Anyone using an iPad for GPS?

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury) 03/30/2018 at 08:54 • Filed to: None

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I’ve been using my iPhone for GPS (Google Maps - offline mode) for some time, but I could use a bigger screen. I’ve tried numerous Android devices, phones and tablets, but at this point would rather just stay with iOS due to familiarity, existing software licenses and accessories.

I’ve got a few iPads already, but they’re all wifi only and thus I’d need one with cellular capability to get the GPS receiver, and I don’t want to pay $100+ for a standalone Bluetooth receiver to use with an existing iPad when I can just get a used iPad for less.

I was thinking about either an iPad mini or an iPad 2. I figure that the resolution for this task isn’t really critical and would be higher than a standalone GPS. A 1G mini or a 2 would be limited to iOS 9.3, and I can only assume that a compatible version of Google Maps would have offline mode although I’m not sure; does anyone know for certain?

Discerning > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 09:16

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Why not just hotspot off your phone?

Funktheduck > Discerning 03/30/2018 at 09:23

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I second this

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Discerning 03/30/2018 at 09:30

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I’m limited to around 2GB of data per month, and I’d like to preserve this for other uses.

Mercedes Streeter > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 09:31

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Get an iPad with a GPS, then use your iPhone’s hotspot.

That’s what I did for my trip home from Pittsburgh. I didn’t like the idea of my phone screen being on for 10 hours straight, so I turned on the hotspot and made a deactivated Galaxy S8 be the GPS.

The GPS works without a SIM card, but you’ll need the data from the hotspot so the map displays correctly.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Mercedes Streeter 03/30/2018 at 09:35

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I’ve only got 2GB/mo. on my plan, so the hotspot option is out. Offline mode works well, so I was planning to stick with that.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 09:44

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I’ve got an iPad 2 3 G , so it has built in GPS. However it doesn’t seem to support offline maps. However, it’s at iOS 9.1 , so maybe there is a fur ther Google Maps update I can’t install at this point. I will update it, and check for you (And for myself, as the idea of using my old iPad as a GPS has crossed my mind too)

Textured Soy Protein > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 10:28

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What are you paying for that plan? There are cheap plans with much higher data caps.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 10:58

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I checked it, and my iPad 2 is able to run the latest version of Google Maps on iOS 9.3.5, offline maps and all!

Chariotoflove > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 11:17

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So we spend so much time here bitching about todays nav screens looking like iPads stuck on dashes. And you want to stick an actual iPad on your dash. Awesome.

I too have 2GB on my phone. I don’t think hot spotting it will eat up more of your data than just using your phone. If you get a cellular antenna iPad, you’ll end up paying more for data on that plan anyway.

MINIGTI > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 12:13

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I’d probably want something a little newer than an old iPad 2, mine is so slow it’s almost unusable.

Discerning > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 14:15

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Oh. That’s a bummer. I’ve got 10GB at 4G and unlimited at 3G after that. Does your carrier allow you to upgrade hotspot limits?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Chariotoflove 03/30/2018 at 15:12

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No need for a data plan on the cellular iPad - I just want that model for the built in GPS receiver that’s not included in the wifi-only models. I’m going to be using offline mode, so all of the map information will be stored locally and updated periodically via wifi.

Chariotoflove > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 15:14

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Okay.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer 03/30/2018 at 15:18

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Thanks for checking that. How is the responsiveness of the unit when running this app? I have an original iPad and it’s painfully slow, and these days just sits in a stand and shows me email alerts. I know the 2 had double the RAM of the original which probably makes it a little more pleasant to use, but I’ve tried using cheap tablets before and the sluggishness made me give up out of frustration; press a key and then wait a second or three for a response which is no way to enter an address whilst out on the road.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > MINIGTI 03/30/2018 at 15:20

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For maps and music I thought it might be OK, but I know what you mean. I have an original iPad and it is painful to use, especially if I try to go on the web. But for ebooks and music and some old games it’s not that bad.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Textured Soy Protein 03/30/2018 at 15:23

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I don’t recall the exact cost as its automatically debited each month. But I’m part of a family plan that I’m really not at liberty to change at this time. I did agree to cover the extra $5/mo myself in order to get us from 3GB to 6...

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Discerning 03/30/2018 at 15:28

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It’s an AT&T family plan that I’ve already upgraded to take us from 3GB to 6GB per month. I’m trying to come up with a solution that doesn’t use any data, hence the offline maps mode. It works great on my phone, but I just want a larger screen and want to do it for around $100 or less.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Mercedes Streeter 03/30/2018 at 15:32

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With the offline maps mode the map info is stored locally and doesn’t need a data connection to display properly, just a periodic update which can be done via wifi. I’ve been doing this on my phone already, but I just want a larger screen and don’t want to spend more than $100 or thereabouts.

Mercedes Streeter > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 15:34

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Oh...well then anything with a GPS in it (even a cheap Android tablet) can achieve that then.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Mercedes Streeter 03/30/2018 at 15:55

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Done the cheap android route - phone and tablet - and was quite disappointed. Now to find the lowest cost iOS device that can still provide acceptable performance.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 15:58

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It’s a tad sluggish when loading the app, haven’t tried typing yet. I’ll try and report back!

Mercedes Streeter > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/30/2018 at 16:08

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Anything better than an iPad 2 should be good for your needs. I just sold an iPad 2 that while it was functional, apps crashed on it so much it wasn’t really worth keeping anymore.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Mercedes Streeter 03/30/2018 at 16:21

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I know what you mean. I’ve got an original iPad that sits around and beeps and just shows me incoming mail, and that’s about it. It’s not worth much so there’s no point in selling it, plus it was my grandma’s favorite toy whenever I would go over for a visit. Almost before I could say hello she’d ask if I brought my iPad with me. At 92 she took to it like a duck to water...

GLiddy > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/01/2018 at 01:22

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Keep an eye out for refurbs. I bought an iPad Air 2 Cellular model for $199 (B-grade) for my mother-in-law. GPS works fine even without a SIM card. You can preload areas in Google Maps, but that is only the map data. You need an internet connection for plotting new routes.