|
09-14-2007, 12:31 PM
|
#21
|
New Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
PIN: N/A
Carrier: att
Posts: 2
|
Please Login to Remove!
1) I said up to 20 minutes. Mine has never taken more that one or two minutes, save for the first time I turned it on (it thought it ws in Taiwan) that took about 15 minutes.
2) I was refering more to long distance travel as in the other side of the planet and or not having the GPS on for several months. Just like turning the GPS on for the first time after having it programmed far away. a normal startup should be between seconds and miuntes.
In short what I was saying was that if your gps takes time starting up, it may just be updating its almanac data, leave it on and out in the open for ~half an hour, see if it helps subsequent startups. if not, then yes, it may need repair.
|
Offline
|
|
09-14-2007, 02:18 PM
|
#22
|
Knows Where the Search Button Is
Join Date: Aug 2007
Model: 8300
PIN: N/A
Carrier: AT&T
Posts: 29
|
No worries mate, I fly all the time cross country East to West coast and back in the US... Always within a minute or two I will get at least a few sats and then it's away we go from there. While you may be correct, I have never heard of anyone's GPS taking that long and if mine did, trust me, it would go back for replacement or refund.
Honestly, I still think that the person complaining in this thread may have a bum unit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gpend
1) I said up to 20 minutes. Mine has never taken more that one or two minutes, save for the first time I turned it on (it thought it ws in Taiwan) that took about 15 minutes.
2) I was refering more to long distance travel as in the other side of the planet and or not having the GPS on for several months. Just like turning the GPS on for the first time after having it programmed far away. a normal startup should be between seconds and miuntes.
In short what I was saying was that if your gps takes time starting up, it may just be updating its almanac data, leave it on and out in the open for ~half an hour, see if it helps subsequent startups. if not, then yes, it may need repair.
|
|
Offline
|
|
10-11-2007, 10:18 AM
|
#23
|
Thumbs Must Hurt
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Kent, UK
Model: Bold
PIN: N/A
Carrier: Orange
Posts: 83
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by gpend
1) I said up to 20 minutes. Mine has never taken more that one or two minutes, save for the first time I turned it on (it thought it ws in Taiwan) that took about 15 minutes.
2) I was refering more to long distance travel as in the other side of the planet and or not having the GPS on for several months. Just like turning the GPS on for the first time after having it programmed far away. a normal startup should be between seconds and miuntes.
In short what I was saying was that if your gps takes time starting up, it may just be updating its almanac data, leave it on and out in the open for ~half an hour, see if it helps subsequent startups. if not, then yes, it may need repair.
|
That is correct. The GPS unit does store the data on what satellites should be in view and depending on the distance between where it was last turned on and where it now is it can take upto 20 minutes to get the new information.
In practice it doesn't normally take this long and the longest I have seen one take is about 10 minutes. This was a sample unit that had been tested at the factory (in Taiwan) and sent to me in the UK. First time I used it it took about 10 minutes to get the initial lock. Next cold start and everyone since then has been under 1 minute.
As mentioned it only normally happens if the GPS unit has moved a significant distance and will only be on the first time it starts up. Units are randomly selected for QC testing (both at the factory, here in the UK and sometimes by the distributor as well) so occasionally a new unit will need to clear its stored information and get the new information when you first get it.
For the freedom unit at least you should just check the orange light on the unit. If it is solid orange and stays solid orange and never changes then you are either in an area that has no satellite signal (ie inside a building) or the unit is not working. To double check make sure the unit is fully charged and give it 20 minutes in open space to update the stored information.
If the Orange light is flashing but your BlackBerry still says there is no satellite signal then it is most likely the issue with the bugged bluetooth control software on the BlackBerry rearing its head (this is often the problem when using GPS units with the BlackBerry).
Take a look at the link below for more information on the BlackBerry Bluetooth bug.
http://www.blackberryforums.com/blue...r-4-2-0-a.html
Last edited by Paul Bowles; 10-11-2007 at 10:19 AM..
|
Offline
|
|
10-25-2007, 09:49 AM
|
#24
|
Talking BlackBerry Encyclopedia
Join Date: Apr 2005
Model: 8320
Carrier: T-Mo
Posts: 267
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by secrecyguy
Thanks! Not as small as I thought it was.
|
Can anyone provide a size comparison to the Holux GPSlim 240?
__________________
4.2.2.180
Visit my blog or my forum for more rants
|
Offline
|
|
10-26-2007, 09:53 AM
|
#26
|
No longer Registered.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Atlanta
Model: 8330
OS: 4.5.0.138
PIN: 31a6c9c9
Carrier: Verizon BIS
Posts: 13,962
|
what is the cost of the freedom and where did you order it from?
|
Offline
|
|
10-26-2007, 10:04 AM
|
#27
|
Crimson Tide Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: North of the moss line
Model: Z30
OS: 7.0sumtin
PIN: t low
Carrier: Verizon
Posts: 41,921
|
|
Offline
|
|
10-26-2007, 10:06 AM
|
#28
|
No longer Registered.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Atlanta
Model: 8330
OS: 4.5.0.138
PIN: 31a6c9c9
Carrier: Verizon BIS
Posts: 13,962
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSanders
|
Thanks
|
Offline
|
|
10-26-2007, 12:20 PM
|
#29
|
Talking BlackBerry Encyclopedia
Join Date: Apr 2005
Model: 8320
Carrier: T-Mo
Posts: 267
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Bowles
|
Awesome, thanks. This makes me happy with my Holux, which is 30% smaller by volume.
__________________
4.2.2.180
Visit my blog or my forum for more rants
|
Offline
|
|
10-26-2007, 12:57 PM
|
#30
|
BlackBerry Extraordinaire
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: NC
Model: 8130
OS: 4.5xxxx
PIN: pm me for it
Carrier: Verizon
Posts: 1,039
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by spblat
|
Holux made me happy.
Kept me from getting too lost in San Francisco & outlying areas this past week.
But it still loses the signal at times and can take an eternity to position me on a cold startup.
-simpson
|
Offline
|
|
10-26-2007, 08:34 PM
|
#31
|
BBF Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2005
Model: Z30
OS: 10.2.1.x
PIN: s & needles
Carrier: AT&T
Posts: 34,720
|
I like my Freedom!!
|
Offline
|
|
10-27-2007, 02:46 AM
|
#32
|
CrackBerry Addict
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Minnesota
Model: 9700
OS: 6.0.0.448
Carrier: T-Mobile
Posts: 811
|
Freedom mini used here and I really like it. Also the casing is a rubberized material and makes me think it will stand up to the abuse of being on my keys well.
|
Offline
|
|
10-27-2007, 07:51 AM
|
#33
|
BBF Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2005
Model: Z30
OS: 10.2.1.x
PIN: s & needles
Carrier: AT&T
Posts: 34,720
|
I've had the Freedom hanging on a big ring of keys for work and it still looks brand new. It's holding up well. I've had it since it first came out.
|
Offline
|
|
10-29-2007, 06:31 AM
|
#34
|
Thumbs Must Hurt
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Kent, UK
Model: Bold
PIN: N/A
Carrier: Orange
Posts: 83
|
I'm obviously biased but have had mine on my keyring since before they where launched and it still looks new (even after dropping it multiple times and having it bounce around with a bunch of other keys on there...)
|
Offline
|
|
10-31-2007, 10:48 AM
|
#35
|
Knows Where the Search Button Is
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: sherborn, ma
Model: 8300
Carrier: AT&T
Posts: 22
|
problems with Freedom mini and curve (8300), ver. 4.2, check out return policy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawg
what is the cost of the freedom and where did you order it from?
|
I urge you to carefully check out the return policy before buying or make sure there are no known problems with the desired unit and your BB. The Freedom mini GPS does not work with the curve (8300) ver. 4.2 , documented as a problem by Paul Bowles from Freedom on this forum.
Suggestion was made on this forum to switch to ver. 4.1 (simply stupid) or perhaps wait for ver. 4.3 (2008 ?).
I purchased a Freedom Mini from MobilePlanet and upon discovering that it would not connect with my ATT 8300 on 4.2 (despite connecting without A SINGLE failure, flawlessly, to many cars, computers and erphones) I was asked to ship the unit back to the UK for testing. After many e-mails and being asked to ship $2 cables back to the UK it cost me $20+ out of pocket (cost of the unit + shippments minus the PayPal refund).
Thus, my suggestion to check out refund carefully should the unit not work with your BB!
|
Offline
|
|
10-31-2007, 10:52 AM
|
#36
|
BBF Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2005
Model: Z30
OS: 10.2.1.x
PIN: s & needles
Carrier: AT&T
Posts: 34,720
|
The Freedom Mini works fine on my Curve with 4.2. I use it all the time. There are occassional disconnects (rare on my Curve, though-there were more on my Pearl) but my BT-359 does the exact same thing.
|
Offline
|
|
10-31-2007, 02:19 PM
|
#37
|
Thumbs Must Hurt
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Kent, UK
Model: Bold
PIN: N/A
Carrier: Orange
Posts: 83
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by perlfather
I urge you to carefully check out the return policy before buying or make sure there are no known problems with the desired unit and your BB. The Freedom mini GPS does not work with the curve (8300) ver. 4.2 , documented as a problem by Paul Bowles from Freedom on this forum.
Suggestion was made on this forum to switch to ver. 4.1 (simply stupid) or perhaps wait for ver. 4.3 (2008 ?).
I purchased a Freedom Mini from MobilePlanet and upon discovering that it would not connect with my ATT 8300 on 4.2 (despite connecting without A SINGLE failure, flawlessly, to many cars, computers and erphones) I was asked to ship the unit back to the UK for testing. After many e-mails and being asked to ship $2 cables back to the UK it cost me $20+ out of pocket (cost of the unit + shippments minus the PayPal refund).
Thus, my suggestion to check out refund carefully should the unit not work with your BB!
|
With respect I would like to respond to this.
I have never said that the Mini GPS unit does not work with 4.2. What I have said is that there are bugs within some versions of the 4.2 operating system which can effect ALL bluetooth devices. This does not mean all curves or all Pearls, etc just the occasional one or two out of every 100 or so. This is a bug with the BlackBerry, not a universal compatibility issue.
Without wishing to go into details in a public forum we did advise you that this was the case and gave you the option to return the GPS unit to us to test. If the GPS unit was then faulty we could exchange it if not you could have had it back and either returned it to the Place of purchase or waited until the next BB update.
The GPS unit was fine and at this point we would have sent it back to you. As you wanted a refund (something that we only normally give to people that buy directly from us) and didnt want the unit back we obviously needed a complete unit (including cables).
I'm really sorry that you couldn't get the unit to work with your BlackBerry but I'm not sure what else we could have possibly done for you. Considering the unit was not purchased directly from us we went against our standard operating procedure to refund you for a product that was not actually faulty.
|
Offline
|
|
11-11-2007, 11:59 PM
|
#38
|
New Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Model: 7130e
PIN: N/A
Carrier: Verizon
Posts: 1
|
Verizon 7130e
Has anyone had experience with this product working with Verizon 7130e? I am not sure if you can pair GPS devices via bluetooth with Verizon Blackberrys. I have the latest firmware on the 7130e which is ver 4.1. I have read that Verizon apparently cripples the internal GPS in this unit via the software, which is why I fear they may also make using an external GPS problematic. I have both Blackberry maps and Google maps installed. Each application acts as if it thinks there is already a GPS present. As I understand it, there is a native GPS, but software cannot receive any GPS data because of the intentional deactivation by Verizon in their software.
I am hesitant to purchase a freedom mini until I can verify that the Verizon issue will not render the unit useless.
|
Offline
|
|
11-12-2007, 12:04 AM
|
#39
|
BBF Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2005
Model: Z30
OS: 10.2.1.x
PIN: s & needles
Carrier: AT&T
Posts: 34,720
|
Yes, the BT pucks will work with the Verizon BB's.
You are correct in that the internal GPS will not work.
|
Offline
|
|
01-02-2008, 12:13 AM
|
#40
|
Knows Where the Search Button Is
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: NC
Model: 8830
PIN: 30448ADC
Carrier: Alltel
Posts: 121
|
In order to use this, does your carrier still have to offer the gps service? or will one of the gps software such as Telenav take care of it once you get this reciever?
|
Offline
|
|
|
|