Marshall GPS for Droid?

[Red Earth]

Has anyone heard when or if the DROID version is due out? Last time I called, they suggested I get an ICRAP phone!

PJ

[dboyrollz76]

Has anyone heard when or if the DROID version is due out? Last time I called, they suggested I get an ICRAP phone!

PJ

You could always find a used iPhone 5s or a iPad mini 2 on eBay for around 100.00. You could use it solely for the gps system.

[Red Earth]

Derek.... Well, I never thought of that!

SHopping now thanks!

[dboyrollz76]

Make sure it has a iOS rating that’s compatible with the system. You probably want to stay away from anything that can’t be updated to a later iOS

[goshawkr]

That implies that I have a desire to support crapple by running their crap though.

MRT - if you are listenting - there are a lot of customers (80% of the smartphone market share) that you are avoiding by being an apple only shop. I dont know the numbers for tablets, but Apple has only cornered that market in their own imagination as well.

[dboyrollz76]

I’m not a big fan of thier desktops or MacBooks. But I do love iPhone! Android phones are more prone to freezing and kicking you off when a error occurres. We got our 4 kids androids for Christmas. Less than 3 months all 4 developing issues. One shuts off without warning with a full battery. 2 have have the catch cleared and network settings reset every week or two and the other won’t except any as card we’ve tried. Granted the galaxy Luna pro is not top of the line. But I use a older iPhone now for 2 years with no issues.
In the last6 years we’ve bought 13 Android tablets and phones. The four new ones are still working, the rest are in a box waiting for the day I recover the gold and platinum.

[rkumetz]

Has anyone heard when or if the DROID version is due out? Last time I called, they suggested I get an ICRAP phone!
PJ

I spoke to Marshall just this week, and they said they are working on it, but have been focusing all of their resources on the new 4.0 version which will be released in April for IOS. There are some really cool features in that relaease. So much so that I am almost tempted to get an IOS device just to use it for the GPS system. (Geoff will send me a message off line to talk me out of that so I can continue to like myself as much as that is possible)

MRT is hoping to have Android 4.0 ready before the coming season. Developing Android apps which use hardware resources (such as GPS, accelerometer and compass) is much more difficult than a straight "display it on the screen and let them push buttons" kind of mainstream app due to slight differences in the hardware from manufacturer to manufacturer, etc. I can't blame them for exercising caution because I value the reputation of my company as much as they do theirs and I am reluctant to release things until I am absolutely sure they will work. Customers rarely tell other people when something works well but have one small thing go wrong and they will plaster it all over social media like it was an amber alert.

[jdrmd]

I know they are beta testing iOS 4.0. Wish they would fix the screen orientation problem. Have had it with 2 iPhones and an iPad. The direction of movement get confused between portrait and landscape mode.

[dboyrollz76]

One of apples strongest features as of right now that it has over Android is device security. In the past Apple devices had bugs that would allow a person to access the phone contents. Making it possible for someone to steal your phone access all your information and reset and keep and use your phone. Other than the recent chip flaw discovery Apple has had the tightest security after all of its updates. The expected update to fix the chip flaw actually is turning out to be s blessings for Apple now that they are in the process of updates that utilize this flaw as a secondary security feature. The chip flaw allows for the phone to send to different security protocols at the same time. Providing tighter security!
Android on the other hand, I can take any android device you want and access everything, erase every. And do what I wish. Set it up on windows if you like. The Android phones are great phones, but they are technically all the same.
And for those of that are thinking, your stuff is safe because of your google account security that it won’t let anyone access your stuff with out a password. Screw Google who needs them anyway! Sure your phone is locked by Google account. But the Android os is not completely integrated into google. Reason to many manufacturers to many designs. Not enough One Os for all android. Google has a while to go if it’s possible to get everyone on the same page.
With Apple you have safari browser, Apple account and a totally intergrated IOS and security. But Android has more game and apps. Oh, man they got me!

[rkumetz]

One of apples strongest features as of right now that it has over Android is device security. In the past Apple devices had bugs that would allow a person to access the phone contents. Making it possible for someone to steal your phone access all your information and reset and keep and use your phone. Other than the recent chip flaw discovery Apple has had the tightest security after all of its updates. The expected update to fix the chip flaw actually is turning out to be s blessings for Apple now that they are in the process of updates that utilize this flaw as a secondary security feature. The chip flaw allows for the phone to send to different security protocols at the same time. Providing tighter security!
Android on the other hand, I can take any android device you want and access everything, erase every. And do what I wish. Set it up on windows if you like. The Android phones are great phones, but they are technically all the same.
And for those of that are thinking, your stuff is safe because of your google account security that it won’t let anyone access your stuff with out a password. Screw Google who needs them anyway! Sure your phone is locked by Google account. But the Android os is not completely integrated into google. Reason to many manufacturers to many designs. Not enough One Os for all android. Google has a while to go if it’s possible to get everyone on the same page.
With Apple you have safari browser, Apple account and a totally intergrated IOS and security. But Android has more game and apps. Oh, man they got me!

Nope. I got an article today about security testing on both and IOS had more red flags. I can scan it for you if you would like to read it.

[goshawkr]

One of apples strongest features as of right now that it has over Android is device security. In the past Apple devices had bugs that would allow a person to access the phone contents. Making it possible for someone to steal your phone access all your information and reset and keep and use your phone. Other than the recent chip flaw discovery Apple has had the tightest security after all of its updates. The expected update to fix the chip flaw actually is turning out to be s blessings for Apple now that they are in the process of updates that utilize this flaw as a secondary security feature. The chip flaw allows for the phone to send to different security protocols at the same time. Providing tighter security!
Android on the other hand, I can take any android device you want and access everything, erase every. And do what I wish. Set it up on windows if you like. The Android phones are great phones, but they are technically all the same.
And for those of that are thinking, your stuff is safe because of your google account security that it won’t let anyone access your stuff with out a password. Screw Google who needs them anyway! Sure your phone is locked by Google account. But the Android os is not completely integrated into google. Reason to many manufacturers to many designs. Not enough One Os for all android. Google has a while to go if it’s possible to get everyone on the same page.
With Apple you have safari browser, Apple account and a totally intergrated IOS and security. But Android has more game and apps. Oh, man they got me!

Keep on drinking the kool-aide there Derek......

[dboyrollz76]

Keep on drinking the kool-aide there Derek......

That craps gross, I’ll take sweet tea anyday. But it’s true, pick any android you want I’ll unlock it. Piece of cake!

[goshawkr]

That craps gross, I’ll take sweet tea anyday. But it’s true, pick any android you want I’ll unlock it. Piece of cake!

Sure, I know you can.

I can unlock an crapple phone. Big deal. But then, I am a programmer with access to some hard core programming tools....

[dboyrollz76]

Then why can Apple not unlock a Locke iPhone. Even if your the original user. Geoff if you can do that theee are loads of bricked iPhones for sale. Ones with good esn that just have locked iTunes accounts. You could make bank because they are being sold cheap for parts. Because they are useless. The bad vibes you hear about Apple come from this. Pissed off consumers that have forgot their security passcode or phone pin, taking thier device to Apple thinking Apple can Help. Then getting made when they are told that they can’t. That Apple has not developed a software to crack its own encryption and override its security protocols. Doing such would compromise what Apple has done to tighten mobile security. And hose against Apples privacy policy.

[SkyRider]

Then why can Apple not unlock a Locke iPhone. Even if your the original user. Geoff if you can do that theee are loads of bricked iPhones for sale. Ones with good esn that just have locked iTunes accounts. You could make bank because they are being sold cheap for parts. Because they are useless. The bad vibes you hear about Apple come from this. Pissed off consumers that have forgot their security passcode or phone pin, taking thier device to Apple thinking Apple can Help. Then getting made when they are told that they can’t. That Apple has not developed a software to crack its own encryption and override its security protocols. Doing such would compromise what Apple has done to tighten mobile security. And hose against Apples privacy policy.

If I know one thing about technology, it’s that everything—and I mean everything—is hackable and crackable.

In regards to the original poster, I am surprised it’s taken MRT so long to develop an Android compatible app. With the success of GPS telemetry, I would’ve expected this to be a high priority for them. It’s good to hear it’s in the works though. It’ll be a great day when any phone user can link up to a GPS transmitter and find their birds.

[rkumetz]

If I know one thing about technology, it’s that everything—and I mean everything—is hackable and crackable.

In regards to the original poster, I am surprised it’s taken MRT so long to develop an Android compatible app. With the success of GPS telemetry, I would’ve expected this to be a high priority for them. It’s good to hear it’s in the works though. It’ll be a great day when any phone user can link up to a GPS transmitter and find their birds.

Remember that we are the lucky beneficiaries of the guys with the big bucks that keep companies like MRT enthusiastic about selling things to falconers. The number of falconers and disposable income here in the US is not enough to justify their huge R&D investment.

I would bet a paycheck that since it is faster to make an iOS app work they were smart and followed the carrot.

The middle eastern guys buy falconry equipment like we buy nuts and bolts- get what you need plus a handfull of spares. They wont blink about buying a seperate iPhone just for tracking their birds.

[jdrmd]

Remember that we are the lucky beneficiaries of the guys with the big bucks that keep companies like MRT enthusiastic about selling things to falconers. The number of falconers and disposable income here in the US is not enough to justify their huge R&D investment.

Great point Ron. I think we are very lucky to have a company like MRT, they create high quality equipment and provide excellent support!!!

[frigginchi]

I said I wouldn't buy an apple product. so I asked all my FB friends if they had an old one kicking around. I scored a shiny kinda new 5s for free. So I stuck to my not buying apple rule I tried looking for an apple iOS emulator app but it had been flagged by apple and you couldn't get stuff off of itunes. apple blows ;P

http://www.androidcrush.com/run-ios-apps-on-android/

[goshawkr]

Then why can Apple not unlock a Locke iPhone. Even if your the original user. And goes against Apples privacy policy.

That is not a case of can't, it's won't.

Apple doesn't need to crack their encryption, they built it. It can be undone by them with no effort at all.

A few years ago they were being subpoenaed to crack some high profile phones. They never said that they couldn't do it, which would have been a lie, they said they would not do it. That it violated their privacy policy. They also claimed they did not already have a toolkit to do it.

They also publicly stated that the FBI, NSA, etc were welcome to make their own keys to crack a iPhone open. I am sure that was done a long time ago. In fact the subpoena might well have been a way to hide that they could already do it because that particular case was not worth making that revelation over. Or maybe the agents involved just did not know the right folks in their agency.

Really it's not hard. Just takes a particular level of geek, and a lot of time. The few minutes to crack is Hollywood fiction. Current encryption technology is a matter of making it take more time to crack than it is worth. But there are other ways in by peeking at how the software works.

I have not looked, but I am sure there are tools already out there in the criminal hacking world that will pop your iPhone open like an egg. It never takes long for that stuff to show up. The bad hackers want you to feel safe, so they do not like that news to get out.

[dboyrollz76]

That is not a case of can't, it's won't.

Apple doesn't need to crack their encryption, they built it. It can be undone by them with no effort at all.

A few years ago they were being subpoenaed to crack some high profile phones. They never said that they couldn't do it, which would have been a lie, they said they would not do it. That it violated their privacy policy. They also claimed they did not already have a toolkit to do it.

They also publicly stated that the FBI, NSA, etc were welcome to make their own keys to crack a iPhone open. I am sure that was done a long time ago. In fact the subpoena might well have been a way to hide that they could already do it because that particular case was not worth making that revelation over. Or maybe the agents involved just did not know the right folks in their agency.

Really it's not hard. Just takes a particular level of geek, and a lot of time. The few minutes to crack is Hollywood fiction. Current encryption technology is a matter of making it take more time to crack than it is worth. But there are other ways in by peeking at how the software works.

I have not looked, but I am sure there are tools already out there in the criminal hacking world that will pop your iPhone open like an egg. It never takes long for that stuff to show up. The bad hackers want you to feel safe, so they do not like that news to get out.

Exactly, if you remember correctly a comment from Apple. Was we’ve worke very hard to tighten our security and that the software that would be needed to crack it has not been developed. The only reason the FBI was able to gain access to the phone was because it was running a older version of iOS that had a bug that would allow you to access the phone through the accessory screen. By goin into your camera access your photos send a photo as a text to access the home screen. But that bug is long dead now. There’s a new Apple challenge coming soon because of the chip flaw. Whoever can find away to get into or access a new locked iPhone, buy finding a bug or flaw. Gets 1million cash.

[rkumetz]

Exactly, if you remember correctly a comment from Apple. Was we’ve worke very hard to tighten our security and that the software that would be needed to crack it has not been developed. The only reason the FBI was able to gain access to the phone was because it was running a older version of iOS that had a bug that would allow you to access the phone through the accessory screen. By goin into your camera access your photos send a photo as a text to access the home screen. But that bug is long dead now. There’s a new Apple challenge coming soon because of the chip flaw. Whoever can find away to get into or access a new locked iPhone, buy finding a bug or flaw. Gets 1million cash.

The big security issues with iOS devices have nothing to do with stored information. The red flag issues had to do with being able to remotely access things like the camera without the owner's knowledge. I would never store anything important on a phone or a post it note that I carry in my pocket. Once it is out of your possession all best are off no matter who made the device.

[gemiller]

That implies that I have a desire to support crapple by running their crap though.

MRT - if you are listenting - there are a lot of customers (80% of the smartphone market share) that you are avoiding by being an apple only shop. I dont know the numbers for tablets, but Apple has only cornered that market in their own imagination as well.

That market share reference gets used all over the technology world, normally as an "android selling pitch" but the reality is the web traffic use is almost evenly split with countries like the UK and US lead by iOS devices (https://deviceatlas.com/blog/ios-vs-...oss-whole-2016 and theres many more articles if you care to look), especially in the tablet world the iOS takes the traffic lead(https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android...re-2017-review). Having 80% market share against apple isn't hard when you complete in market sectors that apple does not. Apple doesn't have those cheap "for the kids" or old time "i dont need a fancy phone" priced products, which is fine, and realistically i'm sure part of Apple's marketing scheme to appear as more elite.

GPS for falconry is a market that in the vast majority of cases isn't targeting those that barely know how to use a phone or those types of people are still whining about the transition to UHF yet alone purchasing a phone to adopt and run the software. The reality is it's not "Android has the lions share of high end tech users" and more probable its a pretty even split in those likely to adopt a GPS product to sling to their mobile (if you factor in tablet use its probably skewed towards apple in that case as they do hold the larger share of the tablet market).

MRT is hoping to have Android 4.0 ready before the coming season.

They had posted multiple times on their GPS User Group that the Android release would be launched backdated on 3.5 and not on 4.0, did that change recently? Also I know they had posted that the Android release would come with device limitations (certain brands/phones will be approved, but not all). They posted pretty regularly about the Droid stuff for a while on their facebook. They had posted a bit about a lot of struggles with the GPS system being not as accurate and lock times being 3-4x as long as the iOS counterpart. I think you are definitely right they are playing the smart route and not releasing something that would be a nightmare for the userbase.

[rkumetz]

They had posted multiple times on their GPS User Group that the Android release would be launched backdated on 3.5 and not on 4.0, did that change recently? Also I know they had posted that the Android release would come with device limitations (certain brands/phones will be approved, but not all). They posted pretty regularly about the Droid stuff for a while on their facebook. They had posted a bit about a lot of struggles with the GPS system being not as accurate and lock times being 3-4x as long as the iOS counterpart. I think you are definitely right they are playing the smart route and not releasing something that would be a nightmare for the userbase.

When I spoke to them a week ago they said that they had committed to adding additional resources to the Android development effort. I didn't ask whether they planned to launch 3.5 or hold out for 4.0.

I can't speak for all industries but when my company looked into having apps to control some our products we found that the hoops we would need to jump through to give away an app would not
be worth it for an iOS app so we went with Android. After about 5 years exactly 1 (one, uno.....) guy has complained. So I can say that broadcast engineers are using Android. Most have the same sort of "I will do with the gizmo that I bought whatever I damn well feel like" attitude that Geoff and I do so that more than likely explains it.

This iOS vs Android thing will go on and on and neither company is predisposed to having us know the real numbers. I believe it was either Mark Twain or HL Menken that said "first collect your facts and then you may distort them at your leisure".

[goshawkr]

Having 80% market share against apple isn't hard when you complete in market sectors that apple does not. Apple doesn't have those cheap "for the kids" or old time "i dont need a fancy phone" priced products, which is fine, and realistically i'm sure part of Apple's marketing scheme to appear as more elite.

Well, Apple certainly does have a corner on the market of those who think "everyone who is not using an apple product is a plebeian". My experience in the industry is that Apple actually has managed to land close to 100% of this market, and it has consistently locked up that market going clear back to the late 80s.

The reality is it's not "Android has the lions share of high end tech users" and more probable its a pretty even split in those likely to adopt a GPS product to sling to their mobile (if you factor in tablet use its probably skewed towards apple in that case as they do hold the larger share of the tablet market).

Apple's share of the high end tech users is not even close to 50%. Last I took a peak at single manufactures that had the lead of tablets, Amazon was the king of the hill with their Kindle fire, but that was some time ago. But that still wouldn't be the real point I was making. There are a lot of companies out there that that buy into Apple's story that they have the entire market.

They had posted multiple times on their GPS User Group that the Android release would be launched backdated on 3.5 and not on 4.0, did that change recently? Also I know they had posted that the Android release would come with device limitations (certain brands/phones will be approved, but not all). They posted pretty regularly about the Droid stuff for a while on their facebook. They had posted a bit about a lot of struggles with the GPS system being not as accurate and lock times being 3-4x as long as the iOS counterpart. I think you are definitely right they are playing the smart route and not releasing something that would be a nightmare for the userbase.

Having device limitations is common on the droid ecosystem. Its actually something of a necessary reality since it is such a complex area. I do hope that they will take the stance that many do of letting their app be downloaded to devices that are not on the approved list. Sometimes app developers make take a hard line stance about that. I have yet to run into an app that dosnt work just fine on my device despite not being in the "tested and approved" category.

[rkumetz]

Geoff,
I got the impression that MRT's position is simply use a device that we have not tested at your own risk and don't blame us if it doesn't work.

[Captain Gizmo]

TinyLoc is doing a GPS dog tracker that uses a Direct Radio Link to a handheld receiver. Their dog collar also has a plain beep on it (about 2X the range of the same transmitter pushing data). The handheld also acts as the plain beep receiver. When you are getting a data stream it will Bluetooth the information to an Android phone or tablet for moving map display. If or when they shrink the dog transmitter down to the under 15 gram class required for hawk transmitters one would guess that it will come Android capable.

Price for a beep only receiver plus one UHF transmitter is E630 (about $660 U.S. when you back off 15% VAT and multiply by 1.23)

About a previous question on commitment to service. They sell a refurbishing kit for the receiver with new antennas, battery cover, coax jack rubber cover and volume button rubber cover plus miscellaneous screws for E60.

Regards,
Thomas of the Desert

[rri32701]

Any word on android yet.I bought everything the end of last season then decided to wait till this coming season to see If I needed to get an Iphone.

[Tanner]

Robert- An easy solution is to get on craigslist and buy an ipad mini. They are a nice screen size for the field and can be picked up cheaply if you get a used one.

[rri32701]

Will check it out.Thanks Tanner

[rkumetz]

Robert- An easy solution is to get on craigslist and buy an ipad mini. They are a nice screen size for the field and can be picked up cheaply if you get a used one.

There are a significant amount of iPhones on Ebay and Craigslist that have bad ESN's. They are essentially phones that the owner did not pay the bill on and Verizon, AT&T, etc cut them off and locked the phone out so it is useless as a phone. They can be had for very reasonable prices.

Or deals like this on refurb phones pop up too: https://www.woot.com/plus/iphone-6-6...t_gw_dly_wobtn

To me it is simply a matter of principle. I can't bring myself to buy anything from Apple so I will remain optimistic that MRT will deliver on Android soon.

[FredFogg]

This entire thread cracks me up! If MRT had come out with GPS transitter and the pocketlink and their own little display device that cost $500, none of you would be batting an eyelash! What's the freaking difference dropping that $500 for their display device or a used iPhone or iPad? I will tell you why you all make a big stink out of it, you just don't like Apple! Period! Success sure makes folks jealous! LOL

[rkumetz]

This entire thread cracks me up! If MRT had come out with GPS transitter and the pocketlink and their own little display device that cost $500, none of you would be batting an eyelash! What's the freaking difference dropping that $500 for their display device or a used iPhone or iPad? I will tell you why you all make a big stink out of it, you just don't like Apple! Period! Success sure makes folks jealous! LOL

Sorry Fred you miscalculated this one. I don't actually own an Android phone to use the MRT stuff with. I plan to buy one when I figure out the best
one to use and I only plan on using it for the GPS. I will probably buy one off Ebay that has a bad ESN. I like my flip phone and don't need a phone that clutters my life with crap. I get calls and I can make calls. Just what a phone is supposed to do.

I simply refuse to buy a product from a group of arrogant bastards that presume to know what I should and should not install on my device and how I should use it. I will also not be in line for an autonomous vehicle any time soon.

[JRedig]

Ron, I’m sorry, but for the benefit this gives falconry, you and others are over thinking this Apple things waaaaaay to fricken far. Buy an iPad mini for $150 and don’t use any of the other apps. It’s not an emotional decision but wow you guys are make it one.

[goshawkr]

This entire thread cracks me up! If MRT had come out with GPS transitter and the pocketlink and their own little display device that cost $500, none of you would be batting an eyelash! What's the freaking difference dropping that $500 for their display device or a used iPhone or iPad? I will tell you why you all make a big stink out of it, you just don't like Apple! Period! Success sure makes folks jealous! LOL

Actually, as I mentioned before, Apple is not nearly as successful as they claim. They do make a lot of money, and have a lot of people buying their stuff. But its a bean counter trick that props up their market. Apple does have about 100% of the market share of iPad users, but that is only ~10% of the market share of tablet users. And this ratio has actually been pretty constant since the iPad hit the market.

And you are absolutely correct that if MRT had a display device I could buy separately, I would be fine with buying it (provided it was obscenely expensive) and I would not question what the underlying OS is on that device. I have many such devices in fact. Where you are incorrect is in thinking that Apple would allow a device that is branded to MRT to run their OS. There are lot of devices like this running the Droid OS (for example, my DJI Drone controller that has a built in screen, my Kindle Fire tablet) and there are a lot of devices like this running a windows based OS (like the hand held scanners used in most big box stores and for that matter, most modern cash registers and 98% of ATM machines).

I have good solid reasons for not buying into Apple's ecosystem or for owning their stock. Not at all because I am jealous of their success.

I have cash set aside for the GPS whenever Marshall wants it from me. All they need to do is a little tiny bit of extra dev work to support my existing device set. I have a smart phone and a tablet already that work great. Its enough to shell out the cash for the GPS without the demand to buy new devices.

What is the real crack up is that there are toolsets out there that will do 98% of that dev work in about 15 minutes or so, all fully automated. So clearly, my money is not worth 15 minutes of Marshall's time. I would say the same thing about Ron's cash, but he was silly enough to buy the GPS and put it on a shelf until non-Apple support came along.

Marshall is not the only company that has bought into that kool-aide that Apple is where to invest exclusive effort on app support.

[jdrmd]

NAFEX finally feels like it is back to normal with Fred posting again.