[TopherT]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of moving up in the world by ditching my Pebl for a BlackBerry. I've only owned cell phones that have been GPSless so I'm a little confused about the whole concept of GPS and its compatibility.

I'm planning on purchasing an unlocked BlackBerry, I'm already on Orange (pay as you go) so I was wondering if the GPS would work out of the box, using my Orange sim card.

Thanks for your help.

[Desmo]

GPS works totally independently from whichever provider you are with

All you need is some software to make use of the GPS. Most people use TomTom for navigation but if you want some free software to play with, Google Maps for mobiles is pretty cool although this will need a data connection to download the actual maps as it goes.

[TopherT]

Cool. So all you have to do is download the free software and I'll be good to go?

I'm glad that the GPS is independent from the service provider, if it wasn't then I would be screwed. lol

I'll be back when I have the BlackBerry and I have to get step-by-step details on how to download it and install it.

[b830ag2]

Hi all,

I'm am about to get a new mobile, the N82 black, and this will be my first with GPS capability.

However, I am currently trying to assess what SIM to get, on what network and whether to go PAYG or Pay Monthly.

The decision seems to rest on how much data the GPS uses. In order to work this out, can anyone out there give me a beginners guide to data usage on GPS please? i,e.

1) How much does it use to fix position/connect?
2) How much to download maps?
3) Is it constantly connected to GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA?
4) Anything else I should know about?

I would only actually be using it every now and then, but need to know the above to make some kind of judgement as to which SIM to go for, and potentially which data bolt-on.

Thanks in advance.
Andy.

[Desmo]

GPS itself doesn't use data at all. Only thing that might use data is if you have the facility to download satelite positions for a faster fix but that's only uses a few KB and isn't a necessity anyway.

As for maps, depends on what software you're using. TomTom would have maps already on the phone so you don't download anything. Google Maps downloads as you go but no idea how much data that would be although I'd guess quite a bit is you wanted to use it for an entire journey. I don't know much about the Nokia Maps that I'd assume comes with the phone in some way so can't advise there.

[chrism_scotland]

GPS is pretty good on most handsets, its just that many are limited by what mapping systems they can use, Blackberries are good as they can support a range of mapping systems the main killer on mobiles is downloading maps, it eats up data.

[chromosome17]

Never found that mobile phone GPS was any good, use google maps on a none gps phone.

[Desmo]

The GPS on my Diamond is as good as any I've ever used and locks faster than anything I've used before. That includes two external GPS units and a few TomTom units.