I have read thread after thread and have some questions about the GPS program in the 8800...

1. Is the program a regular program where you punch in a destination address and it takes you there turn by turn? (Like Garmin or Tom Tom)

2. If so or if not, than what is the best software? Goggle maps, BB maps, Telenav.

Ive never used a GPS system in a phone before and some of the threads have me a little confused on the way it works and witch maps program is the best to use.

Thanks.

Welcome to the forum, budman45.

There are several programs you can use, some free, some not, for GPS. I tend to use a combination of 2 or 3 of them.

- TeleNav gives both visual and audio directions. Put in an address, search for business, etc. Not free - costs $10/mo.

- Google Maps and BBMaps are GPS enabled and will give visual directions. You can also put in addresses and search for businesses. These are free.

All GPS applications use data, so make sure you have an unlimited data plan.

Yes, regular program. You can enter the address or click a "Drive To" menu option on address fields or entries in your address book or search for "populated" entries in the telenave app. Yes, I prefer the Telenav. It does turn by turn with voice prompts. Autoupdates route based on traffic which is killer to be becuase I live in Los Angeles. "Search along route" for finding nearest points of interest etc.

Thanks, i have an unlimited data plan so thats not an issue. Looks like i may try google maps or Telenav if its only $10.00 a month.

Thanks again for the info.

good luck with google maps constantly updating from the gps, its a constant problem I have. it loses my location after about 5 mins,

Can you have telnav with a tethered BT GPS? Or does Telnav only work if you have GPS on the actual phone?

TeleNav works with Bluetooth GPS. I use it on my Pearl all the time.

I moved to a BlackBerry recently because a. I'd wanted to try one for a long time and b. I wanted to trial some of the BB GPS Solutions.

TeleNav isn't an option to me here in the UK, BB Maps is OK for basic 'Where Am I' Stuff, GoogleMaps is great for navigation a strange city on foot, finding addresses etc but so far the best GPS Navigation solution I've used is Wayfinder. This is an OTA solution which downloads maps on the fly but it will cache a route to keep data costs down (not an issue on unlimited tariff's).

Kinda seems that for the most part Telenav would be the best and easiest to go with... Goggle maps maybe free but sounds like there are issues with that program and i haven't heard to much about way finder or BB maps. Just trying to figure out witch program is going to be the best to use. My wife has a pearl but i bought a 8800 for her and she's not 100% up to speed on how to use a BB yet but is getting there.

I bought Garmin's Mobile product before finding out about Telenav. The products look very similar and are the same price. I've heard a few people complain about Garmin's technical support but I've never needed to call them. You can find it at my.garmin.com.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

So you can accualy get a Garmin GPS program for the 8800?

You can get Garmin for BB but it comes bundled with their receiver, can't be had as software only and there are better solutions anyway.

I don't believe that is correct. I did buy the package since I had an 8700 at the time but once you register an account on my.garmin.com you may order just a subscription if you have an 8800.

As for 'better', if you are referring to Telenav then you may be correct. They look almost identical from the screenshots that I've seen. My TomTom 910 should be arriving today--navigation on the phone whetted my appetite.

Ah apologies if that is the case, of course the 910 is a different experience altogether, a truly superb solution albeit now superceded by the GO720 and rumoured GO920 that is yet to be announced.

juwaack68,

Just curious as to why you would use differant programs... When you pay for one wouldnt you use that one all the time or do some of them have differant feachers?

Thanks.

yes, different features of each. Telenav offers great turn by turn directions with voice prompts and 3D mapping and some search capabilities. Google Maps offers great search capabilities but no voice prompts for turn by turn directions. It just depends on what you need at the time.