[naren_gs1]

Hello,
I am thinking of buying a GPS enabled mobile. Mapmyindia 'iNAV LOADED' software which enables navigations through latest maps containing 401+ cities is my choice. (They themselves are also offering HTC phones with the software preloaded). Can the TBHPians share their experinces on this?

Regards

[archat68]

There is a thread for using GPS in car - please go through that thread before opening a new thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...eiver-car.html

[naren_gs1]

Thanks for pointing out.
However, this is too big a thread to figure out the information I am looking for. Moreover, I need help on a very specific aspect - and not GPS in general. I would leave the moderators to decide.

Regards

[trrk]

Hi,

Originally Posted by naren_gs1

Hello,
Can the TBHPians share their experinces on this?

Please ensure that you have a car charger for your phone with you. Battery drain is fast when you use it.

Other than that the map works fine in a touch screen phone. I have the maps in an HTC P3400i phone.

[bigman]

Yes tried this on several different HTC models including the Diamond, Trinity, Kaiser and HD. Never had a problem with it nearly all satnav software works very well on them. Garmin XT, Destinator, Mapmyindia, Route 66, Tomtom etc etc.

You can also install GPSed and create tracks of journeys you make and view on Google earth, best thing is you can run a routing program and GPSed at the same time.

They are much more flexible than a dedicated PND and best thing is that they fit into your pocket (or a big pocket with the HD).

The phones from about the kaiser onwards from HTC (so nearly everything recent) have a decent builtin GPS system. I can get my diamond and HD to pick up 9 satellites whilst sat in my house which has double glazing etc. So on the road it will not be a problem.

[alto99]

I dont have any feedback on Mapmyindia's software but I have HTC diamond and almost all freewares /trial versions that I tried worked on it. From GPS /AGPS in HTC point of view there should be no issues.

Some more info on free softwares:
Best of all the freeware apps I found were googlemaps and mgmaps.

I use mgmaps (Mobile GMaps - View maps from various sources on your mobile phone!) which is not as feature rich (voice enabled navigtion, auto-rerouting etc are not present) but works fine with HTC Diamond. Best part is it also works in offline mode (no GPRS/data connectivity required) and can work with maps from various sites.

[naren_gs1]

Thank you all for sharing the experiences - on both the GPS capabilities of mobile phones (HTC seems to be the favorite) & the mapping softwares.

[bblost]

I am quite happy with my Satnav + Asus P527 combo.
The phone cost me under 13 k and came with the all India map.

Very helpful and I use it regularly.

Signal lock is a little delayed when I am between tall buildings. But once acquired the lock stays on without any issues.

[bblost]

My ASUS cannot lock onto any satellite when inside a train compartment.
Tried from 2 AC.
Even 5 mins later not a single sat got locked on.

Anyone tried connecting from inside a train.

[bigman]

I have had a decent GPS lock whilst on the train in England several times. I was sitting next to the window and it worked fine.

[bblost]

This time I traveled from Hyderabad to Chennai via Sleeper compartment in Charminar Express.

The Sat lock did happen. For the initial lock, I needed to wait for the speed of the train to be low. Once locked on there was no issue with the lock staying on.

For the record Charminar express was doing speeds in excess of 111 Kmph.

[bblost]

Hyderabad to Chennai again.
It works in the AC compartments too.

Only catch is that I should start it when the train speeds are low. Anything over 50 kmph and it will not get a lock.

Guys try this next time if you phone has GPS in it.
Its a lot of fun.

Although my wife found all my excitement plain stupid.

[ampere]

Whats its effect on the standby time? Does it drain the battery?

[bblost]

Originally Posted by ampere

Whats its effect on the standby time? Does it drain the battery?

I keep a close watch on the standby time as I use my phone to also read books.

I found the battery goes down by 2% for every 10 mins of GPS usage.

This is how my phone performed.
Had a 94% charge at the start of the journey.
I read my book for close to 3 hours. (brightness level at lowest setting)
Spent at least 30-45 mins on the GPS.

By morning the charge was down to 40%.
The phone was kept off for a large part of the journey.
Trip was from 18:30 till 8:30.

[Edsel Rulez!]

Originally Posted by bblost

Only catch is that I should start it when the train speeds are low. Anything over 50 kmph and it will not get a lock.

I use the GPS function on my N95 extensively. I've got a lock even at fairly high speeds inside an AC train compartment, but on occasion it can frustratingly fail to find satellites even after 15 minutes. I've even tried it from an aircraft (after switching the phone into offline or "flight" mode). While I got a lock when stationary/taxiing, once the plane lifted off it refused to work. :(

And yes, the missus has paid zero attention to all this, though I've explained the uses of GPS. I thought it'd help her because she's directionally challenged and can't navigate for nuts. Is this lack of interest typical of the female species or is my wife the odd one out? Thankfully, she never stops me from indulging in my "weird" hobbies, nor cribs about the money I throw into pursuing my interests.