1. jdwx's Avatar
    1). So, I'm to understand correctly... The internal 8830 GPS uses one satelite and cell tower assistance (how THAT would work, I don't understand) and a puck is more like a regular GPS using multiple satelites?

    2). Does the puck hit satelites quicker than the internal GPS? My 8830 takes forever (if at all) sometimes. Do they always hit?

    3). My internal GPS sometimes won't hit inside a structure. But, occassionally it does near windows I guess. How well does the puck do?

    Contemplating the Freedom Puck.
    08-28-08 01:48 PM
  2. pete1118's Avatar
    1). So, I'm to understand correctly... The internal 8830 GPS uses one satelite and cell tower assistance (how THAT would work, I don't understand) and a puck is more like a regular GPS using multiple satelites?

    2). Does the puck hit satelites quicker than the internal GPS? My 8830 takes forever (if at all) sometimes. Do they always hit?

    3). My internal GPS sometimes won't hit inside a structure. But, occassionally it does near windows I guess. How well does the puck do?

    Contemplating the Freedom Puck.
    Some answers:
    1. I cannot speak to how the BB GPS works but a typical puck is a full blown GPS receiver and will work with multiple satellites, usually as many as it can "see"

    2. My puck (Freedom Keychain 2000) typically takes 30 to 40 seconds to acquire enough satellites to function when first turned on. This can be impacted by a wide viarity of things including inside or outside, tree cover, nearby structures/geographic features (like rock ledges, etc) and so on.

    3. Depends on the type of building (wood vs concrete or steel), type of roof (metal vs shingle), location in the building (upper floor vs basement) and so on. Bottom line is often will work but sometimes slow to acquire or not at all.
    08-30-08 06:13 AM
  3. Barfaroo's Avatar
    I have an 8330 Curve with internal gps, but I gave up on it and bought a Freedom Keychain. I have never had it fail to find satellites, even in my house, but different apps are not always able to connect. I have found Live Search to be the best with my puck. It has never failed, but I could never get it to work with the internal gps.
    08-30-08 10:49 AM
  4. jdwx's Avatar
    Thanks for the input...

    I guess a puck is in my future... This internal one is too iffy.
    08-31-08 09:43 PM
  5. jeffh's Avatar
    I have the Freedom Keychain 2000, really like it, and don't hesitate to recommend it. That said, there has been at least one other unit mentioned lately that you might consider, the GlobalSAT BT338. You can find it discussed in this forum. It sounds interesting.
    08-31-08 09:50 PM
  6. jdwx's Avatar
    Cool Hadnt heard of the GlobalSat unit.

    I've been watching the Freedoms on Ebay. Hate to drop 50 on somethign that I thought would work in the darn phone... But, at least it will work on other phones later.
    08-31-08 09:55 PM
  7. jeffh's Avatar
    Cool Hadnt heard of the GlobalSat unit.

    I've been watching the Freedoms on Ebay. Hate to drop 50 on somethign that I thought would work in the darn phone... But, at least it will work on other phones later.
    That, and you can use it with your laptop and laptop mapping software. I've used mine with Delorme Street Atlas, just to see if I could. It worked as well as the Delorme puck. Of course, the Delorme puck is usb powered, so you don't have to keep it charged, but I was just glad to see that it worked.
    08-31-08 10:38 PM
  8. jdwx's Avatar
    I'm seeing the Freedoms are around 70 or so now... Should have bought one when I was looking before and they were 50!
    08-31-08 10:41 PM
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