Orange San Francisco GPS noobie question

g4efe

Hi folks - New to the world of Smartphones.......

Thinking of buying the Orange San Francisco as I want a phone with GPS and WiFi. Is there a cost involved in using the GPS function? I would mainly be using this in a bid to not get lost (again) while ambling around central London.

Second: If I unlock the phone and slip in, say, a T-mobile sim, do I have to purchase a T-mobile-type app to run the GPS on. Rough cost? Free to use once installed?

Will I simply be able to punch in a postcode to get me there?

Finally, would I be able to use GPS/WiFi without any SIM at all?

And finally finally...any recommendations cheapest minutes/texts/online SIM?

Thanks for all your help - Martin

Parva

I can't answer all of your questions but think I can manage most.

Firstly, does the GPS cost? Yes and no. It's free but it requires a data connection to download the map on the fly. This isn't as bad as it sounds though. As long as you have a half-decent data package (500Mb+) and only use it in nav mode and not satellite view then it uses very little data at all.

To elaborate, I walked to the shop and back with satellite view on (so you actually see the satellite images) and used 2.5Mb on a distance of less than 1 mile in total! Imagine doing a trip of 100 miles+, that's the data package blown to bits! However, using normal nav view (as you would on say a TomTom) I did a 90 mile round trip in the car and used 1.5Mb! Now that's a hell of a difference! Bear in mind that using satellite view it's like stitching a lot of photographs together so the data usage is phenomenal but as long as you use it as you would any other sat nav, it's perfectly fine.

Will it cost you if you unlock it and use another networks sim? Nope, it works exactly the same! It merely uses their data instead of Orange to download the navigation directions, exactly the same as above.

Can you punch in a postcode and you're there? Yep. It will work the same regardless of network, provided that you have a data connection.

Now the GPS/WiFi with no sim I don't know I'm afraid. My son has this very phone and it's not something we've tried. Well actually, the GPS wouldn't work (other than to give you actual coordinates) because the phone needs that data connection to download the map. I have the HTC Desire and it works exactly the same, the maps are not physically stored on the phone, they are downloaded on an as-needed basis.

I believe there are applications out there that pre-load the maps onto the phone negating the need for a data connection but in my experience it really is no problem whatsoever just using them over a data connection, I've yet to find myself stranded anywhere. Furthermore I have a 500Mb data allowance on my Desire with Orange, I rarely get halfway through that even with web surfing and stuff (although I do use WiFi whenever I can).

Final question / answer - GiffGaff! My son uses it and thinks it's brilliant. It runs on the 02 network so coverage is good and for £10pm he buys a 'goody bag' (as they call it). For the £10 he gets 150 anytime any network minutes, unlimited texts and most importantly, *truly* unlimited data, there is no Fair-Use Policy in place. They do stipulate that you are not allowed to tether the connection for example (as people could really kill the network if they did!) but other than that you're free to use data whenever you want with no limit in place. This effectively means that you could actually use sat nav with the satellite view on I guess but you wouldn't anyway, the normal TomTom style does the job. Google GiffGaff if you want to check that out.

Hope that answers most of your queries.

colinicky

Could you not buy something like Copilot 8 sat nav, this would not then need to download maps all the time ? Certainly I had it on an old pda with no internet connection & the only thing you didn't get was the live updates while travelling but the sat nav side worked fine. Or is the Android version different ?

c-m

GPS costs nothing.

The mapping software you use might cost. If you use Google maps you will be downloading them on the fly and so require a data connection.

If you use something like Sygic or Co Pilot (akin to Tom Tom or Garmin) then no you only pay the purchase of the software and the maps you want up front.

I've Garmin have released an Android app now, but it like google maps downloads on the fly.

You can unlock the phone and put any sim card in there, or you could use the phone without a sim card if you don't need to make calls/texts

Guys_Dad

g4efe wrote: »

Hi folks - New to the world of Smartphones.......

Thinking of buying the Orange San Francisco as I want a phone with GPS and WiFi. Is there a cost involved in using the GPS function? I would mainly be using this in a bid to not get lost (again) while ambling around central London.

Others with more experience may shoot me down, but there is an alternative - at least 1 Nokia phone comes with GPS and Ovi maps pre-loaded and that does not require any Internet connection whatsoever - no Data charges in other words. With GPS and maps on board the phone, there is no need to use the Internet data.

The Nokia 5800 has wifi and GPS and, unless you need the internet connection for anything else, no need to buy a monthly bolt on.

Just an alternative.

c-m

That's a decent alternative, though not as highly specced as the San Francisco. Both will fit the purpose. Ovi Maps, Tom Tom, Garmin, Sygic, Co Pilot etc.. none of them require a data connection.

benjus

Are there any free apps to do this, or anything that will let you download and cache Google maps?

I was recently in the USA, and I wasn't about to turn on data roaming at £7.50/MB, but it would have been useful to have been able to download maps over wifi and then use them with the GPS. I'm surprised Google hasn't considered this use case for Google Maps.

I did try an app called MapDroyd, but the maps looked pretty bad (FDR Drive in New York was in the middle of the river!) and it didn't seem to work properly with the GPS. It also didn't seem to offer Navaigation functions, just maps.

Rusty!

Google Maps does cache the maps aggressively since v5.

If you plan a route it will now download all the necessary data for making detours in advance.

jayme1

Rusty! wrote: »

Google Maps does cache the maps aggressively since v5.

If you plan a route it will now download all the necessary data for making detours in advance.

maps v5 is only for android 2.2 and above, the orange SF is 2.1

Rusty!

Not true, Maps 5 works fine on the 2.1 San Francisco I gave as an Xmas gift, I know because I installed and tested it myself

Altarf

g4efe wrote: »

I would mainly be using this in a bid to not get lost (again) while ambling around central London.

For central London you can get the A-Z atlas on Andoid, where the map is stored on the phone, and doesn't use data to pull the map down. Not only cheaper, but handy when you have a GPS signal but not data.

http://www.androidzoom.com/uk/android_applications/travel_and_local/london-visitors-az_ivla.html

http://www.androidzoom.com/uk/android_applications/travel_and_local/london-az-mini-atlas_kreu.html

c-m wrote: »

GPS costs nothing.

The San Francisco (like a lot of Android phones) uses assisted GPS which does download data to speed up the GPS fix. However you can turn this off, and just use 'normal' GPS.

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Others with more experience may shoot me down, but there is an alternative ...

The Nokia 5800 has wifi and GPS and, unless you need the internet connection for anything else, no need to buy a monthly bolt on.

Just an alternative.

Don't. Very slow compared to the San Francisco.

Rusty! wrote: »

Not true, Maps 5 works fine on the 2.1 San Francisco I gave as an Xmas gift, I know because I installed and tested it myself

Only some of the features of Maps 5 work in 2.1, with 2.2 you get all of the new features if your handset supports them.