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exoplasm
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(Last edited by exoplasm; 18th December 2010 at 05:09 PM.) Reason: feet not meters
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Post Yet Another GPS Post - Comparing old and new Vibrant

I have two Vibrants dated 07/01/2010 on the boxes. Both of them have been pretty iffy, if not outright unusable, when it comes to GPS. All the fixes were tried. This morning I decided to try the Samsung app to fix it on one of the phones (it is rooted and has one click lag fix, no other mods), and it made a HUGE difference. I can lock 8 out of 10 satellites outside my building, whereas before I would be lucky to lock 3 after waiting 10 minutes. However, in Google Maps accuracy is only 50 feet and it wobbles around a lot, while remaining in a stationary position. This was done with tower assistance disabled and wifi turned off (but not airplane mode).

Now I also have a third Vibrant, dated 10/21/2010 on the box. It is stock and I did not change any GPS settings or download the Samsung app. It gets the same 8 out of 10 locked at the same speed, if not a little faster (in both cases it is acceptable). However in Google Maps it has 20 feet accuracy and does not wobble around at all.

Both phones, at this time, show between 14.5 and 19.0 feet accuracy in GPS Test app.

I happened to be on the phone with t-mobile for a separate reason, but I asked them about the GPS and they basically told me that updates are on the way and changed the subject.

I'll be testing the other July Vibrant later today probably. BTW the Nexus S (which I got to play with fresh out of the box last night) gets instant lock with room-of-the-house accuracy in Google Maps. I'm jealous to say the least!

Now the question is, do I see if GPS on the older Vibrants improves with updates, or try to get T-Mo to replace them with new phones? BTW the new phone seems to have a different build quality. The backplate feels loose, though it's certainly not coming off on its own. I tried the extra backplate as well as the backplates from the older vibrants, and it is the same with all of the backplates. The power/lock button also is very soft and does not give a click like the older phones do, which makes it difficult to tell if you pressed it hard enough or not.

Thoughts? Questions, flames, etc?
 
exoplasm
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A pic for your amusement. The MT4G on its own had 10/10 locked. The left Vibrant had 7/12 on its own. The right vibrant had 0/12 in all tests. The Nexus S had 8/10 I believe when tested individually, and it had the best accuracy of all the phones in the pic. The MT4G was 2nd best. I guess the phones were interfering with eachother when set up like this.
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