Anyone use their Playbook for Geocaching?

Hi,
I teach in a FE college in the UK and all my student have SEN, mainly Autism. We have a module on our curriculum about being able to participate in walks around the community. It focuses on becoming familiar with the local area, looking and using maps, the countryside code and countryside signs that they may see.
I was thinking about making it more interactive (and to encourage teamwork skills), by doing Geocaching. I have never done it before but have spoke to other who have. There seems to be a lot of boxes in our local area, and I was going to do a couple of test runs in the half term to see how accessible they are.

Has anyone used their playbook for Geocaching or can suggest a good application to use for it? I have GPS maps for Google, Bing maps, Mapapp and Navigator to test out. Obviously I haven't done Geocaching before but from what I can gather, I need to put GPS coordinates into the map and see where we are currently at with it. I am also assuming I will need to tether the playbook to my phone for an internet connection?

If anyone can shed some light on this or has any suggestions, that would be great!

Thanks

I use cache sense on my 9810. Love it. I asked the creator of he app if he has any plans for BB 10 version and he said no.
This was his relpy. At this stage I have no plans to create a BB10 application, it's not possible to "upgrade" for BB10, the native apps are completely different, in a different language and a completely new framework.

Assuming BB10 continues to support Android apps I may continue to develop what is currently the PlayBook version.


Also you can read this zitafarm.com • View topic - Cachesense on PlayBook.

There are 2 apps on APP World, but they seem to need a premium account and besides, they're paid.

I'm also willing to try it, but right i'm not in the mood to pay...

Cachesense is worth the 20�???
How much data does it spend?

Is it accurate?
Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by PedroBorgas

There are 2 apps on APP World, but they seem to need a premium account and besides, they're paid.

I'm also willing to try it, but right i'm not in the mood to pay...

Cachesense is worth the 20€???
How much data does it spend?

Is it accurate?
Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

If you are talking about Geocaching apps for your BB mobile rather than BB Playbook then Cachesense is your app. It is worth every penny. The 'Geocaching Navigation' app can�t compete with Cachsense and it is even more expensive.

Both apps really need a premium member account at Groundspeak if you are serious about geocaching.

Btw.: where did you get the 20 EUR from? Cachesense is at 9.49 EUR for mobiles and 5.49 EUR for playbook...

On the playbook I see no point is using this device outdoors - a mobile phone is much better choice here. Also the playbook GPS fix is just too slow (no aGPS support).

Originally Posted by higgs_muc

On the playbook I see no point is using this device outdoors - a mobile phone is much better choice here. Also the playbook GPS fix is just too slow (no aGPS support).

Once you get the GPS fix, the PlayBook is quick enough. The drawback of the PlayBook GPS is that you sometimes need to reboot to get it to work and without aGPS, if you haven't used the GPS lately it can take a while to get a fix. If the OP is going to use the PlayBook with his students, he should make sure he has the GPS up and running before he needs it with the students.

The last time i checked Cachesense on my phone it costed 19,50� ;s

If it's only 10, theres another talk lol

But cant you use it with a normal account? :s

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

Check out ViewRanger Outdoor GPS. Not a geocaching piece of software but you can load maps for offline use, track GPS position, mark Points of interest.. etc. etc. Price is right too.
Some peculiar reviews on appworld. :/ I'd give it a solid 4.5 and agree with the review of 09/30/2012.

Originally Posted by PedroBorgas

....
But cant you use it with a normal account? :s
....

At bit off-topic, but I think Cachesense wants to get the information from Groundspeak through their official 'Geocaching Live API'. That access is only available for premium members. For sure you can download .loc files for each geocache and transfer it to your phone. Cachesense can pick the basic information from there but this is not something you really want to do...

Thanks for all your replies.

I was aware of an app for blackberry phones, but as the module criteria states that learners need to read and understand maps, I thought the Playbook would be better to use. Also, I don't want 8 learners crowded around my little phone screen trying to work out where we are (I also don't feel comfortable giving them my phone in the first place, I would be scared that they would click on my text messages or emails, at least with the Playbook I can control what they see using Bridge options!). I don't really want to be paying a massive amount for an app either, I don't mind paying up to �5 for an app, especially if I am likely to use it again.

I will have a look at View Ranger and see if it fits my need, and also test other maps to see whether the GPS fix is going to work (we are in the countryside so it might take a while for the GPS to find us).

What about any Android apps that I could also test out? I had a look on GoodeReader but nothing immediately jumped out at me. I don't mind side loading an app to try out.

Thanks again for your responses!

Not sure what IPSs deliver in UK. In states, several of the inexpensive phone Google maps based
apps deliver unreal results. Examples: they know what part of my house I'm in. When I walk
to the middle of my road, they know. If I walk to the edge of Lake Conroe, they also know!

I am getting unreal results with my pb's video chat and Verizon's Jet Pack: it inputs 3g /4g and
outputs to 10 WiFi channels.

You may find video chat alone interesting. Geocaching should also work quite well. Doc Neutron

Originally Posted by pixieloulou

Thanks for all your replies.

I was aware of an app for blackberry phones, but as the module criteria states that learners need to read and understand maps, I thought the Playbook would be better to use. Also, I don't want 8 learners crowded around my little phone screen trying to work out where we are (I also don't feel comfortable giving them my phone in the first place, I would be scared that they would click on my text messages or emails, at least with the Playbook I can control what they see using Bridge options!). I don't really want to be paying a massive amount for an app either, I don't mind paying up to �5 for an app, especially if I am likely to use it again.

I will have a look at View Ranger and see if it fits my need, and also test other maps to see whether the GPS fix is going to work (we are in the countryside so it might take a while for the GPS to find us).

What about any Android apps that I could also test out? I had a look on GoodeReader but nothing immediately jumped out at me. I don't mind side loading an app to try out.

Thanks again for your responses!

You may want to try out CacheSense for Playbook. I think you can even install a trail version for your tests. The full version is at 5.49 EUR over here.

If you just want maps it is probably worth looking at OsmAnd (Android). It is available on AppWorld and I think it can even accept offline maps...

For Android i used "c:geo" which seemed to be very complete for a free app.

It showed the map, via data transfer(3G was very good) and showed near caches, favorite caches,etc.

Again, the app offer for the BB family is years aways from Android... We have to pay 10� + for the app, and yet, we have to pay for a premium account; They just have to dld a 2 mb app and they're good to go for free...


Replying to the other user: I don't mind to search and chose my caches at home and then transfer them to the phone. (What could make me upset is the fact that i had to pay and still have to do that).

But my question is: Is it still a good experience? I will try to do it on my Torch 9800....

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

You correctly point out how much control and finesse you have
between your BB and your PB as to your private into. For instance,
I have NEVER enabled email on my PB. I am looking at texting via
the bridge. My daughter has her email accounts activated.

OK, the very inexpensive PB app that works for me (direct experimentation
this noon time) is called "MapApp". You may enable GPS. You may
have to kick it upside the head and tell it to search on a street. Once
done, this puppy nails it for me while I am using my Verizon JetPack.
(They have one for international use). It can tell whether I am walking
down the center of the street (carefully) versus on the sidewalk. I am
guessing it can find me inside a 3-5 meter box. I know from tagging along
with my eldest son, an avid geochacer, that this will work most of the
time.

Dark sides: there are many apps out there with the name "Google" on them !
The JetPack is like $20/mo. Doc Neutron

I use it for finding coords and hints with the browser. I use blackstar on my bb torch for actually finding caches. c:geo is frowned upon because geocaching.com is trying to pay for bandwidth. That said c:geo doesn't open on the playbook I am mot sure why. it likely uses native code. there is an app called easy lat lon that I plan to try out sooner or later. As an aside I am looking to try the android whereyougo app on the playbook to find wherigo caches. I don't have my laptop with me these days so I can't try too much hacking of these programs. if anyone has programming knowledge or just too much time have a go at it. I would appreciate the .apk file for whereyougo if anyone has an android.

Kids these days. Back when I geocached I had a standalone Garmin and had to enter the Lat/Long in by hand and carry around printed-out pages from Geocaching.org with me!