does 8900 have turn by turn navigation? like garmin gps.

not natively. You can purchase third party software to utilize the built-in GPS reciever to give you turn-by-turn nav.

AmazeGPS and Nav4all are two free options. For T-Mobile, however, you can pay 9.99 a month for Telenav, which is the best option available IMO.

They have built in GPS, so you will not need an external bluetooth receiver to get Satellite feeds.

AmazeGPS is worth a shot on the 8900, it's actually a really good app for zero dollars. It was junk on my 8320 as it's UI was extremely slow, but on the 8900 it seems to work great.

Amaze GPS works very quickly on the 8900.

The drawbacks for it are as follows:

• you will manually have to enter addresses. There are no directories with link-to-address capability.
• There are no street names (which isn't necessary but very cool). All it provides is left and right turns and exits.
• The maps may become outdated much quicker than the pay services. Namely, telenav, which provides free map upgrades. With other, one time fee services, you have to buy the upgrades.
• This program works in metropolitain areas. It is very poor in rural areas or on longer trips. The mapping just isn't there.
• Very Very few options.

Thanks for both of these suggestions. I've downloaded and configured both, although I cannot test them until I go outside my home later. They both look very promising.

i am waiting on my 8900 to arrive via UPS, and i have a question about the GPS. Is the speed of any turn-by-turn software determined at all by the data speed of the device? ... meaning, since this phone is not 3G, will the speed/accuracy of turn-by-turn directions be hindered by the speed of the data network? hope my question is clear, sorry if its not!

I just tried the trial version of TeleNav and it works very well. Even within an area where I have known mobile service issues.

With that said, I won’t be paying $10/month for this. (I already have three Garmin devices.) Google maps works well enough for those rare occasions that I don't have my GPS with me.

If they offered the software/service for a one-time fee of no more than $50, I would consider that.

Garmin offers a great product for the 8900 that provides turn by turn navigation with an interface similar to their Nuvi models. The price is normally $99.99 for lifetime activation for a single instrument license that is not transferable except under limited circumstances. There is a link for the same product for $79.99. I can't post the link directly because I don't have enough posts, but if you Google "blackberry lounge garmin mobile," you can get the link and the lower price. Once you make the purchase, Garmin sends a link for an OTA download of the most current version of their Garmin Mobile product, including activation code. I have read a number of reviews of both the Garmin Mobile and Telenav Mobile and the choice between the two really appears to be a toss up. But when you take the price into consideration, one time $79.99 versus $9.99 per month, Garmin, at least for me, is the winner.

IMHO $80 is high, but I trust Garmins system. So, I'd probably pay it.

TeleNav? Too new to pay that much for it.

The turn by turn would be nice. But paying every month for subscription? No way. And the Garmin is also pretty expensive. I'll use either GM or BB Maps.