Jon wrote:nope nothing in the literature on my unit about those specific acronymns, and nothing in the options. It just says "high sensitivity receiver" <10m 95%.
Most GPS's have the numbers on the same screen that displays the satellites in view. There will usually be an 'accuracy' or 'CEP' number, and a set of "DOP/HDOP/VDOP" numbers (or some such).
Jon wrote:However on my garmin I can enable WAAS, which to my knowledge is a feature that almost all cellphone GPS's lack. It greatly improves the accuracy of the unit.
That it does! Cell phones usually do it a different way, using 'A-GPS' (assisted GPS). WAAS uses a geostationary satellite to send correction data for the GPS signal. A-GPS downloads the correction data from the cellular network. The information it gets is wonderfully accurate for about six hours, and usable for about 24. What I've done a few times is to get up on a peak where there's a cell signal, send my wife a 'we made it' text, make sure it's got the updated data, and shut it down again.
Even with WAAS, GPS altitude determination is dodgy. The best handheld GPS units have barometric altimeters integrated in them. (Obviously, phones don't.)
Jon wrote:Maybe I'll purchase that app, and then track a hike using my galaxy and my gps, having them in the same spot and see how they compare side-by-side? It's only $9.99 right? Also what format does it save your tracks in? Can I export them to other programs or Google Earth formats or are you only able to view it in the backcountry nav program?
Yeah, it's $9.99. The track export is either KML (Google Earth's favorite) or GPX (which is fairly universal). You can also try the free version of OruxMaps, or a free app like MyTracks to record tracks - but I don't like them in the field, they're missing features that I use. None of the apps has a really good satellite display, so I use the free 'GPS Status' app for that.
It's not as good as a dedicated GPS unit. But I'm surprised at how good the phones are getting. My previous phone (a Samsung Intercept) was nearly unusable for the purpose.
I'm not lost. I know exactly where I am. I'm right here.