BlackBerry Forums Support Community

dregan · 11-09-2006, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabull

so is wayfinder decent for use then? i just seen that its only $14 a year! thats not bad at all, they give you the option for a $100 lifetime membership, but i figure that google maps will have gps built in within the next year or two anyway. also, i only have a 1-year contract on the phone so throwing out another $14 to use gps for 12 months aint bad at all

I have to say that Wayfinder has quite a few problems that telenav doesn't. It seems to freeze a lot causing me to do a battery pull, It doesn't show full maps (ie streets that aren't on your route are only displayed as "pseudo streets" that show up as dead-ends on the map) and it doesn't list street names for streets not on the route. It's isn't as accurate and I think this is because they're maps aren't accurate (at least in my area). There are some cases when I'd be turning at the right spot and Wayfinder showed me a couple hundred yards further than I actually was. This caused wayfinder to "recalculate" when it shouldn't have. The recalculation and map drawing take much longer than telenav. Lastly, if you leave it on directions/route mode the backlight will always stay on, even if you switch to another program and leave it running in the background.

It does have some nice features though, like the ability to calculate your route based on traffic flow. All in all, I am much happier with telenav though it's a lot more expensive at $9 a month instead of $14 per year.

edit: just wanted to state that this is using the free trial program an not the full program. Not sure if that makes a difference though.

mckinneycm · 11-09-2006, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabull

so is wayfinder decent for use then? i just seen that its only $14 a year! thats not bad at all, they give you the option for a $100 lifetime membership, but i figure that google maps will have gps built in within the next year or two anyway. also, i only have a 1-year contract on the phone so throwing out another $14 to use gps for 12 months aint bad at all

No, the $14/year is for a city guide. It is not GPS software. The GPS software is $99/life. The city guide gives you info like restaurants and movies and things like that.

dabull · 11-09-2006, 03:14 PM

dammit. that really sucks. im sorry but $10 a month is just too much unless you use it everyday. there has got to be free alternatives, or at least much cheaper ones.

mckinneycm · 11-09-2006, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabull

dammit. that really sucks. im sorry but $10 a month is just too much unless you use it everyday. there has got to be free alternatives, or at least much cheaper ones.

What's wrong with the built-in maps. Yeah, it doesn't have voice directions, but it's very useful for what it is.

dabull · 11-09-2006, 03:20 PM

do we really know how much Telenav is for us TMO customers? it doesnt really say, going by their website - TeleNav GPS Navigator Pricing

dabull · 11-09-2006, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mckinneycm

What's wrong with the built-in maps. Yeah, it doesn't have voice directions, but it's very useful for what it is.

well youre right. i guess if i want street-by-street voice guides then i should just get a real gps like a garmin. this $50 receiver for the phone is a damn good deal if it works.

btw, i uninstalled bbmaps. i thought google maps were all i would ever need. dammit again

mckinneycm · 11-09-2006, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabull

well youre right. i guess if i want street-by-street voice guides then i should just get a real gps like a garmin. this $50 receiver for the phone is a damn good deal if it works.

btw, i uninstalled bbmaps. i thought google maps were all i would ever need. dammit again

You can reload it with the App Loader in Desktop Manager

dregan · 11-09-2006, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabull

do we really know how much Telenav is for us TMO customers? it doesnt really say, going by their website - TeleNav GPS Navigator Pricing

I subscribed at $9.99 per month, and I use t-mobile. I didn't see any options for the "5 trips per month" that other service providers get.

dabull · 11-09-2006, 03:30 PM

i didnt really care for bbmaps when i compared to google maps. google was faster

dregan · 11-09-2006, 03:35 PM

yeah the bbmaps software is pretty good but I can't get the backlight to stay on with it ;P. I change the settings to "disable blacklight timeout if power is over 50%" but it still shuts off. Can't be clicking the pearl every 30 seconds while driving.

Stinsonddog · 11-09-2006, 05:09 PM

wayfinder should not be crashing on the 8100. if it is please email their support. I have be dialoging with them re the releases. I have pretty much outlined the issues at my tips page. They are using the same map source as BBMaps which I beleive is TeleAtlas.

Telenav has better POI's in the US but the interface for routing is not as good IMO because you can't easily change views from turn by turn instructions to navigation map to route on map like Wayfinder can. These views are very useful IMO.

mckinneycm · 11-09-2006, 06:20 PM

I'd like to turn this thread back to what it started with, and ask if anyone has used this GPS receiver yet, and if so, please give us a review!!!

dabull · 11-09-2006, 07:58 PM

not a bad idea. i can review the service from computer geeks, as im still waiting for my reciever to come. this is my third purchase from CG over the last two years, and i have no idea why i dont buy from them more. their service and my experience with them is as good as it gets. they are a 5-star type of online retailer. they have incredible prices and they ship as soon as humanly possible. in fact, this time they sent me a shipping confirmation just 4 hours after i placed the order.

for this price, it will be hard to loose out. even if i find the software sucks, or the overall gps isnt fast enough to use turn-by-turn, at least you will always be able to find out where you are. i have a feeling it wont be fast enough to use in subdivisions and such, but will work fine for highway and rural-area travel.

blakeatl · 11-09-2006, 11:51 PM

I got a Motorola h805 headset at compusa for $49.

dabull · 11-09-2006, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mckinneycm

I'd like to turn this thread back to what it started with, and ask if anyone has used this GPS receiver yet, and if so, please give us a review!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by blakeatl

I got a Motorola h805 headset at compusa for $49.

dregan · 11-10-2006, 11:31 AM

Review of Ambeon GPS reciever:

I've been using the receiver for a few days now and I am very pleased with it. Obviously it doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of a higher end model but it works fine with all of the applications I will use it for.

Speed:
The Ambeon GPS receiver tracks very nicely and my GPS software has no problem with calculating speed, direction or position. As such turn by turn directions work fine. The update rate is every 1 second so the tracking isn't perfectly smooth.

Accuracy:
It seems quite accurate to me, the speed that it calculates is the same as the one on my speedometer. The position it gives me on the map is right on with the position that I am at. Geeks.com reports an accuracy of 3 meters. For the most part it can easily form a connection with the satellites. I was able to get a connection even inside my house, which was a surprise to me. When I brought it into my work however, I wasn't able to make a connection. I'm guessing the ceilings and walls were way to thick (I work in a semiconductor plant).

Software:
I don't have a bluetooth adapter for my PC so I couldn't test out the software that comes with the device but it does setup easily with the pearl and works fine with bbmaps, telenav and wayfinder.

The only downside I have found with using the device is with the GPS software I am using on the pearl. Telenav, bbmaps, and wayfinder all use GPRS/EDGE to download maps to the blackberry as needed. As such, it would seem that if you don't have GPRS/EDGE coverage, you won't be able to get a map view of where you are, just altitude, latitude and longitude. I would like a way to save the maps from a trip directly to the pearl so I don't have to always have a net connection. I'm not sure that this is possible though.

dabull · 11-10-2006, 02:26 PM

that would be nice, but it would seem to me that a full map would be too large of a file to fit in the pearl. maybe with a memory card someday?

thanks for the info though, this seems perfect for those trips out of town. probably not the best for time-critical stuff like pizza deliveries, but at least you wont get lost anymore.

Dnepr98 · 11-10-2006, 02:49 PM

Thank You for the review! It seems like an average reciever, and it's worth the money it's worth. I ordered mine yesturday and it should be here today I paid 44.99 (they are running a promoton now) used my companies account for next day air shipping, and should be getting it in some time today! Really looking forward to recieving it and start using it. The only thing that I am missing now is the cradle for the car, otherwise its really uncomfy to pick it up and look at directions all the time and drive at the same time! Anybody knows where to get a nice, comfy car holder?

dabull · 11-10-2006, 03:00 PM

bah, thats what a cupholder is for. if there is a good car holster that still works with the seido rubberized case then i might look into it...

Dnepr98 · 11-10-2006, 03:03 PM

Yea.... cupfolder is not doing it for me.... there is usially a cup of coffee in there!

BlackBerry Forums Support Community

cheap a$$ GPS adapter and Telenav on the pearl = sweet