Internal vs. Bluetooth GPS

[Working Tools]

Which GPS option would consume less battery power, the interal GPS or an external Bluetooth GPS unit?

TIA

WT

[ChumleyEX]

Thats a good question, I know a few people have said they run external receivers.

If they don't reply I would suggest you do a test and let us know.

[stylez]

Same here good ? I'd guess that an external would use less as it's only running BT "external units self powered" and the software compared to GPS & software.

[ChumleyEX]

ah but really, which antenna uses more power? the BT or the GPS?

[tahdor]

If you are using GPS while driving, then you can use car charger to charge. But if you want to use GPS while hiking etc, then just keep a couple (or even more) extra batteries. These days you can buy extra batteries very cheap (as low as $5).

More over there are programs which can save battery by connecting to GPS every 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes etc (e.g gpsVP).

In short, you can do much better without external GPS.

[ChumleyEX]

So then maybe you can do even better if you do what you're suggesting and use external bt gps. hmmm

[tahdor]

So then maybe you can do even better if you do what you're suggesting and use external bt gps. hmmm

But then you have to carry external GPS, its charger, may be extra battery for external GPS. All that can be avoided by carrying extra batteries for Kaiser.

[ChumleyEX]

Is that what the OP is asking?

[Working Tools]

Thank you gentle for your input. The real test will be simply try it I suppose.

What I have found out is that the BT-359 has superior GPS accuracy over my Kaiser and that I like. Thanks again

WT

[stylez]

Thank you gentle for your input. The real test will be simply try it I suppose.

What I have found out is that the BT-359 has superior GPS accuracy over my Kaiser and that I like. Thanks again

WT

Yeah i used to use a Magician with extrenal GPS and it fixed so much faster than the Kaiser on board does :)

[khaytsus]

I've found the power consumption using the same backlight, same application, etc, but using internal vs Bluetooth GPS was around 100mAh. You do the math.

And the Kaiser's GPS blows.. Doesn't turn off sometimes (continuing to use battery), doesn't work well at all for low speeds (walking), not very sensitive, can be extremely slow to start, and sucks battery.

[Working Tools]

Thanks khaytsus, what current drain were you able to measure while using the internal GPS unit?

As you can tell I am quite the noob when it comes to the internal workings of the Kaiser but I am learning much from this forum. Thank you everyone for your offering of knowledge!

WT

[Wilhelm]

Pros and Cons of external GPS.
Pros:

Less drain on phone battery.
GPS receiver can be placed where it gets best reception (such as on top of the dash).

Cons:

Another device to haul around.
Another battery to charge.
The hassle of pairing/connecting.
Can't use BT GPS and A2DP simultaneously.

Is it even possible to switch between internal and external GPS on the Kaiser without a hard reset?

[ChumleyEX]

Pros and Cons of external GPS.
Pros:

Less drain on phone battery.
GPS receiver can be placed where it gets best reception (such as on top of the dash).

Cons:

Another device to haul around.
Another battery to charge.
The hassle of pairing/connecting.
Can't use BT GPS and A2DP simultaneously.

Is it even possible to switch between internal and external GPS on the Kaiser without a hard reset?


what does this have to do with the OP?

[khaytsus]

Pros and Cons of external GPS.
Pros:

Less drain on phone battery.
GPS receiver can be placed where it gets best reception (such as on top of the dash).

Cons:

Another device to haul around.
Another battery to charge.
The hassle of pairing/connecting.
Can't use BT GPS and A2DP simultaneously.

Is it even possible to switch between internal and external GPS on the Kaiser without a hard reset?

Switching? It's just a different com port. Now, if you're doing registry tweaking to route the external GPS through com4 so that 'any' program can use it, even those without the ability to modify the com port, yes you'd need a soft reset. Otherwise, of course not.

Pairing and connecting are a zero issue. You do it once.

[Wilhelm]

I thought changing the hardware port on the GPS settings meant you couldn't return to the internal GPS without a hard reset.

[ChumleyEX]

Eh that post was just too mean. SOrry

[NuShrike]

I thought changing the hardware port on the GPS settings meant you couldn't return to the internal GPS without a hard reset.Nope, there's a GPS switcher app out there too, and private builds of CamerAwareBuddy supports switching too.

Also, I don't know about AD2P, but I can use BT GPS and BT headset simultaneously.

[psvictor]

Well, from my own experience (Tilt is broken now but I used to use Igo My Way 8.1) the GPS has a function that saves battery...
How does it handle it?
Simple: if you for example have to drive straight forward for 5 kilometers the screen will turn black (standy) and won't turn on (unless pressed) but at the moment when you're getting new directions (Turn left, right, bla bla)

I used to have an external GPS only for my SE M600i but that's a different story :)