Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 8800: BlackBerry8800/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

In the 8800 forum, a new user mentioned Nav4All, a new navigation software for recent BlackBerrys. It supports the internal 8800 GPS as well as various Bluetooth GPS receivers.

It's free to use through 2007.

The current version of the program is not BlackBerry friendly and looks like a mobile phone port. However, there are some interesting features that are either useful now, or look like they will be useful once they've been tweaked.

- huge map database - it currently supports mapping for more countries than any other product.
- superior POI search - it has more POI categories than Telenav and it is easier to get meaningful search results.

Against this, though, the application is truly a mess and unpleasant to use. On a trip I walked this morning, it hung once and wouldn't leave the routing screen at another point.

Routing, while it works, is not as easy to use as Telenav, as it doesn't give you the street name of the upcoming turn. Given the BlackBerry GPS's slow refresh rate, this is a must-have.

More thoughts later when I'm not editing on the BlackBerry.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 8800: BlackBerry8800/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

OTA Download: http://www.nav4all.com/mobile/Nav4AllBB42.jad

Thanks, Ixxx8217;ll try this out.

~MrKyoo

I downloaded it and to me.......it's crappy. I would stick with bbmaps rather than this. I have Telenav though, so I'm not lacking in GPS apps.

Exactly. Crappy. You can't even use the trackball to navigate across maps. The numbered arrows don't even coincide with the corresponding numbers on your keypad. To enter the menu you need to hit the escape key. Wha?!! Simply horrible. Stick with Telenav.

Got through the set up, but can't seem to find my holux 240. During the searching stage, it actually lists my receiver and recognizes the name, but wasn't able to pair with it. Therefore, can use this app. Seems to be a great app though. Anyone have success with it?

This app isnxxx8217;t all that bad. Give it time and play with it more and Ixxx8217;m sure youxxx8217;ll find some use for it. I believe I had some trouble connecting to my receiver, I think I just turned my Bluetooth off then on again and that straightened it out.

~MrKyoo

didnt work! just reset everything....even deleted the holux connection and then re-established the connection.

I'm using T-Mobile 8700g with an iBlue gps puck, and had an interesting morning yesterday....
I had a problem with Telenav for the first time in years (my fault, not theirs) 30 minutes before a meeting that I had 35 minutes to get to from the airport. So, I fired up Nav4all and crossed my fingers.

Nav4all got me to my meeting on time, using a route that was a little quicker than I expected. Sure, the application may not be as polished and pretty as Telenav, for example, but it was right on with the turn directions and updated very quickly. The only thing that I was uncomfortable with was the lack of the voice telling me the name of the street to turn on, and the navigation graphics that I wasn't used to. I did realize quickly that when there was an upcoming turn, every intersection before it, the voice would say "further on, turn right" for example.. So even though I didn't have the street name, the program updated so quickly that I could trust it and not turn early.

So being objective, and having Nav4all save me embarassment yesterday, I've got a pretty high opinion of them right now. Looking through the menus they have a very impressive set of features. I think the only negatives I have are the sorta confusing menu navigation, since it is still very much like a phone app, and the lack of street name in the voice. If these guys make a true blackberry user friendly app, I'll start paying for it if they charge for it eventually. I'm gonna use them a couple more times now that I'm a little more comfortable with it, and decide if it is worth not paying my $9.99 every month for Telenav. Nothing against Telenav, btw, they've never failed me, and I am very used to it.

I know that the Nav4all guys are gonna take some negative hits here, since the app isn't "pretty" like some, so I really wanted to give some feedback that when it came right down to just getting the job done and getting me somewhere, they were perfect.

Not Bad
 

I have used Telenav on my 7520 and 8100. Nav4all is not as pretty as Telenav, but you can't beat the price. It works really good on my 8100. Better for realtime navagation than looking at BBMAPS...

Comments on Nav4all
 

I think theres only 3 good GPS software thats free for the Blackberry. How is your loading time for Nav4all?

how does this compare to bbmaps? i am about to order a gps puck for my 8700g and i am looking for some free navigation software with turn by turn directions and rerouting....

are these the only 2 free options?

It does not say anything at all like upcoming turns etc etc. Have tried everything in the sound setup. What am I doing wrong? I am using it on a 8100.

i just messed with it. there wasnt any sound and no turn by turn prompt....just an arrow pointing towards a direction....kinda confusing.

It suddenly started to talk. I am not sure how... It works good. It does take time to get used to it. Ffter all it is for free and there are also many countries covered, not just NA.

IMO it needs quite a bit of work before it is ready for prime time. There are so many menu choices, that it is easy to get lost in the options, and at least for me, the menus are not very intuitive.

On the other hand, Telenav is really simple to use. I often wish the Telenav screens were more customizable, but the lack of these options contribute to its simplicity.

I guess the whole point behind GPS is to get from point a to point b. Nav4All has a much higher "gadget" quotient, but when the rubber meets the road (i.e. driving my car), the simple screens and easy IU of Telnav is hard to beat.

Can't get it to see the internal GPS in my 8800.

I found it to be a pretty awful program too. Hard to navigate. It was neat to see what satelites it was seeing, but what's the use. Also, it knew that it was nighttime driving and switched modes. The directions that it gave me to get home had me going through residential neighborhoods rather than major roads.

I like Mapquest Navigator myself, at least while it is free. They have a couple of things to fix on it, IMO. They show elevation in miles resolution rather than feet. I switched it over to meters and then resolution was down to 10 meter chunks.

I am not sure why everyone is having issues. I downloaded the program set it up fired up the bluetooth GPS. Told it to find me. Put in the address I was going to. It found it and started the directions and off I went. It was accurate and 35 minutes later I had reached my destination.It put my phone to sleep during long straight parts of the trip and then woke it up and alerted me as I approached changes. Keep in mind the reason it is free until 2010 is so they can make it better, and I think the idea of a yearly subscription vs monthy for around $25 is great. It is one of the BEst free programs I have ever used and the fact I also use tracking features , blog to the site and add it to my blog sites is great. If you just downloaded the program and that is all you are missing half of what they offer. Go and join there site and check out all the cool free stuff you can do with the software. BBmaps is great but if you want spoken directions this free app is a diamond in the rough.

In my previous comparison I found AmAze GPS (another free app w/voice nav) to be better than Nav4All. AmAze GPS takes for-freakin' ever to load, but once up it is responsive and has worked well for me, overall.

I may go take another look at Nav4All, but didn't like it so much the last time I looked at it.