Garmin 64s - GPS+GLONASS

[Koda]

just my own experience here but my smartphone GPS gets better reception than my old Garmin and a more accurate track especially under trees, deep canyons etc. Its the first GPS I've used off trail on the coast range that gave me an accurate track. I get excellent battery life using it in airplane mode, recording tracks, camera use all day before needed the spare battery pack. I do however suspect that the large variety of smart phones yield different results that may not be efficient in some phones. I'm on a pretty high end phone right now and eligible for my 2yr upgrade eyeing the LG G2 (which does come with GLONASS technology...)

More in line with the OP, I wouldn't turn a device down if it came with GLONASS for the same price but based on my experience its not something needed. Maybe if I get the G2 I'll become a GLONASS believer

[Crusak]

just my own experience here but my smartphone GPS gets better reception than my old Garmin and a more accurate track especially under trees, deep canyons etc. Its the first GPS I've used off trail on the coast range that gave me an accurate track. I get excellent battery life using it in airplane mode, recording tracks, camera use all day before needed the spare battery pack. I do however suspect that the large variety of smart phones yield different results that may not be efficient in some phones. I'm on a pretty high end phone right now and eligible for my 2yr upgrade eyeing the LG G2 (which does come with GLONASS technology...)

More in line with the OP, I wouldn't turn a device down if it came with GLONASS for the same price but based on my experience its not something needed. Maybe if I get the G2 I'll become a GLONASS believer

Ah yes, I was thinking of my dinosaur iPhone 3GS and it's dismal gps function. It positively stinks. The better smart phones undoubtedly have superior gps chips and antennas.

[pablo]

I've been googling GPS+GLONASS topics and ran across the following that discusses the advantages of using both for positioning that seems relevant to a hiking application - the article discusses going under bridges asnd urban canyons as a test for recovering from loss of satellite contact and why GPS+GLONASS is superior than either one individually.

http://www.oxts.com/technical-notes/wha ... onass-add/

While in open territory there is not much advantage of using both GPS and GLONASS but accuracy is improved using GPS+GLONASS in the context of deep canyons and solid forest canopy simply because there are more satellites available to lock onto.

So I find this particular feature about the 64s interesting enough that I will purchase one. As far as using a cell phone or a GPS with a touch screen - I need buttons to push, touch screens on a GPS/cell phone don't work for me when I'm hiking, I'm generally wet from sweat or rain and you should see the faceplate of my 62s, it is all scratched up from having been dropped and banged on rocks and otherwise mistreated. When I'm on the trail I view my cell phone as an emergency communication device much like my PLB so it is safely tucked away in a shockproof wallet.

[sprengers4jc]

For the time being I usually create 2 tracks - one with the Garmin, one with my phone. In the end, they come up pretty comparable.

I bet not on elevation? I really appreciate the elevation change damping offered by the barometer in a "real" GPS.

Yes, I own a Galaxy S3 mini and currently use GPS Essentials (great app, by the way) because we don't have a dedicated GPS unit and the battery life is really good on my phone. But as you can see in this track I recorded Saturday, the elevation reading is, shall we say?, a bit off....http://gpsfly.org/g/3085

I do, however, look like a rockstar to my friends for having gained 4,250 feet of elevation on this map, including a whopping 2,200+ feet in the first .4 of a mile, while estimating no more than 1,000 feet total in real life .

[Eric Peterson]

Yes, I own a Galaxy S3 mini and currently use GPS Essentials

I also have a GS3 Mini and the free GPS Essentials, completely failed doing a simple test track through Forest Park. Can't imagine relying on that for anything more serious? Glad the smart phone GPS stuff seems to work
for others though

Sorry for the thread drift Pablo but maybe what Garmin should do is turn a real GPS handheld into a
smart phone and not the other way around!

[retired jerry]

They should add satelite texting to GPS

Then it would work when out of cell range