Offline Sat Nav

Question

Level 1

8 points

Offline Sat Nav

Hi all!

Can the iPhone 4 be used as an offline satellite navigation gadget?

I don't really understand the difference between assisted and non-assisted GPS. I just would like to know if there's an application out there that comes together with maps that are stored on the phones HDD and I can put the phone in front of me in my car and use it as a regular sat-nav without having to connect to the internet (3G or WiFi)?

If you don't know of such an application but do know that it is possible. Please say so. It's one thing to wait for an APP to come up in iStore and it's another thing to find out that the GPS type built inside the iPhone 4 is basically always dependent on 3G/WiFi in order to function.

This is important to me because using internet GPS outside my country is soooo expensive.

Thx outfront

Intel Core 2 Quad, Windows 7

Posted on Oct 7, 2010 2:54 PM

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Answer 1

roaminggnome

Level 10

106,407 points

Oct 7, 2010 2:58 PM in response to Juroski

There are several apps for this - Tomtom, Navigon are two that I can remember.

The GPS does not need cell signal or wi-fi signal to find your position, it uses them ( when available) to get a position more quickly.

The Maps app on iphone uses the internet to gain access to maps, so you would have to have access to the internet to use this app.

Tomtom and similar Apps store maps on the iphone and do not need a connection in order to be used for navigation.

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Answer 2

wjosten

Level 10

95,439 points

Oct 7, 2010 2:59 PM in response to Juroski

The iphone has a dedicated GPS chip. The assisted part is merely there the increase the speed of determining your location. Any navigation app that stores the mapping data locally on your phone should work fine with cellular data turned off. They won't work in airplane mode, because in airplane mode the GPS chip is also turned off.

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Answer 3

Juroski Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 7, 2010 3:10 PM in response to Juroski

Wow, thx for the fast response!

That's what I wanted to know.

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Answer 4

lyricon

Level 1

115 points

Oct 7, 2010 3:10 PM in response to Juroski

Yes, very much so. As said, it has a dedicated GPS. Check the MotionX apps. Cheap and amazing. There is one specifically for driving and one for more general use like hiking, boating and the like. The broad range one will let you download all your maps you need for an area so you don't need the cell data connection when you are using it. The Driving will also do this by running a trip simulation. Both are really well done.

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