Global Warfare

What do you choose, a GPS unit or an app?

Smartphones and their nifty apps have permeated nearly every aspect of society. You can use them to do everything from buying groceries to monitoring your sleep patterns. So it was just a matter of time before CPS companies made their golf-course yardage-measuring software compatible with smartphones.
Unlike traditional stand-alone GPS devices, which cost €120.00 to €400.00 and have been on the market since 1999, a smartphone GPS app is cheaper – free to €25.00, and more convenient if you own an iPhone, BlackBerry, etc. But some tests revealed there is a trade-off in performance, which is why many companies have continued to improve their stand-alone devices.

For instance, the precision of any golf GPS device depends on its hardware (the antenna and receiver that can quickly read signals from satellites) and the quality of the maps loaded onto the device.
The hardware in a smartphone isn’t as powerful as that in the top hand-held GPS units, so apps aren’t as precise in measurements.
Sometimes the maps are questionable. GPS companies that make hand-held devices generally use high-quality, proprietary satellite imagery to ensure their maps are as accurate as possible.
Though battery life in a hand-held device can last for more than three rounds before needing a recharge, no smartphone tested lasted for an entire round.
The smartphones are plenty powerful for 99 per cent of their uses, but they’re not designed to offer the precision that golf requires. (Source: Golf World Magazine)