Can anyone confirm if the Bold has assisted GPS? I've read that assisted GPS enables a much faster satellite lock-on.

Thanks.

Assisted GPS is only faster after an initial GPS fix, and any responsible design clears that when GPS goes idle for a long period.

I believe the *10 (like 8110) qualify as assisted GPS, so the Bold should as well.

I could be wrong, but I though Assisted GPS meant that data receives over the network sped up the initial GPS lock.

No, sorry.

An initial GPS fix requires a pretty long time because it takes more satellites, doesn't know which side of the planet it's on, etc. You can generally force GPS receivers to do that every time or you can let them take advantage of where they were last time as a head start, which lets a good fix happen with fewer satellites, fewer data points (meaning a shorter time) and fewer calculations.

GPS fixes happen in the satellite receiver, whether internal to the phone or in an external puck, and have nothing whatever to do with data connections; data connections come into play when you need to pull in a map or aerial view, but the application is just coordinating the position readings from the receiver with the (almost always) downloaded map's coordinate representations.

Hey - I think my thumbs just stopped hurting.

Assisted GPS is better than normal GPS and mainly helps the TTFF or Time To First Fix. Some pure GPS units that have a SiRF III chip, can take 30 seconds or more because it is dependent on your location, the amount of interference, and horizon information. It also takes a large number of satellite acquisitions because it doesn't know general location on cold start. So, in a large city, a full GPS system using SiRF III or anything like it will take longer than if you were out in the desert for example. Normal GPS also eats more power because of the constant acquisition of satellites ... and indoor use is limited.

aGPS takes information from the cell network to triangulate your general location from multiple towers. Since the phone has the GENERAL location from tower triangulation and other sources, it doesn't have to acquire as many satellites since it has most of the information it needs. It works better in doors because of an easier "fix" due to general location already determined by the cell network. And .... you also get better battery life because constant acquisition is not required.

Other than that ... aGPS and GPS are pretty much similar. Try it. Get a pure GPS unit and see how long it takes in-doors from a COLD START. Then get a known aGPS unit from a mobile phone and see how it works in the same in-door building. The aGPS will get a fix faster with few satellites ... well, if the pure GPS unit even makes it. LOL

thanks usefull post and thread

That's perfect.

So does the bold have aGPS?

Wirelessly posted

Yes. It would be foolish for them NOT to. They had battery drain issues with 3G, so their not going to use the most battery draining GPS type. THAT, and all of their units were aGPS.

the fcc filings indicate aGPS.

True

here is the link

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/f...e_or_pdf=pd f

The Bold has GPS and WiFi and Bluetooth and 3G. It has twice as much handset memory. It has a faster CPU and superb graphics.

It does not have a wireless weather station, a warp field generator, subspace support, a direct brain interface, a bar code scanner, a fingerprint reader, a retinal scanner or full tricorder functions.

At least not yet.

but it doesn't mean it won't in the next version Here's hoping for a warp field generator.

I've seen merchants that have CC scanners attached to their smartphones for transactions and they can BT the receipt to a little printer for you.

You are correct. Assisted GPS is faster not only on initial lock, but in every aspect. The reason being it can get info from cell towers and WIFI, and I don't need to explain why it's a good thing to be able to read GPS data from the SAT through cell towers instead of waiting on a very, very slow connection from the SAT directly to the phone.......

Fingerprint reading may not be too far off - though I doubt they'll build it in.

I think it might be a year or less when we'll be seeing a little bit of speaker-dependent pass-phrase recognition - not exactly a voice print but pretty damned good as biometric unlocks go.

The aGPS devices still pick up signals from the satellites? What happens if you are in the middle of the ocean?

As long as you're on the surface of the ocean (assuming we can limit this discussion to Earth), GPS can see the satellites.

I wouldn't want to promise anything from in a submarine or while diving.

The cell tower signal is a different issue, of course.

AGPS is a partnership between an always-on GPS receiver and assistance server on the tower and a scaled down GPS receiver on the handheld. The tower GPS will always have the current satellite constellation data ready and can pass it quickly to a nearby, just-powered-on cell phone to greatly speed up acquiring an accurate fix on the handheld. Hence you can power up a cell phone and immediately make a 911 call with location info.

Some AGPS receivers I have had in cell phones cannot function at all without cell tower support, and not all cell sites are yet so equipped. And obviously, such a limited receiver could not work away from cell service. I hope this is not the case for the Bold.

I am optimistic because I heard from someone who got the information from RIM tech support, that the 8800 GPS was capable of operating without cellular service (getting maps is another story).

The best of both worlds would be a mobile device GPS with full autonomous capability but also the capability to operate in assisted mode when the service was available. It would be great to get some real data on how the Bold's GPS operates.

Regards,

Carl

Cell phone towers don't have to be equipped for anything! They don't have to have aGPS support. They use triangulation with multiple towers. As long as there are multiple connections a calculation can be made of general location. It works the same way you can triangulate location if you can connect to multiple WIFI access points. Access points do not have your so called aGPS capability, but can always be used in triangulation if you can get a signal.

Bold will have the same aGPS that is on the 8820 and the 8310.

Important:
"Assisted GPS" is not the same as "Antenna GPS".

Here's an article.