[Biker9999]

I am considering buying a playbook but I also need a good sat nav. Is the playbook a good substitute for a dedicated sat nav. I see that magellan is recommended but can I get full UK and Europe maps with voice guidance are others available like Tom Tom. I am happy to pay for a good system. Also is there a hands free Bluetooth available to link into the car speakers/radio so I dont have to wear a headset

[aazidane]

The gps in the playbook is medioce at best.

[mud314]

So far I've had the GPS "working" on my PB for maybe a min. I've read from others that the first time you have to be like out in the open, no trees, no buildings, nothing to first acquire the signal and that afterwards it will work just fine. I tried this and I can tell you the GPS on it sucks. There is a compass app in the App World that is recommended that you use in order to get a sat fix, the reason for that is because the Compass app keeps trying and trying until it gets a fix, while the Bing Maps will stop after say a min or two and you need that app to keep trying to gain the fix. It worked for me that one time by going that route but so far have not been able to get it to work. I will say that even after it gained the fix it was still not pointing in the right direction at all. Rumor has it that it is only a software glitch not a hardware glitch. I don't know.

Good luck on your decision.

[rudecat]

I have a rooted Playbook (Dingleberry) running on the OS 2.0.0.6149 beta system. I installed the Wisepilot navigation app from the Android Marketplace and it works great. It will require you doing some work to make this happen but hey, if I did it.... anyone can! I use Wisepilot on my Bold 9900 and it's a good app. Don't let anyone tell you that the Playbooks GPS isn't good. It works just fine.

[BuzzStarField]

Don't let anyone tell you that the Playbooks GPS isn't good. It works just fine.

I agree with this statement. The apps themselves seem to be the variable. The chip itself functions really well and no one has complained about the GPS implementation in What's up.

[diegonei]

So, what apps are good and what are bad?

[rudecat]

For GPS use: Magellan Compass is good. Poynt is great. Bing Maps works well for a basic map program. Google Maps............doesn't work for me at all.

[peter9477]

I've personally experimented on five different PlayBooks to date, with all of them having perfectly functional and effective GPS. None were from the same batch (or, if any two were, it's an incredible coincidence as all came from different vendors at different times).

Also, every app I've used was able to get an accurate reading, the same reading, and (at least after I'd "primed" things by making sure I'd used it recently and had up-to-date ephemeris data for the satellites), without significant delay. That includes Magellan Compass, the simple free Compass app, my own experimental apps, Bing, some generic Google maps apps, Whats Up, Poynt and several others I don't remember.

The only two issues I've had were:

1. The problem where, after trying to run multiple apps simultaneously that used the GPS, the GPS service would stop responding but would continue to run. This is a known issue that will be fixed in a future release. Symptoms include increased standby power consumption, and you have to restart the PlayBook to fix it.

2. On my original PlayBook, the GPS readings will sometimes fluctuate wildly when I have WiFi enabled at the same time, generally whenever it is scanning. This is also apparently a known issue, though I question whether it's purely software as none of the other four I've tried have the problem, at least not to a noticeable degree.

The PlayBook's GPS is usually perfectly good, as long as you don't expect it to include "Assisted GPS" (A-GPS) with extra data fed from the cellular network to ensure it always has up-to-date ephemeris data for the satellites (thus reducing the initial time to get a reading).

To the OP: consider waiting until February when the 2.0 release is out. It should fix these issues, add proper Bluetooth support, and even if RIM hasn't produced a mapping solution by then, third-party vendors should be on the way to doing so. If this is your sole use for the thing, however, hold off until you've confirmed there really is an adequate app out there for you. Most of the current ones in that area are poor at best, and so far the good ones all require a data connection as you're moving.

[Biker9999]

Peter 9477 Thanks that's very useful. I am hesitating over the playbook and I think the lack of a good sat Nav facillity just about kills it off for me, it would not be the sole use but a good reason to justify the purchase. I want it for business use and am not really interested in lots of aps. Also my phone contract is up in May/June and with no new phones available for another 6 months the playbook would tie me to Blackberry with the prospect of holding on to my current phone or taking on for another 2 years existing dated technology. I suppose that is the dilemma many will face. Samsung/Android is looking a better bet unless the new release is ontime and transforms things.

[anon(1173270)]

I have a 9780 from 3 in the UK, so unlimited data and 3 do not charge you for tethering.

amazon.co.uk now has the 64gb Playbook for �304 in the 'more buying options' section.

I use Wisepilot on my 9780 and like it. If I can get that onto a Playbook with its 7" screen then I'd be very happy.

Brodit do a decent car mount, even though a bit rare as some sites have discontinued it.

Overall, I am taking the plunge, as using it for satnav + all its other tricks and with the Feb 2.0 updates I think I'll be onto a winner.

[GTRGTR]

Intrigued by this, as bulding an Ultima GTR kit car, so would be great to incorporate a Playbook screen in the dash if it can deliver a Satnav function

[diegonei]

I'll ask again... What apps are working properly?

[gl1000rider]

Hi, I would like to use my PB as a satnav but how do I use the apps when I have no wifi connection? I may be missing something! but, if I am not connected to the internet, I cannot load Bing maps or any other maps it just says no network connection. Can you only use it as a satnav when it is tethered by Blackberry Bridge? Thanks. Still learning.

[cogsinister]

The gps in the playbook is medioce at best.

My GPS works fine, it pinpoints my position very well, given a good view of the sky,some people are so clueless they try to use it indoors and then say its "mediocre".

[dbovine]

I too am looking for a good app, Even just a decent or mediocre one that will work without a data connection. Im holding off rooting my new playbook so Im looking for a less intrusive option., I think the OP is looking for something similar.

[jjrimfan]

I believe, like many other posters here, that the GPS chip in the PlayBook works just fine, and it's the apps that screw things up. Considering its size, it is a bit of a marvel.

I have tried Magellan many times in my car at 100-110 km/h, with the PB tethered to my Torch, to make sure I had no shortage of map data coming in. The app keeps up with the car very well given that GPS can only refresh a position every second or so.

It likewise works very well at walking speed.

I have contacted Navionics to see if their Android app will be ported to PB. They were not planning to do a native PB app, when I e-mailed last summer. So hopefully they do put it through App World. There has been no official word on this, that I have seen. If anyone knows differently, please pipe up.

One lives in hope!!

Happy Sailing

[FF22]

Hi, I would like to use my PB as a satnav but how do I use the apps when I have no wifi connection? I may be missing something! but, if I am not connected to the internet, I cannot load Bing maps or any other maps it just says no network connection. Can you only use it as a satnav when it is tethered by Blackberry Bridge? Thanks. Still learning.

That is a definite limitation to the pb (and other devices). It appears that Magellan may be offering an update that will allow offline maps but like everything else hardware/software, don't count on it until it is released and works. I saw you were in the discussion about trekbuddy. I did follow that app a few years back for my bb phone but did not keep up with changes. It is not necessarily the easiest to compile the maps/atlases, etc. There is some suggestion that a few android apps under the beta are or can work. So maybe next month things will improve. MAYBE.

[gl1000rider]

Hi, Thanks for your reply, I have been looking for an offline road atlas for my PB so that I can take it with me instead of a paper atlas but I am new to the use of a tablet device. Although some people on the other thread seem to think I was trying to take the easy way out I had actually spend a lot of time trying to work it out for myself, without success. I did eventually find out how to use trekbuddy but it still requires you to be connected to the internet, I can only connect wifi. It is nice to get a sensible reply to my question and not a smart unhelpful one, thank you again. I think I will have to scan the maps into my PC and then transfer them to my PB. I was hoping that they would also add Skype to the PB at some time, saving me the necessity of carrying my netbook for making video calls, but hopefully this new Rim CEO will listen to the Blackberry users, I will not hold my breath. Regards, CG.

[gailsher]

There are a number of apps you will be able to use that run very well under OS2 in Android that use offline maps. If you have the OS2 beta installed, you can already try them. Try MapDroyd, for instance. One of my favorites in Locus Pro.

gail

[jtegen]

Version 3 of Magellan Compass (due out in a couple of months) will provide the user the ability to download map data while connected to the Internet. Once the map data is on the device, it will first use that before trying to obtain it from the network, so it provides off-line maps. It is not 100% without data connection, but it does scale with the room available on a device.

[jimbo169527]

I just downloaded Google Maps to my Playbook from the Good E Reader app store (google good e reader and pick the Playbook Android App Store). The whole process took me less than 30 minutes including reading the instructions. You need to put the PlayBook in developer mode to load the app, but once loaded you can go back to "normal mode" and everything continues to work. In the United Kingdom (and I assume elsewhere in the world) Google Maps includes turn by turn navigation with spoken instructions and a very clear map. It does need a data connection to work, but it works through the Blackberry Bridge data connection from my Bold 9900. I have been out for 2 test drives to see how it works. It is really really good. The directions are clear and acurate, when I deliberately went a different way to the directions it quickly recalculated an alternate route for me. A nice touch is that it shows a Google street view picture of your destination when you arrive. I have now ordered a Playbook windscreen mount from Crackberry (the postage charge to the UK is a little on the high side but I could not find a local source) to make my playbook into the perfect Sat Nav system! Whilst I was loading Google Maps I was also able to load a few other Android Apps that are unfortunately missing from the Blackberry App store - I loaded Kindle, Amazon's MP3 store, Sky+ remote record (of interest to UK readers only) and eBay.