Database Develop

GPS - AT&T Tilt

I am looking for some feedback on the GPS built into the new AT&T Tilt.
What is the accuracy of the GPS?
What is the sensitivity of the radio? (does it loose signal when you get in your car? in heavily wooded areas?)
How long does it take to obtain GPS Satellite Signal? (15 seconds? 30 seconds? 2 minutes?)
How much battery does it suck down?
Can it work with multiple programs at the same time? (Windows Live and another program at the same time?)

Can't really comment on accuracy, but it has me plotted on the correct roads on Google Maps and MS Live Search.
GPS reception is fine in the car, although initial satellite lockings seems faster when I put the phone on the dash. After that, I can pretty much put the phone anywhere near the drivers seat.
Takes a minute to a couple minutes for me to get a fix.
Its sucks batteries fast. Slightly faster then the trickle charger is charging the phone. So on a long drive, I imagine you will kill the battery on the Tilt using the GPS.
Don't know about the last question.

Braingears said:
I am looking for some feedback on the GPS built into the new AT&T Tilt.
What is the accuracy of the GPS? :iterally its pinpointed me w/in 5 ft
What is the sensitivity of the radio? (does it loose signal when you get in your car? in heavily wooded areas?) In the car its fine, dont have woods here in miami, but in the everglades it works just fine.
How long does it take to obtain GPS Satellite Signal? (15 seconds? 30 seconds? 2 minutes?) approx 10-15 s
How much battery does it suck down? Dont know, I dont have it on for a long time
Can it work with multiple programs at the same time? (Windows Live and another program at the same time?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Havent tried that yet, meaning using google maps & windows live?

I've only had it working for a short time, but based on what i've read its fairly accurate (someone got it within 15', mine was within 30' but that was google maps and i dont think it does off-road)
I established the connection on my porch (so i could use my wifi) and it followed me inside the house. 9 satellites outside, 6 in my chair. its a small house, but still nearly completely obstructed due to rain clouds and being indoors
If you use a program like GPSTest or GPSViewer to establish the connection first, they go very quickly. otherwise it may run into some problems connecting due to the timeout settings.
battery power no idea...
As mentioned earlier, i try a light weight program to establish the initial connection and the actual program to use it. from what i've seen you can see two but not sure how well it'll work n the end.

hey i got my tilt, I really don't know how things works, I mean I installed live search on it, but you know I can't get the current GPS postion, how does this thing work? anyone? can you guys tell us the steps for those of who are new to this whole GPS thing, thanks

redpoint73 said:
Its sucks batteries fast. Slightly faster then the trickle charger is charging the phone. So on a long drive, I imagine you will kill the battery on the Tilt using the GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed this too.
Is there a way to fix this?
It is very annoying.
With a car charger I should be able to at least keep the battery at the same level.
(PS: I am using a car-to-USB adapter and the USB/Sync cable that came with the tilt)

Back when I was using the att flash, I'd need to use a program to jumpstart gps. It'd take about 2 minutes. Afterwards, I could use google maps without issue. But if I drove around, I'd constantly be losing the gps and need to hit retry.
Then I flashed to htc. Google maps always picked up the lock in about 10 seconds. I'd still lose it if I drove around.
But then a few days ago, google maps stopped picking up gps. Even using other programs, I'd run it for over 10 minutes without getting a lock. Haven't gotten gps working at all in the past few days. Not sure what's going on. Hopefulyl a future firmware will fix this. Not going to bother with it for the time being. Being able to use google maps is really enough. gps is pretty silly to me.

Braingears said:
I am looking for some feedback on the GPS built into the new AT&T Tilt.
What is the accuracy of the GPS?
What is the sensitivity of the radio? (does it loose signal when you get in your car? in heavily wooded areas?)
How long does it take to obtain GPS Satellite Signal? (15 seconds? 30 seconds? 2 minutes?)
How much battery does it suck down?
Can it work with multiple programs at the same time? (Windows Live and another program at the same time?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Accuracy -- I can't speak as to "within x meters", but I can tell you that when using it with mapping software, the location fix is right on the money as to where it shows me being in the car.
Length of time to obtain a signal -- after the initial "fix", I can open my mapping software and in the length of time it takes to select my destination, it has already paired with the GPS chip.
Battery Life -- I keep my Tilt on the car charger when using GPS -- at least, I did until a few days ago. I forgot to plug it in to the cigarette lighter and the battery was dead running the GPS constantly in 5 hours.
Multiple apps at once -- Can't comment on that one.

When I use telenav , most of the time it is accurate close to about 15 feet.

crap battery life caused by google maps?

Now this is not necessarily what you may think.
I know that when you turn anything on on these phones, it uses up the battery life....believe me, i've been working in the mobile phone industry for long enough to know that!
Anyhoo, i have noticed that even if i have only used google maps for under 5 minutes, the battery life of my diamond goes all to hell, and i think that google maps is not shutting the GPS port down properly! any day where i don't use google maps the battery life is fine.
What i did to test it was this:
Charge to 100%
Open google maps and turn on GPS so that it gets a fix. let it download the map tiles and then disconnect the internet connection.
Leave it running for 5 minutes.
Close google maps and put device in standby.
Battery lasted 2 hours and 29 minutes before the device gave me the battery low message.
100% to 10% in under two and a half hours? I couldn't believe it so i tried it with tomtom, due to my suspicions of google maps not closing the port.
charge to 100%
Open TT7 and get a fix.
leave running for 5 minutes.
close TT7 and put device in standby.
2 hours and 29 minutes later (how long it took to die before) and the battery is still showing 90%.
repeated the test on both and got similar results.
Does anyone else get this problem or is it just me? It seems that Google Maps doesn't seem to shut the GPS port after it is finished using it and so my battery is totally rinsed in 2 and a half hours. yet tomtom seems to manage the port correctly.
FYI, google is set to get the GPS port automatically, and TT7 is set to internal device, so both should be going through the MS intermediate driver. ROM is 1.37.405.1 WWEshipped on the device, and radio is 1.00.25.03. I've got a french, dutch and spanish device all with 1.35 on them so i am going to test with them to see if they have the same problem, but it think google maps might have an issue with 6.1 maybe?

Which version of Google Maps have you encountered this with?
On the GM website, there is version 2.1.0.10 available for download.
In my diamond, there was v2.0.1.33 preinstalled in v1.37 WWE ROM.
I'm gonna update and check this too, it may hep to resolve my yesterday's problem with unexpected battery drain...

nothing said...

had the issue with the pre-installed version.
have updated to 2.1.0.10 and am re-testing the problem.
Here's hoping this fixes it.....

i have tried to reproduce the issue with the freshest GM, and it does not seem to occur. I even had the app exited without unchecking the "Use GPS" option. Looks like one less thing to worry about

i have no problems using google maps. make sure you have terminated the application (check your task manager) as google maps may be closed but not terminated.

oh and switch off your data connection after using google maps. =)

rhedgehog said:
had the issue with the pre-installed version.
have updated to 2.1.0.10 and am re-testing the problem.
Here's hoping this fixes it.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem still exists in this latest version. Is there any way to manually close the GPS port after using Google Maps? Does a soft reset close it?

soft reset should shut theGPS port, but i seem not to have the problem now with the latest version.
app was always closed properly, and checked that it was so in the task manager. GPRS was disconnected during the test as i said in the first post. anyhoo, I have re-run the tests using the latest GM version and seems is back to normal.
I did put battery status on the device during the second round of tests and was seeing around 330ma being drawn after gm was closed, but after tomtom, it was back to around 70-90.
now it is dropping back to that after closing GM as well.
very strange but certainly something to keep an eye out for. As some people still seem to have it with 2.1.0.10, it could be rom related as well maybe?

looking for gps software(Searched)

OK what im looking for is a gps software that can show my speed and my higest speed i had. Sounds dump but instead of buying a hand held gps i rather this. We want to see how fast some of our R/C cars and boats travel. ( place phone on R/C)
Thanks

I guess you could use MySportTraining and Vidaone GPS. I use it when I go running or biking and it tells me my average speed, miles traveled, and gives me a file that I can upload to Google maps that highlights my route. That might work for you.
http://www.vidaone.com/mst_ppc.htm
http://www.vidaone.com/mstgps_ppc.htm

There is zero chance you searched for this. There must be a dozen such programs which record basic things like direction, speed, etc.
Search http://www.freewareppc.com

I searched on here. Found only one (gps speed sentry ) and it reads speed to slowly. When my car ( real car not rc) hits 40 mph it takes about 10 secs for it to catch up. Same with slowing down jus has a slow reaction to speed showing.
Thanks for that link i didnt know of that site. Will see what i can find. If any one has a recommended program let me know

chvybeatsford said:
I searched on here. Found only one (gps speed sentry ) and it reads speed to slowly. When my car ( real car not rc) hits 40 mph it takes about 10 secs for it to catch up. Same with slowing down jus has a slow reaction to speed showing.
Thanks for that link i didnt know of that site. Will see what i can find. If any one has a recommended program let me know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's how some GPS work. It has to do with how often in Communicates with the Satellites. The more often, the faster, but it uses more battery that way. Over long trips It could mean the difference of battery remaining or not.

Thanks for the info i need one that is faster. Any way to speed up im not worried about the battery?

GPS for Hiking

I'm hoping some Diamond users can help me with some questions I have.
I use memory-map os software and have been usinng it on an ipaq ppc. The ipaq has just died on me so I need a new device and rather than carry two gadgets around with me it seems to make sense to buy a smart phone. This has to be a windows device to run memory-map and the Diamond 2 seems to be the best such device in my price bracket.
The questions I haven't so far found an answer for :-
1)How long does the battery last for while using gps? Most users seem to use their gps for road naviagation in the car so don't have a problem with this but I will be using it for hiking.
2)Can the display be turned off while using the display to extend battery life?
3)How quickly does the gps obtain a fix?
TIA
Alan

Hi Alan,
I have been using GPS software with my Diamond for the last year and have mixed feelings about it.
TomTom Navigator 7 - works great - almost immediate fix - highly recommended. Works as well as a dedicated car GPS except screen is smaller.
PathAway GPS 5 with SoftMaps maps. Works fine - sometimes slow to get a fix - track log to .GPX file unreliable, you never know if it works or not and cannot rely on it because of that. Nice Pocket Mode where the unit is in sleep mode with GPS on.
GPSCycleComputer - great freeware application - live track upload to crossingways.com - I use it a lot to measure distance, speed, and build .GPX track logs to geocode my photos. I have not used it with maps.
The Diamond/GPS system has 2 problems IMO:
Problem 1: reliability. When in the field, you have to rely to your GPS and, IMO, this is not possible with my Diamond. It is too easy to hit a button accidently and disable the software. I tried different lock applications to no avail - I cannot be 100% sure, like with my Garmin GPSMap 60 CSx. Switching to another application - like phone, voice recorder or camera - and coming back is also often a problem.
Problem 2: battery life. It is possible to turn off the screen to improve battery life but you can never be sure it will resume back on - unreliable.
My Diamond is the North American unlocked version and has a 1340mah battery. Here are 2 examples of battery life:
GPSCycleComputer
Set to read GPS every minute
Set to send track to crossingways.com every minute
Set to register a .GPX track file
Phone and internet ON
Screen off
Battery life: about 4 hours
PathAway GPS 5
Screen ON 25% Pocket mode 75%
Set to register a .GPX track file
Phone and internet ON
Battery life: 2 to 3 hours
Conclusion:
In car use with TomTom: fine
Field use: as a gadget and a toy: yes - as a reliable tool to find your way back if you get lost: definitely NO. However, it is fun to use.
Regards
Jules

Jgobeil said:
Hi Alan,
I have been using GPS software with my Diamond for the last year and have mixed feelings about it.
TomTom Navigator 7 - works great - almost immediate fix - highly recommended. Works as well as a dedicated car GPS except screen is smaller.
PathAway GPS 5 with SoftMaps maps. Works fine - sometimes slow to get a fix - track log to .GPX file unreliable, you never know if it works or not and cannot rely on it because of that. Nice Pocket Mode where the unit is in sleep mode with GPS on.
GPSCycleComputer - great freeware application - live track upload to crossingways.com - I use it a lot to measure distance, speed, and build .GPX track logs to geocode my photos. I have not used it with maps.
The Diamond/GPS system has 2 problems IMO:
Problem 1: reliability. When in the field, you have to rely to your GPS and, IMO, this is not possible with my Diamond. It is too easy to hit a button accidently and disable the software. I tried different lock applications to no avail - I cannot be 100% sure, like with my Garmin GPSMap 60 CSx. Switching to another application - like phone, voice recorder or camera - and coming back is also often a problem.
Problem 2: battery life. It is possible to turn off the screen to improve battery life but you can never be sure it will resume back on - unreliable.
My Diamond is the North American unlocked version and has a 1340mah battery. Here are 2 examples of battery life:
GPSCycleComputer
Set to read GPS every minute
Set to send track to crossingways.com every minute
Set to register a .GPX track file
Phone and internet ON
Screen off
Battery life: about 4 hours
PathAway GPS 5
Screen ON 25% Pocket mode 75%
Set to register a .GPX track file
Phone and internet ON
Battery life: 2 to 3 hours
Conclusion:
In car use with TomTom: fine
Field use: as a gadget and a toy: yes - as a reliable tool to find your way back if you get lost: definitely NO. However, it is fun to use.
Regards
Jules
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply Jules. That is very helpful. It sounds like the Diamond will not do the main job I want it for then.

Memory Map with hTC diamond
Works very well on Diamond. Quick GPS fix. Battery life not great as in most GPS phones. I just have the map loaded & use as necessary. I would not be without it. Also works very well with tom Tom & Garmin XT.

Like you, i used MM on an ipaq and now use it on the HTC. The big adavantage over the HTC over the ipaq is that you can switch it to standby to conserve battery power and it will immediatly come back to life with gps signal.

ahardie said:
Thanks for your reply Jules. That is very helpful. It sounds like the Diamond will not do the main job I want it for then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should know that there are extened batteries for diamond that take the battery life to really high values. I posted a review of a 3000 mah Mugen battery here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3447797#post3451845 (read the posts after that as well, for instance this one) ... it is a huge battery but well worth if you are looking for something for "in the field". There is also a Mugen 2000 mah version and an official HTC 1350 mah version. The Mugen ones are *very* high quality, don't confuse them with the cheap chinese/asian crap that are all over ebay or the internet.
I've never had the problem with the screen coming back on when I don't want it and I use GPS Cycle Computer all the time. You switch off the screen from the GPSCC interface and it stays that way (unless someone calls you or you power it on from the power button, of course).

Thanks for the replies. Very helpful.

Last but not least - in my hikes i don't look constantly at GPS - I prefer the views, so only sometimes I check my position on track crossing, or when I'm not sure of my position.
GPS fix - flash better radio, and you will have instant fix (outdoors), try 1.15
Switching off - just use the sleep button. It will switch the gps off.
Good luck!

GPS accuracty won't get below 6 meters most of the time...

I use GPS TEST app to test the gps functionality of my Note 5 and it seems that the gps will jump most of the time from 6 to 12 meters of accuracy when i'm outdoors and very rarely hit 4 meters or 3, no matter how many sattelites are in use (usually more than 10 and most of the time even 20+, which is great). it feels like a software calibration thing - my older devices would show 3-4 meters consistently when the reception was good ; I also noticed that my movement in Waze seems to update more slowly when compared to other devices.
How's the situation with yours?

didn't realize it could go that low 4m accuracy. how does it impact your usage of GPS when u get only 6m-12m accuracy?

Civilian gps devices are restricted to 3m. Military gps devices can get even more precise. Back to your question - It doesn't seem to effect it for driving purposes, but if I use apps such as Runtastic, it feels a bit off track.

So... How's the accuracy of your Note 5's? Did you manage to get a constant 3-4 meters?