Eric sent in this great article on PC World by Steve Bass. Steve took the carrier branded GPS applications from AT&T, Verizon, & Sprint for a spin and came back with some interesting conclusions. I have not had a chance to try the Verizon application and compare them all side by side so I was interested to see which came out on top.
If you are considering the GPS functionality of your BlackBerry as a carrier decision you may want to check out the article. It turns out that Verizon, AT&T, & Sprint both charge the same for the service but each carriers branded service is slightly different.
For example:
- AT&T – GPS powered by TeleNav with extra features like pedestrian walking mode
- Sprint – GPS also powered by TeleNav but missing features found on AT&T
- Verizon – Powered by Networks In Motion
Just to spoil the ending… Steve comes out recommending AT&T’s TeleNav over all the others. I guess that is what AT&T is doing with all the revenue they are getting from putting ads on the MEdia Net website. 
disciples0 ( View Profile) - Posts: 48
Posted: October 29, 2008 at 6:27 AM EST from my BlackBerry 8310
“Verizon, At&t,& Sprint both charge the same…”
Ronen, forward to me for edit before post please.
LoL, just kidding. Thanks again for providing excellent relevant timely information
Ronen Halevy ( View Profile) - Posts: 3331
Posted: October 29, 2008 at 7:35 AM EST
What did I do wrong other than being half asleep while posting this?
DavidB Not Registered
Posted: October 29, 2008 at 9:34 AM EST from my BlackBerry 8830
Three carriers is more than “both” Ronen…
I have to go read the article more in depth, but as I understand it of the 3 only Sprint allows you to use other GPS apps than their branded app. So this wasn’t really a fair fight since the branded apps are each barely above “sucks” compared to free and pay alternatives that don’t work on ATT or VZW.
Amir Saad Not Registered
Posted: October 29, 2008 at 9:36 AM EST
Thanks for posting this Ronen. It wouldve been interesting if googles maps entered the competition here along with Garmin (the $100 service for life) though.
DavidB ( View Profile) - Posts: 1791
Posted: October 29, 2008 at 5:05 PM EST
Unfortunately only carrier branded software was evaluated. So the breadth of GPS mapping applications was ignored, including the Blackberry Maps application that is right there on each of those Curves! I have no doubt that the carriers got a cut on the article before it was posted, or got to set preconditions that only THEIR mapping app be reported about. It would have been nice to see (or maybe PCWorld would fund such a comparison) the carrier apps compared to what other apps are out there, but we know what would have happened. The reviewer would have found (and reported hopefully) the GPS restrictions and the carriers I’m sure don’t want any more press on that. While it was a decent enough review, I gave it a thumbs down due to its limited focus.
realbrisk Not Registered
Posted: October 30, 2008 at 12:06 AM EST from my BlackBerry 8330
With Sprint. The telnav is free with blackberry service