[urbnimports]

Anyone else have an issue that when you open bing maps the gps is not even remotely close? Google maps works perfect....no idea why.

[pmachado]

There are several threads about gps (bing maps) in specific in which people have asked the same question or had similar problems. Are you trying to find your location while inside a house/building or out in the open with clear views of the sky?

One thing I did notice is that with 2.0 it seems to find my location much faster and more accurately even inside of my house in the basement. Both for Bing maps and Google.

[RoboticGolem]

The gps on the playbook takes some time and is more sensitive because it doesnt have agps (lack of cell signal).

Google has mapped most ip addresses and internet service providers (mobile included) and will use that to assist in its gps. (kind of a hybrid system)

[amro]

i just have an issue with the fact bing maps is on my playbook. i'd much rather be using google maps.

bing sucks. except chandler bing. he was funny. kind of.

i simply don't want to be tied to a service i don't want. i refuse to use bing as a search engine. i don't want to use the maps.

[Fuzzballz]

I know, the Blackberry/Bing partnership is awful.

[dugggggg]

Bing Maps may prefer to use WiFi geolocation because it's faster than waiting for the internal GPS to acquire the requisite satellites. On the other hand, GPS should be preferred over bridge geolocation due to bridge's inherent inaccuracy. So see if it works differently wifi vs bridge.

[Cracklen]

"...is that with 2.0 it seems to find my location much faster and more accurately even inside of my house in the basement. .."

Ahhh you all maybe more informed/faster than myself runnning thru the PB app db . . . . can the PB (2.0) be used in geocaching ?

thanks

[dugggggg]

Can the PB (2.0) be used in geocaching ?

Sure. Bring up Bing Maps and enter the cache's coordinates in the Search Location box, eg "32.9254,-114.5037". Set the view to "aerial" to see its exact location in satellite imagery. Get you and your bridged PB pretty close, then pinch-zoom way in and use nearby natural landmarks to take you right to it.

[Willard814]

That is the stupidest app! I can only get accurate info with an internet connection. As soon as I pull out of my driveway the wifi drops and the program gets all squirrely. With margins of up to 20 miles off location target. What's surprising is that Bing Map on the PC is pretty nice.

[Willard814]

Bing Maps may prefer to use WiFi geolocation because it's faster than waiting for the internal GPS to acquire the requisite satellites. On the other hand, GPS should be preferred over bridge geolocation due to bridge's inherent inaccuracy. So see if it works differently wifi vs bridge.

Why is bridge inaccurate? Does is use the phone GPS or the PB? I know that the BB traffic program is very accurate, although I wonder if it use cell tower triangulation or true GPS satellite.

[alnamvet68]

The Bing map app is not too bad, pretty decent accuracy. I'm in a coffee shop in Langley just a few hundred yards from The Farm, and Bing Maps has my location as lat: 35.1333, long: 69.2500. Pretty good, wouldn't you say?

[Willard814]

The Bing map app is not too bad, pretty decent accuracy. I'm in a coffee shop in Langley just a few hundred yards from The Farm, and Bing Maps has my location as lat: 35.1333, long: 69.2500. Pretty good, wouldn't you say?

Your Location?
Jabal os Saraj north of Kabul Afghanistan
Asian Highway 76
Afghanistan 1.6 km

Wow!

[dugggggg]

Why is bridge inaccurate? Does is use the phone GPS or the PB? I know that the BB traffic program is very accurate, although I wonder if it use cell tower triangulation or true GPS satellite.

Bridge geolocation would be inaccurate because it would only use the nearest cell tower's location. Tower triangulation software is not something that is generally available on portable consumer devices. Even if it were, it would not be nearly as accurate as a GPS fix. That's why all cell phones have a GPS chip.

If BB Traffic shows your actual location on the road, it's using the GPS.

[PatrickMJS]

Just now, I used my PlayBook and timed bing maps and "map search for google" and they both took less than 2 minutes to find my exact location. FYI: I am sitting in my living room beside a big window that is facing north.

[PatrickMJS]

... and yes I'm covered by my home wifi. But a few days ago, I was walking in the city, a long way from any wifi, by my pb was bridged to my 9800 with 3g coverage. Bing maps picked up my exact location in NW Calgary and I was able to use the pinch to zoom feature with the aerial view to really help get my bearings and figure out where to go next.

[urbnimports]

so i see there are a few misconceptions right out of the box...the playbook does have AGPS and doesn't require triangular location in order for it to work. It does need data to download an image of the map but the GPS works without data as well. There was an interview with a guy from RIM on gizmodo and he answered that question.

Secondly after a reboot it worked fine...not sure what the issue was but all other applications found me in under 2 seconds and were very accurate and yes i was outdoors with a clear view of the sky.