7 Comments to “Verizon Finds A Way To Charge For GPS On 8830”

1. 

   Posted by: Jason Roysdon

   December 1, 2007 at 4:41 am EST

   Google Maps 2.0’s new My Location can figure out where you are within ~3,200 ft.
2. 

   Posted by: BerryReview

   December 1, 2007 at 6:16 pm EST

   Thanks for pointing that out Jason. I just cant believe Verizon always wants to charge for every little feature. Especially when the customers know it should work and would cost them nothing!
3. 

   Posted by: RK

   December 2, 2007 at 2:36 pm EST

   VZW navigators works much faster than GPS Unit + Telenav. I recently used AT&T Tilt + Telenav. It was often very slow. About 30% of the time, it took several tries to pick up GPS signals from the air. Whereas the VZ navigator has this type of failure rate about 5% of the time. But, usually it just works. VZ Navigator works inside the building and outside the building. The GPS Phone + Telenav, you have to be outside to make work. Sometimes, even at the outside, it doesn’t work that well. When it works, it works beautifully. I think partially this is due to AT&T Network in Houston. During the night, I have experienced where the device doesn’t pick up any satellite signals. It could be just me or my device. Others may have difference experiences. But in Houston as of 11/2007, AT&T Tilt + Telenav didn’t always work well. Subsequently, Windows Live, Google Map, and Yahoo Go’s map’s GPS feature suffers. It’s like not having GPS feature inside the phone. I really wanted this to work. But, at the end, it doesn’t matter how hard you try.
   Also, VZ navigator doesn’t require the device to constantly download stream of data. So, in many ways, NZ Navigator is quicker, faster, and it requires less data streaming. I think, if you want a good GPS functions, you should get portable GPS puck. I think they will work much better than relying on Phone’s GPS
   I don’t particularly fault VZW for this. One of the arguments is that these internal GPS units are often weak. It’s not like it has SIRF III chip inside. It may require more tech support for it to work and may create customer dissatisfactions like mine. VZW sell features and services often works really well. So, maybe, their policy is not to sell features that doesn’t work almost all the time. It would increase the return rate, customer dissatisfaction, and tech support cost.
   Again, I had the Tilt, I had hard time watching Cingular Video, and it would chop out. I would go in and out of G E 3G H all the time. I got H about 10% of the time, and then it would switch right back to 3G (about 20%) of the time….. Most of time, I got E or about 10% of time G.
   And you see this from the customer satisfaction result. Verizon often had 6 point or more lead. So, Maybe the 8830’s GPS function as disabled.. maybe for a good reason. However, I have wished that they would have enabled it so, the Windows Live, Google Map, and Yahoo G!… and of course BB’s own map can be functional.
4. 

   Posted by: miked1960

   September 25, 2008 at 12:49 pm EST

   Here is the law President Regan signed into law that all GPS will be free for all to use. How/ why is verizon making people pay for a service when everyone in the USA pays for it with federal taxes? How is it that verizons gps works through there system when we have over 24 sattilites that do the job already?
   Hope verizon can answer these questions honestly. Enjoy the reading
   http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/gps/white.htm
5. 

   Posted by: Jason Roysdon

   September 26, 2008 at 12:24 pm EST

   Cell phone’s use “Assisted GPS” and are not autonomous.

   I believe what this means is that they’re not smart enough to do all the GPS work themselves. They rely on the cell towers they’re talking to to triangulate roughly where they are (within 7000 feet or so), and then use the GPS for the final info.

   Because of this “extra help” that the towers give, I’m betting that’s why they can get away with charging for the GPS service.
6. 

   Posted by: Russell

   September 26, 2008 at 1:09 pm EST

   “Jason Roysdon”:
   Let me englighten you
   it’s not that these devices aren’t smart enough… aGPS is actually the preferred method because it picks up the locations significantly faster. It can work inside the building unlike other GPS devices.

   Also, they charge fee because it is better and faster way to get GPS signal. AT&T now has simliar system like Verizon, Network in Motion. It’s the software and software related data feed you are paying for…

   So, your bet is wrong.

   miked1960:
   Verizon doesn’t use satellite signals. It uses cell towers. The functionality is quiet similar, if not better in most cases. If you don’t want it, don’t get it.. it’s really that simple. You should read before you copy & paste something. Obviously, you haven’t read it. But that’s how the people are these days.
7. 

   Posted by: Jason Roysdon

   September 26, 2008 at 5:22 pm EST

   The problem I have is the device says it has “GPS,” but Verizon won’t let me use the GPS function without paying, and last I’d read, I can only use the Verizon approved apps with the GPS even if I pay the monthly $10.

   We bought the model phones we did because they advertised GPS, and as Mike posted, GPS is a free system. Otherwise, we’d have bought the version of phones that had cameras. Not my decision or anything I had input on, otherwise I’d have researched it better. I think the US Gov should have trademarked the GPS name and just like you can’t call something Ketchup without it having certain ingredients, they should block people from saying something has GPS unless it is free (they could call it imitation or GPS-like features).

   Google Maps works good enough for me, as 7000 ft is close enough to get decent directions real fast.