Possible new owner question about GPS

cuban11182 · Thread Author #1 05-13-2009, 09:18 AM

I'm thinking about upgrading my current plan to get a Pearl for my wife and myself. I am looking at the BlackBerry Pearl and want to be able to use 3rd party GPS aps like AmazeGPS. I called Alltel and spoke with a sales rep and he said he thought that the GPS was locked but he admitted he was unsure. I would really hate to purchase a phone and not be able to use the GPS. If thats the case then i will wait until the Iphone comes to Verizon and at least then I know I can hack it.

Thanks for any advice or answers in advance.

arhub · #2 05-13-2009, 09:50 AM

I don't own one so I can't say for sure, but from what I've seen on the forums for other models curve/flip it looks like if you upgrade to the latest OS it is unlocked and can be used with BBmaps, not sure about other mapping programs. Hopefully someone else can clarify.

Knyte · #3 05-13-2009, 04:26 PM

I have Alltel(soon to be big red V) and my Curve 8330-OS 4.5.0.138 and my fiancee's Curve 8330-OS 4.5.0.131 did not have to go thru telenav at all to get our GPS to work.
I was able to unlock GPS by updating the OS. BBmaps will lock in and I have tested Poynt, AmazeGPS, GPSed, and google maps. They all get a GPS signal provided BBMaps locks in first. Google maps is hit and miss but the others have locked in without issue.

YMMV as my experience is with the Curve and not the Pearl.

grandpa dan · #4 05-13-2009, 05:22 PM

The thing there is neither of those are official alltel os's which may deter some people. Some people get paranoid about doing upgrades and such outside the "official" parameters of their carrier.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Knyte · #5 05-13-2009, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandpa dan

The thing there is neither of those are official alltel os's which may deter some people. Some people get paranoid about doing upgrades and such outside the "official" parameters of their carrier.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

If they follow the instructions provided here, it will be a seamless upgrade. No need to throw bad juju around here to scare those off from getting all they can out of their phone. Besides what's wrong with trying to save them the hassle of mucking around with the telenav garbage?

Motorcycle Mama · #6 05-13-2009, 06:39 PM

Agreed.

Since ALL the OS versions are created by RIM, there's no reason that anyone should be leery about installing an OS version that was released for the device through another carrier.

None whatsoever.

People should know and understand that the OS versions are not created nor modified by the carriers. The only thing the carrier does is to test to make sure that the OS works with their network before they release it. They add the vendor.xml file to the package but they do not (and canNOT) modify the actual OS in any way.

grandpa dan · #7 05-13-2009, 06:55 PM

I was neither throwing around bad "juju" or trying to deter anyone. Just a simple statement that some people are not comfortable altering or installing a non alltel os.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Knyte · #8 05-13-2009, 08:02 PM

It's OS belongs to RIM not Alltel. Alltel only adds one file called a vendor.xml. They don't alter the OS in any way.

grandpa dan · #9 05-13-2009, 08:18 PM

I understand that. I'm just trying to point out that some people are not comfortable messing with non "official" os's or other software. I realize it is an official rim os but .131 and .138 were not released by alltel which may make some people uncomfortable.
I have seen people on these forums make statements alluding to this. I never said your fix was wrong or wouldn't work.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com