Verizon locates switch to enable GPS on RIM 8330, 8130
It’s nearly 18 months since we struggled with the GPS radio that wasn’t meant to be on the BlackBerry 8830. Oh, the device has a GPS radio, but Verizon Wireless disabled it when the 8830 debuted on the VZW network. Eventually, that got resolved, although not in the way we had hoped. Similar shenanigans continued on the network with RIM’s 8330 Curve and 8130 Pearl, but Boy Genius reports that Verizon Wireless has enabled the embedded GPS radio to work on the handset, and not just for the premium VZ Navigator service they offer.
Unfortunately, the radio only appears to work with the integrated BlackBerry Maps program at this point, so if you have a Curve or Pearl and were counting on Google Maps and the GPS, you’ll be let down.
I have no issue with the carriers making a fair profit and offering add-on value services, but the disabling or limiting of hardware features has to stop. It’s like buying a new car with a high-end stereo system and then not being able to listen to music while driving because the dealer claims they haven’t tested the radio’s effect on the roads. VZW: if you have to test advertised hardware features in handsets on your network, that’s fine. Just pick up the pace so the features get enabled before the handset model sees EOL.
AMEN!
i hate carriers that gimp their handsets and verizon, your the most notorious!!!
Rich Miner supposedly said this “Carriers behave like Lemmings” of the US carriers a couple of weeks ago in an event in Europe. I must say at first that I did not understand the metaphor. As I found out more about lemmings the animals and their strange behavior, I learnt of the root of the metaphor. Behaving like lemmings is a reference to people who go along unquestioningly with popular opinion, with potentially dangerous or fatal consequences.
US carriers like Verizon and others are basically building walled gardens while at the same time are talking about openness. Verizon creates these priveleged API’s especially with respect to location.
If Verizon was really smart, they would open up all the location API’s and have their venture arm and invest in startup companies that leverage these API’s to bring out new services. This way they would gain from any technology developed by these startups and also gain financially from any sound exits.
With the emergence of NFC and other technologies in the new chipsets for phones newer ways to tap location will become available and tower based triangulation and GPS may become secondary.
Instead of gaining from the existing crop of technology startups, Carriers, but alas, they march like lemmings toward the cliff edge.
Has anyone tried it with Nav4All to see if it works with the VzW’s BlackBerry’s GPS? While it’s a free, no-frills turn-by-turn navigator over the internet, it got me out of a jam a couple of times.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a Verizon phone to test it with, so if you guys are willing to try it… http://www.nav4all.com
@BeyondtheTech…
Nav4All does NOT work unfortunately.
The GPS also works on the 8830 World Edition.
But only if you’ve installed the 4.5 OS
I’m running 4.5.0.101 and it seems to be working great with Blackberry Maps.
Hopefully they’ll just open the GPS to third party programs and start getting their customers back. I’ve know several people that have moved to other networks because they disable hardware that was intended to be on the phone in the first place.
Verizon has revenue strategy that enable them to make huge profit from GPS related app and services and that’s why Verizon is blocking GPS for non Verizon app and services.
Verizon is the only carrier blocks Blackberry GPS by blocking 3rd party app’s access to PDE, that means assist data from bases station to initiate GPS calculation.
Verizon is holding customer hostage. Tell them to “OPEN GPS OR I’LL FIRE YOU” is the only way that will work.
Sadly it seems as thoe Alltel which is merging with Verizon is doing the same thing.
There is gps software called telenav gps that comes on the Alltel 8130 Pearl that you have to pay an additional $9.99 a month to use.
Blackberry maps, nor any other free gps map software I have tried like google maps can pick up my location. They just hang searching for satalite and eventualy base my location off a tower.