Transformer's GPS: does it really work??

[Josemaarroba]

Hi everybody!

I have a problem with my TF101 GPS.

When I'm connected to a Wifi Network, everything works fine. The GPS works perfect and, even if I move out of the Wifi network, it keeps on working.

The problem is when I move to a location far of any known internet connection (e.g 20km away). Then, the GPS is unable to find any satellite. I have installed the GPS Status app. It tells me the availability of the satellites and if I'm far away of my usually sites, it can't find any satellite.

I think this is related to the "assistance GPS" data. If I'm connected to the network, the GPS downloads some "information" useful to find the satellites. But if I move to a different place without the availability of the assistance GPS data, the GPS is unable to work.

This is really bad, because I most need the GPS just in this far places (e.g, different villages, mountains,...) where I don't have a Wifi-Connection.

Any Idea??

Really thanks.

[buzzman]

Hi Jose and welcome to the forum!

I have only used the gps on a cross country drive on major highways from Florida to NJ. I used off wifi. I have co-pilot installed and it worked well all the way home. If I closed down for awhile it took a good 5 minutes sometimes to relocate us on the map, but it was always dead on!

[NyanCat]

yeah i notice this if i have wifi or not the tf sometimes takes forever tofind satellites

[MaylonTRD]

I believe it works like this because the tf doesn't store maps of the whole US or other country on it. I'm not sure how much memory that would take. Now I'm no computer or GPS wiz so I could be wrong. Makes sense though that it would download a 20km area around the wireless connection.

[tim]

I find that it doesn't always work well inside. Often it doesn't work at all inside. I haven't tried it in the car yet.

[buzzman]

All gps need a clear shot at the sky to find the satellites. If you are inside that requires big windows or skylites. I have never had a problem with the gps in a car. Always found me on the map. Co-pilot is one app that stores maps on the tablet itself therefore you don't need a data connection to run it. There may be better ones out there but this has worked for me.

[vlbaindoor]

I believe it works like this because the tf doesn't store maps of the whole US or other country on it. I'm not sure how much memory that would take. Now I'm no computer or GPS wiz so I could be wrong. Makes sense though that it would download a 20km area around the wireless connection.

Well a Tom Tom essentially uses the same basic operating system (Linux) and the maps on it typically take about 4 to 5 GigaBytes. So it is not really storage space problem - it is mainly software problem and copyrights problem. FYI Tom Tom also has close ties with Google (and Google Maps) - but the navigation software as such is a copyright issue. So in theory it is possible to store all the maps that you may want on the TFs internal storage and still have some more left for user's own files etc.

Now whether the GPS chips and the associated circuitry are good enough to actually do navigation with the same ease as a stand-alone Tom Tom can do is a different question and I don't know the answer to that question.

I have read about 'Co-Pilot Live Premium' app which includes maps and so on - as per their marketing blurb: "Turn-by-turn directions door to door, Text-to-Speech (TTS) voice guidance with full street names, Easy to use, intuitive user interface and controls....."

You may be interested in checking these out. I haven't tried this because I have the above mentioned TomTom and don't see the point in spending more money on another navigation app.

It may also be illegal to use the TF pad as a navigational aid on the windscreen itself because of the size of the screen, it may be considered a obstruction to view.

I know that such a device is actually illegal in Canada (there was some news about even some wide screen Tom Tom and/or Garmin were considered illegal in Canada) - so those of you who want to use the TF in the car, please be aware of this.

[ramsan]

I have used the transformer as main car gps system fora a trip of 3000 km this summer. The device has worked pretty well. Normally it got signal in less than a minute. In a few cases it needed several minutes to get it.

Most of the time there was no wifi around.

[MaylonTRD]

Well a Tom Tom essentially uses the same basic operating system (Linux) and the maps on it typically take about 4 to 5 GigaBytes. So it is not really storage space problem - it is mainly software problem and copyrights problem. FYI Tom Tom also has close ties with Google (and Google Maps) - but the navigation software as such is a copyright issue. So in theory it is possible to store all the maps that you may want on the TFs internal storage and still have some more left for user's own files etc.

Now whether the GPS chips and the associated circuitry are good enough to actually do navigation with the same ease as a stand-alone Tom Tom can do is a different question and I don't know the answer to that question.

I have read about 'Co-Pilot Live Premium' app which includes maps and so on - as per their marketing blurb: "Turn-by-turn directions door to door, Text-to-Speech (TTS) voice guidance with full street names, Easy to use, intuitive user interface and controls....."

You may be interested in checking these out. I haven't tried this because I have the above mentioned TomTom and don't see the point in spending more money on another navigation app.

It may also be illegal to use the TF pad as a navigational aid on the windscreen itself because of the size of the screen, it may be considered a obstruction to view.

I know that such a device is actually illegal in Canada (there was some news about even some wide screen Tom Tom and/or Garmin were considered illegal in Canada) - so those of you who want to use the TF in the car, please be aware of this.

I just meant that's a lot of info to store on every tf when only a portion will use it. Good info though! I've used the stock navigation on a couple of short trips using my iPhone to tether. Its cool that when I arrive to my house it uses street view to show me a picture of my destination. Oh and I have a mount that puts it well below the windshield beside the stereo in my tundra. Fwiw I got the mount from proclip.

[maceda]

Used TF with Sygic software on journey up through Spain last week. Worked fine with very good 3D graphics in the mountain areas. Picked up the signal very quickly every time I emerged from the series of 8 tunnels in the NW region. Also dealt with the long tunnel system (12km+) under Madrid and recovered the signal faster than my Garmin sat-nav I was using for comparison.