[Bakamushi]

UNLESS the device has a cellular radio (basically a cell phone or 3g or equivalent), it canNOT have a-gps. A REAL gps (not any cell phone type) only gets its signals from satellites way up in the sky! Those signals are weak. Even wet trees can block those signals. Newer REAL gps units can sometimes get signals in less ideal situations but they can only do so much.

Inside acquisition of signals is just hard. But I agree getting them inside, in advance of leaving the house, is very handy and warming. I do tend to fire up BB Traffic on my bb phone while still at home but, again, it is being ASSISTED in those conditions. Sometimes my Tomtom can get signals inside but often it cannot.

No one can fairly compare a cell phone with a-gps with a device that is solely a gps. You can fairly compare one real gps device with another - that is a fair comparison.

Oh yes sure but as a consumer I really don't care. My tiny Nokia 700 is cheaper and has way superior GPS. Even the software is richer and free, on this supposedly outdated OS that is Symbian.

I just tried on My Samsung tab and it located me within 2 seconds indoors.

Congratulations again to the Crackberry "geniuses of geniuses" who made me stay half an hour outdoors on my balcony on a winter night, in order to get satellite connection.

.

[Marty_LK]

Hi Marty, do you have bar file? I want to sideload also!

I certainly do. Here ya go: Blackberry Playbook Travel and Leisure Apps | Good e-Reader Android APP Store - Playbook App Market

[dugggggg]

dugggggg, do you have any way we could prove that claim? I'm not aware of any API which is available to us as developers which would let us supply downloaded ephemeris data that way, and I'm not aware of anything that says the system will do that itself. I've never observed any behavior which suggests this actually occurs with those apps or any other, for that matter.

A sophisticated interface is not required. A simple internet socket can get the data, which can then be written to one of the GPS's /dev files, or poked directly into the GPS chip's RAM.

Regarding observed behavior, I use BlackBerry Bridge 99.9% of the time and traveled widely last summer. When OS 2.0 cut off Bing Maps' access via Bridge, MapApp was no longer able to get a prompt fix----I gave up after several frustrating minutes. The PB's GPS was effectively dead to me. But with 2.1 restoring Bridge access to Bing Maps, MapApp once again works well.

[RubberChicken76]

I comparison the PB looks so nineties...

I find comments like this so silly. Remember what phones and tablets actually looked and functioned like in the 1990s?

[Thunderbuck]

Interesting. I live in the far north of Canada, where GPS can start getting spotty. I just launched the Bing maps app in my office (ground floor of a 3 story concrete/steel building) and got a fix on my position immediately.

Of course, the crappy app then locked up my PB and I needed a restart, but the GPS worked beautifully.

[jpash549]

So then your recommendation is for him to dump his Playbook and buy a Nexus 7? How constructive...

RCK

Not so - READ more carefully. Simply stating a fact. Actually I was marveling at the way Google maps works. I don't have Google maps on my 64GB Playbook so I can not compare how the two tablets work with it. Since the Nexus7 is a Google device it could have an advantage for this particular use.

[Marty_LK]

Not so - READ more carefully. Simply stating a fact. Actually I was marveling at the way Google maps works. I don't have Google maps on my 64GB Playbook so I can not compare how the two tablets work with it. Since the Nexus7 is a Google device it could have an advantage for this particular use.

I have GM on my PB. I was astonished how fast it locked-in my route under a test. I have the flagship Android phone, a Samsung Galaxy S3, that isn't even as fast as my PB for gaining a lock. And when I tested it, I was inside a house where my Android phones generally have a hard time getting a lock.

[mikeo007]

I have GM on my PB. I was astonished how fast it locked-in my route under a test. I have the flagship Android phone, a Samsung Galaxy S3, that isn't even as fast as my PB for gaining a lock. And when I tested it, I was inside a house where my Android phones generally have a hard time getting a lock.

Seems like luck or perfectly staged (maybe by accident) conditions. From a cold start, an aGPS should always obtain a lock faster than non-assisted.

[hreiner1]

I use Magellan Compass Pro 2.3.0
works great
it uses google map

cost is a few $$

[Marty_LK]

Seems like luck or perfectly staged (maybe by accident) conditions. From a cold start, an aGPS should always obtain a lock faster than non-assisted.

I don't think it's luck. I just gave it another try. I booted the nav function of GM, it took a few seconds to get a location - its current location - and then tapped my destination. In about 3 seconds it was talking to me; giving me voice direction. Sadly, though, as I left it alone to type this, it lost GPS signal and hasn't recovered it.

I just hope RIM makes the most convenient nav function for BB10 devices, whatever technology that happens to be. When I drove a thousand miles from home in an emergency to retrieve my brother because of a medical emergency, I used my Galaxy S3 for navigation and it performed flawlessly and perfectly reliably. It performed so well that it impressed my brother, who is a long-haul trucker and uses the best, dedicated sat systems.

Let RIM make a nav system that is convenient and reliable, no matter the tech behind it.

[mikeo007]

I don't think it's luck. I just gave it another try. I booted the nav function of GM, it took a few seconds to get a location - its current location - and then tapped my destination. In about 3 seconds it was talking to me; giving me voice direction. Sadly, though, as I left it alone to type this, it lost GPS signal and hasn't recovered it.

I just hope RIM makes the most convenient nav function for BB10 devices, whatever technology that happens to be. When I drove a thousand miles from home in an emergency to retrieve my brother because of a medical emergency, I used my Galaxy S3 for navigation and it performed flawlessly and perfectly reliably. It performed so well that it impressed my brother, who is a long-haul trucker and uses the best, dedicated sat systems.

Let RIM make a nav system that is convenient and reliable, no matter the tech behind it.

It was luck, or perfect circumstances, as I said.
The GPS is technologically inferior to an aGPS, so the only other option if you don't believe in luck is the circumstances surrounding the test. Glad your GPS works great though.

[Marty_LK]

It was luck, or perfect circumstances, as I said.
The GPS is technologically inferior to an aGPS, so the only other option if you don't believe in luck is the circumstances surrounding the test. Glad your GPS works great though.

Hmmm...I would have figured aGPS would be inferior to an actual full-fledged GPS chip. Technically it may be, but in usage I can see aGPS being better since it would tend to be more reliable at maintaining navigational direction because of being able to supplement any under-performance of the device-to-Satelite signal with a data stream. And from my understanding, GPS chips in systems using aGPS are weaker and inferior to a dedicated, stand-alone GPS chip like those used in professional navigation devices.

[mikeo007]

Hmmm...I would have figured aGPS would be inferior to an actual full-fledged GPS chip. Technically it may be, but in usage I can see aGPS being better since it would tend to be more reliable at maintaining navigational direction because of being able to supplement any under-performance of the device-to-Satelite signal with a data stream. And from my understanding, GPS chips in systems using aGPS are weaker and inferior to a dedicated, stand-alone GPS chip like those used in professional navigation devices.

There's no difference in the GPS chip. How could aGPS be inferior? It's exactly the same as a normal GPS, except with the added benefit of being able to triangulate your position using cell towers. It's not any more accurate once it's locked, but it is able to lock on faster.

[Marty_LK]

There's no difference in the GPS chip. How could aGPS be inferior? It's exactly the same as a normal GPS, except with the added benefit of being able to triangulate your position using cell towers. It's not any more accurate once it's locked, but it is able to lock on faster.

Not all GPS chips are equal. Manufacturers may tend to install cheaper and weaker chips to cut pennies from costs when aGPS is used.

[mud314]

Guys, I will admit I don't understand the way GPS works at all, I just know it works. Kinda like the light in the fridge, how does that guy not freeze to death? Anyways....
When BB10 comes out, is it possible that it will actually make the GPS work the way it is supposed to? Or is this more on the hardware related side of things? Thanks.

[Marty_LK]

Guys, I will admit I don't understand the way GPS works at all, I just know it works. Kinda like the light in the fridge, how does that guy not freeze to death? Anyways....
When BB10 comes out, is it possible that it will actually make the GPS work the way it is supposed to? Or is this more on the hardware related side of things? Thanks.

In the case of the Playbook, I think all it needs is better software and a really good maps application to perform stellarly. The PB might well have superior GPS capabilities since it has such high-end and superior hardware through and through. I certainly am hoping RIM makes the maps and navigation function of BB10 a high quality and very reliable function so that when the PB gets BB10 it will make a sweet, dash-mounted nav device - with that huge 7" display and all...hehe.

[mikeo007]

Not all GPS chips are equal. Manufacturers may tend to install cheaper and weaker chips to cut pennies from costs when aGPS is used.

Unless you have any evidence to back this up, I believe you're talking out of your behind.

Actually, no. You're right, the playbook has the best gps in existence. I'm sick of ridiculous arguments with people grasping at the tiniest straws.

[Tha.Housewife]

yup, bust the os software doesn't allow acces to the gps features.........yet.....

[Tha.Housewife]

Unless you have any evidence to back this up, I believe you're talking out of your behind.

Actually, no. You're right, the playbook has the best gps in existence. I'm sick of ridiculous arguments with people grasping at the tiniest straws.

same issue with usb otg, not yet enabled by rim...but the plumbing is all there...

[thecsman]

I use Magellan Compass Pro 2.3.0
works great
it uses google map

cost is a few $$

Magellan doesn't use Google Maps anymore because you are not allowed to have offline maps with it. It now uses another service, I believe it's called OpenMaps, and it let's you store maps offline so you can travel without needing a network connection.

[pacoman03]

Unless you have any evidence to back this up, I believe you're talking out of your behind.

.

Activity Workshop - GPS receiver sensitivity

[mikeo007]

Activity Workshop - GPS receiver sensitivity

What is this supposed to show, exactly?

[pacoman03]

What is this supposed to show, exactly?

That not all GPS receivers have the same sensitivity. So, the balls in your court to prove otherwise.

[mikeo007]

That not all GPS receivers have the same sensitivity. So, the balls in your court to prove otherwise.

Lol I see. You think I was disputing the fact that newer GPS hardware is better than older GPS hardware? That's cute...someone would have to be pretty dense to think that all GPS are created equal, no? I was disputing this part "Manufacturers may tend to install cheaper and weaker chips to cut pennies from costs when aGPS is used."

Swing and a miss slugger, but thanks for coming out to play.

[goodbery]

Nokia maps are the best. I wish that RIM would have used their maps. I have a Nokia phone that I use as a stand alone gps and it does not require a data plan.