GPS on the Blackberry Curve 8900 and other BB questions


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I'm considering getting a Blackberry Curve 8900 to replace my overly crappy HTC Touch (I've had it for a year and hated it for 11 months).

The Curve 8900 has GPS built in, which I'm very interested in. But I've got some questions about how it works.

First; is the GPS like other GPS devices (TomTom, Garmin) where you don't pay for a service after you buy the device? Rogers has a service called TeleNav which was required for other Blackberrys and WinMob phones.

Second; can I install another mapping/GPS program that is superior to the Blackberry Maps program (if one exists)?

Third; can I install any other apps?

I've never had a BB before and I'm eager to try it.

I've researched a bit and understand that the BB can download POP email even when I'm not using any BB service (regular dataplan extra) - is this right?

I don't want the Bold because of its size and the fact that the Curve 8900 contains many features already in the Bold - aside from 3G which would be great.

I appreciate any info or advice.

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For the GPS question, "TeleNav" is the GPS program that Rogers offers. TomTom and Garmin both offer software for the blackberry which is a one time $99USD fee and uses the built in GPS without any monthly fee from your provider. Pays for itself within a few months. As for other apps... www.crackberry.com is your resource. There's literally hundreds of applications. And for the BB downloading e-mail without a data plan... nope... it won't do it.

- Mike

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For the GPS question, "TeleNav" is the GPS program that Rogers offers. TomTom and Garmin both offer software for the blackberry which is a one time $99USD fee and uses the built in GPS without any monthly fee from your provider. Pays for itself within a few months. As for other apps... www.crackberry.com is your resource. There's literally hundreds of applications. And for the BB downloading e-mail without a data plan... nope... it won't do it.

- Mike

Thanks for the info.

With regards to downloading email without a dataplan - I understand that i need data in order to download email. My question is more specifically pertaining to if I need a BB specific data plan or use a BB service in order to download my own POP email.

I will be getting a large dataplan should I get the BB.

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I think you can configure the mail client to use whatever email you want. If not, there also seem to be a few email specific programs out there for things like gmail.

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I'm considering getting a Blackberry Curve 8900 to replace my overly crappy HTC Touch (I've had it for a year and hated it for 11 months).

The Curve 8900 has GPS built in, which I'm very interested in. But I've got some questions about how it works.

First; is the GPS like other GPS devices (TomTom, Garmin) where you don't pay for a service after you buy the device? Rogers has a service called TeleNav which was required for other Blackberrys and WinMob phones.

Second; can I install another mapping/GPS program that is superior to the Blackberry Maps program (if one exists)?

Third; can I install any other apps?

I've never had a BB before and I'm eager to try it.

I've researched a bit and understand that the BB can download POP email even when I'm not using any BB service (regular dataplan extra) - is this right?

I don't want the Bold because of its size and the fact that the Curve 8900 contains many features already in the Bold - aside from 3G which would be great.

I appreciate any info or advice.

don't replace the touch with a blackberry, i did and i hated it. i sold it and bought a diamond.

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you don't need a BB specific plan or anything, the blackberry internet service is just a name for a specific push service offered for BB users (ala free email push) to manage any kind of email address. i got push hotmail waaaay before they announced pop3 support. something iphone users have been waiting for ages to get.

I love my BB pearl its tiny like an actual phone, but smart.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Im getting a Curve soon and one thing that i cant seem to work out. does the phone have to be switched on for an alarm to sound? My 1 quibble with the iphone is alarms didnt sound if the phone was off.

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Im getting a Curve soon and one thing that i cant seem to work out. does the phone have to be switched on for an alarm to sound? My 1 quibble with the iphone is alarms didnt sound if the phone was off.

I would be amazed if you could find a phone that would do that, because then the phone wouldn't be off now would it?

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Most phones do this. The phone would wake up when the alarm time was reached.! My old SE for one did this no problem.

I just tried this on my curve 8330 and it does indeed wake up, I'll be damned. I never turn my phone off, so I never would have known

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  • 8 months later...
I just tried this on my curve 8330 and it does indeed wake up, I'll be damned. I never turn my phone off, so I never would have known

First, my Motorola's woke up for the alarm, and they were as off as they can get with the battery still inserted.

Second, a BB is only off when the battery is pulled. End of story.

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