( gps - gmaps, etc. ) -- are there any devices such as laptop that can use

[droidiscute]

( gps - gmaps, etc. ) -- are there any devices such as laptop that can use gps, gmap, and other navigation sites/etc. without a mobile type os like having an android, ios, etc.

i really dont want a mobile since there's nothing useful/helpful i would use it for besides only

navigation, gps

 

[Drael646464]

( gps - gmaps, etc. ) -- are there any devices such as laptop that can use gps, gmap, and other navigation sites/etc. without a mobile type os like having an android, ios, etc.

i really dont want a mobile since there's nothing useful/helpful i would use it for besides only

navigation, gps

I'm not sure. There certainly will be loads of them at the end of this year when windows on arm is released.

 

[droidiscute]

what's windows on arm, can't find the wiki page

 

[xandros9]

I doubt Windows on ARM will make any difference.

You may be able to find a dedicated program, but they're hard to come by as most PC's don't have GPS.

 

[Drael646464]

what's windows on arm, can't find the wiki page

Windows on ARM, is an upcoming version of windows that runs on the QUALCOMM snapdragon CPUs.

It was first demo'd December last year, and we've been told the first devices will come late this year (fall).

https://www.engadget.com/2017/04/21/windows-10-arm-qualcomm-2017-launch/

Those SoC (System on Chip) CPUs, unlike intel CPUs come with GPS, and LTE built in. A whole host of hardware makers (OEMs) are planning Windows on ARM devices (Several OEMs like HP have announced), and likely Microsoft will release one too, some kind of surface product.

There will be servers, notebooks, hybrids and tablets in this configuration.

Here's a demo:

https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2017/P4171

But its basically just windows running on ARM chipsets. A technically complicated feat, and a very important thing for the windows platform, but for consumers it's more or less just thinner windows devices (mainly laptops and tablets), with longer battery life, "always on" LTE (connected even when the device is sleeping), instant on and GPS/compass/sensors.

 

[Drael646464]

I doubt Windows on ARM will make any difference.

You may be able to find a dedicated program, but they're hard to come by as most PC's don't have GPS.

I'm not sure why you'd think that.

Snapdragon ARM chips come with GPS (and always connected LTE, instant on etc). The GPS part of the SoC is called "Qualcomm location", I believe. The inclusion of these features standard, the pricing, and the battery efficiency and size, are the points of difference over intel - they are essentially, from the consumer POV, "the point of the product" (Although no doubt for Microsoft, its more about UWP apps, mobility apps from developers AS WELL as having those smartphone like features to be competitive)

Due to both browsers (platform agnostic), and the UWP platform (which is designed to be platform agnostic), one doesn't need dedicated desktop software for GPS map applications. So one could use Sygic, or the native maps app, or google earth, or google maps in a browser.

All one actually needs is a standard compliant GPS module, and a standard complaint maps utility. This is why we have NMEA:

http://gpsworld.com/what-exactly-is-gps-nmea-data/

If you have any standard compliant GPS module, and any standard compliant GPS software, connected by a native driver (which of course arm devices will have), it will just work. Of course LTE enabled arm devices also have the advantage of speed up "warm up times" for location finding due to cell tower triangulation.

But if one didn't want to wait for ARM devices, one could just use a dongle like I link in the next post - which will work with google products.

 

[Drael646464]

Actually while we are on the topic of GPS modules, you can currently get a USB dongle for such things, such as:

https://www.amazon.com/Receiver-Ada...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3685946

The is NMEA compliant, so works with google maps, and google earth etc. If you didn't want to wait for windows on arm, late this year, you could go with something like this.

Personally I'd rather have it built in, but it's going to depend on how much of a rush you are in to buy a laptop. And keep in mind, the windows on arm version will probably find position faster due to cell tower triangulation. Finding position via satellite alone takes about a minute. With cell assisted location finding it can be (but isn't always) a bit quicker.