I downloaded Magellan Compass (Trial) and can not get my GPS on my PB to work.
It's searching forever. Also to location pointer (circle O with the plus + sign in it) is grayed out.
The GPS on my Torch works just fine and is activated.
Can't find anything in the settings of my PB that is GPS related.
It may take a while to get the GPS working. The GPS in the Playbook is unassisted by cellular or network data. With this type of GPS it needs to orient itself in the world by downloading the satellite almanac, which is a database of where and when to look for satellites. This is not downloaded from the internet, but from the satellites and can be quite slow.
Find a spot outside with a clear view to the sky, reboot the Playbook and then start the Compass app and just let it work. Once it gets the almanac and the first fix, the next fixes will be quicker as long as you regularly use your GPS and do not drastically change your geographic location since last using the GPS.
The reboot is necessary, as some GPS apps seem to leave the GPS in an unusable state and needs to be reset.
The PlayBook GPS is more like a GPS used in a navigation device, like one in a car or a boat, not like the ones in a phone. Here are a couple links about GPS.
Others have also mentioned turning off Bluetooth and Wifi, as it may interfere with the signal. It might be worth a try for the initial fix, though you need to use an app that doesn't need internet. There was a free compass app that a lot of people were using in the past.
I think the problem with the GPS not having access to offline apps is a licensing issue. Most of the digital maps are owned by two companies. At this point the licensing fees or just the legal costs or complexity involved is too much for smaller developers.
At least one of the mapping companies is owned by a GPS manufacturer and it is also not in their best interest to make these maps available to competitors.
