iPhone 4: GPS accuracy?

[mgpg89]

I'm in need of a new sat nav for my car and I'm getting an iPhone 4 when they're being released in Belgium, so I was wondering how accurate the built-in GPS chip works?

If you feel it's not accurate enough for fluent turn-by-turn navigation, can you recommend a carkit/accessory with an external GPS antenna (like the TomTom carkit ... are there any others?) ...


Thanks in advance!

 

[skubish]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

All gps chips have the same accuracy. It's the software that affects location display accuracy. Triangulation time could be affected by the chip but overall the iPhone is pretty good.

 

[mgpg89]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the external GPS antenna in the TomTom carkit doesn't provide more accuracy?

And how does the iPhone 4 GPS stack up against the iPhone 3GS (which I have now) ... is it the same?

 

[Ntombi]

The iPhone 3GS was good enough for me to have converted several friends to Navigon because of the app, and the 4 is even better. It triangulates more quickly, reroutes more quickly, and of course, loads faster.

I highly recommend Navigon Mobile Navigator.

 

[mgpg89]

I had no clue that triangulation speed had to do with the software, rather than hardware ... So the navigon app is better than the TomTom app in terms of accuracy & triangulation speed?

 

[Tokiopop]

Off topic: Nice profile picture

 

[Ingster]

I like the tomtom app, i got it because there was an offer on itunes vouchers so saved a few £££. Initially the software was a bit rubbish, very basic functionality, but now after several updates you have tomtom HD traffic, iq routes, better music integration, lane assist and up to date mapping with speed camera database (UK - dont know if there is any for others). If you could download new voices i'd be truly in love!

Acquiring satellite fix and plotting routes is lightning fast.

Not tried navigon, i think it's a matter of preference really, i like the tomtom layout, so i use that

Also on a side note the car dock is great piece of kit, once they've worked out a fix for the iphone 4 (it's thinner so need to put an elastic band behind the unit to hold the dock connector back - see other threads in accessories sub forum) it'll be fab!

 

[mgpg89]

I like the tomtom app, i got it because there was an offer on itunes vouchers so saved a few £££. Initially the software was a bit rubbish, very basic functionality, but now after several updates you have tomtom HD traffic, iq routes, better music integration, lane assist and up to date mapping with speed camera database (UK - dont know if there is any for others). If you could download new voices i'd be truly in love!

Acquiring satellite fix and plotting routes is lightning fast.

Not tried navigon, i think it's a matter of preference really, i like the tomtom layout, so i use that

Also on a side note the car dock is great piece of kit, once they've worked out a fix for the iphone 4 (it's thinner so need to put an elastic band behind the unit to hold the dock connector back - see other threads in accessories sub forum) it'll be fab!

Problem with the TomTom car dock is: the USB port only passes through power, no data.
I have a USB port in my car to connect my iPhone, so I can listen to my music (no AUX input option, just the USB)
So the TomTom cradle & my car don't match ...

So basically I need a cradle with USB pass-through (so far, I only found the Proclip cradles) ... Best case scenario: I find a cradle with USB pass-through AND an external GPS antenna, but I don't think they exist.


On a sidenote: up until now I've been using a Mophie Juicepack attached to my dash with some double-sided duct tape ... works great, although it looks a bit tacky. Just slide the iPhone in when you enter the car and you're good to go.

 

[Eso]

For what it's worth, I compared the GPS in the iPhone 4 to my 3GS when I was in an Apple store. I was shocked at how much faster and more accurate the GPS in the iPhone 4 worked.

The iPhone 4 showed the dot more accurately to my actual location and it was pulsing (indicating a GPS fix), while my 3GS was close, but the dot wouldn't pulse and it would show the blue circle when the iPhone 4 would not at the same zoom level.

 

[bit_bucket]

The I4 seems to have a much more accurate GPS system in it. I get a fix near instantly and can actually use TomTom for turn by turn without needing the cradle. Definitely an improvement over the 3GS.