Author Topic: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps  (Read 5770 times)

ninthace

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Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« on: 17:25:33, 22/12/18 »
I have a Samsung phone that I use with ViewRanger and the OS app as a back up to my Garmin Etrex.  Until recently, I have just loaded the route on VR and OS but not bothered to set them tracking - they were just there in case the Garmin banged out.  A couple of trips back, just for fun, i decided to use both mobile apps to track my walk.  The first trip was just with VR and that seemed to work OK.  The second trip I tried VR and OS at the same time - they started fine but then VR had me way off course and the OS just stopped tracking altogether.  I switched my phone off and on again and after that both apps worked as expected.  I did it again today - both apps seemed to start ok but when I checked to see how they were getting on VR had had a nervous breakdown and OS had gone into a sulk.  Restarting my phone cured the problem and after that both apps tracked the remainder of the walk as i would have expected.  Has anyone any idea what causes this?  I have put copies of the traces below.


Garmin Trace

ViewRanger Trace

OS Trace
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jimbob

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #1 on: 18:06:18, 22/12/18 »
Maybe try asking VR help desk, they are really helpful. Costs nowt which is also helpful.
Doesn't look like you were in any GPS blind spots. Could your phone have been shielded by anything which could have stopped signal, like being buried in the depths of your bag next to your tinfoil covered sandwiches. Ok so that's an exaggeration but you get the drift.
« Last Edit: 18:11:54, 22/12/18 by jimbob »
Too little, too late, too bad......

Hillhiker1

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #2 on: 18:10:31, 22/12/18 »

The different apps "arguing" over system resources?

ninthace

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #3 on: 18:56:16, 22/12/18 »
Maybe try asking VR help desk, they are really helpful. Costs nowt which is also helpful.
Doesn't look like you were in any GPS blind spots. Could your phone have been shielded by anything which could have stopped signal, like being buried in the depths of your bag next to your tinfoil covered sandwiches. Ok so that's an exaggeration but you get the drift.
  Good idea to talk to VR,.  It can't be screening.  Gps signal was good and the phone was in my phone pocket.  Both apps docked with the gps at the start - I checked.
The different apps "arguing" over system resources?
There used to be a computer phenomenon called a "deadly embrace" whereby 2 programs, each needing a resource the other had, would refuse to release the resource they held until the other resource became available, so they just froze.  That sort of thing should not happen any more with modern software.  Recycling the power would not prevent a recurrence.
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BuzyG

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #4 on: 19:03:47, 22/12/18 »
If I am using OSApp.  I make a point of not multitasking on the device.  I saw something very similar to that once, when I was using my phone to take photos on a walk.  Now if I am using the App to Navigate. then that is all I have running.  These thing are too clever for there own good sometimes.  Adds to your previus argument for a dedicated GPS. O0

ninthace

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #5 on: 19:20:44, 22/12/18 »
If I am using OSApp.  I make a point of not multitasking on the device.  I saw something very similar to that once, when I was using my phone to take photos on a walk.  Now if I am using the App to Navigate. then that is all I have running.  These thing are too clever for there own good sometimes.  Adds to your previus argument for a dedicated GPS. O0
Interesting especially as photo apps can use gps to geo-locate images.
Now if the OSapp could record a trace while following a route I wouldn't need VR and if VR had OS mapping without forking out a supplement I wouldn't need the OSapp.  O0    Do you have an explanation my recycling on/off cures it?
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Hillhiker1

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #6 on: 19:24:56, 22/12/18 »
There used to be a computer phenomenon called a "deadly embrace" whereby 2 programs, each needing a resource the other had, would refuse to release the resource they held until the other resource became available, so they just froze.  That sort of thing should not happen any more with modern software.  Recycling the power would not prevent a recurrence.



I still get this on my Laptop running Windows 10. If I have multiple programs running, and Memory Map And Lightroom, sooner or later everything locks up. I have to use Task Manager to kill off either MM or LR then everything runs fine again..  :(

BuzyG

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #7 on: 19:34:17, 22/12/18 »
Interesting especially as photo apps can use gps to geo-locate images.
Now if the OSapp could record a trace while following a route I wouldn't need VR and if VR had OS mapping without forking out a supplement I wouldn't need the OSapp.  O0    Do you have an explanation my recycling on/off cures it?
Perhaps you could do the on off thing, before starting your trace.  Bit of a faf though.

ninthace

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #8 on: 19:52:00, 22/12/18 »
Found this definition
https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/41017/deadly-embrace
If this is what is happening - I still don't understand why on/off prevents a recurrence unless it is a one-off occurrence in the first minute or two.  Agree BuzyG it would be a faff to switch on and off but the outcome could be instructive - next trip I will start both apps, dock the gps then off/on straight away.
I was only trying both apps simultaneously out of curiosity to see how they recorded an identical trip.
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Jim Parkin

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #9 on: 21:40:07, 22/12/18 »
Interesting especially as photo apps can use gps to geo-locate images.
Now if the OSapp could record a trace while following a route I wouldn't need VR and if VR had OS mapping without forking out a supplement I wouldn't need the OSapp.  O0    Do you have an explanation my recycling on/off cures it?
I thought that you could record routes with the OS app? 

I tend to only have my fitbit using the phone GPS.  Sometimes it gets the *distance* wrong, but the trace is right - for example my 20km bike commute follows the same roads as usual, but only measurs 15km.  That seems to be a problem with some releases of the fitbit app as recording directly with Strava got the expected result (without heartrate). 

jimbob

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Re: Stability of Moūbile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #10 on: 21:47:30, 22/12/18 »
Were you using both OS and VR on the same phone?
I use camera at the same time as VR. Never had a problem.

Seriously I have used the VR help before and found them to be great.

Too little, too late, too bad......

ninthace

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #11 on: 22:15:35, 22/12/18 »
I thought that you could record routes with the OS app? 
The OS app can either follow a route or record a track (which it calls a route) but not both at the same time, unlike ViewRanger.
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Mel

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #12 on: 23:07:23, 22/12/18 »
I've had a couple of weird spikes with VR track recordings just recently - in the last week or so - one type where it seems to "lose" me then "find" me again and join those two points with a straight line; the other type seems to be where it looks like I'm doing the wall of death round a building I'm not even in (this was in a city centre though).  I did wonder if there's some tweakery going on behind the scenes that's affecting things somehow.


... but I've not got/used the OSapp thingumybob so can't pass comment on that aspect.

Dovegirl

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #13 on: 23:59:28, 22/12/18 »
one type where it seems to "lose" me then "find" me again and join those two points with a straight line

I've experienced that occasionally with VR.  From what I read somewhere, it means the gps signal was lost for some reason or other.

Jim Parkin

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Re: Stability of Mobile Phone Navigation Apps
« Reply #14 on: 12:17:11, 24/12/18 »
I've had a couple of weird spikes with VR track recordings just recently - in the last week or so - one type where it seems to "lose" me then "find" me again and join those two points with a straight line; the other type seems to be where it looks like I'm doing the wall of death round a building I'm not even in (this was in a city centre though).  I did wonder if there's some tweakery going on behind the scenes that's affecting things somehow.


... but I've not got/used the OSapp thingumybob so can't pass comment on that aspect.
The OS Maps app is great if you buy a new OS paper map. 

 

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