I have heard a lot of talk on other forums lately comparing GPS brand, units etc... I am trying to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of using standalone units verses phone apps. I have, for the past 3 years, been using whatever iPhone I happen to own in conjunction with two apps.
The two apps that I use are
MotionX-GPS and MeasureMap
MotionX-GPS essentially acts like my actual GPS unit. It can record tracks, save waypoints (with pictures), save bing maps tiles for offline use, save topo maps for offline use, and export to email in GPX or KML formats with no hardware needed.
MeasureMap is what I use to have a more up to date aerial photo of the area, with my location showing on the app. It is the only App I have found that downloads google earth tiles for offline use, and full resolution google earth tiles can be invaluable when trying to find transitions or to even pick out a specific tree as a landmark. This app allows you to mark places on the map and measure their distance apart, as well as draw a polygon of any shape to find exact acres of an area. I have found it to be extremely accurate for distance measurements, and invaluable in the field.
Between these two apps, I am really finding it hard to justify spending $200-$400 for a handheld GPS. I know my phone has some drawbacks... battery life isn't that great when operating with GPS enabled (I typically carry a backup battery anyways), it can take a couple minutes to acquire satellites to get a strong enough GPS signal to start, and I'm guessing that the GPS receiver in my phone won't be quite as accurate as a handheld. But, is it inadequate enough to justify the expense of a new unit? What pros and cons do you guys see between the two options? What other phone apps might you use instead?
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The two apps that I use are
MotionX-GPS and MeasureMap
MotionX-GPS essentially acts like my actual GPS unit. It can record tracks, save waypoints (with pictures), save bing maps tiles for offline use, save topo maps for offline use, and export to email in GPX or KML formats with no hardware needed.
MeasureMap is what I use to have a more up to date aerial photo of the area, with my location showing on the app. It is the only App I have found that downloads google earth tiles for offline use, and full resolution google earth tiles can be invaluable when trying to find transitions or to even pick out a specific tree as a landmark. This app allows you to mark places on the map and measure their distance apart, as well as draw a polygon of any shape to find exact acres of an area. I have found it to be extremely accurate for distance measurements, and invaluable in the field.
Between these two apps, I am really finding it hard to justify spending $200-$400 for a handheld GPS. I know my phone has some drawbacks... battery life isn't that great when operating with GPS enabled (I typically carry a backup battery anyways), it can take a couple minutes to acquire satellites to get a strong enough GPS signal to start, and I'm guessing that the GPS receiver in my phone won't be quite as accurate as a handheld. But, is it inadequate enough to justify the expense of a new unit? What pros and cons do you guys see between the two options? What other phone apps might you use instead?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk