GPS is becoming common with cell phones and is included in most “smart phones”. If you use Verizon and purchase a Blackberry you may be surprised and pleased to discover that it comes with a GPS mapping app built in. In addition there is no additional monthly subscription fee for this app.
Some Verizon users will be familiar with a navigation program called VZ Navigator which has been available for years but requires an additional fee to use. While we don’t like the additional fee they did provide some flexibility which made it a little more attractive. For instance you could choose to subscribe on a daily or monthly basis, and discontinue it at any time. So if one were taking a summer vacation and wanted to use the navigation program it could be activated temporarily until the trip was complete. The monthly fee was $9.95 which isn’t much when you consider the total cost of a vacation.
To find and use the Blackberry navigation program go to the menu and look for a symbol that resembles and compass. Resting the curser over the compass symbol will give you a pop-up “MAPS” so you will know you have found the right program. You will need to agree to the terms and conditions and then you are ready to go.
Once you click the compass icon the app will open in a map mode but one more step is needed for functionality. With the map open you will need to turn on and begin to track satellites. Do this by pressing the “blackberry button” which some will know as a menu button. This will open a drop down menu where you will look for and click the option; “start gps navigation”. This will start the tracking of the satellite signals so if you are indoors you should step outside to speed up the acquisition process. Actually we have been very impressed by the ease and speed at which our position can be located accurately even when indoors.
At this point your position should soon be located on the map. It may be good to experiment with the different options that are available now that it is working and has located your position. To do that we will go back to the drop down menu which includes these options;
Help
Zoom
Track Up
Hide Dashboard
Stop GPS Navigation
Find Location
Local Search
Get Directions
Send Location
Copy Location
Add To Favorites
Layers
Options
About
Call Voice Mail
Switch Application
Close
As you can see from this menu there are plenty of options and features you van use to make this app work for you.
There are also a couple of features that some may be accustomed to from other GPS receivers that are not included; voice prompting, lane guidance, traffic, etc.
Not withstanding these missing features we think the app is great to have especially considering the fact that we already take the phone with us most everywhere. Add to that the fact that no additional fees are required and this app is clearly a big winner.
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