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It makes sense: Your cellphone or smartphone is something you generally have with you when you go out, so why not incorporate a feature in it so that you'll never get lost?
Once a feature found only in expensive stand-alone devices, global positioning system (GPS) functionality is now being built in to an increasing number of cellphones. For a monthly fee as low as $10, users can download the necessary software and receive on-the-fly directions from their location to a programmed destination with real-time maps, voice directions, and turn-by-turn instructions.
The BlackBerry 8830 World Edition is available through Bell Mobility and Telus for $300 for a 3-year term. Its claim to fame is the fact that it's the first BlackBerry that can operate on both the CDMA and the GSM/GPRS networks, meaning it's the first phone from Bell and Telus that will work overseas (where GPRS is typical the norm) as well as on CDMA networks in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The 8830 comes pre-loaded with BlackBerry Maps, a service that allows users to enter an address and follow a route plotted on a map, or receive text directions. Bell offers additional GPS functionality in the form of a service called GPS Nav. The service includes 10 million pre-programmed points of interest, a Spot Marker to mark down waypoints or points of interest on the map, and a pedestrian mode for walking. To use the service, you simply say or type an address and the device will guide you to the location by showing you the route on a map and providing directions through a speaker (such as "in 100 metres, turn right"). Bell offers the service for $10/month + data usage, or a pay-per-day rate of $3.50 per 24 hour period plus data usage.
The BlackBerry 8830's large, horizontally aligned screen and QWERTY keypad make it particularly suited to doubling as a GPS device — the maps are fairly large and the keypad makes it easy to enter addresses. However, there are a few snags. The first is that Telus has yet to roll out its equivalent GPS service, Telus Navigator, on the 8830. Also, it has been documented that the GPS becomes disabled when the phone crosses onto the GSM network. In other words, the 8830 is fine for North American travels, but international globe-trotters might find themselves left in the lurch.
On the other hand, the built-in GPS offered on the BlackBerry 8800 ($399.999 with a 3-year term) from Rogers will work overseas since it runs on the GSM network. Like the 8830, the 8800 comes preloaded with BlackBerry Maps, and for an additional $10 per month, users can enjoy TeleNav GPS Navigator, which, like Bell's service, offers turn-by-turn voiced directions as well as 3D scrolling maps, pre-programmed addresses for more than 10 million businesses, and something called the Fuel Finder which provides directions to gas stations nearby that are offering the cheapest gas.
The BlackBerry Curve 8310 also offers built-in GPS, but in a slightly less business-driven package. The Curve 8310 has a built-in camera for snapping photos, for example, while the other two GPS-enabled BlackBerrys do not. The 8310 is also the first Curve to offer built-in GPS functionality, whereas the 8300 and 8320 models (the latter of which is not available in Canada) require external Bluetooth GPS adapters. The Curve 8310 is $299.99 with a 3-year term with Rogers, and like the 8800 comes preloaded with BlackBerry Maps and is compatible with the $10/month TeleNav GPS Navigator.
The Motorola Q 9h (Rogers, $249.99 with 3-year contract) is another GPS-enabled smartphone that is compatible with Rogers' $10/month Telenav service. It's another device that's well-suited to double as a GPS receiver owing to its wide, bright screen (320 x 240 pixels like the BlackBerrys) and QWERTY keypad.
A growing number of consumer-oriented cell phones are also GPS-ready. On the Telus network, Telus Navigator can be downloaded and used on phones including the Samsung a720, a870, a950 and u510, the Motorola RAZR and KRZR, the LG Chocolate 8500 and 8600, LG Shine and ZTE D90 Fastap. Although the letterboxed screen of these cellphones makes the map less readable, the route plotting, points of interest and voiced directions of the GPS service still function admirably.
The advantages to a cell phone-based GPS service are primarily cost and convenience: At $10/month (and even factoring in another $10 for data costs), it'll take at least a year of use to equal the purchase of a low- to mid-priced stand-alone GPS device that offers similar functionality. And, like cell phones with integrated cameras and music players, having GPS on your cell phone means one less device to have to carry around.
The biggest downside to the service, at least presently, is that GPS won't always function outside of the phone's coverage area. Telus Navigator, for example, is currently not available everywhere in Canada; service is limited to parts of BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces. Also, in addition to the $10 subscription fee, there are data costs associated with accessing the maps so you'll need to subscribe to a data plan in order to take advantage of the service.
