in 2009 which was iffy, but still quite sufficient for geocaching - finding and placing - and used it in deep forest, in desert with no reception, over water, snow, ice, lengthy day hikes and high urban cores. Today I have a 6S Plus and can't form a viable reason I would switch to a less technologically capable device even though it would be dedicated to GPS.

 

Basically: dedicated GPSr - good chance you'll have a trustworthy device with excellent GPS technology almost guaranteed to be excellent for geocaching. Smartphone - wider range of quality and technology also affected by user knowledge of the device, with more recent hardware much more likely to be on par with a dedicated GPSr.

 

The only legitimate issue I've found with a smartphone (by my experience) that can't be directly dealt with in a practical manner (imo) is cold weather, which plays havoc with battery life/reporting. All other smartphone concerns are non-issues.

 

That said, I do agree that dedicated GPSrs are still quite prolific in the community, at least around here. I think that anyone taking up this hobby at some point with a smartphone decides whether they want to stay with a smartphone or at least try a dedicated GPS. I'd bet it's then a relatively small segment of those people who decide to stay with the smartphone exclusively; but that's probably highly dependent on demographic, age, culture, region, environment, etc.

 

The best geocaching tech setup is to have both a smartphone and a good dedicated handheld GPS. Make use of both their strengths; why not?

Edited by thebruce0
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Is there a way to view my disabled caches with this app?

The Geocaching Classic app has never showed disabled caches when doing a search for nearby caches. If you know the GC code, you can look up the cache using that.

 

As for the Geocaching®, I just opened it up to check this out, but got logged out and now can't log in with either my regular Premium member account or my basic member test account. I just get a message that says "Something went wrong while attempting to log in. Please try again."

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[...]I just get a message that says "Something went wrong while attempting to log in. Please try again."

 

Yes, slightly OT, but GS seems to have a minor db glitch at their end. I got a 404 when calling my profile.

 

Hans

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I'm able to log in now, and I can confirm that disabled caches don't show up in searches for caches nearby in the Geocaching® app either.

 

I also tried looking them up through lists to see how they're treated there. Archived caches in lists/PQs have an orange "Archived" indication, but there's nothing indicating that a cache is disabled. Further, if I try to view a disabled cache from a list, I just get a spinning icon and the cache never loads. Archived caches can't be opened from a list at all; tapping on the entry does nothing.

 

When using the GC code search, searching for the GC code of either a disabled or archived cache gives the message "Invalid GC code. Please check the code and try again.", which is absolutely false. The GC codes I tried are perfectly valid and can be viewed on the website, but the app acts like they don't exist.

 

Therefore, if a cache is disabled, there's currently no way at all to view it in the Geocaching® app, which is pretty bad.

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Why does everyone expect the Groundspeak app, whether paid or free, to have the same features as the website?

Is that what people are saying? AFAICT, the vast majority of this discussion has revolved around features that already existed in the Classic app and aren't yet available in the Geocaching® app, bugs that have been discovered, or questionable software lifecycle practices.

 

Personally, I don't feel the app(s) should be a one-to-one replacement for the website, but rather just provide some useful shortcuts while in the field. For example, it's handy to be able to look up caches near your current location and view the cache listing in a format more suited to the device, or look up a trackable's mission while standing at the cache. I would never expect to do things like manage your account, create cache listings, manage my trackable inventory/collection, etc. from an app.

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...all players using a smartphone app (i.e., most everybody now).

I don't agree. This may be the case in your crowd, but please don't generalize. Smartphone navigators account for a minority of experienced cachers I encounter. Phones are IMO (perhaps) acceptable in an urban environment, but they soon become a hindrance off road, or in inclement weather. Every now and again I'll try using my phone and usually put it away with a frustrated head shake after a short time for the same long list of annoyances and deficiencies.

 

And I've been called a lot worse things than Old School. :D

Ironically, you just did what you're asking jpadc not to do :P

I was agreeing with your points right up until one part - the urban/offroad/weather misnomers once again. Years ago, they would have been bigger issues. Smartphone GPS today is much much better, with recent phone brands rivaling even the best dedicated gps devices. Dedicated GPSrs should ideally always be better devices since they are, well, dedicated to gps technology. But it's quite common that someone who's only experience with a phone is an older or less capable phone, and having used a very capable dedicated GPSr, will presume that all phones are as bad or worse than the one they have experience with. That's not the case.

 

Ultimately, there's just a much wider swath of quality amongst the smorgasboard of smartphone brands than there is amongst GPS devices, so yes it's easier to point at a lower average capability, but these days anyone picking up a relatively new smartphone will have more than sufficient power and technology to make use of the phone for geocaching even in the most questionable of environments. I started with a 3GS in 2009 which was iffy, but still quite sufficient for geocaching - finding and placing - and used it in deep forest, in desert with no reception, over water, snow, ice, lengthy day hikes and high urban cores. Today I have a 6S Plus and can't form a viable reason I would switch to a less technologically capable device even though it would be dedicated to GPS.

 

Basically: dedicated GPSr - good chance you'll have a trustworthy device with excellent GPS technology almost guaranteed to be excellent for geocaching. Smartphone - wider range of quality and technology also affected by user knowledge of the device, with more recent hardware much more likely to be on par with a dedicated GPSr.

 

The only legitimate issue I've found with a smartphone (by my experience) that can't be directly dealt with in a practical manner (imo) is cold weather, which plays havoc with battery life/reporting. All other smartphone concerns are non-issues.

 

That said, I do agree that dedicated GPSrs are still quite prolific in the community, at least around here. I think that anyone taking up this hobby at some point with a smartphone decides whether they want to stay with a smartphone or at least try a dedicated GPS. I'd bet it's then a relatively small segment of those people who decide to stay with the smartphone exclusively; but that's probably highly dependent on demographic, age, culture, region, environment, etc.

 

The best geocaching tech setup is to have both a smartphone and a good dedicated handheld GPS. Make use of both their strengths; why not?

 

I think you may have jumped to a conclusion. I don't believe I generalized, I stated my personal opinion. I also didn't say anything about the relative accuracies (precision of language please). :rolleyes:

 

But let me count (some of) the ways I prefer GPSr...

 

- My main concern when it's pouring rain is the relative water resistance of the devices (yes, I've tried the Otterbox and didn't care for it). My Oregon has survived some river dunkings, I panic if my Samsung gets more than a splattering.

- My concern in uncertain footing is the loss of or damage to a phone many times the replacement cost of a GPSr.

- I find the phone to be too hard to hold onto and use single handedly when in the bush (other hand has firm grasp on hiking stick), I have to hold it just so to avoid pushing buttons or touching the screen where I don't want to, without it slipping away.

- I suppose there's a lanyard that can be attached to the phone to stop it from hitting the ground when dropped, like the GPS, but I don't like that expensive screen swinging against rocks,(see replacement cost), so it needs to be carefully fished from a pocket when needed. The GPSr is built to take (and has taken) some knocks so it hangs conveniently around my neck or on my pack when not in active use.

- The lack of trail maps is a major deterrent to me, although I know somebody with an iPhone (mine's Android) who has maps, so I suppose they must be available, and the GS app should hopefully incorporate OSM in time, but if they don't work offline they'd be of limited use. Where I usually trek there's no cell signal for miles.

- It often turns out that somebody in the group du jour is missing a cache or several on their machine for one reason or another. We all use Garmins, and are able to beam to each other. Haven't yet figured a way to do that using phones, and reciting coordinates, descriptions, hints and possibly logs is tedious.

- there may be a way to download daily finds from a phone to GSAK, but I don't know how. With the GPS it's simple. The same goes for uploading GSAK formatted GPX files to the GPS. I like to include several useful stats in them other than what GS provide in theirs.

- I suppose there are apps for the phone to record tracks so I can upload new trails to OSM, but the GPS already does it with just a click.

 

I do find the phone to be indispensable, though, when we stop for a break and find we have a fleeting bar of reception and can check for any email notifications of new caches in the vicinity.

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...all players using a smartphone app (i.e., most everybody now).

I don't agree. This may be the case in your crowd, but please don't generalize. Smartphone navigators account for a minority of experienced cachers I encounter.

....

And I've been called a lot worse things than Old School. :D

 

No offense intended. I was writing in a threat about the new smartphone app and about its features. You are reading this App Update Announcement thread and replying and even saying you use your smartphone some, so my comment applies to you too. I would also bet if you ask all those other experienced cachers you encounter, they too would tell you they use the smartphone app some as well. I too have a dedicated gps device (older, that I bought used to get started) but frankly my iPhone and Android devices are far better for me, but that is not the point of this thread. So rather than getting off topic, do you have something about the new app to add that is relevant to this thread? I don't participate here much (only posted because of the importance of this change), but I bet if you are interested there are dozens of threads here on which device is better and are you a real cacher if you use a smartphone app in the field.

 

My point is/was that this change in the app is extremely significant and affects the vast majority of members and premium members who use this app AT LEAST SOME OF THE TIME which includes you and the majority of members. I think we should focus (at least in this thread) on how to help Groundspeak update it in a way that best serves the community.

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Correct , You can use a PQ just like any other normal list of caches and yes Downloading the caches is coming very soon

 

Downloading caches and map tiles (and photos)? Like other have said, traveling and using the new app is currently impossible for me as roaming charges would leave me with a huge bill.

 

Btw, did someone compare how much data the rebranded app, and the old and trusted one are using for the same operation?

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...all players using a smartphone app (i.e., most everybody now).

I don't agree. This may be the case in your crowd, but please don't generalize. Smartphone navigators account for a minority of experienced cachers I encounter.

....

And I've been called a lot worse things than Old School. :D

 

No offense intended. I was writing in a threat about the new smartphone app and about its features. You are reading this App Update Announcement thread and replying and even saying you use your smartphone some, so my comment applies to you too. I would also bet if you ask all those other experienced cachers you encounter, they too would tell you they use the smartphone app some as well. I too have a dedicated gps device (older, that I bought used to get started) but frankly my iPhone and Android devices are far better for me, but that is not the point of this thread. So rather than getting off topic, do you have something about the new app to add that is relevant to this thread? I don't participate here much (only posted because of the importance of this change), but I bet if you are interested there are dozens of threads here on which device is better and are you a real cacher if you use a smartphone app in the field.

 

My point is/was that this change in the app is extremely significant and affects the vast majority of members and premium members who use this app AT LEAST SOME OF THE TIME which includes you and the majority of members. I think we should focus (at least in this thread) on how to help Groundspeak update it in a way that best serves the community.

 

No offense taken, and none consciously projected. :)

 

My shopping list for the fully developed app would include:

 

- OSM trail maps

- complete offline functionality. I'm usually out of cell range.

- track logging and export. When exploring new trails I like to be able to upload to OSM.

- custom GPX import/export. I like to be able to include data the stock GPXs don't.

- user waypoints. For trailheads, POIs, new placements etc.

- list mode should include those custom waypoints and distances. Especially for when we're dropping new caches.

- direct phone-phone data sharing. For offline situations where one person has loaded the cache and another hasn't. It would be amazing if they could also hack Garmin's ANT and make phone-GPSr possible.

- waypoint averaging

- "enter next stage"

 

Oh, and an orange in the toe of my stocking. :D

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noncentric said: I know it's not an ideal solution, but cachers can still log online by accessing geocaching.com via a web browser and thereby having full website functionality via their phone.

 

This is not only not an ideal solution. In my opinion, it is not a solution at all to access the website from a phone.

 

I agree, but not because the website is not mobile friendly.

 

For a game that is frequently played in remote areas, the assumption that one is going to have access to the internet at all is not a given. Heck, I can go over to my sister-n-laws house about 6 miles from here and can't get a cellular connection. For me, the bigger issue though is when traveling to another country where, even if I can get a cellular connection, data roaming charges would, as terratin suggested, leave me with a huge bill to pay.

 

 

 

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According to the description at the app store basic users can only find easy traditional caches. Isn't what that really means is that everything other than easy traditional caches are premium only caches?

 

No, it just means that they've limited their official Geocaching® app to a small segment of available geocache listings that can be viewed by anyone online. Their hope is that for those who only use the app, there's more chance they'll upgrade to a premium membership - the benefit of course not just being that in the app they'll finalloy be able to see all listings (both those available on the website and those that are locked to premium members.

 

It was a tradeoff so they didn't have to maintain two apps, one free and one paid.

 

Perhapst hey feel that if they offered a fully featured official app, the only downside being no access to PM-only caches, that fewer people may decide to buy the membership. Who knows.

 

But no, public caches are available to anyone, but non-PM app users can only see "easy" public caches. Other API apps can see ALL public caches, but any premium member will be able to see ALL caches.

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According to the description at the app store basic users can only find easy traditional caches. Isn't what that really means is that everything other than easy traditional caches are premium only caches?

 

Use a computer and you can access all info for all non-Premium Member Only caches.

 

Why should a free (formerly Intro) app give all access to non-paying members? Not a good business plan, IMO.

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Why should a free (formerly Intro) app give all access to non-paying members? Not a good business plan, IMO.

 

Question - I haven't tried yet, but does the API itself also enforce this limitation on 3rd party apps using the API with non-PM accounts? Never actually thought of checking that...

Edited by thebruce0
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There's a lot to read in this thread, so my apologies if some of my concerns have been addressed.

 

As a newbie, this is frustrating. I have 47 caches under my best, and I liked challenging myself with tougher caches. And I will admit, this update and new limitations unless you go premium is enough to steer me away from caching for a while. What did I pay for originally?! The reviews I've read are equally as frustrated with the changes.

 

For now, as therapeutic as caching has been for me the last while, I'm stepping away for a bit.

What do you mean by "tougher" caches?

If D/T, you can't go on the site to look up the higher D/T caches?

Nothing's changed there...

- All others (but pmo) you can still access with your app.

I try to stick with 2+ in terrain (cancels out most roadside and parking lots) and can easily find 'em by simply going onto the site. :)

 

First off, I'm not "he."

 

My finds to date only shows the ones I've been successful at finding -- that doesn't mean I haven't made attempts at caches that may be of a higher difficulty or terrain rating. And sometimes I may be out and about, and haven't planned ahead by going onto the Geocaching website to pinpoint 2+ D/T caches. It's nice to give things a shot, even if I don't log the non-find, or if those attempts don't show up on my "finds to date" list that you reviewed.

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We are out with this new app. Do non premium members see which caches have trackables?

In the get started section for the apps, and before, "Unlock even more adventure with Geocaching Premium:"

both say, " Search for and log trackables you find in the wild", so yeah, guess so. :)

Yes, non-Premium members can view the trackables that are listed in a cache, and they can see the trackable indicator in the cache list saying how many trackables are supposedly in the cache.

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We are out with this new app. Do non premium members see which caches have trackables?

This is what I see happening: Drop a TB and everyone is now in a race to see who gets it first; even if you've already done that one.

Those unscrupulous people who take TBs and GCs and hoard them will seriously be on the lookout. It used to be fun to drop a GC and watch where it goes. Now I am happy to see it just make it to another cache.

It's not easy to tell when you can swipe for another screen or if you have to use the back arrow.

 

If it ain't broke we will break it.... Then fix it!

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Is there a way of making lists available for offline use, like you can in the old app? Maybe I'm overlooking where this is?

 

This falls into the "...or are coming soon" category. Should be by March 23.

 

So, is this feature definitely being added by the end of this month? Without it my caching is limited since I use my phone exclusively and frequently use offline lists.

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Is there a way of making lists available for offline use, like you can in the old app? Maybe I'm overlooking where this is?

 

This falls into the "...or are coming soon" category. Should be by March 23.

 

So, is this feature definitely being added by the end of this month? Without it my caching is limited since I use my phone exclusively and frequently use offline lists.

 

Yes, offline lists will be added to the Geocaching® app by March 23.

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Is there a way of making lists available for offline use, like you can in the old app? Maybe I'm overlooking where this is?

 

This falls into the "...or are coming soon" category. Should be by March 23.

 

So excited once you can! I will say the new app has been an amazing thing! I have had it for over 6 months now and its taking over! I use it more than my GPS!!

 

I miss seeing my Badges and having offline list but honestly the off line list was only good with my GPS anyways.

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noncentric said: I know it's not an ideal solution, but cachers can still log online by accessing geocaching.com via a web browser and thereby having full website functionality via their phone.

 

This is not only not an ideal solution. In my opinion, it is not a solution at all to access the website from a phone.

 

I agree, but not because the website is not mobile friendly.

 

For a game that is frequently played in remote areas, the assumption that one is going to have access to the internet at all is not a given. Heck, I can go over to my sister-n-laws house about 6 miles from here and can't get a cellular connection. For me, the bigger issue though is when traveling to another country where, even if I can get a cellular connection, data roaming charges would, as terratin suggested, leave me with a huge bill to pay.

Yes, data charges and cell reception are issues. Just to clarify, my comment about being able to log into the browser referred to submitting logs and changing the Found date. These actions would require cell reception whether using the browser or the app. I wasn't suggesting that logging into the browser was a good solution to search for caches, read cache descriptions, etc. It can be done, but obviously it would be better to have those functions in the app.

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Just to clarify, my comment about being able to log into the browser referred to submitting logs and changing the Found date. These actions would require cell reception whether using the browser or the app.
The apps I've used have allowed me to enter field notes. If I have a data connection, then the field note is uploaded immediately. If not, then the field note is saved and uploaded when I do have a data connection. Either way, I use the field notes (which are really shorthand notes to myself) to submit a real log later, when I have access to a real keyboard.

 

For me, the inability to upload field notes is a non-starter. The free app won't let me submit field notes, so I'll use it just to test it, but I won't use it for real geocaching.

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Just to clarify, my comment about being able to log into the browser referred to submitting logs and changing the Found date. These actions would require cell reception whether using the browser or the app.
The apps I've used have allowed me to enter field notes. If I have a data connection, then the field note is uploaded immediately. If not, then the field note is saved and uploaded when I do have a data connection. Either way, I use the field notes (which are really shorthand notes to myself) to submit a real log later, when I have access to a real keyboard.

 

For me, the inability to upload field notes is a non-starter. The free app won't let me submit field notes, so I'll use it just to test it, but I won't use it for real geocaching.

Yep, Field Notes is one of my favorite features about using my GPSr.

 

The current iteration of the Geocaching app (free app) doesn't allow for "field notes" or "save for later" logging, so logging with that app currently requires cell reception. I'm assuming this will change when the offline functionality is added next week, unless the offline functionality that's added is just about offline lists. Will have to wait and see. Future app updates should allow log dates to be set.

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I had a solved mystery and on the app was able to see the solved coords. I managed to delete those and found that they were also deleted in the cache listing on the website. I also could not then correct the coords on the website. I could put them in but when I clicked 'accept' the old coords were still there. Finally, I added solved coords to the cache in the app and they re-appeared on the website listing.

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