Samsung Epic 4G for Sprint GPS Test

[mesasone]

haha, i hate driving in new york. i went in a square 5 times behind a fish truck before i finally found the on ramp

i'd be walking for the most part like i was today and the gps found my location and gave me quick walking directions, no problems.

so that's important for me, especially if i'm walking as a wrong turn walking can lose 10-20 minutes and a new employer won't like that

Do you really need turn by turn voice guidance to get somewhere on foot? Use the GPS to get your location (a convenience, not a necessity - you could also type that in), type in your destination and then use the directions list to get to where you need to go. They installed street signs at intersections for a reason. Use them!

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

No that would not save battery power. you don't really "connect" to satellites, as the communication is not duplex, but open way, you receive the information from satellites with your GPS radio but do not transmit to satellites. You don't use more battery by receiving the proper number of sats (11 satellites is a typcial number for smartphones on a clear day with no obstructions, and 8 would be average). Four is not very accurate and temporarily dropping one will kill your fix.

Yes, I undertand that about how GPS communications work, but thanks for clarifying. It just seems that it may be limited to 4 satellites on purpose. Maybe its for speed? Maybe it's to reduce processing power (triangulating on 4 points is more efficient than on 11).

I don't give engadet's "test" any credibility, we will know soon. I plan to do comparative tests with Epic, Touch Pro 2 and Treo Pro, all starting from flushed caches, then warm and hot starts at the same time in the same locations.

I look forward to that. Thanks

 

[iwillfearnoevil]

Do you really need turn by turn voice guidance to get somewhere on foot? Use the GPS to get your location (a convenience, not a necessity - you could also type that in), type in your destination and then use the directions list to get to where you need to go. They installed street signs at intersections for a reason. Use them!

actually i think it would be a big deal in ny. when visiting we use the gps for walking/subway directions a lot. if it doesn't get an accurate lock, you'll end up walking to a different subway station which of course adds time to your trip. and in big cities, the blocks are big so it's not always easy/fun to walk to a street sign just to see where you are =) if you don't need pinpoint precision, that's great; but kinda silly to mock those people who do.

 

[chill145]

actually i think it would be a big deal in ny. when visiting we use the gps for walking/subway directions a lot. if it doesn't get an accurate lock, you'll end up walking to a different subway station which of course adds time to your trip. and in big cities, the blocks are big so it's not always easy/fun to walk to a street sign just to see where you are =) if you don't need pinpoint precision, that's great; but kinda silly to mock those people who do.

thank you, some just don't get it. i'm going be moving to a new city, let alone one of the biggest cities in the world. even before when i visited using google walking directions, i'd get lost, walking up the wrong street or heading the wrong way, etc etc

it's not all about looking up street signs or else why even get a gps, just walk around clueless until you get there. or you could get a reliable gps, hence my worry with the epic but we'll see tomorrow

 

[iwillfearnoevil]

thank you, some just don't get it. i'm going be moving to a new city, let alone one of the biggest cities in the world. even before when i visited using google walking directions, i'd get lost, walking up the wrong street or heading the wrong way, etc etc

it's not all about looking up street signs or else why even get a gps, just walk around clueless until you get there. or you could get a reliable gps, hence my worry with the epic but we'll see tomorrow

when we went this summer, we used my wife's hero and the walking/ subway directions a ton. it was amazing =) i think if you live there, you'll get used to things after awhile. if gps accuracy works for their use, then great, but it may not for everyone. i think it'd be like if the "smiley" key on the keyboard only worked sometimes, most people probably wouldn't care but a couple people might. different people have different needs.

 

[Droidone]

here is a vid that talks about the gps issue first hand. I notice he doesn't have the best coverage but he shows you a comparison the evo which would have the same coverage and the Evo beats it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72oT14tli7s&feature=related

go to 7:35 for gps and 6:50 about the bottom buttons

 

[Aero1]

Yes, I undertand that about how GPS communications work, but thanks for clarifying. It just seems that it may be limited to 4 satellites on purpose. Maybe its for speed? Maybe it's to reduce processing power (triangulating on 4 points is more efficient than on 11).

No on all counts.
First you see four for a reason, it is the minimum. You cannot resolve GPS location at all without four satellites. so the first number of birds you will see on any LBA (location based application/program) that actually reports the satellites to the user is four.
Also it is more efficient and easier to process location based on more satellites vs less. Also keep in mind that if you have four and move under a tree, get one bird blocked by a building, or simply have a weak signal from one htat pases some singal to noise ratio and thereby drop one out of four you lose your fix.
So the reason you are seeing four, is that before four there is no GPS position.

The cheapest GPS, including on smartphones, will get 11 birds in perfect conditions (no obstructions, good weather). eight is typical.

Again I reserve judgment on Epics performance unitl I get one. Every Smartphone I have had has had some small deficiency with GPS. I don't trust user reviews that are general ("GPS works fine" or "GPS sux"). I think we need to see what the epic does on a hard reset while standing in place with a couple of other devices also hard reset. What it does with network connectivity turned off (simulating standalone), cold, warm and "hot" which will give us a good idea of the reception capability of the GPS alone, and the will tell us if there are caching problems.

 

[Aero1]

here is a vid that talks about the gps issue first hand. I notice he doesn't have the best coverage but he shows you a comparison the evo which would have the same coverage and the Evo beats it.

WE have no idea whatsoever how recently the evo in that comparison had had its location or sat data cached.
one would need to flush the gps cache (say with a hard reset) on both and cehck.

 

[Aero1]

Do you really need turn by turn voice guidance to get somewhere on foot? Use the GPS to get your location (a convenience, not a necessity - you could also type that in), type in your destination and then use the directions list to get to where you need to go. They installed street signs at intersections for a reason. Use them!

? You do realize this is a high end high priced smartphone right? and that location based applications and applications that use location are one of the fastest growing application sectors, and for good reason? You comment kinda strikes me as someone who might say "you can always hum to yourself" on a thread about music playback not working as it does on competing devices in the same segement.

I use gps for lots of things. I tag my photos taken with my handheld camera with photos. Lots of people use foresquare. Google specifically on ANDRIOD, uses gps data for many subfunctions and features having nothing to do with directional walking. There are scores of different uses and a couple hundred applications that use GPS. A smartphone that does not do GPS well is handicapped on a huge and increasing desired and used feature.

 

[Crutnacker]

? You do realize this is a high end high priced smartphone right? and that location based applications and applications that use location are one of the fastest growing application sectors, and for good reason? You comment kinda strikes me as someone who might say "you can always hum to yourself" on a thread about music playback not working as it does on competing devices in the same segement.

I use gps for lots of things. I tag my photos taken with my handheld camera with photos. Lots of people use foresquare. Google specifically on ANDRIOD, uses gps data for many subfunctions and features having nothing to do with directional walking. There are scores of different uses and a couple hundred applications that use GPS. A smartphone that does not do GPS well is handicapped on a huge and increasing desired and used feature.

Completely agree. I was in a situation earlier this summer in which traffic was rerouted off the interstate onto side streets in a rural area. If I had not had an accurate GPS position quickly, I'd have been lost in the middle of nowhere. My iPhone 3GS' GPS was so sharp I took it for granted. If I went to a phone with anything less than that, it would seem defective.

 

[robl45]

if this is as big an issue as everyone thinks it is, then everyone has 30 days to return their phones and should let sprint know that, for new customers, that means losing subscribers as sprint really doesn't have any other phones. The other carriers at least there are choices.

 

[EarlyMon]

Do you really need turn by turn voice guidance to get somewhere on foot? Use the GPS to get your location (a convenience, not a necessity - you could also type that in), type in your destination and then use the directions list to get to where you need to go. They installed street signs at intersections for a reason. Use them!

Ah. I don't think you've ever tried to get around Boston.

No street signs - they just expect you to _know_ where you are.

Boston's my #1 reason for caring about GPS accuracy.

 

[Droidone]

Ah. I don't think you've ever tried to get around Boston.

No street signs - they just expect you to _know_ where you are.

Boston's my #1 reason for caring about GPS accuracy.

I lived in Boston for 24 years and I have to agree.

 

[robl45]

don't know about everyone else,but I can confirm the GPS sucks on this phone. I used it in my car, it was telling me to turn 150 feet after I past the street. Big blue circle on the map, and i have both things turned on, I love the phone, but if samsung doesn't step up, I think its going back.

 

[HAi]

What is that indicator above the bars? An unactivated phone or roaming? Either will nullify aGPS

 

[Android XTC]

Mine works perfect right on the money.