There used to be a time when cell phones used to just make calls. Now cell phone users and the phones have become much more sophisticated. Users want to be able to have GPS on their phones. The reasons for this are purely practical. One gets to save the expense of buying a GPS device and avoid the annoyance of lugging one around. If, however, you use T-mobile, you may have felt a left out of the loop. Getting GPS on your T-mobile phone has never been easier!
Do You Have A Supported Model
T-mobile has 7 models of phones that will support the TeleNav GPS service. If you do not have one of these models you will have to upgrade before you can get GPS capability. The T-mobile models that currently support GPS are:
* T-mobile G1
* BlackBerry 8900
* BlackBerry 8820
* BlackBerry 8800
* BlackBerry 8100
* BlackBerry 8320, also know as the Curve
* Sony Ericson TM 506
Do You Have The Right Service Plan?
In order to use the T-mobile GPS system you need to have the data plan activated on your phone. If you do not have an active data plan you will have to contact your service provider to get one added on.
Telenav Service, Software, and Hardware
In order to use TeleNav you have to make a purchase. The first is for the monthly service. In order to use this service you will have to go to the TeleNav store and set up billing. Sadly, this can not be done via your regular wireless bill. You must use a credit card to set up the billing.
The second purchase that you may need to make is the external GPS receiver. You can also buy this on the TeleNav site. The GPS receiver is an external device. This device pairs to your phone via Bluetooth. Since Bluetooth is only a short range communications tool you will not be able to separate the two device significantly. Of course, this does not apply to all of the T-Mobile models. If you have a model with the GPS built in then you will not need an external reciever. Models without a reciever include the Blackberry Curve and the 8100.
Installing on your phone
Depending on your model, you may now have to install the GPS application onto your phone. This is a required stop for all of the supported BlackBerry phone models.
Is It Worth It?
In the end, just to get GPS on your phone via T-mobile you have to:
* Get the right phone
* Set up the data plan
* Set up the GPS service with separate billing
* Order and install an external GPS receiver (if you phone does not support the internal GPS)
* Install the app on your phone
This seems like a lot of extra work and cost for GPS on your phone. Before you go through all of this hassle and expense you should ask yourself a simple question. Is it really worth it? If you plan on using the GPS at least twice a week it may be worth it. If you are only going to use it once or twice a month then maybe you should stick with Mapquest.
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