The difference between the two was asked in a comment recently and I want to share the answer with everyone.
Until the expire dates for ParkMark (March 1st) and Geodroid (Feb 25th), the demo versions will each work fully. A few days before each expire date, the demo available for download will be updated.
ParkMark Demo will forget your location after 10 minutes. As for Geodroid Demo, I haven’t decided yet, but I believe waypoint coordinates will be skewed when you view them through the compass or map.
cardar, geodroid
In preparation for the market fully opening this week, Geodroid (beta) is now Geodroid Demo and available under the Demo category. Around mid-week, and unrestricted version of Geodroid will be available for purchase under the Tools category. Hope everyone enjoys this update!
New features of version 0.6.5
- Import GPX / LOC files from within Geodroid.
- Import geocaching.com caches on the fly by clicking the Google Map link at the bottom of a cache listing.
- Select multiple waypoints for deleting.
- Uses Network location when GPS is unavailable.
- Faster location finding in most cases.
- User notes are separated from imported waypoint descriptions (previous stored as “notes”).
- Ability to add a full name to waypoints.
- New GPS format converting library: stores coordinates with higher precision, DM 59 minutes error fixed.
- New display for viewing waypoint details.
Upcoming features
- View multiple waypoints on map.
- Found setting for waypoints.
- Waypoint searching, sorting, filtering.
geodroid
Geodroid received an update late last night. The main goal was to resolve some stability issues with phones that had never used GPS before.
- Fixed several Force Close issues on phones using GPS for the first time.
- Fixed LOC file importing which was causing crashes with some files.
- Alerts user if no waypoints or geocaches exist in lists.
- Renamed New Waypoint to Create Waypoint
- Resolved bug that caused Compass or Map to crash if you delete the waypoint currently being tracked.
- Added a Help button under More tab.
Thanks for the files everyone emailed me. I tested all of them and everything imported successfully.
geodroid
LOC and GPX file importing now works. In testing I primarily used geocaching.com files, so if you run into any files that won’t import, please email me the files you are using. If non-geocaching.com LOC files result in any weirdness, I’m aware of the problem and will have another update out within a week, though GPX files should work fine regardless as long as the name, lat, and lon are present.
As you know, the Android browser is refusing to download files from the geocaching.com website. Unfortunately this makes it impossible to get the files using only your phone (until they release an update to the browser). In the meantime your options are:
- From your home computer, email the file(s) to yourself and use the Android browser, NOT the Gmail app, to open gmail.com and download the attachments.
- Transfer the files to your SD card, then use a G1 file manager to open the file. I found that the Linda File Manager works great. I tried several other file managers from the Android Market and Linda was the only one that showed Geodroid as an option for opening the files.
Waiting around for the Google Android team to update the browser could take ages. The goals in the meantime are to make sure Geodroid is stable, handles all the loc and gpx file imports successfully, and then figure out work around for the browser issue.
Hope everyone enjoys the update.
geodroid
Good news, file import for loc and gpx files is working. It’s not released yet, but with your help, it will be very soon. I need your loc and gpx files to test with, mainly gpx files. A gpx file can be huge and I need example files so I can see what information users want. If you have a gpx file lying around that you’d like to import, please send me a copy and list which bits of information are important to you; description, type, date, hint, etc. A few geocaching.com gpx files will be a great help also.
Email them to android@clinkybot.com
geodroid
I’ve been out of town this past week and was able to get LOC file importing working. There are a few items to clean up before posting the update. In an older post I mentioned the browser issue with downloading a geocaching.com loc file. If you’re interested you can track the issue.
Until the browser issue is fixed, the best way to import files seems to be emailing yourself the file(s) and using the browser to read your email and download the attachment. The Gmail application on the G1 will not let you download a loc file attachment. I’ll probably add a file browser to Geodroid for navigating the SD card to find and import files, but that will be a little later. For now, I’m eager to get the import feature in your hands and see how it works for everyone. GPX support will follow shortly behind LOC importing.
Thanks to everyone that have pointed out problems and made suggestions.
geodroid
importing
Version 0.4.2 was just posted. Don’t get too excited just yet. The expiration date was pushed back from Jan 15th to Feb 1st. If you are curious as to how things are going, read my previous post. Loc and GPX file support are just around the corner.
geodroid
Things should be settling down some for the next few weeks, allowing me time to work on Geodroid. Today was the first day since moving that I’ve been able to put in some real time on it. Progress is coming along with support for importing geocaching.com loc files. This will be a really nice feature to have. We’ve done a good bit of geocaching during our move and while the GPS power of the G1 is very weak compared to my Garmin eTrex, the G1 is always there and has led us to every geocache with only trouble at one location on a cloudy night.
Since my time has been freed up (I use that term loosely) we may see the update to Geodroid a little sooner than I thought.
geodroid
Some of you are wondering what the last update was about. It was a quick update to keep the app from expiring after December 31st. I’m still hoping to get GPX file support and a few bugs fixed within the next month. It’s been a very busy time of year and I’m in the middle of a move to Denver CO from Portland OR. Luckily, the trip is nearly over and I should be able to start working on Geodroid again soon.
Thanks for all of the bug reports and positive feedback so far. I’ve been using Geodroid to do some geocaching during my move. It’s been working great and I’m dying to get GPX support working.
Happy New Years!
geodroid
After some initial feedback, I’d like to state some of the upcoming features so everyone can know some of what to expect. Primarily, GPX file support. There are a small number of stability issues still needing attention. Also some usability enhancements are needed for obtaining your current location. Accuracy can be a problem with the G1 and I’ve got some ideas that should help.
Some of you have pointed out a rounding issue. Currently Geodroid uses GPS coordinate conversion made possible by the Android API. Unfortunately, it only looks at the first four digits of a decimal degree coordinate (which all points are converted to/from). After some quick calculations, the margin of error this may produce is not very large, perhaps 0 – 13ft, but any accuracy gained with the G1 is helpful.
geodroid
gpx, rounding