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Couple of problems with CamerAlert

 
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peterc10
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 11:53 am    Post subject: Couple of problems with CamerAlert Reply with quote

I am using CamerAlert on my HTC Hero running Android 2.1 and have noticed a couple of problems.

When I use it by itself in List View it works fine. However if I put it in the background and run my Sat Nav app (Sygic MM10) in the foreground it starts to sulk, refusing to announce cameras as I approach them. Instead it throws out a random word or phrase every few minutes such as "fifty" or "miles per hour" or "mobile camera zone". None of these are strung together coherently and they rarely, if ever, apply to the stretch of road I am on!

Also when I use it in Map View the maps do not update quickly enough and the result is that there are often blank areas. This does not happen when I use Google Nav on the same stretch of road, so it is not down to lack of signal.

Any ideas please?
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MaFt
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Hero is a pretty low spec device (I know, I have one!). Even with a modified ROM and a lot of bumph removed it can still be a bit slow at times with slight gaps between spoken phrases.

Add to this a lot of CPU power being used by Sygic and you will get even more stutters...

Best thing I would suggest is to force close any other running apps and services that you don't need.

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hellybob
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree I had all that with my Hero but I upgraded to a Desire and all the sulks went.

Having said that it worked OK on the Hero.
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MaFt
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hellybob wrote:
Having said that it worked OK on the Hero.


what did? CamerAlert? Yes, CA works fine. But when running alongside software like Sygic then it can start to feel the brunt of the device's low specs...

MaFt
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peterc10
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the answers. I wondered if the problem may just be overloading it, and you have confirmed it. As MaFt says it works fine by itself. Ah well I am due for an upgrade in 3 months so may get a nice shiny new toy.

What about the second problem - the slow map updates compared with Google Nav though?
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Peter
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peterc10
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JaTe wrote:
I run Sygic MM10 along with CamerAlert on my HTC Desire and have not experienced any problems to date.

The Desire HD would be on my short list if I was upgrading today - although it is a bit bigger than I want. I am going to wait and see what is about in 3 months time before making a decision
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Peter
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Darren
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

peterc10 wrote:
What about the second problem - the slow map updates compared with Google Nav though?

Google Maps and Google Nav are not the same thing at all. Google Maps uses a bitmap image of a map, Google Nav uses a Raster map, i.e. a map drawon 'on the fly' much like any other navigation app.

Third parties cannot use Google Nav's map data. We have to use Google Maps and the map tiles take time to download. The speed of render depends on device and data connectivity.
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peterc10
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Darren - understood now.
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Peter
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peterc10
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One more thing if I may.

When running with cameralert in the background is there an option to enable ir to come to the foreground (with map) when it wants to alert you of a camera? i would like to be able to see the map as well as hear the warning. It doesn't do it on my Hero, but that may mean that the Hero is not powerful enough.
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Darren
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, it's not an option open to us within the constraints of Android/iOS.
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peterc10
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks again Darren
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Peter
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lbendlin
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, it is not entirely impossible technically but the gain is questionable. When we are running in the background we do not cause any data traffic at all. Any map fetching and rendering is stopped. So when we would bring the map back up it would take quite a while for the map to actually show in the right place at the right zoom level (similar to when you set the map mode to "show near camera")

It would also potentially be impolite. You may have an important turn come up on your TomTom for Android app, for example. Cool What if all background programs were as obnoxious as, let's say, the phone dialer?
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peterc10
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ibendlin

I take your point about being impolite, which is why I asked if it was an option. I am not suggesting for one minute that it should be standard. And I agree that any app that did have that without it being an option would be obnoxious.

But in many respects running the app all of the time is a waste of a screen (sorry not trying to be rude about the app - it IS good). But I only want to know when there is a relevant camera nearby. I am not interested in the irrelevant ones. And then I can have something else on in the foreground for the rest of the time. You are right in that I may run the risk of interrupting something important, but then I am using a phone and phone calls run the same risk.

And your point about the map upgrading applies, as you said, equally to the option to show the map only when near a camera, which I use. But I find it very useful because, even if the map does take a while to load (in most cases long before I get to the camera), I can still instantly see where I am in relation to the camera.

It is probably a bit academic for me at the moment because, as you can see from the rest of the post, my Hero is struggling to run CamerAlert with any other app anyway, but more of interest for my next phone, which will be Android again and which I will be getting in a couple of months.
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