Idea: Bluetooth GPS support

[dinamic]

Recently I've got an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet, which I planned to use for in-car navigation. I felt mislead when I found out that it actually lacks GPS module. I tried using Tether GPS and use my phone sensor, but some delays are ruining the experience with OsmAnd+.

A few days back I've got a brand new Garmin Glo - GPS sensor that pairs using Bluetooth. Android and OsmAnd in particular can't seem to be able to use this device directly. Instead, one has to enable Developer options and use the Mock location functionality to intentionally lie to the device about the current location. Then install a 3rd party application that would connect to the Bluetooth GPS sensor, fetch data from it and mock the location of the device, effectively working like a proxy between the two.

IMO the mock location functionality is one that should mostly be used by developers - that's why its under Developer options - options that are intended for developers, not for the regular users to make their navigation app work. That said, using Mock location feels like a hack to me. Yes, it works, but it's a hack and should be avoided whenever possible.

I can see this question was posted back in 2013 in the Google groups, but never got a satisfying answer. It's 2018 now.

What do you say to have Bluetooth GPS client built-in into OsmAnd?

Multiple benefits come to mind:

• Users won't have to hack their way using 3rd party applications.
• Depending on the device, OsmAnd may utilise the extra data. For example, the Garmin Glo that I bought supplies 10 location updates per second. Contrast that with 1 update per second or two for the regular smart phone or tablet.

PS It was a bit of a let down to realise iOS can utilise Bluetooth GPS sensors way better than Android does.

PS2 Some may argue this is an Android specific feature. While this may sound true, how about the benefits of the extra data we can get? We can use those, no matter what OS the device uses as long as we support Bluetooth GPS sensors.

[dinamic]

@vshcherb, do you think this could be added to a roadmap of some sort?

[jkufner]

Bluetooth GPS are supported on Android via 3rd party apps that connect to a GPS bluetooth receiver and then use mock location feature for developers.