Posted October 28, 2008 in the gadgets
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This past weekend, we went geocaching for the first time in a few years. We assumed, with each of us having an iPhone 3G, that we had everything we needed to find some caches.
Yeah… No.
We tried two different methods. First, we browsed to a cache page in Safari and clicked the Google Maps link to see the location in the Maps app. This all worked as it should — eventually. We were on a very slow Edge connection, so it took minutes to load the page, and more minutes whenever the map needed more tiles. The iPhone would find the location just fine. The problem was, the map app doesn’t have a high enough resolution to lead you to a specific set of coordinates.
We next tried MotionX GPS Lite. Downloading a 7MB app over Edge is a special experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone. MotionX works pretty well — put in your coordinates and the on-screen compass leads you to the location. This would work for geocaching, but the app depends on the iPhone being in motion for it to calculate a heading. In motion at a speed of at least 3 MPH, in fact. So to use this app I had to run back and forth in the woods, trying not to step on a cactus or slam into a tree. Ultimately, I gave up, as each heading update just made me more lost.
This was all very dissappointing. One of the reasons I bought an iPhone 3G was for geocaching and other GPS-related activities. But since it failed to achieve in the modest task that was its charge, I’m left wondering if I need to buy a separate GPS device.
Some people claim the iPhone GPS chip isn’t accurate enough for geocaching or turn-by-turn directions. I don’t buy that. The first commercial GPS devices were accurate to within 3-5 meters, same as most new devices. No reason the iPhone would be any different. A GPS receiver picks up signals from a minimum number of satellites then tringulates its location. The device itself has very little influence over the accuracy that comes from that process. It may be that the iPhone uses a small receiver that has more trouble detecting satellites. But the GPS-A chip is supposed to help compensate for that.
My gut tells me the real problem here is Core Location, the API apps use to access the GPS data. I know it provides speed, heading, and coordinates, but what an application really needs for geocaching is a continuous stream of updated coordinates. I’d be willing to bet Core Location can not provide those updates fast enough. If someone more familiar with the API could shed some light on that, I’d love to hear about it.
So am I giving up on my iPhone as a GPS device? Not necessarily. It’s possible that a future update to the OS will improve the situation. In fact, that may be what GPS software companies like TomTom are waiting for before they release their apps — a better API. Or perhaps there’s a better GPS app in the iTunes store that I haven’t tried yet. If anybody’s had success with a particular app, let me know in the comments.
In the mean time, though, I probably won’t be doing much geocaching.
Gruber’s been writing about the rumors of Flash coming to iPhone. I think he’s right that it’s unlikely, but I think there’s an angle he misses here:
Lastly, perhaps you might be thinking that although Flash-for-the-iPhone may not be in Apple’s interest, it is in Adobe’s — and so perhaps Adobe will port it themselves once the imminent iPhone SDK ships. Think again. The iPhone SDK is not going to be the sort of environment like Mac OS X where developers are free to create system-level plugins. No one is going to get to diddle with MobileSafari without Apple’s approval.
Gruber’s probably right, but Adobe may be able to make an end-run around this problem by porting Adobe Air to the iPhone. They’ve made it clear since the early releases that as soon as they can create mobile versions of Air (sometime after 1.0), they will. With Mobile Air they could release their own Webkit-based, Flash-enabled browser.
Of course, don’t expect this any time soon. Adobe Air 1.0 hasn’t been released yet, and a Mobile Air would likely have even worse memory issues than a MobileSafari Flash plugin. Still, I’m sure Adobe’s working on it.
This was fun to do, going through all the CSS links I’ve accumulated over the years and picking out the best for the page. It makes me think I might like joining their Greenhouse.
My wife’s Sony Clié died recently. Don’t feel too badly for it — it led a long and full life. The loss has been pretty hard on Angela, though. She kept track of everything on it. Once you get an organizational system in place, when it’s not there you feel like part of your brain is missing.
Good husband that I am, I have graciously offered to give her my Treo. Of course, I suppose if I did that I would have to get a new phone. I wonder if any interesting models have come out recently…
Actually, even though I feel the call of the iPhone as much as anyone else, the price tag is a little steep for me. So, while I wait for either the price to come down or my checking account balance to go up, I’ve been checking out various iPhone giveaways that have sprung up recently. If you’re interested in the different ways to get a free iPhone, I’ve posted a bunch of them on SweepsGoat.
(Side note: SweepsGoat just launched its own sweepstakes. If you like winning stuff, you should check it out, because it’s all about winning stuff by looking for ways to win stuff.)
On one of those sweepstakes, you enter by linking to ApplePhoneShow.com on your website or blog.
In another, you post “MeToday” videos on Viddler to enter. Here’s my most recent:
With apologies to anyone who watches it. Actually, I’ve had more fun with the videos than I expected. I don’t think video blogging is really my thing, but it’s a fun creative exercise, not unlike NaNoWriMo or Script Frenzy (Which I finished, btw. More on that later.).
Hopefully my efforts to do something nice for my wife will not be in vain…
