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Does anyone know if the app is any good? Has anyone cached only with the phone? Is it accurate?
Thanks.
It’s good for paperless caching for the logs/hints ect. However the GPS in the phone is terrible and doesn’t work well for caching. Some have found caches using the google maps.
I’m looking forward to the next update which will allow for logging in the field.
Is it worth $10? I like it because it has up to date cache information. I do wish the app was cheaper though.
Cheers!
The app was actually on sale the day we got our phones!! We got it for $2. I just haven’t had the time to test it out.
I am using only my iPhone for caching these days. I have found it to be far more accurate than my Lowrance GPS. In fact, when I was using both units as I was getting used to the phone, I found that 95% of the time, the iPhone would put me right on top of the cache and my GPS typically 30-50 feet away.
This told me a few things. One, I have a sucky GPS unit and have been handicapped caching for over 2 years! Two, that the cords I taken for all of my caches, even though I’ve averaged them, are not as good as they could be. Three, that I am going to sell my GPS and use just my phone. Time and time again I would just leave my GPS in the car and use my phone instead. I am still surprised how accurate the phone is. And here, for the past 2 years, I thought people were just sloppy about their cords!
There are drawbacks though.
One. You have to have a phone signal to use the Google map function on the iphone which is how I hunt for them. At times I am just dead in the water and can’t continue caching. In this case, it’s good to have a backup GPS on hand.
Two. Google maps on the iPhoine has no zoom functionality. This drives me absolutely crazy when I’m caching and trying to navigate to a cache. I use the iGeoCacher app to pull up a cache listing and then hit “map it”. The app switches to Google maps (just like the new Geocaching app does) and drops a “pin” on the cache zoomed in to a few city block radius. Then, if I hit the google target to get my present location, I am swept away from the cache pin to my location and can’t see where one is in respect to the other because I’m zoomed in too far and have no way to zoom out. The only thing I can do is scroll around until I find the pin a few screens away. I am waiting for some “zoom” functionality to come to the Google map app and then it is going to be VERY doable and very east to cache.
There are already dozen of GPS and cacheing apps for the iPhone. So far, I have liked and will continue to use iGeoCache unless the Geocaching app proves to be better. I also use iGCT app which has a nice cord conversion feature, a decrypt feature, roman numeral feature and a text calc feature. All good tools to have handy. Occasionally I use GeopherLite which is a GPS navigator that I can use to find a cache when iGeoCache isn’t doing it for me. I haven’t filed tested Geocaching.com’s app yet, but I did buy it when it was on sale and it looks pretty good. It’s also nice to have cache listing information available right from the source.
The great thing about the iPhone is that everyone is clamoring for them and apps are being developed and modified at an unprecedented rate, so there’s a ton of competition and the apps are all the more robust for it. A poor app will die out really fast in that environment.
Have you gone out of the metropolitan area’s and tried it? How’s the phone and data reception out there?
Other than my most often called contacts are on Sprint I didn’t go iphone because they couldn’t tell me how much I could/couldn’t do with the iphone in wausau here or up nort.
Though now I’ve heard you can do more than when i first investigated the service up here.
The other downside is the lack of music storage, I have 10gb of music on my itunes now, granted, don’t listen to all of it but I have another 900+ cd’s I’d like to get on it, even if I was to pick just the songs off each cd I like, 8gb nor 16gb is going to cut it.
@rsplash40 wrote:
Have you gone out of the metropolitan area’s and tried it? How’s the phone and data reception out there?
The other downside is the lack of music storage, I have 10gb of music on my itunes now, granted, don’t listen to all of it but I have another 900+ cd’s I’d like to get on it, even if I was to pick just the songs off each cd I like, 8gb nor 16gb is going to cut it.
It’s sporadic. Sometimes in place where I should have a signal, I don’t. And sometimes in places where I’d never expect to get a signal, I do. I’d say I have a decent signal for caching 85-95% of the time. Not as good as my GPS for reception, but I gladly trade the accuracy of my phone for the few frustrating times I have no reception.
Like I said, the frustration comes with the lack of zoom functions on Google maps. Who’s oversight was that? I just saw someone with Google Maps on a Palm and there were the zoom buttons! What the frack?
About storage. Not to worry, give it a year and solid state storage will be caught up to the point where everything you have in your collection will fit on a new phone. It’s just a matter of time.
I just downloaded the Update for the GC app. It will now create field notes. I have been doing this with GSAK when I got home from a long GCing day but now I can punch them in on the fly, or while taking a break for lunch/dinner. I just wish I was always connected to make it more user friendly. But I am still not gettin rid of the palm.
I wish I had an iPhone. Question for those who do around the Fox Valley.. Do you have good service and reliability?
I am just using the Ipod touch so I cannot answer your question. But Seldom Seen may be very helpful for you.
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