Compass Accuracy

+Do you have a reference that the compass must work in a car?+

Don't be Nieve. Do you honestly believe that they put the compass in the NAVIGATION so that it wouldn't be able to be used in a CAR. If that was the case then they would have left it just as it was on the 3G.

... Do you honestly believe that they put the compass in the NAVIGATION so that it wouldn't be able to be used in a CAR...

They certainly could have. Many people use the iPhone for hiking, biking, geocaching, walking tours, etc. A compass would be very handy in these instances, none of which require a car.

On the iPhone, what do you think the Compass does for the GPS? Why do you think this?

So it will orient the map to the direction you are facing.

Message was edited by: kenm2474

Again, I don't have the 3GS but according to the manual, it doesn't rotate the map, it just shows which way you're facing via an angle. See pages 172-174 of the manual... http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/iPhone_UserGuide.pdf

The map rotates.

So, perhaps it just doesn't work well in the car, as previously discussed?

The Maps app on the iPhone is not really a navigation app anyway... it's just a GPS app as it doesn't do turn-by-turn, doesn't correct for mis-turns and is missing other features of a true navigation system. There are 4-5 developers that will soon be releasing full navigation apps for the iPhone. AT&T has already released theirs (Navigator) but it's $10/month. TomTom and Navigon will have one as well.

Please don't tell me what to be or not.

You clearly can't answer my question and cite a reference because it is your opinion and not a fact.

The compass is not "in the navigation." The iPhone doesn't have navigation.

Applications use GPS for location services and route navigation. I would like to hear of one that uses a compass for that kind of service.

Use of the compass for navigation is open to interpretation. The user manual says

"The icon at the bottom of the Compass screen lets you find your current location in Maps. Maps also takes advantage of the built-in compass to show which way you’re facing."

Although the compass isn't used to determine route or anything, it is useful to show which direction you're facing to know where to look for landmarks.

Charming bedside manner Len!

The presentation at WWDC clearly hyped the ability to see which direction you are going when you have inputted directions into the map. While you can and will use such a function away from your car, the key use would be in a car and to say anything different is silly - no I don't have a reference, that is just my opinion.

D

PS - What qualifies something as a fact in your opinion Len, something that someone you believe says or writes?

Message was edited by: EasterRat

EasterRat wrote:
While you can and will use such a function away from your car, the key use would be in a car and to say anything different is silly.

I've used GPS receivers (made by Garmin) for car navigation for quite a few years; I'm now on my third, a Nuvi 760.

The most important attribute for such a device is a really bright screen of good size, one which can be read (directions and maps) even with direct sunlight on it. Many dedicated GPSRs fail in that regard: The screen washes out. Very few of these devices (if any) have a compass .. because as soon as the car moves the direction of travel can be determined without one.

I have the 3GS and had the 2G before it. Neither screen is either large enough or bright enough for me to use while driving (as a passenger, where I can adjust the screen distance and location for visibility, sure).

The main value of the compass in the 3GS is while stationary or moving at such low speeds that the GPS signals will not provide direction of travel info -- like afoot, standing or walking.

Phil

Multiple degrees in Physics and Computer Science. Books can be wrong, though. 🙂

Ha, of course! Enjoy your brain.

The world may be comprised of physical laws and wonderful Computer systems, but it is not the sole domain of them. People communicate varying understandings of different topics, yourself included - method of communication and connection to others will be the key to a happy existence. Everyone can be the expert in something, until someone else comes along. Don't make people feel stupid, that is not sexy.

D

Good points. I understand both sides, as a poster told me not to be naive -- which was both inaccurate and presumptuous.

If you have time to do a search for LenH in all of the Apple discussion groups, you'll find that my answers are as polite and helpful as possible. I only get impatient when folks continue to grind away on misleading information that isn't really truthful nor helpful. You'll find the same characteristic from Allan Sampson, a great contributor to these discussion boards. Folks chastise him on occasion when his patience is used up by insistent posters who mask opinion and misleading information as fact.

I apologize for making folks feel stupid.

Bumpersticker I saw last week: Don't believe everything you think.

Net net: The compass function is very useful with the maps program. If you click the bottom left icon twice in Map view, the "head light" comes on and the map is dynamically turned to keep you heading "up" the screen. Much easier to determine left and right turn directions regardless of whether you are going north or south.

However, there are definitely things that interfere in the car. Use the FIGURE 8 motion to help calibrate. That improves the use for me. Not perfect, but very usable. I have my phone on a stand tilted toward me. That throws the direction off a few degrees by itself. The phone is pinted toward my right front headlight, more than the direction of the car.

Still very useful.

JP