Curve 8520 GPS & BT receiver
 

Hello,

I have recently started using a BB8520 and it's a great bit of kit - meeting my needs.
In order to add a little extra to what it can do, I was wondering if I can add a GPS routing app and bluetooth a GPS receiver to get a working voice guidance GPS Sat Nav (TomTom / Garmin like).

Thank you.

Yes, you can. Try the Freedom Mini GPS receiver, works good on the 8520.

Thanks for the quick reply.(y)

As I am new to BB usage, can you advise which is the best mapping app / software to use please?

I'd prefer free apps, but if I have to pay, then so-be-it.

Check on Ebay. GPS BT 37D1B3 for about $25. I bought one there for my 8520 and use LifeInPocket and BB Maps - all for free. Once in a while BBMaps disappears, but its simple to reload it.

An opinion, rather than spending that money on a the BB, why look into a stand alone GPS device. IMHO, they are much better suited for vehicle navigation and have a much better screen and voice system than an app running on the BB. And keep in mind, some map apps such as GoogleMaps, BB Maps etc, all require cell data to download and display the map.

And the best part is that a decent portable standalone GPS will actually be cheaper over the long term as opposed to an app on the BB.

Re: Curve 8520 GPS & BT receiver
 

I have now got a NAKKAI BT GPS receiver of flee-bay.
I cant get it to interact with BB maps.

My BB can see the BT device and it will pair with it, but mapping doesn't interact with the GPS receiver.

Any ideas plase?

Re: Curve 8520 GPS & BT receiver
 

Has anyone tried this app:
amAze GPS releases for BlackBerry Curve 8520 | PocketBerry
Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile

Re: Curve 8520 GPS & BT receiver
 

anyone shed some light on gps app mentioned above for 8520 ?

im pretty useless with my blackberry, i assume above simply turns my 8520 into basic gps device for free ? i have data plan as part of my package so assume shouldnt incur anymore cost from my provider ?

Re: Curve 8520 GPS & BT receiver
 

I've just written a post but can't post a link yet, so I'll copy it here for you ..

New to Blackberrys, but not to GPS and it's uses, so bear with me please.

I have a Curve 8520 on v5 software, with BB maps and downloaded google maps, both of which work reasonably with mast triangulation to get a position fix. However, I also have a Tom Tom Bluetooth GPS receiver and wanted to use this to get a better fix.

I guess this might also provide a few pointers for getting other BB bluetooth enabled phones using an external GPS receiver.

So turn on the bluetooth device, BB menu 'manage connections' (wifi icon), turn Bluetooth on if it isn't already, click Setup Bluetooth then search and it should 'see' your gps receiver. Highlight the device and click, enter passkey if necessary and you should see that the receiver has been paired to the Blackberry.

If all is good (I can't post pics yet, not enough posts) you should see a mostly white screen with Bluetooth enabled at the top, then Paired devices on 2nd line and the devices name, in my case 'TomTom Wireless GPS MkII'

Return to menu screen and select Options, then advanced options then location settings ..You should be at a screen that has a heading of Location Settings, 2nd line says GPS Data Source and should show Your GPS device highlighted in blue, if not, click the icon and select your device.
3rd line needs Location Services set to Location ON and Location Data set to Enabled. This was the bit I hadn't found and which was stopping my setup working!

That's it, reverse out ans save setting as normal.

Now go into Maps, menu and Start GPS Navigation .. and it works with BB Maps .. It also works with Google maps too and I suspect it will work with most mapping systems with some variations perhaps within the different map menus or settings.

Hope it helps someone .. ;)

Re: Curve 8520 GPS & BT receiver
 

You should try the free GPSTool App to get more information about the attached BT GPS Sensor and data flow....