Support for internal GPS in new Windows 8 devices??

[Inertiaman]

I'm considering the purchase of a Toshiba Encore for a variety of reasons.  This is a Win8.1 tablet with an 8 inch touchscreen.  There are similar products from other vendors (notably the Venue 8 Pro from Dell) but one of the unique features of the Toshiba is an integrated GPS sensor.  This gives an opportunity for a standalone GPS tablet running Topofusion which can fit in a Camelback. This could be very handy in the field.  I imagine taking this with me on MTB recon rides, after pre-downloading the aerial and topo maps for the area. 

So my question . . . will Topofusion's Live Tracking feature be able to "connect" to the GPS data on the Toshiba Encore?  I assume that the GPS format/protocol in the Toshiba is a standard Windows location API.  I don't see that as an option for the GPS type in the Live Tracking configuration screen in Topofusion.

[ScottMorris]

If there's a way to get the internal GPS to output a NMEA stream (faked on a serial COM) port, then TF's live tracking will work.  I would hazard a guess that there is.  Otherwise, there's no direct support for the windows location API.  I would sure consider adding it if it's not too involved.

[Inertiaman]

Hey Scott,

Thanks for replying.  I think either approach is feasible.  One creates more work for users (fiddling w/ shim SW to fake the NMEA on COMS) and the other creates more work for you (native support for Windows Sensor API).

Here's a thread that should efficiently get you some useful context:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsdesktop/en-US/c83dd941-0e03-448c-a438-33c573a6a22d/windows-8-virtual-com-port-support?forum=wdk

I have some anecdotal exposure to dev engineers that worked w/ the sensor API w/ no prior experience and they found it reasonably easy to deal with.  But as I said, that's anecdotal and I can't offer their help since I don't work w/ them anymore.  FYI.

[WapitiBob]

Did this get added? I'm thinking of a tablet to replace my GPS.

[ScottMorris]

NMEA should still work.  But I haven't had time to look at the new API, so there is no direct support.