Cell Phone (Droid X) as GPS
Posted: May 04 2011 3:32 am
I'm sure this is bound to be a popular topic, but has anyone tried using their cell phone as a GPS? This obviously won't be my group's only means of navigation, and I think someone else will be bringing a traditional GPS as well as our normal topo maps.
I have a Droid X that operates a separate GPS system ( i.e. it's not just triangulating coordinates based on cell tower signals, but actually tracks satellites) and I've been messing around with it to try and get the most out of it's capabilities. Right now I have a program called Oruxmaps that lets me look at a large variety of maps, including Google maps in all it's forms (satellite, topo, street) and Google Earth, and lets me download specific portions of maps for using when I don't have a data connection. Just curious if anyone else has done this with a Droid or other phone and what their opinions were.
We'll be doing a 5-6 day canyon trip, so I'm looking at an Otterbox for protection and an AA battery powered phone charger for juice (not enough $$ to invest in solar just yet). I've already considered the risks of ruining the phone, and at this point it's still worth taking. The fact that I'll have a GPS/8 megapixel camera/720P camcorder all in one along for the trip will definitely be nice. Running the GPS while saving battery power is a little tricky; I have to turn on the GPS and then go into airplane mode to keep the phone from constantly searching for a signal (won't work if I do airplane mode first, but airplane mode ensures you won't hear my ringtone if you're camping down the canyon from me ;) ). I also switch my phone into battery saver mode which dims the display and shuts down unnecessary applications.
Any other suggestions? Am I off my rocker or is this a reasonable idea?
I have a Droid X that operates a separate GPS system ( i.e. it's not just triangulating coordinates based on cell tower signals, but actually tracks satellites) and I've been messing around with it to try and get the most out of it's capabilities. Right now I have a program called Oruxmaps that lets me look at a large variety of maps, including Google maps in all it's forms (satellite, topo, street) and Google Earth, and lets me download specific portions of maps for using when I don't have a data connection. Just curious if anyone else has done this with a Droid or other phone and what their opinions were.
We'll be doing a 5-6 day canyon trip, so I'm looking at an Otterbox for protection and an AA battery powered phone charger for juice (not enough $$ to invest in solar just yet). I've already considered the risks of ruining the phone, and at this point it's still worth taking. The fact that I'll have a GPS/8 megapixel camera/720P camcorder all in one along for the trip will definitely be nice. Running the GPS while saving battery power is a little tricky; I have to turn on the GPS and then go into airplane mode to keep the phone from constantly searching for a signal (won't work if I do airplane mode first, but airplane mode ensures you won't hear my ringtone if you're camping down the canyon from me ;) ). I also switch my phone into battery saver mode which dims the display and shuts down unnecessary applications.
Any other suggestions? Am I off my rocker or is this a reasonable idea?