1. Wongsky's Avatar
    Nexus 7 doesn't have GPS, does it? AFAIK it only does "assisted GPS" using cell towers to triangulate your position. i.e. No phone coverage, no GPS. As a sailor that doesn't work for me.
    As far as I know, devices with a-GPS still have a GPS chipset and can still get reception from the sats, a-GPS just means it can use info from other, more network sources to help.
    03-08-13 02:59 AM
  2. helopilot06's Avatar
    I love my Playbook without having a BB phone. Granted, I will be getting the Z10 when its available stateside, but so far I have no problem finding functionality with the PB. I use it at work, (Law Enforcement) In my cruiser to help organize my schedule for Overtime, tasks that need to be completed during my shift, while at the same time keeping track of my investments etc. I love it and cant wait to try the bridge function once I can get it.
    wafa510 likes this.
    03-08-13 04:47 AM
  3. rossjackson01's Avatar
    Motor_Mouth

    Both Playbook and Nexus use GPS. No need for wifi/phone triangulation.

    Regards

    Ross
    03-08-13 06:56 AM
  4. d.flex's Avatar
    Samsung Galaxy 2 with Playbook worked fine for tethering/hotspot. However; I have aquired a secondhand BB9780 and an now enjoying full bridge capabilities. I really like the remote mouse feaures, its very handy when hooked up to TV using HDMI.
    03-08-13 08:35 AM
  5. JeepBB's Avatar
    Motor_Mouth

    Both Playbook and Nexus use GPS. No need for wifi/phone triangulation.

    Regards

    Ross
    Yes indeedy!

    Assisted GPS is simply a way of helping the GPS receiver to achieve that vital first fix in situations where you don't have a clear view of the sky - like in the urban canyons that plague most cities, and the consequent multi-path reflections that occur. The phone signals help the GPS establish (roughly) where it is, or provide an accurate time source, so that the GPS chip can solve all those hard sums and tell you exactly where you are.

    At no point is the position being reported derived from phone mast signal triangulation - it's always GPS doing that. Though, for interested readers, triangulation is used that way by the emergency services to work out where you are when you dial 911/999/etc from a mobile phone.

    You won't need that GPS aiding when you're bobbing about on the briney blue with a clear view of the sky above... so the fact that you will be out of phone range is immaterial. So, don't discount the Nexus 7 for that reason.
    03-08-13 01:00 PM
  6. slparry's Avatar
    As a PB "only" newbie, I'm curious how many of you also use the PB as a standalone (i.e. not paired with a bb phone). I ask because so many threads speak mainly to the value of that linkage. So, how many of you are standalone PB (or if you no longer had your bb phone, would you be more likely to jump ship?)
    I had a Nokia N8 with my PB up to last month, it worked well as a tethered device to allow the PB to access the web while out of wifi range
    03-08-13 02:45 PM
  7. muddy211's Avatar
    I love my 64GB PB...The best $150.00 dollars I ever spent at Office Depot. I use it everyday even though I have a Samsung Galaxy S3.
    03-08-13 03:29 PM
  8. Relletti's Avatar
    Had a bb phone last year switched to the iphone. I still use my playbook everyday though and love it.


    Tapatalking
    03-08-13 04:29 PM
  9. 312Lorden's Avatar
    The only reason you would need a BB phone is to pair it with your PB for with-fi connection.
    I use a simple Swedish made cellphone for emergencies only.
    If I wanted to get wi fi I go find a hot spot
    .
    03-08-13 05:06 PM
  10. Motor_Mouth's Avatar
    You won't need that GPS aiding when you're bobbing about on the briney blue with a clear view of the sky above... so the fact that you will be out of phone range is immaterial. So, don't discount the Nexus 7 for that reason.
    Yeah right. When you are "bobbing about" in a major shipping lane you always have plenty of time to break out your sextant. And it's never cloudy in cyclone season.
    03-08-13 07:51 PM
  11. BillyBoy1999's Avatar
    I have a PB but I don't have any phone.
    03-08-13 09:21 PM
  12. 312Lorden's Avatar
    Motor_Mouth

    Both Playbook and Nexus use GPS. No need for wifi/phone triangulation.

    Regards

    Ross
    _______

    Can you clarify on this? You say no need for wi-fi? How can that be? I'm at home and don't have a router, so how do I access the internet with PB?
    03-08-13 10:49 PM
  13. KermEd's Avatar
    No,

    They meant location generation via wifi.

    Your device can be detected in location (like via html5) 3 ways. GPS. Wifi triangulation. And IP isolation.

    I'm sure there's more.

    The only real benefits to having a BB:
    - your pb auto-tethers to your phones internet

    - you get redundant features on your pb (email/bbm/sms)

    - you can remote control your PB from your phone (great for when you connect it to a tv via hdmi and want to control the movies)

    - you can send websites your viewing on your phone to your pb

    via Tapatalk
    03-08-13 11:05 PM
  14. Anjohl's Avatar
    I would never buy a blackberry phone. It's laughable that anyone still uses such obsolete tech in a world filled with superphones. Even more hilarious is the so-called zealots who will switch to the new BB10 phones, which emulates all the things BB diehards claimed were sacrilegious previously. If RIM's only workable wager to survive is emulating the iphone, it's time to pull the damn plug.

    Back to your initial question, I don't see why anyone would tout the virtues of a PB+BB link. Much better is a PB+Any phone with wifi hotspot functionality. There is no reason to limit oneself to the build in tethering, unless your provider limits hotspotting for some inane reason, and you tolerate it.
    03-08-13 11:13 PM
  15. KermEd's Avatar
    *roll eyes*

    Edit to prevent people from misunderstanding the post above: Hotspot is not equal to bridge on any level. Bridge uses almost no battery power on your phone, it is constant and automatic. It is much more forgivable with network issues. And works over a much farther distance than a hotspot.

    via Tapatalk
    JeepBB likes this.
    03-09-13 12:01 AM
  16. rossjackson01's Avatar
    312Lorden

    The original enquiry from Motor_Mouth was with regard to using a satnav programme like Osmand. The programme can use GPS for positioning, so Playbook can be used as a standalone sat nav. However for the loading of programmes and O/S, the Playbook must have wifi contact to the internet. Backup and file transfer is via usb.

    I'm not technical enough to explain the jargon. I've tried to use plain English. Hope this reply helps.

    Regards

    Ross
    03-09-13 02:35 AM
  17. JeepBB's Avatar
    Yeah right. When you are "bobbing about" in a major shipping lane you always have plenty of time to break out your sextant. And it's never cloudy in cyclone season.
    My Granddad actually had a sextant - lovely brass thing - though I suspect it was more for show than anything. He was given it when he was a boy sailor back in the early 1900's.

    I'm not a Nexus 7 salesman. I don't have one, or particularly want one. All I was saying is that the Nexus 7 version of GPS will be no worse (or better) than the Playbook version of GPS in the scenario you stated - even in a cyclone!

    If aiding information is available, the Nexus 7 will fix the position faster; if not, they'll take the same time to determine first fix - as much as 10-15 minutes IIRC a GPS course I did back when I was young and clever.

    Neither device needs to see phone signals in order to do its job and provide an accurate GPS position.
    03-09-13 04:03 AM
  18. Wongsky's Avatar
    I would never buy a blackberry phone. It's laughable that anyone still uses such obsolete tech in a world filled with superphones. Even more hilarious is the so-called zealots who will switch to the new BB10 phones, which emulates all the things BB diehards claimed were sacrilegious previously. If RIM's only workable wager to survive is emulating the iphone, it's time to pull the damn plug.

    Back to your initial question, I don't see why anyone would tout the virtues of a PB+BB link. Much better is a PB+Any phone with wifi hotspot functionality. There is no reason to limit oneself to the build in tethering, unless your provider limits hotspotting for some inane reason, and you tolerate it.
    Such forthright arrogance, my smartphone doesn't natively provide a WiFi hotspot, and add on apps only allow it to create an ad-hoc AP. This is all made a whole deal easier, because the PlayBook natively supports bluetooth tethering. Would that be the case if they weren't providing bridge?
    03-09-13 08:30 AM
  19. james pisano's Avatar
    Intersting thread. I have 9930 and 64GB PB and use the bridge for email when I want bigger screen. Also use the bridge when I want to update my blog as my bold keyboard works incredibly well. I have posted entries of over 1500 words using my bold. I also use the tethered access to internet over my bold as sometimes it seems to work better than wifi hotspot.

    My feeling is the PB stands alone in quality and I could easily see myself using it even if I didn't have a BB phone. I love the screen, form factor, build quality and multi-tasking. However, I can see some complaining about fewer apps, but I've never had that issue.

    Via Blackberry Bold & Tapatalk
    03-09-13 08:52 AM
  20. Revampd's Avatar
    So I'm sitting on my couch surfing the forum, CNN on my TV softly in the background in case another asteroid comes close. A text or an email comes in. My Bold on the coffee table chirps to let me know. A swipe on my Playbook to read and perhaps answer and a swipe to go back to the forums. This to me has always seemed a simple elegance that I really love. I for one will not be upgrading anything until bridge functionality is completely brought to the BB10 platform. Just my two cents.
    FF22 and JeepBB like this.
    03-09-13 08:53 AM
  21. bcubedn's Avatar
    I have had the 32gb PB since launch and used a BB Storm 2 9550 with it for the first 1.5 years with no problems whatsoever. I had a first gen iPad which I sold when I got the PB. When I came to the end of my phone contract, with BB10 still on the horizon and BB not offering a 4G compatible phone, I took the leap to Android with a Motorola Razr MAXX. The BB bridge feature does not work with it, but as a prior responder indicated you can use the phone as a hotspot and link the PB to it through Bluetooth. Works great and offers 4G speeds to the PB! I have not been tempted to try an Android tablet and love my PB for what it is and does.
    03-09-13 09:31 AM
  22. JeepBB's Avatar
    So I'm sitting on my couch surfing the forum, CNN on my TV softly in the background in case another asteroid comes close. A text or an email comes in. My Bold on the coffee table chirps to let me know. A swipe on my Playbook to read and perhaps answer and a swipe to go back to the forums. This to me has always seemed a simple elegance that I really love. I for one will not be upgrading anything until bridge functionality is completely brought to the BB10 platform. Just my two cents.
    You can add my two cents as well.

    I completely agree with you about the BB phone/Playbook "whole being greater than the sum of the parts" and when I had my 9800, I used to operate exactly like you do now. I had another level of that though... if the 9800 LED didn't flash the right colour I'd carry on surfing the web for asteroid reports.

    [red=important email from wife (which I'd get!), green=work (which I'd ignore depending on time of day) , etc. ]

    So I'd actually set those as my two conditions for coming back to a BB10 phone: a fully functional Bridge, and the return of the immensely powerful & configurable BB notifications so I didn't have to pick up the phone to see what I'd just received.

    I've read quite a few posts on the BB10 forums that make me think I'm not alone in wanting "proper BB-style" notifications to make it to BB10. The mantra over there about these omissions seems to be that these things aren't actually missing(!!!), they just haven't been included in BB10 yet... which is too philosophical a point for a simple-minded engineer like me.

    It's a waste of time posing that "tree falling in the forest making no sound when there's nobody to hear it" conundrum to any engineer! LOL
    03-09-13 12:39 PM
  23. Mickrick's Avatar
    I have a curve 9300 as my work phone, HTC desire as my personal phone. The 9300 never even gets turned on as my work has it completely locked down that I can do nothing other than for calls and email. None of my family has a Blackberry phone but 5 of us have PlayBook.
    03-09-13 07:19 PM
  24. jc4957's Avatar
    I had a torch 9860 bridged to my pb and saw almost no value of having such a feature as a casual user. So went with a windows phone and love it!! The good news is i still love the pb too. Hopefully bb refocuses their attention to the pb because the apps are still embarrassingly bad bad bad. Even so, the pb is a great tablet with enormous potential (seems to be the motto for bbrry)
    03-09-13 10:09 PM
  25. StanWiz's Avatar
    My wife hated the pb and gave it to me - my first experience with rim . One year later I purchased a 2nd one . Use it everyday . Will never buy another rim product - am anything but impressed with the company and their attitude towards their clientele , imho they will not be around much longer.
    03-10-13 09:11 AM
84 1234

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 10
    Last Post: 03-05-13, 04:18 PM
  2. CNET Article on a user who switched from iPhone back to blackberry
    By jamezalexander in forum General BlackBerry News, Discussion & Rumors
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 04-16-12, 01:12 AM
  3. Replies: 19
    Last Post: 08-25-11, 11:28 PM
  4. Using your Blackberry phone as a modem for Bmobile users
    By trinivalleyislandgirl in forum General Carrier Discussion
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 06-04-10, 02:52 PM
  5. Users who don't use their BB for any business
    By jmb320 in forum General BlackBerry News, Discussion & Rumors
    Replies: 54
    Last Post: 04-26-10, 12:31 PM
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD