Hello,
There have been frequent requests for usable GPS information/status in the forum but still no changes regarding firmware/SDK. One of the comments is that it is hard to expose this since there can be different chip sets involved.
How can that be hard? You must have this information yourself to take descent decisions about error correction, altitude calibration etc. And furthermore the theory behind GPS navigation is the same and the algorithms for using the information is the same regardless of which chip you use. Other SDKs (for example Android and iOS) have it and it's no problem. As an example the Andoid SDK is quite straight forward, get a status object and from that get an array of satellite info:
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/LocationManager.html#getGpsStatus%28android.location.GpsStatus%29
What a developer chooses to do with that (together with usable info about quality, accuracy in meters etc) is up to the developer.
The reason why I ask is that I find the current information useless (QUALITY_XXXX). Even if I do activities where the GPS is way off the average quality is still 4.00, which according to the SDK is the best possible accuracy.
https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?315439-GPS-Accuracy&p=764006#post764006
I think that better sensor info about location (GPS) would solve more than just the happiness of writing a fancy data field, widget or application. It will help users to take the right decisions during outdoor activities. That can be anything from emergency situations where you need to inform rescue to planning and logging.
It will also give all those who believe that what they bought is poor because one days activity looks like a drunk sailor looking for the next bar.
Best regards,
Tobias