Hi,

I just got an 8800 today (using ATT atm). I installed telenav, and it seems quite nice! I was actually very impressed with it. Curious if anybody deems anything better right now?

Well, that said, there is one issue. The spoken directions are too soft if you lower the volume to where the sound isn't distorted, and if you raise it to where you can hear it, the voice is too distorted for me to understand.

That said, also, I'd like a nice way of mounting the phone in the car when driving, like a standard GPS. I'm a big fan of those sand-bag type mounts that are heavy enough not to move, but if something more permanent is necessary - I'm ok with that. However, I'd *love* if this mount, *also* had a built in speaker that could be linked to the BB via bluetooth (or whatever) so the spoken directions come out of it. It'd also be nice for hands-free phone operation in general.

Anybody know anything like it? I checked the proclip site everybody raves about, but it seems like those are only mounts.

Thank you very much, in advance, for your opinions about nav software & mounting devices.

Cheers,
David

Personally, I don't consider the BB or any PDA to be an adequate navigation device to use when driving. It requires that you pay way too much attention to the the device rather than drive the car.

That said, it does work OK. If you are really going to depend on it and use it a lot, one of the Garmin, Magellan, Lowrance or other portable GPS devices would be a much better choice.

I have a Garmin Quest, and Telenav + the 8800 *is* better, by a large margin. I don't have to pay any more attention to the 8800 than I did to the Quest - I just listen for voice prompts and glance at the screen if I want to see the upcoming turns - same as I did with the Quest. Thank you for your opinions about using the phone as a navigation unit in a car, if you have any input on the few questions I asked as well, I'd love to hear it. Thanks.

Forget that I tried to help.

I don't agree. Just forget that I tried to help.

I concur. I've tried Telenav in the past and wasn't too satisfied with the acquisition and updating delays. It would "catch up" way too late after I had missed the turn, etc.

It all boils down to personal preference. Some like it, some do not. I have a Tom Tom one for my GPS needs, and it works fine and i just had to buy the unit. For those who don't have a GPS and don't wanna spend 100+ on something all at once who need turn by turn directions every once in a while then to some 10 bux a month its worth it. and if you don't agree with that don't slam the person saying forget I tried to help, he asked ur opinion and you gave it and thats what a forum is for.

Ok. First, a thank you to all involved since some people seem to be getting touchy.

Second, I wasn't asking for people's opinions on using a cell phone for navigation. Frankly, it doesn't make any difference to me if you do/do not like using a cell phone as a nav. device - that's your own prerogative.

I was, however, asking if anybody preferred a different solution for navigation software on blackberry devices, and also asking about mounting solutions as specified. If people have input on what I actually asked, I'd love to hear it. My apologies if my forwardness was/is taken offensively, it certainly wasn't intended as such, I'm just looking for answers to the questions I actually asked, not opinions on something I've already made a decision concerning.

Cheers,
David

Telenav is the only voice command, auto reroute application for the BB that I know of. There maybe something else out there that I am not aware of, but GoogleMaps, BBMaps and MapQuest don't have those two very important features. Hence my statement that if you are going to use it for navigation and don't like some of the features, go with a unit that is made for navigation.

Check out Nav4All. I know absolutely nothing about it so don't flame if it isn't what you like.

Here's a thread discussing a car mount that seems really nice. As you read toward the bottom, the reviewer does state that the speaker does pickup a lot of interference. Other than the pro clip, I'm not sure about any other mounts available at this time.

I have used Telenav for a couple months now. I have used it both on a trip to L.A. during rush hour and a trip out in the sticks in western Wisconsin.

Telenav re-routed me around morning traffic while in LA without a hitch. Telenav receives live traffic updates and will ask you if you want to re-route if there is traffic approaching. Like I said, it worked in LA, so that's good enough for me (did take me through Inglewood and Compton, but I digress).

In regards to the Wisconsin trip, I was a little hesitant but it worked great. I truly trust this nav conduit to get me to places I've never been before.

I have Nav4all installed on my phone, but haven't used it yet. Hopefully someone who has used it extensively will chime in.

I started that thread about the On Course suction mount. I like the suction mount a lot, but the internal powered speaker has not been of any use to me. The problem isn't the speaker itself; it's because TeleNav cannot use it. I've complained about it on TeleNav's forums, but as of now, they have no capability to output audio to anything except the Blackberry's internal speaker.

Friend, you might want to reconsider your tone. You have all of 3 posts. The first one asked a question, and the other 2 were disparaging those who gave opinions. Your profile shows that you joined in Dec 2005. You've had 2 years to figure out this board. We are not short of opinions and are not shy about expressing them.

You also need to consider that the opinions expressed are not solely for your benifit. Others may be considering the pros and cons of those 2 systems, and the search function will bring up this thread.

What does his post count have to do with anything?? He asked a specific question and got extraneous answers. He then simply reiterated his original question.

soulman978 explained things clearly, but I want to make sure there is no room left for misunderstanding.

My tone isn't negative/positive, instead - quite neutral. I'm not here to cause a ruckus, nor am I here to cause widespread joy. I've been a member for a long time, and I do not post unless necessary. Hence, my low post count. It seems I've actually been here longer than you, maybe I should comment on your relative "youngness" on the forum, and use it to stereotype you? I generally find what I need via searches, as we are supposed to do. This time, I did not find the information I was looking for.

Not finding what I needed from searches, I decided to make a post. In my post, I asked specific questions concerning preferences in GPS programs for mobile phones, specifically the 8800. I also asked about mounting solutions. I don't believe I left a lot of "wiggle room" for turning the thread into a debate about cellular phones as GPS navigation devices. It wasn't my intent, as threads like that generally turn into trash.

Opinions are fine, in fact - I was specifically *asking* for opinions. However, I was very clear on what I was requesting, and there were some replies that had absolutely *nothing* to do with my questions. In other words, completely off-topic, and I'd wager they are closer to flame-bait than anything else. Just as your post is. I've been around on the internet for some time as well, and something you learn early on, you have to be very specific in what you request - if you aren't - people will derail threads by going off-topic. Generally, this is frowned upon on forums, including this one. So - in order to attempt to prevent this thread from being derailed into an argument about using phones as gps navigation devices, and instead keep it on track so that the information requested would be provided, I tried to keep the thread on topic. You've successfully made that impossible, thank you kindly.

Now, when people search for mobile phone gps software comparisons, there will be one thread of nothing but silly forum users bickering over unrelated topics. Threads that have been derailed (such as this one) make the search functionality of a forum almost useless, as well, because you have to filter through a lot of crud in order to actually find what you need. This obfuscation is the reason I was not able to find a decent comparison of the mobile phone navigation applications in the first place.

So, in summary, thank you for your input - it is completely irrelevant, but thank you nonetheless. I've found the information I was looking for on other sites, which is unfortunate - because this is normally my "go-to" site for anything mobile.

For those who search and come up with this thread, expecting actual useful information - or at least on-topic opinions, after all of my research and some hands-on experience, I've found telenav to be the best solution (currently.)

The routing engine seems to be better, the traffic-detection seems to operate more quickly (showing traffic slowdowns before the Garmin software notices), POI searches generally turn up better information (in some cases, the Garmin software wouldn't even find older stores.) Also, the telenav maps seem a bit more up-to-date. That's my $.02, on-topic.

Cheers,
David

PS - Create IT Policy <-- You may be on to something there. (I do have a sense of humor.)

PS #2 - My (relatively large) error was in posting this to the general forum instead of the GPS forum. Would it be possible to have this thread moved? Thanks.

I really like Verizon Navigator on my Verizon 8830, unfortunately it wont work on a ATT phone. But for those who have Verizon 8830's Navigator does feature voice prompted directions and auto re-route.

I have Verizon 8830 since May 2007 and Telenav since September 2007. I couldnt be happier. Yes i have distort of voice if turned up all the way. I use velcro and mount on dash. No holes to drill to ruin car and works great.

I find that setting the volume within the Telenav app to one notch below full volume I can understand the voice prompts over most of the road noise and the radio if it's not too loud. It does distort at full volume.

I have a holder that attaches to the windshield with a suction cup. I got it off eBay to hold an older Palm Zire and it fits the 8800 fine. I've been using windshield holders for my last three BB's that I've had Telenav installed on. If you mount it low enough so it's braced by your dash there's no shaking.

One caveat - if there's no service then you lose your navigation ability. I've lost it a couple of times now in rural Minnesota and Iowa once I've gotten away from the interstates. You'll need a backup for these areas - maybe even a (gasp) paper map.

It works fine for me in the urban areas I've been in, and I love the new traffic rerouting in the latest version.

I had used Telenav with the earlier version on my old treo....it really did not function well at all.

This time around, on my BB8830, I have used it twice in situations where our stand alone garmin unit failed to power up. I had to use it with a bluetooth GPS receiver but it worked flawlessly. The routing is superb, the traffic optimized routes are actually just that and as stated earlier, it pulls traffic data and warns you of a slow down up ahead. You have to hit 0 to reroute.

I was able to use my BB to receive /make calls while the telenav was in the background. What would be perfect is if I had a mount for it and a BT headset - if that works, then this would be my ideal GPS solution to carry around.

I've used VZNavigator on all my Verizon phones and it was one of thethings I missed most (aside from the EVDO and better connections) when I moved to AT&T. I tried Telenav on my Palm Treo 680 and was not impressed at all.

VZNavigator somehow managed to work well enough to not need a dedicated GPS. Unsure if it's the netowrk, the handhelds or just the software itself. I've tried several thrid party GPS utilities on my Treos and finally gave up. My Christmas present this year is a Garmin Nuvi 750.

It's sitting on the desk behind me and if my husband doesn't wrap it soon there's going to be an empty box under the tree and a GPS unit in my car well before Dec 25 :P