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why do people get bothered by a tiny icon so much? the compass, to me, is a welcomed feature and it's really cool to have a phone render a compass.
 
no its not. you didnt magically arrive at a stop, you were moving a direction to that stop so of course it can tell you which way to turn.

If you are walking, stop, then turn around in place, it will never know you did it. A compass is required in that situation.
 
Wrong. Shows how little you know. Very few modern GPS devices have them nor do they need them.

Most in-car nav systems not only include a compass but also have wheel speed sensors. It not only helps counteract position error while stopped (your calculated position tends to wander a bit due to atmospheric conditions), but it also helps in situations when you're dealing with an obstructed view of the sky, like in a tunnel, under heavy tree cover and in urban areas.

My wife's car continues to reasonably correctly plot its location even in parking garages where there is no GPS signal at all.
 
Agree. I wish Apple would ditch limited use apps like that and the Contacts app and put them on the AppStore for people to download if they choose. I hate not being able to remove the contacts app.

WAY overdue.

I don't know why you're arguing against having a compass, this makes no sense at all.

Compass app v. compass - subtle but important difference.
 
I'm sure the compass will be used it more innovative ways as well. The compass application is something that hikers will use on a regular basis.

Some people actually go outside and do fun stuff.

lol um id venture not

why not use a real compass that doesnt rely on a batt. as a hiker, there is no way id use the iphone for navigational purposes. not to mention, trail maps arent even part of gogle maps anyways
 
im not arguing against having a compass. im simply saying you are wrong in your assertion that "A compass is pretty much a necessity for any turn-by-turn navigation applications." its not. not at all.



no its not. you didnt magically arrive at a stop, you were moving a direction to that stop so of course it can tell you which way to turn.

Yeah but if you enter the address in while at a stop then it wouldn't know!
 
lol um id venture not

why not use a real compass that doesnt rely on a batt. as a hiker, there is no way id use the iphone for navigational purposes. not to mention, trail maps arent even part of gogle maps anyways

But there are trail map apps.....Also what if you were to not have any gps signal or service in the middle of nowhere.....Compass app to the rescue!!!
 
They should just add it to the maps app and make it work with other Apps that need to use it or can make use of it. I don't think I will ever click on the icon just to see a compass. Another Icon we won't be able to remove just like the contacts app and the useless weather app that gives wrong readings all the time.

Apple should give us a choice to be able to remove useless apps or apps we don't want or use.
 
If you are walking, stop, then turn around in place, it will never know you did it. A compass is required in that situation.

I'm guessing that you have a brain which should have the ability in that situation to work out which way to go... otherwise walking might not be the hobby for you...
 
Yeah but if you enter the address in while at a stop then it wouldn't know!

first please learn to speak English... second my car has it built in and with a map over top with which it shows which way to go, and having the use of my eyes and brain I can read a map, and anyway within 50-100meters it knows exactly which way I'm going.
 
If you are walking, stop, then turn around in place, it will never know you did it. A compass is required in that situation.

the original statement was "A compass is pretty much a necessity for any turn-by-turn navigation applications." its not.

if you want to stand outside and spin in circles and watch the map rotate, thats up to you.
 
I'm guessing that you have a brain which should have the ability in that situation to work out which way to go... otherwise walking might not be the hobby for you...

Seriously? You actually think a GPS is a replacement for a compass (or a brain?). Ok, but I'm not following you off trail...
 
the original statement was "A compass is pretty much a necessity for any turn-by-turn navigation applications." its not.

if you want to stand outside and spin in circles and watch the map rotate, thats up to you.

Stop and think about what you are saying and you have the answer as to why a compass is needed. That's exactly what dukebound85 said about his Garmin. It does NOT show orientation. People that need directions don't recognize their surroundings - it's called "being lost".

"You're in a twisty maze of passages, all alike."

Some people need to go back and "earn their navigation badges".
 
You'd think it would be useless... but just the other day I got into a random conversation in which having a compass actually would have came in handy.

One of us actually said "it'd be great if we had a compass right now".
 
Agree. I wish Apple would ditch limited use apps like that and the Contacts app and put them on the AppStore for people to download if they choose. I hate not being able to remove the contacts app.

Just drag them to the last page. They added 2 more pages on the end for you in 3.0
 
Stop and think about what you are saying and you have the answer as to why a compass is needed. That's exactly what dukebound85 said about his Garmin. It does NOT show orientation. People that need directions don't recognize their surroundings - it's called "being lost".
But the compass isn't needed. It could be a nice addition, but it isn't a required part of a functioning GPS unit. If I'm lost at Point A and I want to get to Point B the best route between Point A and Point B doesn't change depending on the cardinal direction I'm facing. I mean, if I'm driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles and I get lost in central California my GPS is still going to tell me to go South regardless of whether or not I'm facing NSEW at the time I ask my GPS for directions. If I want to get directions to the nearest Wal-Greens the iPhone would tell me to go one block North and one block West of my current position. None of that changes depending on what direction I'm facing when I ask for directions.


Lethal
 
If the magnetometer's there, why not have a beautifully rendered compass? Have you ever gone sky gazing, aligned a telescope or antenna, or needed a heading to photograph sunrise or wanted to know what direction to look for that Shuttle/ISS pass, or,... These are just a few things I can think of because of my own interests - there are no doubt many more uses which are separate from x,y,z position.

Imagine an iPhone-ised version of Stellarium with realtime directional rendering (star pointer)...

I bet Celestron wouldn't be too happy!
 
Stop and think about what you are saying and you have the answer as to why a compass is needed. That's exactly what dukebound85 said about his Garmin. It does NOT show orientation. People that need directions don't recognize their surroundings - it's called "being lost".

"You're in a twisty maze of passages, all alike."

Some people need to go back and "earn their navigation badges".

a compass is not needed. your direction is determined by movement. a compass is a nice bonus feature but in no way is it a necessity for turn-by-turn navigation.
 
facepalm.jpg


Okay, you are correct. Compass is not needed for turn-by-turn navigation.

Happy? :rolleyes:
 
if you dont want to get called out you shouldnt make such silly statements

Magnetometers cost like 3 cents and they provide for better direction tracking and auto map rotation. There's no reason NOT to have a compass in a turn-by-turn navigation device.

That's why I said they are "pretty much" a necessity. They cost very little and improve the user experience. There was nothing "silly" about my statement.

In no way was I saying "turn-by-turn should be 3G S only" or anything close to that.
 
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