• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Skymap really jumpy?

penguin42

Newbie
Jun 23, 2010
12
0
I just go a new MT3GS and I'm really impressed so far... except that when trying out Google Skymap, it seems really jumpy/jerky. It looks like the compass/magnetometer is giving a noisy or unstable reading (though it generally points in the right direction, at least after doing the figure-8 calibration). The snaptic compass looks fine, but I think that has built-in noise reduction.

Anyway I don't have another phone to compare it with, but it definitely looks jumpier than videos I've seen.

Has anyone else been able to compare compass tracking apps like this on the MT3GS vs other android phones? Is jumpiness normal? Does it indicate a possible defect in my phone?

Thanks!
 
Same here - my wife's original mytouch does a tiny bit of jumping around, but it's orders of magnitude worse, to the point of being unusable because of how jittery it is, on my new slide. Brand new phone, *just* downloaded the app, so it's the latest version. It also doesn't seem to be point the correct direction most of the time. The "compass" app was also *very* jumpy until I tweaked the settings to slow down the polling (which isn't an option in skymap).
 
Upvote 0
I think it's the magnetic compass that's acting up. If I calibrate (figure 8 waving about) and then lay the device flat on the ground (outside, away from the house & its RF/EMI environment), the free Compass app matches well with an actual compass, and doesn't seem to bounce around too much.

However, if I hold the phone up sideways or upright, then the compass gives a bouncy wildly incorrect reading.

Either way, I'm constantly having to recalibrate the thing.

Has anyone contacted t-mobile tech support yet about this issue?
 
Upvote 0
My Google SkyMaps is really shaky on the mytouch slide 3G - there is either a bug in the software or the Magnetic or Accelerometer thing is malfunctioning on the phone - I tried a full reset and the reloaded latest
Google SkyMaps - Calibrated - still the same problem - I noticed it right away because SkyMaps worked so well on my G1. Does anyone know what it uses because I had a hard time explaining to T-Mobile what system in the phone I thought was malfunctioning - please post if you find any bug fixes or updates or else we all get new phones!
 
Upvote 0
I also have problems with jumpy Google Skymap and this is my second MyTouch Slide. The first one was defective and stopped vibrating on incoming texts. The jumpy Skymap did it with both Slides and Tmobile doesn't know why.
My slide also has a problem with the keyboard light not staying on in medium light situations where you can't see the keys. There's no way to force the light on so I'm forced to use the virtual keyboard. Sucks.
 
Upvote 0
Call me crazy, but I think the new OTA update improved the magnetometer jitteriness a bit -- smoothed it out somehow. Still not perfect, but seems less annoying. Anyone else think so?

I'd meant to test that after I installed the update but forgot; that's for the reminder!

I think it's a huge improvement! It still moves around some, but now it's more like you're drunk instead of in the middle of a seizure. :p
 
Upvote 0
I'd meant to test that after I installed the update but forgot; that's for the reminder!

I think it's a huge improvement! It still moves around some, but now it's more like you're drunk instead of in the middle of a seizure. :p

Ha! That's a good way of putting it. Yes, definitely less seizure going on.

Also it seems like it needs to be calibrated less often, and just works without having to do that figure-8 wave every minute.

Overall I'm very pleased :)
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones