Sanyo 6600 - GPS - can it be used in NZ?

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sxz

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#15579 29-Aug-2007 20:20

This phone, as well as other sanyo phones have GPS built in, and have seen sites in america that offer for a monthly fee to use the phone as a GPS car navigation system!

Just wondering if anyone knows a way getting it to work in NZ, if telecom has plans of opening a service, or if there is some hack to atleast show current co-ordinates? could be handy for fishing!

Cheers!

paradoxsm

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#84353 29-Aug-2007 21:43

Nokia 6165 and 6275 both have a REAL built-in GPS which works like any standalone GPS unit. it's pretty basic (waypoints etc are supported) but works well.

The rest which have "gps" have a stupid network based locator which is never being launched here.

sxz

761 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 194

#84354 29-Aug-2007 21:46

oh i see, so my """GPS""" really uses cell towers to find location rather than using satilites?
ripped.

Oh well, just thought it could be a handy thing if someone had a java application or hack!

cheers mate!

Geese

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#84386 30-Aug-2007 07:06

Like you, I wondered the same thing about the Sanyo 7050 when it came out recently. Overseas it even has GPS stamped into the phones case on the front hinge. So I went and tried one, and no GPS.

But after reading about the Nokia 6165i, I went and bought one and I must say the GPS works really well. I now use it for geocaching, as it is much quicker than a normal GPS to enter in co-ordinates and names, and works just as well, BUT there is 1 bad thing about it...

when you get close to your target it beeps and says "approaching destination", then when your nearly there it says "you have reached your destination". When it says that last one, it stops reading your distance/bearing to target, meaning if your geocaching it might get you to within 20m, then no closer even though potentially the phone could. What I found to sort of get around this is one goes to waypoints> find> nearest - and it will say the name of cache and how many metres away it is, right down to 0 m. Then keep pushing back, nearest, back, nearest, etc and it will "refresh" the distance.

paradoxsm

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#84545 30-Aug-2007 22:05

Is geocahing still worth it? back in the days when only us geekz had GPS units it was heaps of fun as no-one ever disturbed them but dunno about now that everything and everyone has it.

Geese

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#84599 31-Aug-2007 07:49

It all seems to be good, I haven't found any muggled caches, did find 1 that wasn't there as council had cut down the tree it was in, and another where the owner had removed the cache but didn't immediately report it so I spent a good hour trying to find what wasn't there. My original GPS unit was a 1993 model, before all the satellites had even been launched! It is pretty hopeless compared to new units as it is only 5 channel.