I know the PlayBook has GPS...but does it require a data connection or can it be used like TomTom or Navigon on iPhone?
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I know the PlayBook has GPS...but does it require a data connection or can it be used like TomTom or Navigon on iPhone?
That depends on the app. Bing Maps needs data. There are a some offline maps in BlackBerry World. Those don't need data AFAIK.
And it's a GPS, not a-GPS like on phones, so if it can't get a good look at the sky for the satelite, it won't find you (as for phone's a-GPS, they can bost the location awareness by cell tower triangulation).
As long as it functions like a "Stand-alone" GPS like people have in the car, thats what i want, even if it takes 2GB of space on the device......
It's a major shame no decent satnav app was wrote for the PlayBook. Mireo was going to have their app on the PlayBook if it got BB10 but let's not go there!
The PlayBook would make a pretty good satnav I'd imagine and at least it would have found a useful purpose for the many PlayBooks that are just lying around now.
Posted via CB10 & my Z10
There are a few apps available for the PB that have voice guided, turn by turn offline navigation. Osmand, and maybe its offshoot Nogago, also allow for offline route calculation and recalculation. I'm not sure whether any other apps available have this feature.
Another good reason why our PlayBook really need an update regardless it is BB10 or OS2.5... as long as it is capable of running apps written in BB10 platform... and improve basic functionalities...
Posted via Z10
Yes it can be used as a satnav. However there are problems that you need to overcome.
As programmes take power from the battery you need to keep it charged. A normal usb cable will not suffice. A cable that allows the Playbook to charge whilst connected to the lighter is needed at above 1.8A.
There are only, in my opinion, two programmes. Both are relatively cheap but need the maps downloaded to their relative folders. Osmand is the free version of Osmand+. Using the full version allows all the maps of any country to be installed. The problem with Osmand is that the designers have not included a time out use. The Playbook needs to be 'swiped' every 5 minutes or the screen goes blank. A real pain if you are driving.
Magellan Compass. Many members rave about it, but I never got it to work off line. You have to download the map to levels. Street level takes so much time. I travel Europe in a Motorhome and the time required was 1,000 hours +. I had the free data download but not the time. Magellan did have the time out sorted. But after I had travelled 1 mile the coverage stopped as it left the wifi area.
I prefer Osmand, but have stopped using it due to the time out problem.
The first time I used the SatNav is took nearly 30 minutes to come on. After that it took about 1 minute initial startup and 5 seconds from the swipe.
I purchased a Nexus. Charge is by the normal usb and there were many free and cheap Satnav programmes.
Hope this helps. Wish you well.
Regards
Ross
One challenge with the playbook GPS is the difficulty on making the GPS lock. Unlike other conventional GPS, you need clear skies and an open area to get a decent lock. And it also takes ages to get a lock.
This seems to be one of those areas in which not all Playbooks are created equal.. Some report little difficulty in getting a lock under most conditions and locations, while others report the opposite. I, for one, generally have little difficulty getting my GPS to lock on.
An update to the Android runtime would open up some decent navigation apps for the PlayBook. Ah... if only!
Posted via CB10 & my Z10
I use Nogago. Before I want to use it, I leave it in the garden for 30 minutes to download the latest satellite data. I also download the maps I require. All free.It is useful if I am going anywhere where I have not purchased walking maps - Spain, Greece etc. as the open source maps usually have footpaths on. Screen sometimes shows a black tile, not sure why and clears itself after few minutes. Nogago did try to to help but did not answer my last email.
My preference if I have the maps is to use my Satmap for walking which is in another class although when they are working, the maps on the Playbook screen in Nogago are impressive.
For driving I would never use my Playbook. I just can't see it working. Many years ago I had a Dell Windows PDA with gps accessory. That worked far better than the Playbook as a Satnav but it was not 100% reliable. Since then I have had two cheap Garmin Sat Navs with European mapping, the nuvi 250W does a fantastic job and even the Iphone is nowhere near as good.
It won't - it isn't really designed to be a stand-alone GPS device - hardware or software.
Some apps will allow you to cache maps for your planned route... but I haven't seen one that works like a stand-alone GPS that will download and entire area. And the ones I have used had "limits" on how much could be cached. I would "play" with it at home and see how it works...
Well, I got a PlayBook on Saturday for $75....its a 16GB but still enough to play with.....I downloaded Magellan Compass and it took it like 5 minutes to get GPS lock...the program was also a bit on the complicated side to use.....and even when I did get a GPS lock, it jumped all around the map when I tried it. I got the free version of Osmand and its limited to 10 downloads, so I just downloaded the state I am in and some surrounding states since I don't travel hardly at all (with two people driving my car including myself, only about 1200 have been driven since Feb)....so I am gonna test the GPS in a few hours when I do some running around in town........
EDIT: Osmand isn't finding me.....GRRRR
You might also look into Nogago in appworld.
The gps does not get help from a cell phone and cell towers. If the gps is not used for a while or has been moved hundreds of miles it can take longer to pick up satellites. The pb and gps needs a clear view of the sky and you hand, if holding it, can block signals (don't recall which corner the antenna is in???)