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Recycling an Android Phone As a Handheld GPS?
imblum writes "So my dad's antique handheld GPS unit just went toes up and I was considering replacing it for him with an old Android Smartphone. All he really needs it for is hunting and camping (no navigation), so I don't want to pay for cell or data service. I found the program Mobile Atlas Creator to download map files onto the SD card, and an app called Maverick Lite to view them. Now all I need is to decide on an Android phone. I was considering a Samsung Behold II ($100-200 on Craigslist), but thought it would be nice to get some input from the Slashdot community. It seems like I can get a lot more functionality for the money out of an old Android than I could from a big name handheld GPS. Does this plan sound reasonable? Is there anything I'm overlooking?"
You're talking about spending $100-200 on an Android phone, and you can get a real dedicated GPS receiver for $90 that requires no effort to set up, no purchase of an additional flash card, has a warranty, etc.
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I just bought a used Magellan explorist 500 ion Amazon for $7. Why bother with hacking an android phone?
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There's a reason why 'real' GPS units cost more, despite not necessarily having as many fancy 'features' that often end up being unnecessary.
Cell phones rarely have WAAS. Cell phones usually also use the cellular system to receive the phase of the GPS satellite transmission to aid in reception--but--if you don't have any service, the accuracy can get pretty deplorable (well, compared to say my GPSmap 60CSx that usually locks within fourteen to sixteen feet)...the battery life isn't as good, cell phones are horribly made, and the chipsets and antennae are simply much, much, much better in a dedicated unit. Pick up a used GPS--that's a real GPS--and it will be much better suited to hunting and camping rather than looking for the closest Starbucks. Real GPS units have rubber gaskets for a reason.
A GPS device in my experience is much more durable than a smartphone. Smartphones are delicate devices. My GPS has been dropped tons of times, been left in the car in hot weather and cold winter, even sprayed with water on a couple of occasions. It still works. I doubt a smartphone would do that. On the other hand you could use the android for more than just navigation. You could have apps installed that don't need an internet connection, music, videos and what not. Although most new GPS devices do play mp3s.
Depends on how your dad uses his GPS and what he needs to do with it, but Android smart phones aren't generally designed for rough conditions.
I've got a Garmin eTrex and an Android phone. The Garmin is way more ruggedised than the touch screen smart phone (Motorola Milestone). I don't think the Milestone would cope with pouring rain, snow, getting knocked about in rucsacs, dropped in puddles, sat on, etc, and still function in bad weather at night when I really need to know where I am: it might be life or death. "Smart phones" with a few exceptions are much too flimsy for outdoor use in severe conditions.
A phone is:
1) not going to be as durable or rain resistant
2) not going to have as good battery life (while acting as a GPS)
3) probably not going to allow you to swap out ordinary AA or AAA batteries if you do run out (most phones have dedicated chargers and batteries)
4) probably not going to be as precise
5) probably going to involve more hassle loading maps (most GPS units have basic maps already loaded).
With dedicated GPS units in same price range as the Android phones you are talking about (e.g., mapping GPS units start at $150, and there are other brands, such as Magellan), the question is WHY would you get a phone if a GPS is what your dad needs? Some models even float, such as this $200 model, which would be great for hunting/camping. Check this place out to see the variety available. I'm sure there's an equivalent store in the USA.
If you already have an old phone laying around, it might be worth a try. Otherwise you're probably going to regret paying almost as much for a suboptimal solution.
Airplane mode disables all the wireless including gsm. Battery life will still likely be an issue for hunting, probably can get a few days with occasional checks.
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Um. Sorry guy but the vast majority of smartphone GPS hasn't been cellular triangulation based in a few years. While some still are, this is quickly becoming misinformation. Before you know it people are going to start telling you that 2007 called and they want their joke back.
I took my Moto Droid to France and Spain this spring for just that purpose. By definition there was no phone network in Europe, it only works with Verizon. I downloaded maps using MapDroid and planned to use it for GPS and email in wi-fi zones. The wi-fi email tool worked ok except the phone has a hard time hanging onto a wi-fi connection. As a GPS it was worthless. I find that if the phone network is disabled, the GPS takes forever to find it's location (sometimes it failed completely). If you are planning to not have a phone network connection, don't bother with this one.
Like I've explained in a previous post in much greater detail, the GPS of a Nokia phone (even with its free off-line Ovi vector maps) is almost completely useless without a data connection.
That's idiotic. Cell service is tower based. GPS is satellite based. If you have clear sky to two of the satellites, you can get a decent idea of where you are, three and you can really only be two places and it's a safe bet you're in the place closest sea level. The general idea is that GPS should be visible from anywhere. Cell towers are located close to population centers because it's cost efficient.
Yes, the cell service assists the GPS to find a signal quicker. That doesn't mean you can't get a GPS signal if you don't have cell service. It will just take a little longer.
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I did a reasonably extensive amount of research into how to do this, and I'm pretty confident I know the answer.
1. Get OruxMaps - it allows you to use maps without an active internet connection.
2. While connected to wifi, download the tiles from google terrain (or one of the other map sources available). If you know exactly where you're hiking, you can get zoomed in maps for say a 20 mile square around the center of your hike with amazing resolution.
3. Put your phone in a plastic bag, and only take it out if you actually don't know where you are (I find that I almost always do).
In terms of battery life, I was using my android phone as a camera too, and checking GPS every few hours to verify I was in the right place, and it lasted for three days taking down the battery by 40%. Make sure to turn off the cell tower seeking and such or else you will drain the battery really fast. Airplane mode probably won't allow you to receive GPS, unfortunately, but you can at least turn off wireless, data connections, etc.
If you aren't going to be gone very long, and you want a cool log of your trip, you can have OruxMaps poll the GPS in "power saving" mode, which as far as I can determine seems to mean connecting, and then dropping to low power (non-receiving) mode for 10-20 seconds before polling the satellites again. Then you can tell it to make a "track", and it will record your hike -- average speed, immediate speed at each point, speed distribution, altitude map, total distance, and other cute information.
Hopefully someone will mod this up high enough that the submitter can see it... this is the part of ask slashdot that always confuses me. Hopefully a few hundred other people came up with the same solution, so at least one of us is actually noticed =)
"Tiger Direct had an entry-level garmin for $69.... I think you'll be better off with a dedicated GPS than a re-purposed phone. "
Exactly. When I read this " I was considering a Samsung Behold II ($100-200 on Craigslist)" I was starting to doubt the author had even priced GPS units since they're far below $100 now
Since "All he really needs it for is hunting and camping (no navigation)," why not get a device soley created for that purpose like a $75 Garmin eTrex. High sensitivity, waterproof, and up to 17 hours on two AA batteries.
Now if author's dad wanted a Android so he could use GPS and other software I would understand not buying a dedicated GPS, but he made no mention at all of ever using it for anything other than a GPS.
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He lives (and goes hunting) in Alaska, and they don't have GPS in most of the state because of how far north it is. He could not see enough satellites to determine his position. I was stunned to think that GPS didn't work up there. I had no idea, and neither did my dad.
Nonsense, Alaska isn't far north. Most of it is on the same latitude as Finland, and we have no problems with GPS here. In fact, you can go to the north pole and have your GPS tell you you're at N 90 degrees. I think your dad was probably between too many mountains.
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This is incorrect.
The GPS constellation is arranged so this should be impossible unless:
Although none of the satellites are in a direct polar orbit (this avoids occasional "bunching" of satellites, a problem encountered by a forerunner to GPS called "Transit".), the constellation is divided into six orbital planes at varying inclinations. There is nowhere on the surface of the Earth where fewer than four satellites should be visible at any one time.
It is true that the lack of a direct polar plane means that in polar regions the satellites will sit lower on the horizon than in regions that are closer to the equator (They'll never be directly overhead in Alaska). But if the device is capable, and it's being used properly, you WILL be able to use it in Alaska or anywhere.
Read up in it if you're skeptical:
http://home.earthlink.net/~fjolles/gps.htm
http://www.kowoma.de/en/gps/orbits.htm
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html
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