fanboy nonsense about netbook vs. iPad debunked

On 14/06/10 11:37 AM, Dennis Ferguson wrote:

> I've noticed that. While this might say something about Apple's antenna
> design skills, or about Infineon's hardware (the iPad seems to have replaced
> it), or Broadcomm's navigation software, or the RF environment inside a
> cell phone in general, it has nothing at all to do with Assisted GPS. Even
> the most precise autonomous unit can benefit from assistance data when that
> is available, even if it can run without it.

As long as "assisted GPS means what it's supposed to mean. Some people
were referring to the orginal E-911 service used by GSM carriers as
"assisted GPS," when it was solely triangulation and there was no GPS at
all.

All the complaints about the iPhone GPS accuracy are related to the
assisted GPS system it uses. If it can't see the satellites then it
triangulates from WiFi and cellular towers and the position is not very
accurate. People are used to portable GPS systems that are extremely
accurate once they get a view of the satellites, and don't work at all
until they can see enough satellites. They expect the iPhone to be just
as accurate. Might be nice if you could turn the "assisted" part off and
just wait for a satellite fix.

Whether the iPhone's GPS issues are due to antenna design, the amplifier
and GPS chip, or users simply not realizing that a GPS needs to have a
clear view of the satellites, which takes time and nothing in the way,
is unknown, but I'd wager that it's the latter.

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› See More: fanboy nonsense about netbook vs. iPad debunked

In article <[email protected]>, SMS
<[email protected]> wrote:

> As long as "assisted GPS means what it's supposed to mean. Some people
> were referring to the orginal E-911 service used by GSM carriers as
> "assisted GPS," when it was solely triangulation and there was no GPS at
> all.

then they're mistaken.

> All the complaints about the iPhone GPS accuracy are related to the
> assisted GPS system it uses.

not really. it's mostly due to unrealistic expectations.

> If it can't see the satellites then it
> triangulates from WiFi and cellular towers and the position is not very
> accurate. People are used to portable GPS systems that are extremely
> accurate once they get a view of the satellites, and don't work at all
> until they can see enough satellites.

true, but that's not a bad thing. a regular gps would just sit there
with a blank screen while trying to get a fix (especially if it hasn't
been used for a few days), whereas the iphone is ready to go almost
immediately and updates itself as it picks up more satellites.

> They expect the iPhone to be just
> as accurate. Might be nice if you could turn the "assisted" part off and
> just wait for a satellite fix.

you in effect can. apps can request a certain level of accuracy and
decide what to do if can't meet that, such as display an alert. one gps
app displays a red banner at the top that says the gps signal is weak
until it gets a fix that is accurate enough for navigation, however, it
almost always manages to show the car on the correct road even when
it's weak.

In article <[email protected]>, Larry
<[email protected]> wrote:

> > it doesn't with the better gps chipsets.
>
> Horse****.

go try a sirf star iii chipset sometime. it works great indoors, even
inside a steel frame building. we've gone over this before and i posted
links.

In article <[email protected]>, Larry
<[email protected]> wrote:

> > go try a sirf star iii chipset sometime. it works great indoors, even
> > inside a steel frame building. we've gone over this before and i
> > posted links.
> >
> The Nokia pucks ARE SirfStar III Chipsets.

then it should work indoors. either that or you're doing something
wrong.

> That doesn't bypass the laws of PHYSICS, just for hype.

doesn't need to.

> You may be looking at position smoothing on that device, averaging out
> the actual position fixes every second to prevent it from hopping. They
> do a lot of trickery with this Agps bull****.

nope. it was on a garmin hiking gps that had no assistance whatsoever,
and it was inside a steel frame department store. it picked up like 6
satellites, while standing at the counter, while the non-sirf star
model next to it picked up none.