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3g vs 3gs turn by turn gps

Mad Mac Maniac

Mad Mac Maniac

macrumors 601
Original poster
Oct 4, 2007
4,808
2,110
A little bit of here and a little bit of there.
ok now that tom-tom has finally been released (and the navigon sale extended), I have to the end of the month to decide if i will get tom tom, navigon, or neither. I'm sure plenty of reviews comparing the two are in the new future... but that's not what this thread is all about.

Part of my concern is having a compassless iphone 3g. I assume the apps use the compass in the 3gs to even better the gps abilities by knowing precisely which direction you are facing. So I'm wondering exactly how well the 3g is able to do turn by turn, as opposed to the 3gs. If there is virtually no difference then I'll probably go ahead and get it now, but if the 3g is noticeably worse then the 3gs i could hypothetically wait till i get the 4th gen iphone next summer, because I'm not really in desperate need of gps at the moment. That would also allow me some time to read thru the reviews, grab any special tom tom deals that may happen within the next year, wait to see if map updates cost extra, or see if there is some other (better) gps is coming out.

So does anyone know the difference the compass makes in a turn by turn gps app?
 
Yes, the difference is ZERO.
The GPS apps use the built in A-GPS chip, not the compass feature at all.
Buy with confidence. If you upgrade later you can still sync the app or apps to your new iphone for free.
 
i would think that in the car the compass would not be too reliable, not to mention it would only make sense for a gps app to use it when you're stopped to know which direction you are oriented. That is assuming the iphone is mounted forward and not in the hands of a passenger playing with it or just laying on the console to your right while drive. all in all, i think it woud be a useless and probably more of an annoyance to have any reliance on it.
 
Revelation78 said:
So far none of the GPS app makers have advertised the use of the compass hardware; who knows if they ever will use it.
Click to expand...

I am not an expert in GPS or Physics, but how can the built-in magnetometer ("the compass hardware") play a role in the GPS hardware/application? I'm just curious...
 
daihard said:
I am not an expert in GPS or Physics, but how can the built-in magnetometer ("the compass hardware") play a role in the GPS hardware/application? I'm just curious...
Click to expand...

which way do i turn left if i dont know which way i'm facing in the first place?
 
From my understanding no GPS navigation system will utilise the compass in the 3GS as within a car you are surrounded by metal which interferes with all compasses. Unless your car is made out entirely of plastic materials (not sure how they are made in America but here in Europe they have a metal exterior) then it will be useless.
 
Yes and if you're stationary it won't know. I'm not saying that GPS apps have to use it, I simply think it would add to the accuracy of the GPS. Yes a car is metal and it can effect the compass, the metal on the car can also effect the GPS signal. That's why GOS systems are placed on the windshield to get the best signal, this would also alleviate some of the problems for the compass.
 
Just save your money and get this snazzy device. You can ever mount it next to your 3G. Better than the 3GS.

car-compass200904030001-thumb.jpg
 
You don't need compass feature at all....

Navigon works perfectly on my 3G..... very fast re-routing.... good graphics, easy to read and see... what else you want...;) Oh and the App itself takes about 5secs to load.... and very fast to navigate through menus etc...

way faster than TOmTom ONE unit I have....
 
cenetti said:
You don't need compass feature at all....

Navigon works perfectly on my 3G..... very fast re-routing.... good graphics, easy to read and see... what else you want...;) Oh and the App itself takes about 5secs to load.... and very fast to navigate through menus etc...

way faster than TOmTom ONE unit I have....
Click to expand...

True, you don't need the compass feature, just like you don't need 3G. The point is it's something that can improve an existing function/service.
 
Has anyone ever tried actually using the compass in your vehicle. It works at least 5% of the time. It doesn't matter where in the vehicle it is in. I have tried it in 4 vehicle and have the same outcome. There is way too much interference for the compass to be accurate. I was excited about the compass because I though I would be able to use Google maps and have it change orientation while I am driving to see which direction I am going kind of like a real GPS. How many times are you stopped at a corner and you need to know if you are heading east or west. I bring up gmaps every time and it says there is too much interference and that I need to recalibrate. Off topic, but does anyone think TomTom has any software specific capabilties that Navigon doesn't have?
I am still stuck as to which one I need to get. Is it me or do you think text to speech will never be implemented because it might take up too much space?
 
scubasteve03 said:
Has anyone ever tried actually using the compass in your vehicle. It works at least 5% of the time.
Click to expand...

well that really sucks... makes the compass pretty worthless.

Also, none of the 3rd party apps have started implementing the compass because they didn't know it would have it!! That's part of the problem with apple. I don't think apple told navigon and tom tom and all the other TBT in advance, so they weren't able to implement it. Now they might be able to add updates using it... but I guess it doesn't work in a car anyway! :(
 
Mad Mac Maniac said:
well that really sucks... makes the compass pretty worthless.

Also, none of the 3rd party apps have started implementing the compass because they didn't know it would have it!! That's part of the problem with apple. I don't think apple told navigon and tom tom and all the other TBT in advance, so they weren't able to implement it. Now they might be able to add updates using it... but I guess it doesn't work in a car anyway! :(
Click to expand...

Yeah, why would they use it if it doesnt work in a car? They didnt implement it for a reason
 
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