Maybe this is old news but the search isn't working for me (why I don't know) and I don't see any threads about it.
The long awaited bug-fix for Google Maps is out! Google Maps 3.2 is available for download and will use the internal GPS on the 8330m. So if you have Sprint or another carrier that doesn't lock the GPS (like verizon does), you can now use Google Maps for GPS navigation without using an external bluetooth GPS or the inaccurate radio triangulation. It works great and I've been using it for several days now.
The only thing I don't like is that it it appears to only use the GPS location when you actually the google maps application open. If you have it running in the background, it switches back to radio triangulation. As soon as you bring GM to the foreground, it immediately switches to GPS location. I would rather it use GPS 24/7 even if I don't have the screen open but this is better than nothing.
Total newbie here. I download 3.2.0 today and still have tower trianguation only. No GPS -- which works fine with other apps . Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I totally deleted the old version first then installed the new version. It worked perfectly right away. Obviously if your in the middle of a building it isn't going to work. But if you can get a GPS lock, it should work.
had it hated it , gps puts me like 3 miles away from my location literally 3400 meters upon start up and it never gets closer to me!!
Thats not the GPS location then. If you have a big blue circle, it is using cell site triangulation, not GPS. When it has a GPS lock, you will see only a blue dot for your location, no blue circle.
Verizon BB's will not use the phone's GPS for Google Maps. Its a verizon lockout because they're jerks and want money. Other carriers do not lock their GPS receivers and allow them for use in third party apps. The 8330m model had a conflict with Google Maps that prevented it from using the GPS even if you were on a carrier that doesn't suck. The new version of Google Maps fixes that bug.
USCellular does not block the GPS like Verizon, but their customers have had a lot of problems getting it to work. My theory is that they have problems transmitting the ground data needed for assisted GPS. Unfortunately I don't know any easy solution.
It shouldn't need network connectivity for the GPS to work. If i look at my GPS with an engineering data app (I forget what its called), it shows unassisted gps all the time. And I can use the GPS for non-mapping application with no network service just fine. So the GPS in the curve should be working fine regardless of network issues.
Though remember, without network connectivity (or with crappy connectivity), you won't have any map. The map is data and without data service, your GPS has no map to display itself on.
All your points are correct. If it is in autonomous GPS mode, it should work without a phone signal, just without maps.
Using BBMaps with OS 4.5 on my Verizon 8830, the GPS would work as long as I had a phone signal. If I turned off the radio, the GPS would instantly lose lock. If I turned the radio back on, the GPS would regain lock. That was clearly assisted GPS. The GPS in my Verizon Tour will work with or without the radio being on. It works in autonomous mode.
works on my sprint 8330m, running latest OS - accurate to within 10 meters
definitely a HUGE change from using the triangulation, which had me at 1000 meters
playing around with the layers - still trying to find a use for it.
Does verizon allow GPS and google map to coexist with newer BBs like the tour?
Yes. Google Maps can use the internal GPS in a Verizon Tour. I haven't found any apps that won't work with the internal GPS, but there are some that detect a Verizon BlackBerry and won't install. Hopefully that will change.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
With the new Google Maps, my GPS location is off by several hundred feet. Didn't have this problem before with the older Google Maps. Not a huge deal though
