iPhone replacement for c:geo

Discussion about software such as GSAK, OziExplorer etc, as well as all things hardware, GPSrs, laptops, PDAs, paperless caching, cables etc
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Dik:
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iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by Dik: » 14 June 12 2:32 pm

Hi all you iPhone addicts.

I have had my Android phone snatched from my hands, and replaced with an iPhone, which is taking some getting used to. Everyone tells me the iPhone is better, but no one can tell me why.

I have been a user of c:geo for some time. It has become my primary caching source. I now need a replacement for the iPhone.

Yes, I have read the forums, and no, I can't see anything that tells me what to use. All the apps discussed seem to require downloading PQs using GSAK etc. No comprehensive one stop app for all features

Things I like/need :
:) Able to use my phone to do some spontaneous caching wherever and whenever I find a few spare minutes, without prior preparation elsewhere.
:) Live map to locate nearby caches
:) Select cache from the map
:) Save cache to phone for off line use (if cache is beyond coverage area)
:) Cache notes
:) Decryptable hints
:) Recent logs
:) Navigate to cache
:) Write and upload log from the cache location ( or save for future upload if cache is beyond coverage area)
:) Free?

Any advice anyone? Especially if you know c:geo and also iPhone.

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s_mc500
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by s_mc500 » 14 June 12 3:22 pm

Get a cheap android phone for caching?

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Richary
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by Richary » 14 June 12 7:52 pm

I find geosphere to be quite good, and you can directly download GPX/ZIP files generated on gc or gca. If you don't have a PQ generated you can also look for "Caches Near Me" which will go and query the geocaching.com site directly.

It is a paid app but I find it quite useful, and unlike Groundspeak's own app it will work with PQs from other sites.

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cap flint
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by cap flint » 14 June 12 8:02 pm

I use geosphere in iPhone and iPad, it works like a charm. It does all what you listed except it costs a couple of dollars.

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lemmykc
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by lemmykc » 14 June 12 8:05 pm

I hate to tell you, but the best thing that suits your criteria is probably the Official Groundspeak App. This costs around $13 and is not the finest, but it does have all of the features you require.

The free app will only get you to 3 caches before you are made to fork out the $13.

Otherwise, I hear that GeoSphere is very good however it is synced with GSAK. I am not sure if you are able to bring up any nearby cache and navigate to it without downloading pocket queries or syncing it to GSAK.

Another app that is not specifically designed for Geocaching, however, is MotionX GPS. You are unable to bring up any caches and downloading pocket queries probably won't be ideal for Geocaching (you can do this, however) however it is easily the best GPS app on the market. You can plot out waypoints, do projections and do pretty much anything else a normal GPS can. The only downside is the iPhone accuracy which isn't even a fault of the app.

Hope I helped :)

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Richary
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by Richary » 14 June 12 9:36 pm

Nope lemmy, my geosphere has never been near GSAK. It has a preset tab to get you to GC PQs which you can download over Wifi or 3G depending on where you are, and you can add another bookmark to the list that takes me to my GCA PQs.

As mentioned the caches near me function automagically contacts geocaching.com to find the nearest cache on that site if you don't have a PQ for the area you find yourself in (or aren't a premium member and can't generate PQs).

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cap flint
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by cap flint » 14 June 12 10:06 pm

Same here, I don't use GSAK, geosphere is a one stop shop.
You can also download GCA caches - I'm not familiar with the Groundspeak app so not sure if it can do that too.

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Dik:
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by Dik: » 15 June 12 3:21 pm

Richary wrote:I find geosphere to be quite good, and you can directly download GPX/ZIP files generated on gc or gca. If you don't have a PQ generated you can also look for "Caches Near Me" which will go and query the geocaching.com site directly.

It is a paid app but I find it quite useful, and unlike Groundspeak's own app it will work with PQs from other sites.
I really don't have a problem paying for something good.

Just checking, if I am driving, say Adelaide-Melbourne, it will keep me posted on nearby caches along the highway as I drive?

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SamCarter
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by SamCarter » 15 June 12 4:07 pm

There are two ways you can use it.

If you have a data plan then you can ask it to find "caches near me" and it will access the gc site and essentially it does the standard "search on coordinates" using you location. You can then click on a cache name in the list and see the cache description (just as if it was the gc webpage) and you can pull up the maps which shows you all the caches on the map (just like on the gc website). I presume this is fairly data hungry, and it's also a bit time-consuming because it's running a browser.

If you're off line (or choosing to be so) then you NEED to have loaded caches into it (you can access any PQs you have made when you are online, and there are other ways of importing as well, including just downloading individual caches, but once you've downloaded/imported then THEY ARE IN THE DATABASE wherever and whenever, regardless of your internet access). In this mode, things are quicker and the information is presented in a more manageable size (compared to a shrunk webscreen). Geosphere is a database (I presume like GSAK, or like MacCaching), so you can put your caches in categories. You can search on various variables, including find nearest. You will get a list of caches, then you can click on it where various buttons/tabs give you access to the description, hint (pre-decoded, so be warned!), last few logs, etc. You can also have the caches displayed on a Google map when you are online but if you are offline then you have no map access. [I don't know if there is a way of getting maps stored on the iPhone and then accessing them. SOmeone else may be able to help. Interestingly, I just put my iPhone into flight mode, and it still remembered the map data it had (including beyond the original screen's worth, perhaps 20kmx20km), but there was a limit to how far/much extra could be shown before it ran out of info.]

You can log online, although I tend to just mark as found without uploading the fact, and this records the time so that I can do a proper log in time order (since I'm a bit OCD).

You need to bear in mind that the GPSr aspect (even ignoring the data access) is fairly power hungry, so you'll find that the battery depletes fairly quickly. I tend to use the iPhone as my data source, and quick-check-for-what's-next planner, and use a good GPSr for the actual search (the iPhone's accuracy is not quite as good as my VIsta). Having said that, my last several finds have been impromptu hunts made possible by the fact that I had the phone and a list of caches (some of which I had in my database already and some of which I grabbed online from gc).

Note too, as someone already said, Geosphere is perfectly happy to put GCA caches into its database too, but because there's no direct link to the GCA site you can't log or download on the fly using Geosphere alone.

Interestingly, your original question forced me to have a look at what Geosphere REALLY does, because I also have the Geocaching app, and had been using them both in tandem. I now realise that Geosphere is more than fine on its own. It may take you a little while to work out what's where, but I think I like its design better than the GC app, and the fact that you can work offline (pv you have the data) is brilliant.

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SamCarter
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by SamCarter » 15 June 12 4:11 pm

The short answer to your Adelaide-Melbourne question (from my point-of-view anyway) is to make a "caches along a route" query and download that into your phone. You then don't have to worry about data coverage. Having said that, if you realised you'd headed off without putting the results of your query into Geosphere you'd still be fine because you can grab them on the fly when you have coverage.

[All care taken, no responsibility accepted for the advice. Very happy to be corrected and edumacated if I'm up the creek on any point.]

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cap flint
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by cap flint » 15 June 12 6:40 pm

Excellent answer SamCarter.. I would just add that you can create a direct link to GCA by adding a bookmark to "geocaching.com.au/my/query" in the 'Data' screen. I just did it and bulk downloaded caches (in GPX format) from one of my GCA queries.
The 'Data' screen in geosphere is just a browser where you can add any bookmark - or do the same thing in IPhone's Safari and then open/receive the GPX's in geosphere.
Sorry if I misunderstood your point about the direct link to GCA and am explaining something obvious.. :)

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Richary
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by Richary » 15 June 12 8:35 pm

SamCarter is right about the usefulness of the offline data. I was recently in NZ and wasn't turning on data roaming. I had a dongle to allow the laptop to get online but the iPhone only had connection when I had wifi somewhere.

Being a work trip I couldn't really plan ahead on the caches I would find, but I could still fire it up when I had a chance and it would give me the information on the cache that it had downloaded before I left home, and a compass arrow. And generally it led me to find the cache just fine without needing to fire up the Vista and plug the coords into that.

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SamCarter
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Re: iPhone replacement for c:geo

Post by SamCarter » 15 June 12 11:09 pm

cap flint wrote:Excellent answer SamCarter.. I would just add that you can create a direct link to GCA by adding a bookmark to "geocaching.com.au/my/query" in the 'Data' screen. I just did it and bulk downloaded caches (in GPX format) from one of my GCA queries.
The 'Data' screen in geosphere is just a browser where you can add any bookmark - or do the same thing in IPhone's Safari and then open/receive the GPX's in geosphere.
Sorry if I misunderstood your point about the direct link to GCA and am explaining something obvious.. :)
Sweet. Molto awesomeness. Thanks. Add THAT to the goodness of Geosphere.

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