Are there any GPS dock\chargers\windshield mounts for iPhone 4 yet?

[bella92108]

I bought the TomTom one, and it charged, but didn't work with GPS (and yeah, I used the helper app they say to use)... and online some say it works, some say it doesn't - not ideal for reliability.

I exchanged it twice just to make sure. I even contacted Tom Tom and they said it's working for some... lol, how's that for reliability... "working for some" ... lol.

Are there any other makers out there that make the windshield mount that's iPhone 4 compatible yet, or should I just keep holding off till they come out with a Tom Tom version? Seems like the iPhone 4's been out long enough that something would be available. The Navigon and TomTom software is great, but I want the extra reliability, windshield mount, and charging capability that comes with an actual kit.

 

[bella92108]

Nobody replied so I thought I'd give it a bump. I'm still looking for a solution.... trying to decide between a windshield mount, and just buying a real GPS. The problem is a full featured GPS (bluetooth + slim design + lifetime map and traffic updates) runs for about $400 minimum right now (the new slim garmins).... so ideally I'd like to find a charger\gps base mount for the car that really works.

I bought 2 more of the Garmin bases I discussed above, and had the same issue with them, so my understanding is they don't (reliably) "work" with iPhone 4.

Suggestions?

 

[Dhelsdon]

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I own a Garmin 60cx handheld gps with a cheap windshield mount, and I also have Navigon software on my iPad using a external gps with roqyBt (jailbroken) and after using both, I'd suggest the handheld gps over using your phone, sure it retails for 300$ but it has many uses, you aren't limited to road navigation it also works great for aviation nav and marine nav.

 

[bella92108]

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I own a Garmin 60cx handheld gps with a cheap windshield mount, and I also have Navigon software on my iPad using a external gps with roqyBt (jailbroken) and after using both, I'd suggest the handheld gps over using your phone, sure it retails for 300$ but it has many uses, you aren't limited to road navigation it also works great for aviation nav and marine nav.

Do you work for Garmin or somethin? hehe. I haven't seen that style since like 2001... I'm not sure why you'd recommend a hiking GPS given I want something for my car. That's not ideal.

 

[theautopilot]

The iPhone 4 does not need the extra gps chip though. There are loads of iPhone 4 mounts on the Market, just Google. Have you even looked?

 

[bella92108]

The iPhone 4 does not need the extra gps chip though. There are loads of iPhone 4 mounts on the Market, just Google. Have you even looked?

Clearly you don't know what you're talking about. For one no, tomtom's is not viable as it is not designed to work with iPhone 4. Had YOU searched you'd know the user experience has been poor. I tried 3 and even with the adaptor it worked terrible.

Furthermore yes, iPhone 4 DOES need a gps externally. The built in isn't sufficient to use in areas like metro downtown locales.

I asked for a charger/gps unit so don't tell me there are lots of mounts. If you don't have anything productive to contribute don't contribute anything

 

[ihonda]

Clearly you don't know what you're talking about. For one no, tomtom's is not viable as it is not designed to work with iPhone 4. Had YOU searched you'd know the user experience has been poor. I tried 3 and even with the adaptor it worked terrible.

Furthermore yes, iPhone 4 DOES need a gps externally. The built in isn't sufficient to use in areas like metro downtown locales.

I asked for a charger/gps unit so don't tell me there are lots of mounts. If you don't have anything productive to contribute don't contribute anything

Had YOU searched YOU would see that the tomtom car kit DOES work with the iphone 4. as does the Magellan car kit.

Clearly you are the one who doesnt know what you are talking about

 

[bella92108]

Had YOU searched YOU would see that the tomtom car kit DOES work with the iphone 4. as does the Magellan car kit.

Clearly you are the one who doesnt know what you are talking about

I own 3. How by do you own?

 

[theautopilot]

I know lots of people with iPhones that use tomtom, including people in cities, and none of them have ever felt the need for an external gps unit.

I use copilot myself extensively since turn-by-turn navigation arrived on the iphone and it's always been fine anywhere I have been, although I think gps in the 4 is much better than the 3GS (faster lock and a bit more accurate).

Popular consensus on other forums is that it is not required either.

So sorry, im not buying it. The tomtom mount is overpriced and simply not needed.

 

[bonafide]

I'm in the same boat. I'm looking for a mount/charger with a mic and maybe an aux input.

The closest thing I've found is a Griffin Tuneflex AUX Handsfree ($49.99 CAN). But it has mixed reviews as well.

I think what your looking for is a Magellan Premium iPhone Car kit ($119.99 CDN)

 

[bella92108]

I know lots of people with iPhones that use tomtom, including people in cities, and none of them have ever felt the need for an external gps unit.

I know plenty of people who drink well-vodka drinks and buy vodka in plastic bottles, none of them have ever felt the need to buy premium vodka. It's whatever the user is willing to tolerate.

I use copilot myself extensively since turn-by-turn navigation arrived on the iphone and it's always been fine anywhere I have been, although I think gps in the 4 is much better than the 3GS (faster lock and a bit more accurate).

The iPhone 4 is still the same A-GPS as in previous models. It does get an initial fix quicker, but I live in San Francisco, a city where the residential streets are often 40 yards apart, and the slow response or assumptions the GPS makes in exact streets can get annoying.

Popular consensus on other forums is that it is not required either. So sorry, im not buying it. The tomtom mount is overpriced and simply not needed.

You're entitled to your opinion and wish to save costs. However, faced with the fact that the unit isn't a GPS-first unit, and like many on here, I feel it may not be REQUIRED, but it significantly enhances the accuracy of the GPS from AGPS to true GPS. Do you seriously think it's the same? If so, I discredit ANY opinion you have as anyone would disagree. AGPS vs GPS is like DSL vs CABLE internet, it's just not worth arguing over. I have two options: get a gps unit (about $200-400 for a good one), or use a mount\puck to assist with GPS reception. Clearly others feel the same as several have replied indicating interest as well.

I don't mean to cause conflict, but you should seriously evaluate your responses to people's question. If someone asks for a GPS dock, they've clearly already determined that it's necessary, so to say it's not just makes you look foolish. So if your iPhone 4 works where you live, great. But don't make foolish comments saying a product isn't needed when there are literally thousands of reviews from customers saying what great products GPS docks are. They turn a "seek time" from 45+ seconds for an accurate (as accurate as it can at least) lock, to under 10 seconds. You don't notice it, so it's not a big deal to you. For many like me it's a big deal. So take your trolling elsewhere so people can actually benefit and not have to deal with the threadcrapping.

 

[theautopilot]

I don't think you know what you are talking about. Firstly, all the 'A' means in AGPS is 'assisted'. It simply means that it has the ability to detect which cell tower it's connected to and then gets a rough idea of where in the world it is (some networks support triangulation too). It uses this info to get a faster fix (TTFF - time to first fix). It does not have anything to do with whether or not the GPS chipset is better or not - your ADSL vs cable comparison makes makes absolutly no logical sense. After the Assisted part (small data packet) is received the chipset takes over as normal just like in any GPS device. It is a proper GPS chipset in the iPhone just like in any GPS system. Futhermore, standalone TomTom units are also AGPS, but they need a data connection (Bluetooth to mobile phone) for the 'A' part to work. The iPhone GPS is proper GPS but, like many phones, it uses a low power chipset to conserve battery (or runs in low power mode).

Secondly, the iPhone 4 IS significantly better than the 3GS. Whether it's a different reciever or just a smarter implementation, it does really mater - I can tell you for certain is much better as I do a lot of hiking and geocaching and have used both extensively. All the software I use reports a far higher degree of accuracy. It's night and day. Sometimes within 10 feet on the 4 and the 3GS is usually never lower than 30.

So do some more research and make less assumptions please.

 

[bella92108]

I don't think you know what you are talking about. Firstly, alll the 'A' means in AGPS is 'assisted'. It simply means that it has the ability to detect which cell tower it's connected to and then gets a rough idea of where in the world it is (some networks support triangulation too). It uses this info to get a faster fix (TTFF - time to first fix). It does have anything to do with whether or not the GPS chipset is better or not - your ADSL vs cable comparison makes makes absolutly no logical sense. After the Assisted part (small data packet) is received the chipset takes over as normal just like in any GPS device. It is a proper GPS chipset in the iPhone just like in any GPS system. Futhermore, standalone TomTom units are also AGPS, but they need a data connection (Bluetooth to mobile phone) for the 'A' part to work.

Again, The iPhone GPS is proper GPS but, like many phones, it uses a lowpower chipset to conserve battery (or runs in low power mode).

Secondly the iPhone 4 IS significantly better than the 3GS. Whether it's a different reciever or just a smarter implementation I'm not sure. But I can tell you for certain is much better as I do a lot of hiking and geocaching and have used both extensively. All the software I use reports a far higher degree of accuracy. It's night and day. Sometimes within 10 feet on the 4 and the 3GS is usually never lower than 30.

So do some more research and make less assumptions please.

You re-enforced my point perfectly. You do hiking. How would you know if it's accurate or not? You're using it to map uncharted territory for the most-part. I'm using TomTom or Navigon, and it doesn't know weather I'm in Lane 1 or Lane 8, and generally doesn't know if I am even on the freeway or the raised commuter lanes or the exit. I'd peg it's accuracy to about 100 yards... not bad for a mobile phone, but not good enough for me, or the many others who clearly keep Garmin and Magellan in the business of making accessory docks for those wanting better location.

As I said, the PRIMARY position is that of AGPS (yeah genius, it's ASSISTED, hence why I put an A)... but you can't used a half-baked GPS unit (by your own testimony it's low powered) when you're in an urban highrise setting, it just doesn't perform well.

Get off your tangent and thread-crap elsewhere. I'm trying to have a community discussion in a subject that CLEARLY there are people who agree the accuracy could be better, and you insist on telling me I'm wrong. I'd bet anything if my post was about how the GPS works so perfectly you can get a great fix, you'd post that it wasn't perfect and need one. There's a small subset of community users here like you that baffle me... not sure why you have to be argumentative for the sake of being argumentative. If you think there's no problem, post a great review of the iphone. However, for those and the thousands like me who would like more accuracy than the GPS in the iPhone can provide, we're still looking for solutions built for iPhone 4.

 

[bella92108]

It uses this info to get a faster fix (TTFF - time to first fix). It does not have anything to do with whether or not the GPS chipset is better or not

You should research a bit. Consumer GPS units would take 3-5 minutes in the early days of units, and every unit now prints it's time to first fix in it's specifications. If you're lost in a new city and you power up your GPS you want to know where you are and want to know quickly and there are still units that'll take 1-2 minutes, where the more modern units (ie the Garmin 3790) will find location in 45 seconds or less.

If you find someone who says 15-90 seconds faster find-time isn't "better" when driving down a new freeway through a new city at 60 MPH, great. If you find someone that doesn't mind if they're en route to a destination and because they go through a downtown high-rise corridor they lose GPS on their iPhone and lose their connectivity, fine. Otherwise take your trolling elsewhere. I'm willing to pay for the premium of having a dedicated GPS, or a unit that has assistance to make it more accurate than without (in Apple and anyone who ever has used it's opinion), but you're always entitled to your opinion.

 

[bella92108]

So do some more research and make less assumptions please.

Speaking of research: I see you're a UK user. Your experience will differ greatly from that of users in the US both on AT&T network, as well as those using the device in the United States, and caution should be taken given your advice is coming from a country where you don't have skyscrapers that would inhibit reception like is the case in San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, NYC, Chicago, Miami, etc. The tallest buildings in london are 200 meters tall, and are few and far between. I'll stand by my position and discredit advice that comes from anyone who doesn't also LIVE in a large urban area with high-rise density. Thanks though.

 

[theautopilot]

What on earth does the network you are on have to do with GPS performance? Please do explain

Am i off topic? you said that the iPhone 4 had the same AGPS as previous models and that it was not true GPS. You are wrong on both counts and i answered that. If its OT, thats because you took it off topic. Anyway, given the amount you have written in responsive to me, and the questions you have asked, i think you are on topic. My orginal point was that the iPhone 4 does not benefit in any significant way from the TomTom GPS mount. You went off on one from there and i simply respond to what you wrote.

This is also what's known as a 'discussion' forum, so i am entitled to reply and if you feel i have crossed the boundaries or broken rules, please report it to a moderator. On that note, calling me a troll is against the rules BTW

As for hiking, actually that requires a great deal of accuracy. But also i Geocache, which requires as accurate positioning as possible. The most accurate GPS units on the market are aimed at hikers. They have to show true accuracy too, in car systems use lots of clever techniques, such as averaging, to give the impression of accuracy. But even the best in the world cant tell you if you are in lane 2 or lane 3 of the highway with enough reliability.

"I'd peg it's accuracy to about 100 yards...". I can assure you its much better than that. Apart from a lot of actual real world experience, its actually possible to work out how accurate it is. Most decent GPS software will give you a reading in feet/yards. The iP4 will easily get down to 10 yards accuracy.

As it goes, i think we are still pretty much on topic. Referring to me as a troll to dismiss and try and discredit me is rather lame TBH.

I don't know why you need to be so aggressive. Maybe I have shown up the holes in your knowledge? Your being aggressively defensive by calling me a troll... the lady doth protest too much, me thinks

 

[bella92108]

What on earth does the network or even country have to do with GPS performance?

I don't know why you need to be so aggressive. Maybe I have Shown the holes in your knowledge?

The NETWORK (aka data connection and tower reliability) has everything to do with the performance of assisted GPS. And the COUNTRY is responsible for the satellites above the specific country. And the point with the country is that the UK is known for being a bit more flat than the US, and there certainly isn't the urban highrise factor in any UK city like in the US.... so to say "mine works fine downtown" ... when was the last time you used it downtown San Francisco where you were surrounded by buildings to the point where you couldn't see any sky but directly up?

Any I'm not aggressive, it just agitates me that you feel the need to try and tell me an issue doesn't exist because you aren't experiencing the issue. 99% of the issues on here I don't experience, so if I can't HELP someone, I don't respond saying their issue doesn't exist, I just move on and leave the forum for someone who DOES know how to remedy their issue to assist.

 

[theautopilot]

You should research a bit. Consumer GPS units would take 3-5 minutes in the early days of units, and every unit now prints it's time to first fix in it's specifications. If you're lost in a new city and you power up your GPS you want to know where you are and want to know quickly and there are still units that'll take 1-2 minutes, where the more modern units (ie the Garmin 3790) will find location in 45 seconds or less.

If you find someone who says 15-90 seconds faster find-time isn't "better" when driving down a new freeway through a new city at 60 MPH, great. If you find someone that doesn't mind if they're en route to a destination and because they go through a downtown high-rise corridor they lose GPS on their iPhone and lose their connectivity, fine. Otherwise take your trolling elsewhere. I'm willing to pay for the premium of having a dedicated GPS, or a unit that has assistance to make it more accurate than without (in Apple and anyone who ever has used it's opinion), but you're always entitled to your opinion.

You mis-understood what i said, maybe i was not being clear. I agree with the above, but you were saying futher back that AGPS is somehow different to GPS - it's not. Yes, it can get a faster TTFF (BTW, the figures quoted in spec sheets are only under optimal conditions, it varies massively in real world usage). But once it has it fix, the A part plays no further part and has nothing to do with positional accuracy.

 

[bella92108]

You mis-understood what i said, maybe i was not being clear. I agree with the above, but you were saying futher back that AGPS is somehow different to GPS - it's not. Yes, it can get a faster TTFF (BTW, the figures quoted in spec sheets are only under optimal conditions, it varies massively in real world usage). But once it has it fix, the A part plays no further part and has nothing to do with positional accuracy.

See that's where you're incorrect. AGPS will grab my location (say within 5 city blocks and make the location the center of the bulls-eye of that 5 block radius - certainly unacceptable for turn by turn nav)... then when it gets a satellite fix, it'll narrow it down to 100 or so meter accuracy.... acceptable, but not ideal like a 10 foot accuracy of a stand-alone GPS unit. The issue comes in when the iPhone loses it's grab on the satellites (caused by buildings, terrain, etc), and then it automatically jumps back to the triangulation of AGPS, thus rendering the turn by turn functionality useless. My guess is your region's lack of tall buildings and terrain have not caused this problem to surface, thus you don't interpret it as a problem... but people who rely on turn by turn to navigate large cities like NY, SF, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Denver, etc etc etc, which have large buildings in small clusters will know the issue. It's always been an issue for iPhone, and continues on iPhone 4. Sure iPhone 4 is BETTER than 3GS, but it doesn't solve the issue that's plagued the iPhones and prompts the third party makers of GPS attachments to continue to make and sell these devices...

 

[theautopilot]

The NETWORK (aka data connection and tower reliability) has everything to do with the performance of assisted GPS

Might be a difference in TTFF, but it has NOTHING to do with accuracy or performance once the GPS has a lock.

It does not matter what country you are in, you use the EXACT same satellites anywhere in the world. The clue is in the "Global" part of GPS. Its one of the best things about GPS - it neutral.

As for TTFF, i really would love to see your statistics on which network provides the best assisted triangulation data. Please share them with us. If i had to guess (as i suspect your are) its possible that network based positioning is better in a country with denser cell tower coverage (more accurate triangulation), which i think is the UK in this case. But the networks dont release this data, so you must have insider info?

BTW, would you like to know what i do for a living?

 

[theautopilot]

See that's where you're incorrect. AGPS will grab my location (say within 5 city blocks and make the location the center of the bulls-eye of that 5 block radius - certainly unacceptable for turn by turn nav)... then when it gets a satellite fix, it'll narrow it down to 100 or so meter accuracy.... acceptable, but not ideal like a 10 foot accuracy of a stand-alone GPS unit. The issue comes in when the iPhone loses it's grab on the satellites (caused by buildings, terrain, etc), and then it automatically jumps back to the triangulation of AGPS, thus rendering the turn by turn functionality useless. My guess is your region's lack of tall buildings and terrain have not caused this problem to surface, thus you don't interpret it as a problem... but people who rely on turn by turn to navigate large cities like NY, SF, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Denver, etc etc etc, which have large buildings in small clusters will know the issue. It's always been an issue for iPhone, and continues on iPhone 4. Sure iPhone 4 is BETTER than 3GS, but it doesn't solve the issue that's plagued the iPhones and prompts the third party makers of GPS attachments to continue to make and sell these devices...

AGPS does not provide tracking or navigation, it provides a faster initial fix on the sats. You can tell this because when you sit in a building (with network coverage) you dont get a position at all, which you would if it was constantly triangulating. (BTW, if you test this and the iPhone does give you a rough position, its because its the last known good position). When your iPhone is being widely inaccurate in built up areas it not triangulating, its just not locked on many satellites (you only need 2 satellites, but accuracy is poor).

 

[bella92108]

AGPS does not provide tracking or navigation, it provides a faster initial fix on the sats. You can tell this because when you sit in a building (with network coverage) you dont get a position at all, which you would if it was constantly triangulating. When you iPhone is being widely inaccurate in built up areas it not triangulating, its just not locked on many satellites (you only need 2 satellites, but accuracy is poor).

I'm not discussing this anymore. I'm sitting here INDOORS and i sure as hell get a position, but whatever... this is going nowhere. Nevermind.

Mod, please close the thread.... this isn't helping anyone.

 

[theautopilot]

I'm not discussing this anymore. I'm sitting here INDOORS and i sure as hell get a position, but whatever... this is going nowhere. Nevermind.

Mod, please close the thread.... this isn't helping anyone.

You either have a) a lock on 1 or 2 sats though a window or b) the iphones GPS subsystem is using the 'last known good position'.

I was trying to help you, but you got all aggressive and I was just responding to you blasting facts at me which I think are wrong.

Back on track (we might be off on a tangent, but that's hardly my fault) yes the iPhone 4 is not as good as standalone unit. But the iPhone is better when plugged into a power socket as its gps chipset works in a low power mode on battery. I stand by my point that the tomtom mount does not justify the cost.

But I hope we can agree on this - I wish apple would allow any external Bluetooth units, very good systems can be had for less than $50.

Good luck though, no I'll feeling this end. No need to get so upset, no personal offence was intended

 

[err404]

The iPhone4 GPS is far better then I expected. It is great for hiking, geocaching and automotive Nav. In fact, I get better accuracy with the phone then I do with most dedicated GPS units. That said the small antenna does make it more prone to obstructions than modern dedicated units.

OP has a problem and needs a solution. Many cars have metallic windshield treatments that significantly obstruct GPS performance. A dock with a larger (or preferably external) GPS antenna would be helpful for him. Unfortunately, I don't have one to suggest since I don't use one.

BTW - AGPS technology is in every way better than traditional GPS since it is a tradition GPS plus an online database of known stationary transmitters (wifi hot-spots and cell towers) allowing for very fast sat locks. However it may not always be apparent since devices capable of using AGPS tend to include small antennas.

 

[nooaah]

Clearly you don't know what you're talking about. For one no, tomtom's is not viable as it is not designed to work with iPhone 4. Had YOU searched you'd know the user experience has been poor. I tried 3 and even with the adaptor it worked terrible.

Furthermore yes, iPhone 4 DOES need a gps externally. The built in isn't sufficient to use in areas like metro downtown locales.

I asked for a charger/gps unit so don't tell me there are lots of mounts. If you don't have anything productive to contribute don't contribute anything

You mad?