Most people already have a mobile phone and simple Bluetooth GPS
receivers without displays or keypads are cheap to buy, small, very
easy to use (mine has one buttonand two LEDs) and lighter on
batteries than Garmins and the like. I have not used an up-to-date
GPS but used to have a Garmin 12 and now have a cheap, generic
Bluetooth device which seems every bit as accurate. I imagine
performance has more to do with the chipset used than anything. I use
mine with my Sony Ericsson W880 and the two work together really
well. I can keep the phone in a pocket and the GPS clipped to the
handlebars, on a cord round my neck or in a 'Napolean' pocket and my
hands are free and I avoid looking like the mapping nerd I really am :-)
There are many (mostly free) applications which will run on mobile
phones and display/process GPS data and often maps. Modesty prevents
me recommending my own but it will be available real soon now and you
can learn more at mom/poco.org.uk.
elvin.ibbotson
From: Laurence Penney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: 24 April 2008 19:57:17 BDT
To: Kai Krueger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: talk@openstreetmap.org
Subject: Re: [OSM-talk] GPS recommendations
On 24 Apr 2008, at 19:32, Kai Krueger wrote:
I would be interested to hear how you would rate that solution
compared
to one involving a bluetooth GPS mouse and using e.g. a cell phone
to do
the recording and display of OSM maps. With GPS bluetooth receivers
selling already at about 20 to 30 pounds, this solution seems quite a
bit cheaper than buying a Garmin. I can't really comment on the
quality
of reception, as I haven't had a Garmin my self, but at least the
other
points you mentioned, such as built-in OSM mapping, storage capacity
ease of use, ... should be achievable with a phone given the right
software such as e.g. GpsMid (Trekbuddy or WhereAmI, might work as
well,
but I haven't tried those).
I quite liked my Nokia N70 + BlueGPS (Sirf3, non-logging) +
nmea_info.py combo. So much so that I bought another BlueGPS when I
left my first one on a train in a good position near the window. I
can't find its replacement now, so wonder if I left that in a taxi,
bleary-eyed after some flight. Having an all-in-one is quite a bit
less hassle so I'm sticking with my N95 + SportsTracker for now -
will be good for a day out when I buy a spare battery.
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