GPS vs WiFi

[Goldchucker]

I'm contimplating purchasing a new tablet for my Mavic Pro as a back up in the event my Invidia Shield goes down. I have no use for cellular capability. What are the benefits of having a tablet with GPS rather than just WiFi alone?



Thank you,
Chuck

 

[msinger]

When using a mobile device with a GPS receiver, you can do the following:

• Use the Follow Me flight mode
• Reset the home point to your current location at anytime

 

[Goldchucker]

Thank you msinger. Those options alone will make GPS worthwhile for my purposes.
However, I'm a little confused by what a Best Buy rep told me. He said, and I quote, "You can only use GPS when the ipad is connected to an internet connection". My Nvidia has GPS and it isn't connected to the internet when out in the field......unless I don't understand what his meaning was.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Thank you msinger. Those options alone will make GPS worthwhile for my purposes.
However, I'm a little confused by what a Best Buy rep told me. He said, and I quote, "You can only use GPS when the ipad is connected to an internet connection". My Nvidia has GPS and it isn't connected to the internet when out in the field......unless I don't understand what his meaning was.

GPS receivers in most mobile devices, unless they are dedicated GPS devices, have to use the cell connection to determine the position. This is called 'assisted GPS'. Without a sim that is connected to the phone network GPS will not work.

 

[Simmo]

Hmm dunno about that?! If a device has a GPS, then it has a GPS!
If it can utilise 'Assisted GPS', where available, then it is more than likely, a more accurate gps.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Hmm dunno about that?! If a device has a GPS, then it has a GPS!
If it can utilise 'Assisted GPS', where available, then it is more than likely, a more accurate gps.

You're correct Simmo. I just looked it up.
Assisted GPS is more accurate and quicker to determine a position. But without cell the device usually still has GPS but slower and less accurate.

I take back previous statement, I was wrong.

 

[Simmo]

There is no wrong when we are trying to learn mate. Just information trading!

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Sure, no harm in getting corrected once in a while!

And now I even remember having used my phone's GPS without cell once.

What I do know from this experience is that without cell connection the GPS becomes really dead slow. I was traveling through Germany and navigated on my phone with G.Maps which were downloaded to the phones SD cart. When I switched off the cell connection, to save roaming costs, within minutes the navigation became extremely slow, up to a point where it just wasn't usable at all. I even ended up taking the wrong exit while on the autobahn, causing a detour of 20km. That was on a brand new Samsung Galaxy S5 at the time. Finally I gave up and accepted the roaming. From that point navigating became as fast and accurate as ever. I will check it with my new phone. It's quite interesting to find out what a current S8 can do without cell.
My guess is that most phones need the constant raw position updates they get from the network to be able to keep a fix.

 

[Simmo]

Hmm, again, I will disagree.
Ships of the water and the air cross continents, with no mobile networks....
Cell / Assisted GPS is an optional extra, if the device actually requires it, get a new one.
I am a Samsung nut, and my GPS is spot on, with mobile data on or off, in town or out bush.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Hmm, again, I will disagree.
Ships of the water and the air cross continents, with no mobile networks....
Cell / Assisted GPS is an optional extra, if the device actually requires it, get a new one.
I am a Samsung nut, and my GPS is spot on, with mobile data on or off, in town or out bush.

You are probably right. I'm giving it a try next time.

 

[Congoblue]

"Real" GPS can be poor inside a car due to limited view of the satellites, I would guess that to be the cause of your navigation issue.

"Assisted GPS" uses information from the cell network (accurate network time, and approximate location) to speed up the GPS lock, it can also give more accuracy if only a few satellites are locked.

 

[Simmo]

"
"Assisted GPS" uses information from the cell network (accurate network time, and approximate location) to speed up the GPS lock, it can also give more accuracy if only a few satellites are locked.

Only if it can triangulate... more than one cell required... Authorities use this stuff all the time to work out a generalisation of where a 'device' is....

 

[msinger]

I'm a little confused by what a Best Buy rep told me. He said, and I quote, "You can only use GPS when the ipad is connected to an internet connection"

I'm not sure what he was trying to say either.

iPads come in a Wi-Fi only model and a cellular model. Only the cellular models contain a GPS receiver. That GPS receiver is active even if the cellular service is not active and/or the iPad is not connected to the Internet.

 

[Congoblue]

Only if it can triangulate... more than one cell required... Authorities use this stuff all the time to work out a generalisation of where a 'device' is....

Well I thought that too, but I just read up on assisted GPS and that is apparently not how it works. It really is just the network assisting the GPS module to a faster lock by providing some of the data it would normally have to work out or download for itself.

I think triangulation is used by the Location method in android phones, but that's a different thing to assisted GPS.

 

[Goldchucker]

This has been a very informative discussion. I will spend the extra money and purchase a tablet that has GPS.

Thank you to all who contributed to my original post.

Chuck

 

[Rod NCHRST]

What I'd sure like to KNOW for certain is, if I purchase an iPad with cellular capability, & configured this way, is has GPS capability...if I NEVER activate the carrier wireless service (e.g., Verizon) ... will the GPS function of the iPad perform properly with my MM2Pro? A friend has one for sale, the wireless carrier sim card is locked & apparently cannot be unlocked. Am told that the GPS will function regardless of carrier connection. Sounds like additional speed & accuracy are facilitated by carrier data, though the GPS will function whether or not activated. Am I close?

 

[sar104]

What I'd sure like to KNOW for certain is, if I purchase an iPad with cellular capability, & configured this way, is has GPS capability...if I NEVER activate the carrier wireless service (e.g., Verizon) ... will the GPS function of the iPad perform properly with my MM2Pro? A friend has one for sale, the wireless carrier sim card is locked & apparently cannot be unlocked. Am told that the GPS will function regardless of carrier connection. Sounds like additional speed & accuracy are facilitated by carrier data, though the GPS will function whether or not activated. Am I close?

The GPS receiver is on the cellular radio chip, which is why you need a cellular-enabled tablet to get built-in GPS capability. But there is no requirement to activate the cellular service for the GPS receiver to work. What you won't get, without cellular service, is map data when not connected to wifi.

An alternative to a cellular-capable tablet is to use a plug-in or Bluetooth-linked external GPS device which supplies GPS data to the tablet.

 

[Rod NCHRST]

The GPS receiver is on the cellular radio chip, which is why you need a cellular-enabled tablet to get built-in GPS capability. But there is no requirement to activate the cellular service for the GPS receiver to work. What you won't get, without cellular service, is map data when not connected to wifi.

An alternative to a cellular-capable tablet is to use a plug-in or Bluetooth-linked external GPS device which supplies GPS data to the tablet.

Thank you, wondering, is the aircraft video stored on the iPad in addition to the microSD card, as video is captured? Wondering about the importance of storage capacity of the iPad (e.g., 64Gb vs. 128 Gb).

 

[sar104]

Thank you, wondering, is the aircraft video stored on the iPad in addition to the microSD card, as video is captured? Wondering about the importance of storage capacity of the iPad (e.g., 64Gb vs. 128 Gb).

Video and photos are stored on the aircraft SD card.

 

[kidroc]

well i use a ipad mini 3 cell/gps never ever had a sim activated an it has always used it gps just fine i cache the map when i use the tablet and then its in airplane mode gps still works..