Nokia E71: A-GPS?

[Saffa]

Hi,

Can anyone explain to me what A-GPS (Assisted GPS) means? How would the E71 with nokia maps compare with say a Samsung with Garmin?

Not that GPS is the deciding factor on the phone - I'm getting it anyway.

 

[web]

A-GPS uses the cellphone network to try and speed up finding your location it works fine.

 

[Loop...]

Theres a good Wikipedia page about it, and had been covered before in this forum, its GPS but better because not only do they use the normal satellites to track you, but the cell phone towers as well, thats the A.

 

[Sherbang]

Using assisted GPS speeds up the process of finding the relevant satellites, With normal GPS it takes time to pinpoint your location. Even on the latest GPS systems, it can take anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes to acquire a signal (depending on where you are - buildings, for example, can interfere)
Cellphone networks can assist the GPS in this as they have their own GPS receivers which are constantly pulling down satellite info which can be sent on to the GPS phone!

 

[bekdik]

It works with the cellphone access (A) off as well, i.e. pure satellite

 

[asshat99]

They usually make not so great pure satellite receivers. They satellites transmit the data really slowly. The cellphone gps seems to take really really long to get the initial lock on (without GPS). This may because a normal GPS can probably receive the data from the different satellites in parallel and the cellphone one has to receive them one at a time (or fewer at the same time). It probably also has a smaller aerial.

The a-gps is brilliant in that it will lock on in less than 20 seconds (it gets the basic position using cellular data and/or towers to cut down the amount of data you need to wait for from the satellites) but if you use it out of cellphone reception you will wait for 3 or 4 minutes (if you are far from your previously stored poistion - the gps must receive more data).

Remember the samsung gps isn't actually a garmin receiver. It is probably also a-gps. It just uses the garmin mobile XT software. You can install the symbian version of this on the e71. There are instructions in this forum for nokia phones. It works pretty well.