Category: accessible Devices
since we are now have more than one type of GPS devices available for the blind, e.g. (tracker breaze, The Captain+) and more in the market, what is your view on those devices, and what about GPS apps on devices such as IPhone and so on, which one you prefer and why?
Fore me! I love having a GPS app on my phone, is very acuret also it does not mean I need to carey more then one device with me.
just means we are no longer tied in to having specialized products just made for the blind. GPS is a blind persons best friend. I wish we had this kind of tech when I was growing up!
Now if someone could create a product that could map the inside of a building. Michael May has spoke of this sort of thing in the past.
Makes things alittle bit easyer in navigating in different areas. Have the Trecker, but looking into getting the captin plus, heard its better.
I'm gonna get Navigon for my IPhone when finances permit.
GPS of any type is helpful, but doesn't substitute for good travel skills.
If you know you need to turn when the GPS tells you to, but can't find the corner or don't know how to cross a street safely, the GPS is nearly useless to you.
Quality cane travel training is essential, GPS is a luxury.
I myself am very curious about this too. I have partial sight. I have no problems traveling, but discovering locations i've never been is a nightmare. I would absolutely LOVE a GPS of some kind which doesn't "just" discuss friggen driving directions.
I'm totally blind and am also very much interested in this. I have a Braillnote from 2002 and the gps program for it on a flash card, as well as the receiver. Would that still be reliable today and can it be updated as streets change? Has anyone ever tried the Kapten? if so, what is it like to use? Do any other talking standalone gps systems, either mainstream or for the blind, exist? if so, what are they?
Yes, great travelling and mobility skills are the essential for an independent blind person. also yes, GPS is helpful for traveller that have those skills.
as far as GPS goes, its great specially if you are someone like me, who fairly mobile, going from places to places, and some day, out of the blue requiring you to travel from A to B which is an absolute new location for you. GPS also great when you miss judge your stop, even its the most regular rude that you travel. however, GPS aint everything, infact, its far from everything. like one of the poster suggest, you need to know your mobility well, as to when to cross the street, what trafic condition, etc etc. i've tried trecker, and some apps on the iphone. as i mention earlier and also in some other topic, i found that they both do a different job and to be honest, i found some GPS Apps on the iphone are better than trecker. its more respondsive, and has a high level accuracy which sadly, i don't necesary get from Trecker.
I would also, like to try on Captain+ however, from all the review i read, it is just an average GPS.
i use the gps that mike may. made. it works great 4 me.--
Updating a 2002 GPS map would probably cost at least $100, though it depends on the provider.
Purchasing something like the Kapten Plus, would probably cost more than an iPhone and Navigon ($25 for a regional map, east, west oer central).
The phone is a total of $700 unlocked from the factory, I believe, cheaper if you go with the 4 or 3gs, $200 with AT&T and a 2-year plan (I have their $39 500 any time minute unlimited nights and weekends, and $15/month data plan, so for 24 months that extra expense adds up to $300, $200 for the phone, $25 for the Navigon, together $525).
I do way too little travel these days due to my circumstances (at home a lot, work remotely, when I travel for work it is out of the country and to Europe, AT&T charges you $20 for every mb of data you download in Europe, so I are not even turn on my iPhone, whatever the emergecy, I have an old Nokia that works great, but it's not worth it to be a GPS solution for it, plus I go to various European countries anyway).
I've tried Navigon a bit andit was very cool, better than the Trekker.
One thing I wish Navigon would do is tell you the upcoming cross street in pedestrian view. I know there is the Sendero application, but as I use an iPod with the external Duo 150 GPS, I don't have access to data when out walking around. That cross-street addition would be very nice, although I have no other complaints.
I also purchased Ariadne GPS which again requires data to give most things, but at least can give you your cardinal direction as you travel.
I have no real complaints though: this is the same external unit as used by some of my fellow Coasties on aircraft and the water. Granted, the receiver costs $100 but you can use it with an iPhone, iPod, probably an Android but that is just a guess. None of the pilots / coxswains so far touch an Android for public safety patrols, etc., as it's just not as stable as iOS. But for just walking around, nobody's life dependent on it, I would certainly have a go at using an Android with it.
Wait a moment. Did I read this right? The Iphone is upwards of $600?
I just bought navigon and love it. best buy I have made in a long time
Let me help you here, android owners do not needj to pay for a GPS app, its free. Walki talki, navagate and google maps. However, the sindaro app is a great app too, I have it and used it a time or too. Its just with tax $5 on the android platform. There are other apps that are free that have to do with GPS and locating intrest points like "talking places update." that app is really!! cool, because it will tell you what is along your street that your traveling on. Also it brakes items down by catagories.
Again, all of these use a data plan, rather than the built-in maps that both Android and Apple provide. Well, all but the free kind. I still say this is remarkably inefficient, and would love to see an app use map data on the device to provide location info, if not point of interest at least street crossings. This is just a guess, but I bet it's a licensing issue that prevents them from doing this. Many now are owning these devices, be it an iPod Touch / iPad or one of various tablets running Android, and are not paying monthly for data. Many people use data sparingly or not at all: the price point on data is not yet where it needs to be for most working Americans with mobile devices yet. That said, I would pay for a Sendero set of maps to allow it to announce cross streets. Could be an in-app purchase, so users who spend the extra cash to get data don't need to pay for it.
Both iOS and Android already come with onboard maps, and if you buy an app like Navigon, you get more maps downloaded to your device.
Remember, you can get GPS anywhere, but you can't get signal anywhere.
Hi
An iPhone is upwards of $600 if you buy a factory unlocked one (you have to get those from canada, UK, I think Australia and a few asian countries sell them as well).
American iPhones are around $100 to $250 depending on the exact type, but they come tied to a phone company, and with contracts, usually 2 years, and minimum dataplan requirements, $15/mo for At&T.
Wildebrew navigon downloads the maps to your device and does not require a data connection. You should be able to use it with cellular data turned off. I believe Navigan has apps for specific sections of europe that will work in the same way with out requiring you to have data turned on saving you the $20 per meg.
Leo hmm... with t-moble's classic text to data plan you have a cap but if its exceeded they do not charge you at all. They just slow you dwon until the next month of your bill.
You still need celular data to use navigon