Update for GC Iphone App

[setsujoku]

Just noticed that there has been an update for the GC.com app for the Iphone. The new version is 4.

It's has had a massive over haul, and looks like they have just about started from scratch with this version.

List of changes from the site:
-Google Maps integration
-Ability to take photos and submit them with geocache logs.
-Ability to submit logs for Trackable Items
-Logs tab - Displays pending and sent logs with status and editing available
-Enhanced Pocket Query download reliability
-Online/offline indicator
-GPS acquisition status and location display
-iPod music plays during app use
-Home location support: please specify home location in your geocaching.com profile to benefit from this feature
-Notepad for each geocache listing which saves any text you type
-Viewing any list of caches on map is now possible
-Viewing your Trackable inventory is possible

Haven't used it for finding a cache yet, but just from playing around it seems to be quicker between screens, and the layout is a lot better.

[Team Wibble]

Just noticed that there has been an update for the GC.com app for the Iphone. The new version is 4.

It's has had a massive over haul, and looks like they have just about started from scratch with this version.

List of changes from the site:
-Google Maps integration
-Ability to take photos and submit them with geocache logs.
-Ability to submit logs for Trackable Items
-Logs tab - Displays pending and sent logs with status and editing available
-Enhanced Pocket Query download reliability
-Online/offline indicator
-GPS acquisition status and location display
-iPod music plays during app use
-Home location support: please specify home location in your geocaching.com profile to benefit from this feature
-Notepad for each geocache listing which saves any text you type
-Viewing any list of caches on map is now possible
-Viewing your Trackable inventory is possible

Haven't used it for finding a cache yet, but just from playing around it seems to be quicker between screens, and the layout is a lot better.

Yep, just noticed this yesterday when I finally convinced Mr Wibble to put the app on his phone too, and went to show him how to use it and realised it looked a lot different to what I had on my phone!
The improvements seem really good. And Mr Wibble managed a find using the app alone (and him alone, without my help) today.

[Damo.]

My biggest bugbear which it looks like they haven't addressed is when logging directly and uploading the log to groundspeak, the date is wrong! There is no ability to change the date when logging through the app so it automatically dates it as Groundspeak time which is generally yesterday. My work around is just uploading as a fieldnote and logging later so it isn't a deal breaker, just a disappointment that they didn't fix it.

The application works well for me in iOS4 and quitting out from the app and restarting returns you to the same place you were before which is great as the previous version you would have to redo the search.

Dropping a new waypoint allows you to specify the current location so that may be a way to actually record a location within the app which it wasn't able to do before. (Subject to the crappy iPhone accuracy of course!)

All in all, very happy with the update!
Now they just need to integrate wherigo as well.

[gmj3191]

.. and importantly, Aussie postcodes now work in the search box.

[setsujoku]

My biggest bugbear which it looks like they haven't addressed is when logging directly and uploading the log to groundspeak, the date is wrong! There is no ability to change the date when logging through the app so it automatically dates it as Groundspeak time which is generally yesterday. My work around is just uploading as a fieldnote and logging later so it isn't a deal breaker, just a disappointment that they didn't fix it.

They seem to have shown no interest in anyone else outside GroundSpeak time, and continue to ignore it when people put it up as a suggestion. I guess their new Feedback section could be used as a lobby point. If we got a lot of people to lobby on there I guess it might have more of a hope than on the forums.

Dropping a new waypoint allows you to specify the current location so that may be a way to actually record a location within the app which it wasn't able to do before. (Subject to the crappy iPhone accuracy of course!)

That's more a limitation of AGPS, and your providers coverage, rather than the iPhone, so I guess unless Apple decide to include a GPSr chip in an iPhone, or allow tethering to a GPSr, we'll be stuck with using AGPS for the GC app.

[gmj3191]

Well some postcodes work and others don't.

In Vic, I tried
3191 Sandringham
3149 Mt Waverley
3350 Ballarat and they all worked.

Then I tried
2010 Darlinghurst worked
2060 North Sydney retrieved Hungarian caches
2073 Pymble retrieved more Hungarian ones.

This behaviour is consistent with GC.com searches, so it looks like it doesn't work very well, but does cater for the good guys

[gmj3191]

On whereigo, it doesn't really seem to have taken off.
Looking at active caches, there have only been 2 new ones in Australia this year, in Feb and March.
Only 4 in 2008, only 8 in 2009.
Maybe it's a chicken and egg thing, if support was more pervasive, they might pick up, but that's unlikely when there's not much demand.

[Damo.]

Dropping a new waypoint allows you to specify the current location so that may be a way to actually record a location within the app which it wasn't able to do before. (Subject to the crappy iPhone accuracy of course!)

That's more a limitation of AGPS, and your providers coverage, rather than the iPhone, so I guess unless Apple decide to include a GPSr chip in an iPhone, or allow tethering to a GPSr, we'll be stuck with using AGPS for the GC app.

They have had GPSr built in for a couple of models now.... and Assisted-GPS rocks! My last phone (Nokia 6110 Navigator) could get a position lock from cold start in under 20 seconds while travelling at 110km/h on the freeway.


I'll stand by my statement that the iPhone is quite crappy when it comes to the GPSr (accuracy, position refresh rate, reception under tree cover etc) and that is purely due to the hardware used! Still quite useable for geocaching, but comparatively crappy.

[Team Wibble]

On whereigo, it doesn't really seem to have taken off.
Looking at active caches, there have only been 2 new ones in Australia this year, in Feb and March.
Only 4 in 2008, only 8 in 2009.
Maybe it's a chicken and egg thing, if support was more pervasive, they might pick up, but that's unlikely when there's not much demand.

But wherigo and the iPhone app are very different things

But no, it hasn't, I put the blame mostly on the builder - it is buggy and difficult to use in order to actually create a wherigo cache. I had plans for one, and they never eventuated. Too hard. So much potential, wasted with a lack of support.

Also, if they included wherigo functionality on the iPhone, I think it would increase in popularity dramatically. Games like the Hidden Park (*cough* blowing my own horn but Adelaide Botanic Gardens (that I created) is now an official "park" on the app *cough*) show what's possible with location based games on a widely used platform.