BlackBerry and GPS

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May 18, 2006 at 10:27 am · Filed under Software

In this post I will write about using GPS enabled applications on your Blackberry.
I will present you the solutions available on the market today and the options you have with your device.

Compatibility

I will begin telling you what options you have with your device and which programs are compatible. After that I will give you an introduction to each program. As you after that know which program is compatible you might just want to skip some programs which would not run on the particular device anyway.

In general there are two options for using GPS with a Blackberry. You ether have a device with an internal GPS receiver, or you will need an external bluetooth GPS receiver, which will provide the GPS data to your BlackBerry. At the time of writing there are only two BlackBerry devices which have an integrated GPS receiver: 7520 and 7100i. For all other device you will need a Bluetooth GPS receiver. If your device does not have bluetooth support you are out of luck. Below is a detailed compatibility matrix. It shows you which program is compatible with which device.

Note: Some devices do have “Location Based Services” options. This does not necessarily mean they have GPS. Especially the 7250 does not have GPS. The device is often confused with the 7520, which has GPS.

There is a software for the antique RIM 857/957 which works with a serial GPS receiver attached via cable. If you are still using one of these devices, you might want to take a look here: map viewer for RIM

GPS Compatibility Matrix:

BlackBerry Device	GPS Type	Berryvine Companion	CaffeineFinder	Fastfoodfinder	MapQuest Find Me	Mobile Locator	Naggie	Spot for Blackberry	Telenav	Trimble Outdoors
7520*	internal	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
7100i	internal	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
8800	internal	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
8830	internal	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
7100g	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no
7100r	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
7100t	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
7100v	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
7100x	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
7105t	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no
7130e	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
7210	not supported	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
7230	not supported	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
7250	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
7280	not supported	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
7290	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
7730	not supported	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
7750	not supported	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
7780	not supported	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
8100	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no
8700c	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no
8700g	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
8700f	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
8700r	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
8700v	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
8707h	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
8707v	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
8703e**	internal	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
8703e	bluetooth	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no

* To make use of the GPS capabilities of your 7520 you need the latest BlackBerry OS. Earlier version did not implement the “Loacation API”. You can get it here.
** Only Sprint/Nextel and Alltel - all other vendors deactivated the built-in GPS. So you need to switch to an external Bluetooth GPS receiver.

Software

There are basically three types of GPS software:

Navigation Software
Mapping/Field Navigation Software
GPS enabled tools

Most people think of Navigation Software when they hear the word GPS. It is obviously also available for BlackBerry. There are however a lot of other things you can do with your GPS device. Mapping and “Field Navigation” Software is mostly targeted for outdoor use and for navigation in a terrain without big streets. You can use it for hiking, biking and a lot of other activities like geocaching which got popular recently. This kind of software sometimes can offer you detailed topographic and satellite map in addition to street level maps. Another application are GPS enabled tools which incorporate the location with other functions.

Navigation Software

- TeleNav

TeleNav turns your BlackBerry in a full featured Navigation System and is currently the only real navigation solution for users in North America. It has an easy to read navigation screen which shows the map, speed and direction. You will also get audible driving directions to know when to turn. An integrated POI (Point Of Interest) management system allows you to quickly find restaurant, gas stations, etc. that are nearby.

Telenav is subscription based and costs $10.00/month for the “TeleNav Unlimited Plan“.

- Berryvine Companion

Berryvine Companion is the only real Navigation Solution if you are living in estern Europe. The program makes use of a third party data provider “Locatienet” which provides the maps and driving directions. The Regions “BeNeLux”, “United Kingdom” and “Most of western Europe” are covered. It also features POI (Point Of Interest) support but lacks audible driving directions like Telenav has. Berryvine Companion works with Bluetooth BlackBerry’s only. (As there is currently no BlackBerry with internal GPS in Europe that should not be much of a problem).

Mapping Software

- Trimble Outdoors

Trimble Outdoors is designed to create and exchange outdoor trips with your Blackberry. It includes an application to prepare and plan outdoor trips on the PC and is targeted to users in the United States, as they only provide maps for this area.

You have to pay a monthly fee to use Trimble Outdoors. Different plans are available from Nextel.

- Spot for Blackberry

Spot for Blackberry is a very feature-packed Mapping application which even integrates some advanced GIS features. It has a lot of integrated Map-Services which provide streetlevel data of the United States and topographic / satellite imagery with worldwide coverage. Best of all - there is no monthly fee to use them. It features extensive waypoint support, including a pseudo-routing function which directs you to your target and can import GPX and LOC waypoint data. It even support getting geocache data from geocaching.com. However I got server timeouts when testing this feature. Spot for Blackberry can also log your tracks. I was testing it on a Blackberry 7290 and a 8700. The program was a bit slow on my 7290 after using the Tracklog for a few hours while the 8700 was still very fast. The different map-services are very impressive. You can get satellite photos of your terrain, get environmental maps or even use your companys map-server, as the program supports the OGC WMS standard which is used by ESRI, etc.

Overall this is probably the best GPS mapping software available. For real navigation however I would suggest to get Telenav too. You can download a free demo version of Spot for Blackberry or buy it for $49.

GPS Tools

- MapQuest Find Me

MapQuest Find Me allows you to locate you family, friends and co-workers if they are also using the tools and allow you to locate them. You can search for POIs (Point Of Interest) and let the program guide you to them showing turn-by-turn directions (although without map).

MapQuest Find Me costs $5.99/month with 300KB of Data Access Service included or $3.99/month if Data Access is purchased separately.

- MobileLocator

MobileLocator is similar to MapQuest Find Me. It allows you to locate people who are using the same program and can direct you to them. It can also locate POIs (Point Of Interest) like gas station, ATM, bank or restaurant.

The Mobile Locator Service costs $9.99/month.

- Caffeinefinder and Fastfoodfinder

Caffeinefinder and Fastfoodfinder are two small application specialized to find a coffee shop / fast food restaurant nearby.

They work in the United States and are available at no costs.

- Naggie

Naggie is a location-based reminder application which will remember you of things to do that are related to your current position.
usage examples:

“When you’re leaving the office, Naggie can remind you to pick up a pizza on the way home.”
“The next time you’re in Paris, Naggie can remind you to check out that great restaurant your friend just told you about.”
“When you arrive at the grocery store, Naggie can remind you to pickup some milk.”

It is available at no costs for a limited period of time.

Rumors

According to the press letter from blackberry.net which is already more than one year old, there is a lot of software to come.
See: http://www.blackberry.net/news/press/2004/pr-14_12_2004-01.shtml

There were some rumors on bbhub.com about a BlackBerry 8700 with internal GPS support but now news on that yet.

Looking for a Bluetooth GPS Receiver? Take a look to our Recommended BT GPS Receivers!

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mike said,

May 30, 2006 @ 9:25 pm

OK, i am looking for a way to use my bb 8700c as the gps device to use with software loaded on my notebook

BlackBerryInsight » BlackBerry Outdoor Compatibility #1 said,

July 7, 2006 @ 3:51 pm

[...] The BlackBerry itself was basically designed to be a business device - targetting the need of mobile email accessibility and security. The time changes, the users change and the user’s behavior changes too. Such changes came along with mulitmedia support (i.e. MP3, Video), higher display resolutions and even GPS capabilities. Inspirated on the article BlackBerry and GPS some time ago, I thought it is time to check the outdoor compatibility of my BlackBerry. [...]

Problems with HelloWorld (GPS) - BlackBerryForums.com : Your Number One BlackBerry Community said,

August 5, 2006 @ 8:54 am

[...] Hi jsluss18, I don’t know an exact solution for that issue but there is a quite good article on BlackBerry GPS articles: Link __________________ News and Backstage infos: BlackBerryInsight [...]

k said,

September 21, 2006 @ 9:58 am

There seems to be a new overview page for “Spot” from Skylab Mobilesystems. It supports all current Bluetooth or GPS capable BlackBerry devices.

Spot Overview Site

BlackBerryInsight » Spot GPS Tool supports BlackBerry 8703e said,

September 21, 2006 @ 4:49 pm

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October 26, 2006 @ 11:31 am

[...] More on this topic: BlackBerry and GPS BlackBerry Outdoor Compatibility [...]

Chris said,

December 9, 2006 @ 6:10 am

Do you know where i could get my GPS service by cell phones?
my friends download GPS software to cell phones, and their phone become the navigation system. so cool! but, how i can get
one too?!

k said,

December 29, 2006 @ 10:11 pm

Hello Chris,

first of all you need to be clear which cell phone you have and what features your cell pone has. If you are an owner of a Motorola iden phone for example you can be sure your phone has a built-in GPS receiver. So you just need a software to use this receiver. If your phone does not have a GPS receiver you will need an external one which will bring positioning features to your phone. Once you have such a receiver you will also need a software for that phone. One of the oportunities is “Spot” (http://www.skylab-mobilesystems.com/en/products/spot.html). It runs on a variety of devices and one of them is the BlackBerry.

Best Blackberry GPS Software? - BlackBerryForums.com : Your Number One BlackBerry Community said,

January 17, 2007 @ 10:58 am

[...] Originally Posted by ChrisLuck What is the best possible GPS software I can put on my blackberry? Hey Chris, you can find an overview of all current 3rd party GPS programs here: BlackBerryInsight » BlackBerry and GPS __________________ News and Backstage infos: BlackBerryInsight The BlackBerry Search: Berryquery.com [...]

BlackBerryInsight » GPS is the Highlight at 3GSM said,

February 13, 2007 @ 10:29 pm

[...] Therefor we do always suggest to check out our BlackBerry and GPS overview that has been written some time ago but is still up to date. Also our collection of Bluetooth GPS receivers for those who need to purchase an external Bluetooth GPS receiver - if you are running a BlackBerry 7100, 7130, 7200, 7500, 8100 or 8700 series (excluding 7100i, 7520, 8703e at Sprint) - to get GPS positioning work on your BlackBerry. [...]

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February 24, 2007 @ 9:51 pm

[...] Well, it seems we all have to take a look to reviews on the topic BlackBerry and GPS [...]

BlackBerryInsight » GPS & Mapping Tool Spot in new version 1.4.1 said,

March 2, 2007 @ 4:38 pm

[...] Sometimes we are talking about the BlackBerry and GPS. Most of the time we are referring to the GPS and mapping program Spot from Skylab Mobilesystems. Well, there are other opinions out there but we think it is by far the best you can use as positioning and orientation tool if you do not need “real” turn-by-turn navigation like BlackBerry Maps or TeleNav are offering. It is NOT subscription based like programs mentioned before and therefor it does not cause costs after the initial purchase of a program license. The updates even come free for users who already purchased a license. Moreover, they are also offering a free demo version (again and again BlackBerryInsight brings links to free downloads to you) for those of you who would like to test it before. [...]

BlackBerryInsight » Recommended Bluetooth GPS Receivers said,

March 19, 2007 @ 4:33 pm

[...] Related Links: » Spot in version 1.4.0 available » Spot GPS Tool supports BlackBerry 8703e » Spot - new devices supported (BlackBerry 8707g and Palm Treo 680) » Spot supports the Pearl officially » BlackBerry and GPS [...]

anne rifici said,

March 19, 2007 @ 9:01 pm

love the product but not when the advertisement over-rides the print if tge artucke in the Times that I’m trying to read. Click your “close” button and the infringement only returns. Irritating to say the least

GRANT LAIRD SR. said,

March 22, 2007 @ 11:58 am

AS YOU KNOW I AM WORKING FOR DOMINOS PIZZA DRIVER, THERE IS LOTS OF DIFFERENT ADDRESS AROUND MY AREA I DRIVE MY TRUCK OVER ONE HUNDRED MILES A DAY AND I GOT LOST SO I WAS HOPING GPS SHOWN VERY CLEARLY PICTURE FOR ME TO GET THERE AND ALSO IS THERE HAVE E-MAIL ADDRESS JUST LIKE SIDEKICK MODEL HAVE AND HOW MUCH ITWILL BE COST INCUDING PAYMENT AND GPS ALSO, SIDEKICK CHARGE 29.95 PER MONTH PLUS INURANCE PLUS GPS ,,….E-MAIL ME BACK AS SOON AS YOU CAN , THANK YOU

BlackBerryInsight » BlackBerry 8300 “Curve” at AT&T said,

May 3, 2007 @ 6:07 pm

[...] A reader at engadget wrote “[…]it is a pity they took out the GPS[…]”. Which is absoluteley my opinion! GPS is an essential feature for mobile devices that want to be state-of-the-art. By the way, this new device means we have to upgrade our BlackBerry and GPS guide for those of you who are looking for the best GPS application of your BlackBerry. [...]

BlackBerryInsight » Spot will support the BlackBerry Curve 8300 said,

May 4, 2007 @ 9:09 am

[...] Related Links: BlackBerry and GPS - The best GPS guide you can find! Daytona (aka BlackBerry 8300) with GPS or not? BlackBerry 8800 for $99 at BlackBerryInsight Store GPS & Mapping Tool Spot in new version 1.4.1 GPS & mapping tool Spot now supports the new BlackBerry 8800 generation [...]

BlackBerryInsight » Review: EmergencyWipe for BlackBerry Wireless Handheld said,

June 23, 2007 @ 12:27 pm

[...] Anecdote: I had en experience some time ago where I accidently went into an restricted military area. Actually I was just hiking with some friends to a GPS position we picked by random on Google Earth. Well, the military thought that was not such a good idea and after negotiation and searching us they decided to confiscate our digital cameras and a BlackBerry. Having all those important tasks, contacts and appointments in there they can check… So in this situation I would have definitely used this kind of application to wipe the device before they confiscated it. [...]

GPS Software? - BlackBerryForums.com : Your Number One BlackBerry Community said,

July 22, 2007 @ 12:13 pm

[...] Complete overview - Today, 11:13 PM You can find a complete overview on GPS application for your BlackBerry here: BlackBerryInsight » BlackBerry and GPS Blog | HowTos | Deals & Free Downloads | Search | Ringtones [...]

Rags's Soapbox said,

July 23, 2007 @ 12:46 am

TeleNav for Blackberry: Driving Directions Made Easy…

My friend Brad and I were playing golf yesterday and we used his Blackberry to navigate to the course. I didn’t realize that new Blackberry models have built-in GPS chips and that, with the TeleNav service provided by Sprint/Nextel, you…

best gps software for 8800? - BlackBerryForums.com : Your Number One BlackBerry Community said,

August 14, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

[...] Originally Posted by JinFocker is there a census on this yet? i know alot of people like telenav, but i am referring to the free ones. i already have a tomtom and i was just curious as to what is the best match software that is free. This guide seems to be nearly complete: BlackBerry and GPS Blog | HowTos | Deals & Free Downloads | Search | Ringtones [...]

Cell Phones Tracer said,

August 22, 2007 @ 7:30 pm

Cell Phones Tracer…

I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…

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September 18, 2007 @ 5:07 pm

[...] You might want to check out our comprehensive guide BlackBerry and GPS. [...]

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October 3, 2007 @ 9:54 am

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Patrick said,

October 10, 2007 @ 6:12 am

Can my company track where I am throught the day using GPS through my blackberry 8703e? I suspect that’s one of the reasons they gave the mobile employees these blackberrys.

Patrick said,

October 10, 2007 @ 6:15 am

Oh, also, curious whether my employer can also read personal text messages and emails, even listen to my voice mail, since they get the blackberry bill each month. Concerned this is all very much like corporate big brother.

MiBlackBerry.cl » Blog Archive » BlackBerry 8310 en Chile y con servicio GPS said,

October 11, 2007 @ 5:03 pm

[...] Si desean saber la disponibilidad de GPS (interno o externo) para otros modelos de BB, visiten el siguiente enlace del sitio BlackBerryInsight.com. [...]

BlackBerryInsight » BlackBerry Curve 8310 at AT&T in the U.S. said,

October 17, 2007 @ 2:25 pm

[...] For more information on GPS software and the compatiblity of several BlackBerry devices check out our BlackBerry and GPS article. [...]

BlackBerryInsight - Deutsch » Wie man einen Bluetooth-GPS-Empänger mit dem BlackBerry kombiniert said,

November 9, 2007 @ 3:45 pm

[...] Einige Anwendungen benötigen ein externes Bluetooth-Gerät, damit sie funktionieren. Die meisten von Ihnen werden ein Bluetooth Headset benutzen, um bequem anrufen zu können. (Ich bevorzuge das mit meinem Pearl mitgelieferte Kabel-Headset, denn es muss nicht aufgeladen werden und schaltet sich nicht mangels Strom ab). Um GPS Positionierungs-Funktionalitäten in einem BlackBerry zu integrieren, das über keinen eingebauten GPS-Empfänger verfügt, benötigt man einen externen Bluetooth-GPS-Empfänger. Auf dem Markt gibt es viele GPS-Anwendungen und wir haben sie alle getestet : BlackBerry Maps, TeleNav, Spot, BerryVine, MobileTracker, Naggie, etc… Seitdem ich den Artikel“MobileTracker auf Ihrem Pearl und Curve” geschreiben habe (der eigentlich noch nicht offiziell supportet wurde), empfing ich viele E-Mails, in denen ich gefragt wurde, wie man eigentlich das Bluetooth-GPS-Geraet zum Laufen bringt. Technisch gesehen ist es ziemlich einfach. [...]

BlackBerryInsight » BlackBerry Pearl with Chinese Input Method said,

December 26, 2007 @ 6:12 pm

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BlackBerryInsight » BlackBerry Contracts in Hong Kong S.A.R. said,

December 30, 2007 @ 9:26 pm

[...] have a built-in GPS receiver [...]

BlackBerryInsight - Deutsch » BlackBerry-Verträge in Hongkong said,

January 4, 2008 @ 4:52 pm

[...] have a built-in GPS receiver [...]

Vaibhav said,

April 19, 2008 @ 2:58 pm

which version of GPS telenav used by blackberry 8310

BlackBerryInsight » How to pair a Bluetooth GPS receiver with your BlackBerry said,

April 23, 2008 @ 2:32 pm

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May 6, 2008 @ 8:52 am

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EM said,

May 7, 2008 @ 12:11 am

hi, i would like to know if there is a way to have GPS navagation without consuming any Data usage from my cellular service provider? and if so, what application should i use?
thanks a million

barry parsons said,

May 8, 2008 @ 7:19 pm

I have a nikkai gps which appears to have paired with my blackberry( its listed in the devices list) . However when I fire up
telenav it tales me that the gps device is invalid.

I note you suggest that the GPS has to be the first blue tooth item in the list — how do I move the list around? Also do you have any other suggestions. Would be very grateful for info as currently pulling hair out!!

Neues BlackBerry Alliance Mitglied: Skylab Mobilesystems | BlackBerryInsight - Deutsch said,

May 22, 2008 @ 2:43 pm

[...] BlackBerry Geräte und GPS Referenztabelle (finden Sie heraus, welche Blackberry Geräte GPS unterst… Abonniere unsere Artikel: [...]

Abaq.us is powered by Skylab’s GPS Software Technology | BlackBerryInsight said,

June 11, 2008 @ 11:23 pm

[...] out our famous BlackBerry and GPS article if you want to know more on the GPS topic. Get our articles via [...]

Gilberto Vargas said,

June 19, 2008 @ 10:31 pm

Hi, I have many GPS devices installed in my vehicles and I want to know if there’s a way to trace them using the BlackBerry, I need a app that let’s me add the phone number assigned to the GPS and trace it or at least tell me it’s location… any ideas?

Thanks!

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June 23, 2008 @ 8:07 am

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