Posted: 1/7/2014 3:46:32 PM EDT
| I want to buy a gps, I know nothing about them. Anyone have any input? |
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For the most part handhelds will be gone. I read an article recently and don't remember exactly but the number of units sold in each of the last few years has dropped so dramatically it is speculated that the makers are not going to stick anymore money into product development
Edit: And, since the number of base model automobiles that offer Nav is going up every year the car models don't have much of a future either. |
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For the most part handhelds will be gone. I read an article recently and don't remember exactly but the number of units sold in each of the last few years has dropped so dramatically it is speculated that the makers are not going to stick anymore money into product development Edit: And, since the number of base model automobiles that offer Nav is going up every year the car models don't have much of a future either. So what is the replacement? The smartphone like the guy above you says? |
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Handhelds can't be compared to a phone. I have had several garmins. My current favorite is the astro 320, it tracks my doggies.
The 62 models are basically the same without the tracking mode. I've mapped the whole hunt club out, the battery life is much better than the phone, plus I carry spares. I can drop it in water or mud and just rinse it off. I like my garmin vista too though. You can get free topo maps from gpsfilesdepot.com Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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So what is the replacement? The smartphone like the guy above you says? Quoted:
Quoted:
For the most part handhelds will be gone. I read an article recently and don't remember exactly but the number of units sold in each of the last few years has dropped so dramatically it is speculated that the makers are not going to stick anymore money into product development Edit: And, since the number of base model automobiles that offer Nav is going up every year the car models don't have much of a future either. So what is the replacement? The smartphone like the guy above you says? Yep, smartphone and you DO NOT need cell service because they have apps that let you download maps like motion X |
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Yep, smartphone and you DO NOT need cell service because they have apps that let you download maps like motion X Quoted:
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For the most part handhelds will be gone. I read an article recently and don't remember exactly but the number of units sold in each of the last few years has dropped so dramatically it is speculated that the makers are not going to stick anymore money into product development Edit: And, since the number of base model automobiles that offer Nav is going up every year the car models don't have much of a future either. So what is the replacement? The smartphone like the guy above you says? Yep, smartphone and you DO NOT need cell service because they have apps that let you download maps like motion X Smartphones suck for handheld GPS. Battery life sucks, ergonomics suck, and they're not rugged at all. What happens when you drop your smartphone in a puddle of water or snow, or you trip on a log or rock and smash the screen? Your out a phone AND a GPS. What happens when get turned around and go to use your GPS on your phone, but it's at 20% battery because it's at the end of the day and MOST smartphone batteries can barely last a day and a half without a charge? Smartphones rock for when you don't plan on needing a GPS. They put a ton of different devices into one nifty little package, and that's awesome, but those standalone devices to their intended job better than the smartphone does(jack of all trades, master of none). With that said, I've been using my droid as my primary GPS whether it's for driving or handheld use in the woods and it gets the job done. After using it for awhile however, it's plainly obvious to me a handheld unit would be better suited to my needs in the outdoors. In the car, I can keep it charged and in a cradle, so a in-car unit doesn't really offer many advantages. |
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Several good points made above. Here is one example:
Garmin Etrex Note the 25 hour battery life on two AA batteries. It is easy to take along spare AA batteries. Try doing that in the wild with a cell phone. Start looking at what Garmin offers to see what will suit your needs. Call a local outdoor store to see what they have. |
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Battery life is a big negative for cell phone GPS. I've had a Garmin Etrex legend for about 6 years. It's plenty accurate. I use it mainly for deer hunting. I'd get the Legend HCx which wasn't out when I got mine. The satellite pairing is MUCH faster on the HCx.
ETA: When hunting unfamiliar public land, I'll turn my GPS on when I leave the truck and it records a track wherever I go. A cell phone wouldn't last for that. |
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Life proof case take care of all the what if BS
And an external battery pack that not only charges the phone but any other small USB device takes care of that. they even make units that use batteries to charge a phone you know those same things that go in handheld GPS  Oh, and solar too
Look we can play the "what if" game all night. Sure, some guys are all the ultimate survivalists (that have time to sit on arfcom  )
But, considering most people are never more then a couple hours away from their car (at the most) when being the ultimate survival guy. For me, I'll keep my phone that does EVERTHING compared to a handheld unit that can be argued has no retail future and can only do one thing. |
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I have the Oregon 450, for it's built-in geocaching mode. No issues with it in the 15mo I've owned it. If I had the chance to do it over, I would have bought a Garmin 62 -- I just prefer regular buttons over a touchscreen in general.
ETA: I hated using my Droid as a GPS. Battery life sucked , and I was afraid I was going to break it or get it wet. A dedicated GPS was much more user friendly. |
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Life proof case take care of all the what if BS And an external battery pack that not only charges the phone but any other small USB device takes care of that. they even make units that use batteries to charge a phone you know those same things that go in handheld GPS Oh, and solar too
Look we can play the "what if" game all night. Sure, some guys are all the ultimate survivalists (that have time to sit on arfcom )
But, considering most people are never more then a couple hours away from their car (at the most) when being the ultimate survival guy. For me, I'll keep my phone that does EVERTHING compared to a handheld unit that can be argued has no retail future and can only do one thing. I'm not even a "survival guy" and am frequently away from my car an entire day. I do have a smartphone with me so I'm aware of how they compare and the limitations. I sometimes use mine in conjunction with the handheld to view sat images or to track the location of other friends. If you think they are the same you are probably unaware of all the functions of a handheld. I've noticed that a lot of people don't use their handhelds to their full extent. Anyhoo, they aren't mutually exclusive and the cost isn't so prohibited you can't have one. The trick is figuring out which function works best and when. Sometimes I will mark my entrance into the woods and "goto" that so there is always an arrow pointing to a known point. The woods are thick around here and its easy to get turned around during the day, much less at night. I don't always follow the same path out. Sometimes I will save and display a track but wander from it, its nice to have both showing. Sometimes if I've walked a lot in the same area it will just look like a bunch of spaghetti unless I zoom out. Mostly I'm following or trying to find my beagles. I love being able to watch where they go and pick them up when they go to far. I can tell what they are trailing by the way they are moving. It's nice to be able to cut them off. I have one that just doesn't know when enough is enough. She seems to be able to sense when it is the last run and we are going to leave. She will circle for hours till she literally drops from exhaustion. That's when we attempt to go in the woods after her. Only thing is she can run under the briars while we get stuck in them. All in all its great fun! :D Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I have had a bunch of Garmin and a few Magellan units over the years. The smart phone will work good in your car or the local park but there is a lot of navigation stuff the dedicated GPS unit do the smart phone don't do as nicely even with third party apps.
The other thing is smart phone use relatively poor small patch antennas. Most handheld GPS units will have either larger patch antennas and the better units have quad helix antennas. This become critical when under wet tree canopies and similar difficult reception situations. The GPS chip (A-GPS) used in smart phone really wants a network connection to help with initial lock up (approximate location from network and downloads ephemeris data off the network rather than direct from the satellites). It can do it without network access but its not as quick as a good Garmin or Megellan unit will be. Many of the newer handheld GPS units will also use the Russian GLONASS based satellites in addition to the US based GPS system in increase number of satellites used resulting in better reliability and accuracy of the position calculated. Finally many of the dedicated handheld GPS units can also use the WAAS system (Wide Area Augmentation System). This gives significantly increased accuracy when used. The WAAS system basically give addition correction factors for variation in signal propagation speed through the atmosphere. With my Garmin GPSMAP 62s with a WAAS enable lock will put an initial location down within 1-3 meter accuracy. If its a point I can return to several times separated by more that 12 hours. I can achieve sub-meter accuracy by weight averaging of samples over a couple days. The unit does all the weighted averaging for me. I simple return to the location and take a sample. I love my smart phone for driving direction to an unknown address but when I am back in the deep woods hunting or hiking I am taking one of my Garmin units with me. |
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Life proof case take care of all the what if BS And an external battery pack that not only charges the phone but any other small USB device takes care of that. they even make units that use batteries to charge a phone you know those same things that go in handheld GPS Oh, and solar too
Look we can play the "what if" game all night. Sure, some guys are all the ultimate survivalists (that have time to sit on arfcom )
But, considering most people are never more then a couple hours away from their car (at the most) when being the ultimate survival guy. For me, I'll keep my phone that does EVERTHING compared to a handheld unit that can be argued has no retail future and can only do one thing. Just because you only travel a few hours from your car, doesn't mean everyone else does. IMO Smart phones as strictly a Gps device are severely lacking for backpack or hunting trips...as stated by others more knowledgable here. I have used both extensively.....have you owned a handheld GPS? |
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I still use my Garmin 60c I bought back in '04. It's been through hell but still works great. Leaving a breadcrumb trail is very important for outdoor use. You can get this capability and great mapping for a iphone 3,4 and 5 with this app.http://www.ihikegps.com/screenshots.html
Pretty cool app. |
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I bought an Oregon 450 a couple years ago for hunting use. I don't know how I got by without it before.
I agree that using a phone app for GPS sucks for any real use. Battery gets drained fairly quickly, and the touchscreen doesn't work when your fingers are wet. Though I like having the phone preloaded with topo maps as a back-up, just in case, and I use it sometimes as an auxillary to the Garmin unit, for additional perspective, because the satellite views on the phone are usually more recent and better detailed. |
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Thanks for all the information everyone, I will continue to shop, I have an Iphone 5 but am concerned about battery life,I will be backpack hunting for severals days at a time.
I may just get one with a dog tracker part built in just in case I end up with a dog down the road. |
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I have just been tossing around the dedicated hand held GPS vs Smart phone app argument in my head and here's what I've come up with- The best, most like a dedicated smartphone GPS app for off line, off grid use is Backcountry Navigator Pro http://backcountrynavigator.com/ and it's still lacking in comparable features to a unit like a Garmin for serious use, not to mention the semi wonky confusing interface. Add in the fact that you'd have to have something to charge your phone with like a portable solar charger, plus the cost of the app, plus the cost of the upgraded map downloads, plus the cost of the super duper case, and you are approaching the cost of a decent dedicated unit that was designed for the sole purpose of back country navigation. Of course, if your intention is to stay within cell tower reach or just casual day hiking, there are some apps that I use that serve the purpose just fine like Everytrail, Google's MyTracks, etc. I personally will be purchasing a Garmin for serious backpacking wilderness use. |
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Quoted:
Life proof case take care of all the what if BS And an external battery pack that not only charges the phone but any other small USB device takes care of that. they even make units that use batteries to charge a phone you know those same things that go in handheld GPS Oh, and solar too
Look we can play the "what if" game all night. Sure, some guys are all the ultimate survivalists (that have time to sit on arfcom )
But, considering most people are never more then a couple hours away from their car (at the most) when being the ultimate survival guy. For me, I'll keep my phone that does EVERTHING compared to a handheld unit that can be argued has no retail future and can only do one thing. I have tried to use a smartphone as a replacement to a handheld GPS. As stated earlier, it makes for a crappy replacement. Sure, you can pre-download maps before you get out of cell coverage. Sure, you can carry about a rechargeable battery to charge the phone after 6 hours of using it. The phone GPS apps I have tried all rely on some level of cell signal to work right. No coverage=no location information. And if you forget to download a map, or end up in an area where you didn't download one for, you are SOL. With a handheld (or wrist top, which will be my next GPS purchase) you will have location information regardless. All for something about the size of your rechargeable phone back up battery. Then you can leave your phone tucked away in the pack, and not worry about it. Besides, those phone cases are NOT bullet proof. They may replace your phone, but what good will that do if you can't call and can't find your way out? |
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Quoted: Thanks for all the information everyone, I will continue to shop, I have an Iphone 5 but am concerned about battery life,I will be backpack hunting for severals days at a time. I may just get one with a dog tracker part built in just in case I end up with a dog down the road.  |