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PTVMan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
1,059
581
It feels like I should know the answer to this, but what is the difference between Maps/GPS on an iPad Mini with only wifi versus Maps/GPS on a Mini with cellular?
 

Awakener

macrumors 6502
Mar 28, 2011
345
0
It feels like I should know the answer to this, but what is the difference between Maps/GPS on an iPad Mini with only wifi versus Maps/GPS on a Mini with cellular?

Wifi Mini has no GPS chip whatsoever. Sad.
 

Crabnbass

Guest
Oct 23, 2012
14
0
Dual makes a Bluetooth Receiver that can be found on Amazon that will turn a Wifi only iPad or iPod into a navigational tool.
 
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KatanaAzul

macrumors member
May 7, 2010
70
8
I personally use the Bad Elf Pro (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008VWNBBE/) and have been very impressed. Since it's WAAS enabled it's much more accurate than the GPS that's in the iPhone or that will be in the cellular version of the iPad mini.

I'm a pilot so the GPS is essential but I didn't see the point in spending $130 extra for a cellular iPad when I could get a much more accurate receiver for about the same price (that I can still use no matter what iPad or iPhone I end up upgrading to in the future).
 

FlashHead

macrumors regular
Feb 22, 2010
249
0
If you have an iPhone, why would you need to use the iPad for navigation. I find the phone is preferable anyway while driving, particularly with turn by turn. Do miss google maps though. hope they come out with it soon.
 

VFC

macrumors 6502a
Feb 6, 2012
514
10
SE PA.
The Nexus 7 has a built in GPS chip. My wife saw the commercial for a special at Olive Garden and wanted to go out for dinner. I picked up my N7, hit the Google button and said "nearest Olive Garden". It came up with one about 20 miles away and kicked off Google Maps. I set the N7 on my dash and the GPS lead us straight to the restaurant (including a road behind the shopping center that I didn't think was an official street). My iPad 3 sat at home powered off as usual.
 
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MatthewStorm

macrumors 6502a
Oct 19, 2003
923
511
Chapel Hill
The Nexus 7 has a built in GPS chip. My wife saw the commercial for a special at Olive Garden and wanted to go out for dinner. I picked up my N7, hit the Google button and said "nearest Olive Garden". It came up with one about 20 miles away and kicked off Google Maps. I set the N7 on my dash and the GPS lead us straight to the restaurant (including a road behind the shopping center that I didn't think was an official street). My iPad 3 sat at home powered off as usual.

I hate navigating on my Mini tethered to my iPhone. It's pretty much unusable..it constantly loses the signal. I have to keep reselecting my device, them sometimes I have to reenter the password. The GPS icon is always off. Sometimes it locks up and won't move.

My N7 grabs the signal from my phone and never let's go. The N7 treats the phone like a wifi hotspot whereas my iPhone treats it as a device.

Why does Apple have such a difficult time with their WiFi? It's really disheartening and quite annoying. Is there an engineer around that can explain the epic fail on this one?

I love the form factor of the Mini and the pantheon of Apps but its performance can be downright crap.
 

dhy8386

macrumors 6502a
Aug 13, 2008
826
21
I hate navigating on my Mini tethered to my iPhone. It's pretty much unusable..it constantly loses the signal. I have to keep reselecting my device, them sometimes I have to reenter the password. The GPS icon is always off. Sometimes it locks up and won't move.

My N7 grabs the signal from my phone and never let's go. The N7 treats the phone like a wifi hotspot whereas my iPhone treats it as a device.

Why does Apple have such a difficult time with their WiFi? It's really disheartening and quite annoying. Is there an engineer around that can explain the epic fail on this one?

I love the form factor of the Mini and the pantheon of Apps but its performance can be downright crap.

Has to do with wifi sleep issues. Use Bluetooth instead. Uses less battery and stays connected even if phone goes to sleep. Throughput is not as good as wifi but still very high. Also connects instantly.
 
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