Will Verizon Cripple the the GPS on the iPhone?

Journey#IM

New member
Feb 3, 2011
4
0
0
Visit site
So I have current Verizon Blackberry Curve 8330, on which the GPS is so crippled that it mostly works only with VZ Navigator.

Any word on what they will do to the iPhone?
 

scorpiodsu

Well-known member
Jan 28, 2011
945
38
0
Visit site
iPhone on AT&T doesn't use true GPS unless paid for as well. It uses aGPS which does not access satellites directly. So it uses cell towers and wifi hotspots to get info. So if you want true GPS like the Garmin app you will have to pay.
 

Tennessee

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2011
47
4
0
Visit site
So I have current Verizon Blackberry Curve 8330, on which the GPS is so crippled that it mostly works only with VZ Navigator.

Any word on what they will do to the iPhone?

They did not do it to the storm or any of the droids, so why would they.
 

kch50428

Well-known member
Oct 22, 2010
21,025
305
0
Visit site
Good grief, from where are people pulling some of this crap?

I'm starting to wonder if AT&T hasn't hired people to spread FUD - fear, uncertainty, doubt....
 
  • Like
Reactions: shipwrestler125

scorpiodsu

Well-known member
Jan 28, 2011
945
38
0
Visit site
They did not do it to the storm or any of the droids, so why would they.

Storm does not have native true GPS on VZW. It uses aGPS. And then don't do it on the droids because google offers free real navigation on their phones via google maps/nagivation
 

mcdan333#AC

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2008
94
2
0
Visit site
iPhone on AT&T doesn't use true GPS unless paid for as well. It uses aGPS which does not access satellites directly. So it uses cell towers and wifi hotspots to get info. So if you want true GPS like the Garmin app you will have to pay.

Not sure where you got this info, but it is false. aGPS *does* access satellites directly. The "a" means "assisted", which uses some other means (usually cell tower triangulation) to improve startup signal acquisition. After startup, it works just like a normal GPS receiver.

AT&T does not charge anything extra for full satellite GPS. Nor would Apple allow such crippling of their hardware, as a previous poster mentioned.
 

ericsmcdonald

Well-known member
Apr 8, 2010
189
24
0
Visit site
Nor would Apple allow such crippling of their hardware, as a previous poster mentioned.

Careful of your wording. Apple would never allow a carrier to cripple its hardware. However, Apple certainly does its best to control how its own hardware works, otherwise there would be no unlocking :)
 

Journey#IM

New member
Feb 3, 2011
4
0
0
Visit site
even when I paid for Verizon Navigator on my Curve it would not work with any other application. It would not let the built in camera app geo-tag a picture. I could sometimes get Blackberry's map program to work but I had to constantly pull the battery to do it. The GPS on the Curve really only talked to Verizon Navigator.
 

shipwrestler125

Well-known member
Jan 11, 2011
565
27
0
Visit site
even when I paid for Verizon Navigator on my Curve it would not work with any other application. It would not let the built in camera app geo-tag a picture. I could sometimes get Blackberry's map program to work but I had to constantly pull the battery to do it. The GPS on the Curve really only talked to Verizon Navigator.

Yeah but pretty much everything on the blackberry sucked I mean you cant compare that to an iphone. The only good thing about blackberry's is the email system. Other than that it doesnt even compare to an iphone or any other high end smart phone.
 

Uplink

Well-known member
Feb 3, 2011
144
5
0
Visit site
Doesn't the iPhone have a GPS in it though? like not a super good one, but it still does. Enough that it can find your location without service, or WIFI.
 

shipwrestler125

Well-known member
Jan 11, 2011
565
27
0
Visit site
Doesn't the iPhone have a GPS in it though? like not a super good one, but it still does. Enough that it can find your location without service, or WIFI.

The preinstalled iphone GPS actually works really well. It doesnt have voice turn by turn but it still is pretty spot on from my friends iphones that I have looked at
 

cjvitek

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2008
1,514
34
48
Visit site
The iPhone has a GPS antennae installed. It has Google Maps installed, but does not have a TBT app installed. You must buy that separately. Google maps is great for finding routes and everything you can do with Google Maps on your computer. But it doesn't do voice navigated turn by turn (it does have turn by turn, but you must manually advance the turns, and it does not speak the directions).


AT&T offers a app with a monthly fee. Others are available through the app store, either at a one time cost or monthly fee. Presumably any Verizon user will have access to the apps in the app store as well as any app that Verizon may offer.

I reviewed some of the TBT apps over the past few years. Navigon and Magellen were my favorites, and the ones I still have installed on my iPhone.


Chris
 

Journey#IM

New member
Feb 3, 2011
4
0
0
Visit site
cjvitek,

Can you post a link to your reviews? One quick question, any of them do walking directions? I mostly walk everywhere. (5 miles a day average).
 

Rene Ritchie

Old Man Ritchie
Jan 12, 2007
2,115
355
0
www.about.me
aGPS *IS* true GPS. aGPS simply uses cell towers to pre-crunch GPS data so that it can resolve location much faster than a small mobile device can in the wild. If you're ever off-grid and away from data the GPS goes un-assisted and just takes a long, long time to resolve.

Google Maps on iPhone offers walking directions built in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Garz

icebox93

Well-known member
Jan 11, 2011
190
10
0
Visit site
Those saying that their GPS on verizon doesn't work well might just consider that the GPS reception on the phone might not work right. I've used GPS with google maps and other free location sensitive apps with my BB storm and never had a problem. Contrast that with the Archos 5 I have that is not carrier bound, and is slow to pick up a GPS signal, and drops it easily. Though based on Rene's comment, it might just be that the Archos doesn't have aGPS.

No verizon conspiracy here.
 

cjvitek

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2008
1,514
34
48
Visit site
Last edited:

cthomas1440

Active member
Feb 5, 2011
28
0
0
Visit site
Mine works flawlessly. I can confirm that it is very accurate in Cookeville, TN...not crippled at all. Works with Google maps and "find my iphone" flawlessly.
 

Trending Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
260,011
Messages
1,765,310
Members
441,221
Latest member
CØR