[djali639]

2 questions...
I am going to get the new BB Storm on 12/8/08 and was wondering...
1) does VZ NAVIGATOR come installed w/ this device?
do U have to pay extra for the service or is it included w/ the $29.99 data plan?

2)does Visual Voice Mail come installed w/ this device?
do U have to pay extra for this service or is it included w/ the $29.99 data plan?
THxz

[mantray82]

1.) Yes BB storm comes with VZ navigator installed. And it is an extra 9.99 a month for unlimited serv. for it. (But you can turn on your GPS and use blackberry maps for free.


2.) Visual Voice mail u have to finish installing it on your phone and set it up. And it is 2.99 extra a month.

[djali639]

cool thxz
now does this bb maps feature turn-by-turn directions?
and if so are they voice recognitioned? (does it say "turn left") or is it like mapquest where you have to look at the phone screen and follow the directions set by step???

[delta_foxtrot2]

Is it any wonder there is so many accidents each year blamed on GPS nav, people used to stop and look at maps now they switch their brains off and let a computer tell them where to go

[geekster]

BB Maps does not do turn-by-turn. You would have to use the VZNav service to get that. BBMaps are just GPS aware maps with directions similar to google maps.

[DigtheBerry]

But is the GPS actually enabled /unlocked for verizon users on the storm? without the 9.95 monthly?

I'm Thinking I will upgrade to the Storm in Feb, it would be nice if it worked FOR FREE" as it should be

[sqall12001]

Yes, unlocked.

-Nick

[FF22]

Yes, unlocked.

-Nick

Well, that woud lower the effective price of the Storm by the approximately $9/month or $100/per first year. And possibly also subtract the price of a bluetooth separate gps unit!

[VoltaicShock]

Yes, unlocked.

-Nick

As in you can use AmazeGPS, Google Maps, Window Live, TeleNav?

[sesso]

yes you can

[rlhammon]

Well... new to BB's and certainly new to the Storm.. but help me out here.

1) How do you turn on the GPS then? I can't seem to find a setting anywhere, and when using Google Maps it's using the cell towers, and not GPS.

2) How does one enter their e-mail address on Nav4All? You can only use it in portrait, and no matter what I do (SureType or Multitap) I can't enter the 2nd letter on the key... so typing "gmail" is impossible. All I can get is "gmaul" as no matter what I try to do I get "U" instead of an "I". Very frustrating... as it was easy on my past phone.. you just hit the key a second time, quickly. That doesn't work here.. I just get multiple "u"s instead.

[delta_foxtrot2]

You don't have to explicitly turn it on, at least not in most BBs that support it, the apps turn it on although you may need to tell them to start using GPS but this is a power saving thing more than anything.

[jkunk]

seems when i try to use the installed map it just sits there and says searching for satellites

[delta_foxtrot2]

seems when i try to use the installed map it just sits there and says searching for satellites

On a cold GPS start you may need to be in an open area (ie outside) which has a clear view of the sky for 2+ minutes so that the device can figure out which sats are in view and so on, once a "lock" has been established subsequant fixes are much quicker/easier for the GPS device to establish.

Alternatively if the phone can do assisted GPS as well, not 100% sure but I think this is disabled by default because this can cost to use, the aquisition times are much quicker and don't need to be outside, although accuracy is lower.

[dcp605]

Apparently not all storms are equal. The GPS has been very frustrating to me.
I have not been able to get BB Maps to work, it just sits at searching for satellites and then eventually times out. I have also tried the beta weather bug and it will not get the GPS info either.
So I decided to go ahead and subscribe to vz navigator (they have a 30 day free trial). It works! Although I’m not overly impressed with the accuracy. I turned on the Location aiding and it was even worse.
So far it looks like the only way that I can use the GPS is with vz nav. Even with vz nav it seems to loose the sat lock fairly often, although I did have a thick cloud cover today, but my sporttrack GPS isn’t having any problems. Am I expecting too much from a phone GPS? It doesn’t do E911 much good if it can’t get a good fix.
One question I do have for the people that did get the BB Maps to work. Are you BIS or BES? I see that BES has an option to turn on and off the GPS data.
Is it possible that I have a bad GPS receiver? Perhaps it is not locking on enough sats and BB maps doesn’t like that but vz nav will work with the limited number. This could also eplain the loss of lock and the inaccuracy. Should I request a new handset?

[dcp605]

After much frustration I decided to contact Verizon and get a replacement storm handset figuring that it would be a couple of weeks before I saw it.

After a little discussion about the problem the rep said that they would replace the handset and even send it out overnight. Boy was I shocked to hear that! The new unit did arrive the next day and even had .75 os loaded in it.

It turns out that yes it was a defective unit. The GPS now works great with all of the apps including VZ Nav, BBMaps, and Weatherbug.

I'm sure there are plenty of horror stories out there about the Verizon Cust Service, but I have never experienced an issue when I have called them. Plus it's nice to talk with a rep that is located in the US (even at 5:00 PM on a Sunday night). I can�t say that I have as pleasant of an experience talking with Sprint.

[delta_foxtrot2]

I can’t say that I have as pleasant of an experience talking with Sprint.

There is no more sprint, they merged with Clear, and it's just 'clear' now, there was a dumb play on word article about it on the front page...

[Abdiver]

Is it any wonder there is so many accidents each year blamed on GPS nav, people used to stop and look at maps now they switch their brains off and let a computer tell them where to go

No you got it wrong, they looked at maps while driving and got into accidents. the Gps give you lots of warning and lets you get into the proper lanes before the turn and reduce accidents.