# blackberry bold as a gps?



## gladerider (Apr 18, 2011)

any one out there use their blackberry as a gps? i know there are some converts nowadays...


----------



## Nick (Apr 18, 2011)

I had an app a while ago when I had my blackberry tour... it worked OK but really didn't hold a candle to what exists on Android and iPhone. 

What are you looking to use it for; strictly hiking?


----------



## drjeff (Apr 19, 2011)

gladerider said:


> any one out there use their blackberry as a gps? i know there are some converts nowadays...



The GPS apps I had on my BB aren't as good as the ones I have on my Droid now, which still aren't as good as my Garmin GPS unit that I have.  But then again what's 50 or 100 meters when you're out trekking through the woods  :lol:

Additionally, if you're looking at a good long hike, running the GPS actively really starts to drain the battery life, so that's something else to consider too


----------



## Nick (Apr 19, 2011)

@DrJeff, I thought the GPS on my droid was infinitely better than the Garmin. Curious what makes you think the Garmin is better? The only thing I had was that if you lost data connection, you lost your map... but the GPS itself I thought was cleaner and better implemented and I liked that you never had map updates since they are loaded real time.

Good point on the battery life though, that does suck. I have a Forerunner I use for jogging, but it's not good for navigation. I've never really used a "hiking" specific GPS.


----------



## drjeff (Apr 20, 2011)

Nick said:


> @DrJeff, I thought the GPS on my droid was infinitely better than the Garmin. Curious what makes you think the Garmin is better? The only thing I had was that if you lost data connection, you lost your map... but the GPS itself I thought was cleaner and better implemented and I liked that you never had map updates since they are loaded real time.
> 
> Good point on the battery life though, that does suck. I have a Forerunner I use for jogging, but it's not good for navigation. I've never really used a "hiking" specific GPS.



The Garmin 705 (pretty sure that's the model #, but i'm at work now and it's at home  ) that I use for hiking and biking regularly has me much closer to known fixed points than my droid x, and far better than my BB did.  We're only talking about 10 to maybe 50 meters here, but my garmin has proven to me that its more accurate and sometimes those meters can make a big difference.

Battery life though can easily become an issue if you're looking at a full day hike.  Since you gotta remember with that BB or Droid, you're basically running a computer off that rechargeable lithium ion battery, and the more stuff you have running, especially an active GPS program, the more juice you're using from that battery.  And devices like the Garmin have been specifically designed for long duration actice GPS use.  If you're just looking at an anticipated 2 to 3 hour hike, then the battery life issue, as long as you're starting off with a full charge, is more than likely a non issue for a BB or Droid based GPS app


----------



## gladerider (Apr 20, 2011)

Nick said:


> I had an app a while ago when I had my blackberry tour... it worked OK but really didn't hold a candle to what exists on Android and iPhone.
> 
> What are you looking to use it for; strictly hiking?



for all my activities. hiking, MTB, etc....


----------



## gladerider (Apr 20, 2011)

drjeff said:


> The Garmin 705 (pretty sure that's the model #, but i'm at work now and it's at home  ) that I use for hiking and biking regularly has me much closer to known fixed points than my droid x, and far better than my BB did.  We're only talking about 10 to maybe 50 meters here, but my garmin has proven to me that its more accurate and sometimes those meters can make a big difference.
> 
> Battery life though can easily become an issue if you're looking at a full day hike.  Since you gotta remember with that BB or Droid, you're basically running a computer off that rechargeable lithium ion battery, and the more stuff you have running, especially an active GPS program, the more juice you're using from that battery.  And devices like the Garmin have been specifically designed for long duration actice GPS use.  If you're just looking at an anticipated 2 to 3 hour hike, then the battery life issue, as long as you're starting off with a full charge, is more than likely a non issue for a BB or Droid based GPS app



you are right. i am experimenting with a few apps now and the battery life is the key issue.


----------

