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Storm GPS Software Options – Review
The following review is for GPS options on your Blackberry Storm. I will be going over the following applications: Blackberry Maps, Google Maps, and Garmin Mobile.
Note #1: I have omitted Verizon Navigator because it’s rumored to permanently lock out the Storms GPS on first run. Whether this information is correct or not, I do not wish to find out. In my opinion, $10 a month for what VZW Navigator offers is very overpriced. Consider this: One year of VZW Navigator is $120. At the end of that year, if you stop paying for VZW Navigator you end up with nothing. For $120 you can go buy a real GPS that has farm more features then VZW Navigator. Also, the real GPS does not need a cell connection, a phone/data plan [or any other service charges for that matter as GPS is free], and you are free to use your cell phone to make calls while navigating as they are separate entities altogether.
Note #2: My “Field” is Government/Military/Emergency Services. I use the GPS network extensively. IMO cell phone GPS is a backup navigation to be used when all other GPS options have been exhausted. It is impractical for driving use for obvious reasons. Also, the typical the GPS receiver in cell phones are not strong enough to be used indoors or underground which limits most directional pre-planning. Lastly, cell phones are not built as strong, water resistant, etc to be used in most outdoor recreational situations.
If you are in sales, work in a city, and do a lot of on foot cold calling then I can see where a cell GPS may be helpful. If you are a tourist traveling in an unfamiliar place on foot, it may come in handy. For most applications though, a cell GPS should be a backup to a primary Car/Outdoor GPS unit.
Note 3#: The Cell GPS’s has some major limitations! First off, for the most part cell GPS has to be able to receive two signals: 1) A GPS signal from the global network of satellites surrounding the earth. 2) A Cell data signal from a surrounding cell tower. This second signal is because most of the cell phone GPS software downloads maps “over the wire” from an online server. If you cannot get cell/data service in an area, your cell phone GPS is basically worthless, even if you have a clear view of the sky and can get GPS service.
I want to clear up two things first before going on to the software reviews. First, it is 99.9% probable your cell phone does not get its voice & data service from a satellite. I here this mistake made all the time. Unless you own a “satellite phone” (the smallest currently about the size of the old large brick style Nextels, but with a huge antenna attached), your cell phone connects to land based towers, NOT satellites orbiting the earth.
Second, the signal all GPS receivers receive is nothing more than the current time. I want to state that again… The GPS signal your Phone, Car, Portable, etc receives is nothing more than the current (very exact) time. The GPS system of satellites orbiting the earth are nothing more than giant atomic clocks with antennas. The GPS system does not send you maps, does not track your location, and is not two-way. Your device picks up several GPS satellites orbiting the earth and can tell your location based on time. Any GPS system that is two-way, such as ADT’s car monitoring, LO-Jack, etc use a combination of GPS and another service such as land based cell or in some cases a separate satellite. If you want to know more about how this works use the Google to search on the subject.
On to the review:
Blackberry Maps.
Pro’s:
-Free
-Installed by default on Blackberries
-Relatively quick map downloads (due to smaller resolution no frills map images.)
Con’s:
Worst map Image quality of the three GPS software packages reviewed.
Limited mapping and routing functions
Poor User Interface.
Blackberry maps is free and works as a basic no frills GPS, with basic point to point navigating. It does not have auto rerouting or a POI database. It can save favorites and allows you to set a home and work locations. When finding directions, you need to put both a start and end point. They have made the start point easier by putting in a “my location” option but it’s still an extra step over conventional GPS’s which just route from your current location in less you tell it otherwise. Location is fairly accurate and its shows you how many satellites are connected. Moderate lag in scrolling around the map depending on cell signal, because it downloads maps from an online service.
Google Maps.
Pro’s:
-Free
-Full Featured
-Many more (See review below)
Con’s:
-No way to see your check satellite connection status
-Can be slow loading maps
Google maps is free as well and has a more options then blackberry maps. You can get satellite images, POI’s, street view, etc. I have found it faster to start then BB maps but slower to scroll around maps as there is more data to download then with BB maps. Keep this in mind if you have a limited data plan. I found on average Google maps was downloading 200k per ~10 miles of maps. If you scroll around a large area a lot you will find you have downloaded a MB of data very quickly. For those of us on an unlimited plan, it’s not a real worry.
One annoying thing I found was that it does not show how many satellites you are connected to or if you are even connected at all. The size of the accuracy ring is a good indication if you are connected, but I would like to see a connection status screen added. Google maps is more aesthetically pleasing the BB maps on all levels and looks more refined. You can also view satellite photos and current traffic information.
Like BB maps, you have to input both starting and ending locations with a “current location” option for the starting point. With Google maps however, the current location is default for the starting point which makes it easier then BB maps which requires you to pick that option every time you want directions. Google maps also has public transportation information including bus & train stops, times and fares.
The only thing I would like to see added is a better interface with more sleek icons (like Garmin maps reviewed below), a screen to check satellite connection, and weather.
For a free application, Google has done a great job. There are some things I would like to see refined, but overall this application is well worth the space on your phone even if you do not plan on using it as a day-to-day GPS.
Garmin Mobile
I have personally owned 7 different Garmin GPS units in my lifetime and currently own and use two. In my family, we have at least another 5 Garmin’s as well. With the acceptation of my built in car navigation, I only use Garmin’s. I have tried many other hand held & portable car GPS units and decided to stick with Garmin. For the purpose of this review however, I do not plan on going into the pro’s and con’s (yes there are both) of Garmin’s STAND ALONE GPS units. I state the above because I am about to bash GARMIN MOBILE, and I wanted to be clear this is a non-bias review.
Pro’s:
-Full Featured GPS
-Weather
-Sleek, well designed Interface
-3d View
Con’s:
-Cost $80-$100 (Unknown if they will allow you to transfer license when you swap or upgrade your device)
-Very buggy software.
-Extremely slow loading maps.
-Does not have satellite view or public transportation information.
-May cause interference with other GPS applications on your phone.
Note: YOU CAN download a 3 day trial of this software BUT NOT directly from Garmin. If you use the link on Garmin’s site it will tell you your device is not compatible with the trial version, instead it says you need to buy the full version. I was able to get a trial from Handago and install it with Blackberry desktop software.
If you read the first half of my review, then you know my opinion of a cell phone GPS. Garmin has modeled their cell phone software after the look and functionality of their portable car GPS units. If you are familiar with the Garmin Nuvi series, then you will feel right at home with Garmin Mobile. The problem is that it does not have the same “street” functionality as the free Google maps. If Garmin mobile functioned correctly it would be at best, nothing more than a watered down car GPS navigation device.
However, Garmin Mobile does not function correctly. I found that as soon as I ran the application it had problems linking up with the device “validation” server. Without “validating” your serial number (or trial), you cannot run Garmin Maps. For whatever reason, the server must have been down for about an hour the day I installed the application trial. When it finally came back up (or Garmin mobile finally decided to connect) I was greeted with a nice looking interface and very sleek icons. The software seemed very refined visually and had many of the features my stand alone Garmin’s have. The start screen is very well set up with the options you need very accessible. Unfortunately, even after a day of testing the weather feature still does not work (will not connect to the weather server). If you lose cell signal, I found the application will not connect and a battery pull is required to reset things. Also, the maps were downloading so slow that my 45mph back road driving was going faster than the GPS Software could handle. Most of the time I was watching an arrow on blank black screen with only a small cut off map portion at the bottom, where I had been 30 seconds before. Had I been walking this probably would have not been a problem. Yes, I know the irony: The Car oriented cell phone GPS software did not work so well in the car. I found that after running Garmin maps, my Google maps no longer connected. A battery pull fixed this issue. Another major bug is my Storm would reset itself every 15-20 minutes while running Garmin Mobile.
Lastly, I have no idea what the license says if you buy this software. What happens if you break your cell and have to get a referb? Do you have to pay for it again? Garmin’s website is vague and says nothing more than “the life of the device”. I am fairly certain this means that in a year if you upgrade your cell then you will have to pay for Garmin Mobile again. IMO: With a $100 price tag you would be better off buying a separate GPS unit and using a free program like Google maps on your cell phone. While the $100 is a one shot deal (unlike VZW Navigator), it’s still a lot to pay for a piece of cell phone software that is beta quality at best.01-21-09 01:24 PM - Well I just started the app, and put it next to the window. I'll give it ten minutes and check back to see if it found me.
BIG EDIT:
Has anyone actually ever read the "My Location (Beta)" under the Help screen? It specifically states that "it's not GPS."
Why the uncertinaty? The My Location service takes information broadcast from mobile towers near you to approximate your current location on the map-it's not GPS, but it comes pretty close. We are always working to improve our coverage, but we're still in beta and there may be some areas where our coverage is incomplete; if you get an error message when trying to access your location, don't worry---it should work in other nearby locations.Last edited by Sandlotje; 01-21-09 at 02:15 PM.
01-21-09 02:08 PM
