Anyone else have poor gps accuracy compared to other smartphones? - Touch Pro2, Tilt 2 Windows Mobile General

According to Google Maps 4.0 my gps is never accurate within more than 20-30 meters. usually when im driving i am on the wrong side of the road or in a ditch somewhere.
on my girlfriend's droid her accuracy is about 1-3 meters at best and is never any greater than 10 m.
same goes for my friends blackberry storm...about 5 meters.
So i am wondering if you guys are having better accuracy with the phone.
is it a hardware or software issue? and any idea on how to make this better??
Thankss

No my gps is very accurate. It could be due to the radio version you are using. You didn't mention witch version you use, but try some different radio's and see if you get a better gps signal.

HD2 GPS is a joke!
My HD2 GPS is very, very lousy - when I record my path (on feet) with e.g. RunGps or NaviCompiter, I am getting an ugly zig-zag line with position errors of 20-40 meters! (In city or in open field - does not matter). Unbelievable P.o.S! My radio is now 2.09.51, was 2.07.51 - same s..t.
My old Samsung i780 draws very smooth line with errors within 1 meter, seriously.
HD2 GPS works with Tomtom though, sometimes turning map around when pausing at a crosing or recalculating, but generally OK.

Unless one is seriously geocacheing or needs absolute precision, I regard 20 meters to be fairly decent, 10m to be fantastic when using google maps. But then again I use GPS and map software as a guide not an absolute... I've always taken the stand that map software doesn't know everything about a location, nor does it know the best way to get there.
I do agree the gps accuracy is dependent on the radio though and some are better than others at getting a good signal

My TP2 accuracy is very good. As good as my Garmin handheld GPS I use for geocaching. I went for a jog the day before yesterday, and tracked my progress with SportyPal (http://sportypal.com) and when mapping my route on Google Maps my position was good to within 3 meters (and usually significantly better). I ran up and down some bleachers and it showed my proper position right up and down the isles.
I've also used it for geocaching, and it usually brings me to within spitting distance of the cache.
The reception is also better than any other GPS I've used. It will usually pick up my position in my office, which is half way underground with an entire second story above me.

So is the GPS receiver on the Touch Pro 2/Tilt 2 better than what is used on the Touch Pro/Fuze? I assumed it was probably the same since most everything else (hardware) is the same. Although you would think that HTC would have fixed it after all of the complaints with the Fuze.
I'm thinking of upgrading from the Fuze, but so far the only advantage is the screen. If the GPS has been improved, that will make a difference.

Related

GPS psoition not exactly 25 to 50m difference

Hello,
my gps has no right position i think the difference is between 25 to 50 m
Is there a tool to correct this issue ?
Thx
Nochmal in deutsch falls mein Englisch nicht so gut zu verstehen ist
Mein GPS im Artemis hinkt etwa 25 bis 50 m hinterher was sehr nervig ist
Kennt jemand dieses Problem und weiß wie man Abhilfe schafft ?
From what I recall no civilian GPS is precisely correct.
Only Military GPS is precise to the metre.
Not sure what the exact varience is though.
Regards
i have navigation systems before the p3300 and on all when the street cross comes it brings exactly the position when it says turn left at 50m then it was correct, i believe the military difference is only 1m or lower not 50m ???
For external PC gps receiver there is a software for correct some options for the inbuild gps.
I have no glue for a in built gps.
Sorry for the English this not my normal language, i hope you can understand what i mean thanks
Also, better accuracy depends on the number of satellite signals the device can get. Signal strength is weaker in the urban areas.
What software application are you using when you notice the discrepancy? I have found my Artemis GPS position to be equal to some of my other units. For example using a topographical map when out walking the unit is very good, certainly not 25 to 50 M out. It could be low signal strength and reflections off other building that is causing a problem (if in built up area)
One other consideration, how many other applications do you have running at the same time as your Nav software, your device might be struggling under load, check settings/ system tab Memory icon/ running programs and stop all before trying the nav software Mike
My device, which is still the Magician is running the ROM 1.13 with BS. Additional software which are all installed in the Storage are; Pocket Informant, Photo Contacts Pro, Resco Suit, SK Tools, TT6, WorldMate Pro, Ring tones. All TT maps (WEU, USA+Canada), voices, schemes, zip codes, POIs and IE Temporaty files are installed in a 2GB SD. What's left in available memory are Storage = 0.7 of 26.72 MB, Storage Card = 105 MB of 1935GB.
The programs that are running (being memory resident) while TT6 is active are Photo Contacts Pro and Pocket Informant. I have BT on all the time since I use a BT headset for calls while driving. TT audio is via my Seidio active car holder.
The programm ist TT6 and only jetware, and ilauncher active nothing more, the area is no big city good sight to the air.
I checkt this with tt5 and a hp2210 with bluetooth sirfIII this combination is near perfect
I've never used those programs. The inaccuracy might come from any of the two.
Civilian GPS is officially (from the provider of the GPS System - US Forces) something about 10 metres unexact. Of course this number can be smaller if you have more satelites "in sight" However, GPS Navigation Programs do not need accurate positions, they calculate the position on the map with old data and then extrapolate it, showing the dot where you should be now, according to your speed and heading 1 second or two seconds ago. Of course it can control its calculation because more data streams in. It is funny to see Navigationsoftware Confused, when you ride a train. It gets a signal in a certain direction, with a certain speed, so it puts the dot on the street next to the Rails, because this is the only logical position where your car can be so it says "turn left now" but the train goes straight. Then it searches another street you could be on. just funny
But in short: GPS Software compensates missing GPS accuracy, mostly well, sometimes not so good. Try using another Software or newer map ,maybe that will fix the problem. On my MDA Compact III The Built in Receiver works just great together with TT6. Maybe there is a way to shorten the interval between two data sets. That would give the Software more information, resulting in a more accurate position. But i don't know if a program like GPS Maus can manipulate Built-In receivers that easy.
I once reprogrammed a T-Mobile Receiver with this program, so it received also NMEA data and the intervall between two data sets could be set randomly.
In the UK, the BBC send out a spoiling signal which reduces the accuracy of the GPS. It is also sent out from National stations in other Countries. I heard it was sent out with the atomic clock signal. This is to stop "undesirables" buying civilian GPS units and fitting them to military equipment and sending something directly to your letterbox - the same way a US military GPS unit can if they want to! You used to be able to buy a box that would correct the error signal, but that got stopped ages ago.
The GPS also becomes slightly more inaccurate depending on the speed you are travelling, travel under 30 mph / 50 kph and the "you have arrived" will be within a few yards/metres of the real arrival point. Travel at 70 mph / 120 kph and the "take the exit in 200 metres" is very inaccurate - maybe by a couple of hundred metres - you can work out why!
Also GPS signals are "secondary" and can be turned off at any time in the event of a military requirement - which is why you can use the signals free of charge.
Jeff
jthspace said:
In the UK, the BBC send out a spoiling signal which reduces the accuracy of the GPS. It is also sent out from National stations in other Countries. I heard it was sent out with the atomic clock signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get this gem of knowledge from?
jthspace said:
This is to stop "undesirables" buying civilian GPS units and fitting them to military equipment and sending something directly to your letterbox - the same way a US military GPS unit can if they want to! You used to be able to buy a box that would correct the error signal, but that got stopped ages ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you confusing the selective availability that was used to degrade the GPS accuracy up to a few years ago? - The US reserve the right to switch it back on again should they need to, but under normal conditions the signal is not de-graded any longer. If you want to send something to a letterbox the Post Office offer quite a good service
jthspace said:
The GPS also becomes slightly more inaccurate depending on the speed you are travelling, travel under 30 mph / 50 kph and the "you have arrived" will be within a few yards/metres of the real arrival point. Travel at 70 mph / 120 kph and the "take the exit in 200 metres" is very inaccurate - maybe by a couple of hundred metres - you can work out why!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue of position inaccuracy relative to speed won't give a major difference to position - the software maybe responsible for the apparent degradation though.
jthspace said:
Also GPS signals are "secondary" and can be turned off at any time in the event of a military requirement - which is why you can use the signals free of charge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I mentioned before the US reserve the right to turn on the Selective availability (positional accuracy degradation), if they turn it off their own planes and other civ/ mil products would be useless - Mike
mikealder said:
Where did you get this gem of knowledge from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I worked on the original GPS launches a while back
Jeff
Static Navigation in Artemis
In Artemis is a Sirf-III-Chipset. One of the "features" of this chipset is a Parameter called "Static navigation".
This gives a more or less "static" position if the device is moving rather slow, like a pedestrian does.
Useful for car navigation because your car is not "dancing in front of the traffic light".
But it gives a more or less not accurate position when standing or moving rather slow. You need to move with 5 Km/h at least.
No tool for switching off "Static Navigation" in Artemis seems to be working.
BBC jamming the gps signal..?
Selective Availability:
"SA works, for the most part, by intentionally dithering the clocks in the 24 satellites that make up the GPS system. The clocks are steered by an algorithm, known to the control station and military receivers and transmitted in encrypted code over the satellite signals."
http://www.exn.ca/FlightDeck/News/story.cfm?ID=20000502-53
The BBC does what??? I don't believe that for a moment!
The GPS signal I get on my Orbit and previously on my Fortuna Clipon has been extremely accurate, using different software Tomtom 5 & 6, pocket streets and Vito all have been down to a couple of meters at most.
I have also used in the US, Cyprus and Spain all with the same accurate results.
Yes the US can turn off civilian GPS if they wish, which is why the EU is building Galileo.
duh... SA has been switch off 7 years ago!
interesting to see people still talking about SA, it has been switch off since year 2000!
http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/FGCS/info/sans_SA/

GPS working but very wrong position

Hello, for about 2 weeks my gps has been working and has been taking a little bit longer than normal to lock. but thats not the problem.
the problem is when it does lock the position will be off by 1/4th mi to about 3 miles and its usually connected to 8 or 9 sats and says position within 10-20 meters
im not very good with the metric system but im pretty sure that 20 meters does not equal 3 miles and the little blue circle is not that big
and keep in mind this is outside clear weather and no big buildings around
i was wondering because i heard that there will be no more funding for the gps sats and would slowly start failing because they wont get the upgrades they need and also i heard about a month ago that there will be some big solar flares that could mess up the sats
another thing is using gps test. is showing that the sats that are connected are lower signal than they usually are. mostly in the yellow. but i see no reason for that...
this only started happening for about a week or 2.
anyone else having this problem? can a radio update fix this? if so which would be the best one for t mobile usa (link if you can)
Radio ver: 4.49.25.57
thanks for your support,
Darian
turn off your agps, as it uses cell tower signals to locate you, and can over ride the gps signal you are getting. the agps is triangulating your position and is generally only accurate to 300 to 1300 meters.
i thought agps was only used to get a faster lock on the sats

[Q] How good is the Desire's GPS and audio on headphones?

I have the Samsung Galaxy S 16GB but am about to return it due to the useless GPS and get a Desire (or eventually recover the money and buy a Desire later)
How accurate is the current Desire's GPS? Can anyone show me some MyTracks paths for instance?
Another thing that worries me is audio quality on the 3.5mm as I use the units a lot for music. How well does it behave with audiophile headphones? Including low-impedance ones.. any background hiss, etc?
The Galaxy S is really excellent at audio and the screen is amazing but I really need a well-balanced unit that includes a reliable GPS.
I have never had an issue with the GPS but I've only used it for in-car navigation every now and again. The sound on the Desire is acceptable for me. I'm using a pair of Klipsch Image X1s and it sound the same as, if not better than the iPod.
It does however seem to have a volume limiter on it which is bloody annoying! Still it's not an issue if you have a decent pair of 'phones.
Same expeirence here. Music quality on headphones is at least the same as on the ipod classic (old 80GB model). Gps outside has a quick fix (usually within 10 seconds) and i haven't had any signal los yet (except for tunnels and inside buildings).
steve228uk said:
I have never had an issue with the GPS but I've only used it for in-car navigation every now and again. The sound on the Desire is acceptable for me. I'm using a pair of Klipsch Image X1s and it sound the same as, if not better than the iPod.
It does however seem to have a volume limiter on it which is bloody annoying! Still it's not an issue if you have a decent pair of 'phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A My Tracks sample for GPS accuracy. Unlike the Galaxy S, Desire never lost the signal.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...874704971674600592.00048b2dcdedf643cc518&z=14
Audio quality is almost as good as Galaxy S. Maybe a little bit noisy, but it's a phone after all.
h t t p://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&z=14&msid=106701584406805964837.00048ad075c8a785906d6 - another patch from MyTrack
Audio quality is at least comparable (or better) with iRiver T60 and better than in most ipods. I'm using Koss Porta Pro or AKG K416P headphones.
10 sec or less GPS fix on desire is only if using AGPS (you have the 3G so it can load satellite data). Otherwise it takes more than a minute. It helps if you are not moving.
pigbrother said:
A My Tracks sample for GPS accuracy. Unlike the Galaxy S, Desire never lost the signal.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...874704971674600592.00048b2dcdedf643cc518&z=14
Audio quality is almost as good as Galaxy S. Maybe a little bit noisy, but it's a phone after all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback.
I don't really care about the fast fixes. Don't mind waiting at all even if the initial gprs assistance is off. That I care about is accuracy and keeping the locks after the inicial fix. That is something the Galaxy can't do.
I gathered some more feedback about the audio and while the Desire seems weaker in that area it should be good enough for normal use.
One thing I'm now wondering is if it suffers from the same "lag" or occasional pauses that I got on the Galaxy. Sometimes it would pause for 2 or 3 seconds while some IO was happening, sometimes more. Perhaps I'll post that in a different thread.
Meanwhile if anyone has more GPS tracks (google maps is fine) especially driving in town, I'd like to see them. The ones I did with my Galaxy S are just scary and full of zig-zags... don't want that again.
I’ve used my desire to track routes with Maverick when out mountain biking in Portugal. I put it in my shorts pocket and it tracked me very accurately without any variations. I haven’t really used it in my car while driving. I can give it shot today and see what results I get. Obviously it’s not going to be as accurate while driving as it is when cycling because of the speed factor but I will let you know later on.
I have used my desire since I got it in April, as my Ipod, and Tom Tom and cycle computer. It does all these thing very well. I agree about the headphones, should be decent quality. Have not experienced any problems with music play back, while doing other things. Gps seems very accurate. The desire is now my main music device, there are several music apps which are better than the stock player, Mixzing is one and it now has an equalizer, which I don't use, but is there if you need it.
Hi Beowulf_pt I’ve uploaded two tracks I recorded yesterday when I was out driving. Both of them seem very accurate and don’t deviate or jump about at all. The 2nd one is over 34miles long and is very accurate. A lot of the roads I went down have tree/hedge coverage on both sides too. I you want to get a good idea of what the roads look like you can go onto Google earth street view as all of Northern Ireland has street view. I’m very impressed with the performance of the GPS on the desire anyway.
I hope this helps.
http://www.trialsworld.com/hosted/9%20Aug%2010%20Track%201.gpx
http://www.trialsworld.com/hosted/9%20Aug%2010%20Track%202.gpx
FSake said:
Hi Beowulf_pt I’ve uploaded two tracks I recorded yesterday when I was out driving. Both of them seem very accurate and don’t deviate or jump about at all.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...286,0.059996&z=14&iwloc=00048d2c27552512edb09
http://www.trialsworld.com/hosted/9%20Aug%2010%20Track%202.gpx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for taking those, those don't have many low speed driving with lots of turning probably but in any case are very accurate, really pretty good.
If anyone wants a good laugh, this is what the great Desire's rival produces.. the mighty Samsung Galaxy S:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...09658333539209.00048d2c2727adf4f601e&t=h&z=13
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...09658333539209.00048d44b071f0237417b&t=h&z=14
I tried everything (except plugging in an external antenna yet) but it loses lock so often and is so imprecise that tracks look like that and navigation is pathetic.
It’s strange the results you got with the Samsung. It’s kind of understandable that it’s inaccurate between buildings but in areas that are quite open it’s bad as well. Did you try it with Assisted GPS (mobile internet) on? Admittedly I didn’t use it when I took mine but maybe it might help yours. The only City I could really use mine on is Belfast and I’m off at the moment so I would get the chance to try it for a few days. Belfast wouldn’t be in the same class as city as Lisbon. I still think the Desire would get a lot better results than the Samsung though.
I think the Samsung GPS chip has alzheimer's. It gets confused quite easily.

How accurate is the EVO GPS

I have a Hero and have tried several running apps and some are better than others.
I like RunKeeper http://runkeeper.com/home and find it to be ok for accuracy but not perfect. On a clear days it works well but cloudy days its a bit off. I don't think the accuracy issue is due to RunKeeper I think it is the phone. However other apps are terrible for accuracy like Cardio Trainer which shows 4.3 miles for a 5K/3.11 miles.
Here's a map showing what it looks like on a cloudy day using RunKeeper
http://runkeeper.com/user/d12bn/activity/26716842
Showing 3.36 miles for a 5k/3.1 miles measured with a Garmin and my car.
Its not bad but my Garmin would still be very accurate on the same day. So just wondering if the EVO GPS is any better?
Thanks JB
Personally, my gps is spot on. If it says X is 5 miles away, I only have +/- .1 tolerance.
I have not tested it over distance like this, but I do know that I've seen my GPS as accurate as 4m.
I havent tried mine over several different weather conditions but when I have tried it I can watch the little arrow move from the front of my house (facing east for example) to walking around to the back yard and facing another direction... Even if I turn it on in the house, or somewhere else, it always places me w/in the same 1/4 of a block -- I know that's not a scientific measurement, but all I'm sayin is that for me, the times I've tested it, it's pretty dang accurate... Also, I havent tested it over distances when runnin (it is accurate in the car)... But I think I'll give it a shot now that you mention it
Simply better than any other GPS for me so far. I agree on couple of meters difference.
Thanks
Cool let me know what you find. I can say using my Hero for navigation while driving works great. However using it to measure walking/running may have to be more accurate, 3 tenths of a mile short or long makes a difference at the end of 3 miles.
blakjak220 said:
I havent tried mine over several different weather conditions but when I have tried it I can watch the little arrow move from the front of my house (facing east for example) to walking around to the back yard and facing another direction... Even if I turn it on in the house, or somewhere else, it always places me w/in the same 1/4 of a block -- I know that's not a scientific measurement, but all I'm sayin is that for me, the times I've tested it, it's pretty dang accurate... Also, I havent tested it over distances when runnin (it is accurate in the car)... But I think I'll give it a shot now that you mention it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
d12bn said:
Cool let me know what you find. I can say using my Hero for navigation while driving works great. However using it to measure walking/running may have to be more accurate, 3 tenths of a mile short or long makes a difference at the end of 3 miles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has been as accurate as I previously stated, even when walking.
teh roxxorz said:
Mine has been as accurate as I previously stated, even when walking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has been accurate down to 3 meters. Walking down to the park (about 1.7) miles is pretty much spot on in google maps. I just have to tap the little blue arrow a couple of times to "improve" the location before I start walking or driving anywhere.
Longest I've tested it is about 17 miles driving. It was off by about .1 as a prior user stated.

Frustrated with the gps! Any solution?

First of all, my GNex gps works.
But, my experience so far were bad and got into my big frustration.
I went to France by car, about 1200 km.
During this trip I used three devices:
- HTC Desire, stock Android 2.2, no sim card
- Nexus S, stock Android 4.0.4
- Galaxy Nexus, stock Android 4.0.4
All used the same navigation software, Sygic 11.2.6.
Weather was very good, bright and clear.
The navigation performance, HTC Desire is the most solid and stable. No jumpy routing. It was almost flawless.
The Nexus S was also stable, no jumpy routing and again almost flawless. Sometimes between high buildings area, it could lost the gps signal.
The GNex was terrible! Very often the routing was jumpy, especially when my car stop. The navigation think my car was in other road! That caused the routing to spin and I must drive further to stabilize the routing. It was frustrated and I lost confidence with using it as car navigation, period.
The HTC is my main device for car navigation, because its so stable, no jumpy no spinny routing, solid performance. But one day the battery run flat for no reason. Thats why I must use my supposed to be the best device, the GNex to replace it to continue. But alas, as I explained above, it was terrible experience. I was lucky that I brought my Nexus S, to save the day.
This GNex bad car navigation is my biggest frustration.
I cannot fault the weather brcause it was clear sunny and I could get sat fix.
I cannot fault the Sygix either because the other two devices were fine, no problem.
But why is this jumpy and spinny routing on GNex?
Ok, I cannot test Google Navigation, because I cannot afford data connection during this trip, roaming.
So, my question, have you ever got the same experience? Terrible, jumpy, spinny routing with GNex car navigation?
Is there any way to improve? Or makebthe gps work much better?
Is there any ROM specialized to improve the gps for navigation?
Thanks
I believe the GPS unit in the GN is weak compared to my old iPhone 4. Though, I was able to get decent, more accurate performance by disabling "Google's location service". I use the GPS for directions in Google Maps as well as RunKeeper and it's really made a difference for me.
Side note, my iPhone locked in my GPS location while I was at work (5-story building, 3rd floor) without a hitch. The GN tries to lock, but it's 50/50...
I hope this helps... Good luck!
Doubt it'll help...
But it WILL help get a faster lock in the case of a GPS drop.
Mine locks in in like 3-5 seconds after using Faster GPS.
I, however, very rarely use GPS for actual navigation.
In fact...I haven't had to yet with my GNex. So I can't say if I do/don't have a problem.
Before Navigating, i usually open GPS test Plus to lock-in my location...then it's smooth sailing after that. Btw, i use CoPilot Live Premium.
PS. It takes the phone around 10 secs to get an accurate lock in.
babymatteo said:
Before Navigating, i usually open GPS test Plus to lock-in my location...then it's smooth sailing after that. Btw, i use CoPilot Live Premium.
PS. It takes the phone around 10 secs to get an accurate lock in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is this CoPilot?
Does it run smooth?
When the car stop at traffic light for quite long periode, does it jump or spin to other road?
PS: I turned off Google Location Service already, never used it.
My first nexus also had a very bad GPS unit.
I got new one and it was much better but after installing 4.0.4 it is worse again.
If this will not be fixed with the next update I will sell my Nexus and maybe buy a HTC one x.
By the way, this is a short video that shows the problem with my first device. If this is the problem you have you should change your device to a new one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ueTSHyZHyw
Gesendet von meinem Galaxy Nexus mit Tapatalk 2
FWIW, I've had little to no issue using the stock GPS and built-in Navigation.
I get weird GPS navigation sometime where it thinks I'm off the rode to the right and driving through houses basically. Or i get turned around for no reason. The kicker is that I check GPS test and my accuracy is spot on with a healthy number of satellites so I'm not sure just a weak signal problem.

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