Is GPS Free ??

[kanay2000]

Hey, I was just wondering, that is using the GPS function on your phone free or would it charge you?

Many Thanks

 

[DMXXX]

It is free.

 

[nacatomi]

It is free.

Just to clarify...

GPS is free for positioning, BUT using google maps navigation will cost you in data as it has to download the map data.
Other dedicated GPS apps e.g. CoPilot store the maps on sd card so there are no ongoing data costs.

 

[kredda]

Just to clarify...

GPS is free for positioning, BUT using google maps navigation will cost you in data as it has to download the map data.
Other dedicated GPS apps e.g. CoPilot store the maps on sd card so there are no ongoing data costs.

well said !

 

[kanay2000]

Would it charge me , if i used google navigation, but downloaded the data at home using wifi?

 

[nacatomi]

I think you can precache your route over wifi to minimise data usage but if you go off route at any point it will start downloading map data.

 

[DMXXX]

I guess I should have been clearer in my first post. Anyway just to warn you that Google Maps uses a lot of data: I used it to browse about a 5 square kilometre area and it DL-d about 2 MB worth of data. Without a data plan you can have some nasty bills that way.

 

[kboya]

I guess I should have been clearer in my first post. Anyway just to warn you that Google Maps uses a lot of data: I used it to browse about a 5 square kilometre area and it DL-d about 2 MB worth of data. Without a data plan you can have some nasty bills that way.

I dont doubt you, but just for clarity, as that sounds like a lot of data for 5sq km--at what level of browsing were you? maximum zoom? with satellite view? did you have traffic overlays? or, any other layers?

 

[DMXXX]

I was using the default settings whatever they are. I was just messing around to see how it works. I did zoom a lot though.

 

[nacatomi]

I did zoom a lot though.

Theres where your high usage came from. Every time you zoom it has to download the map data for that zoom level and it gets more detailed the closer you zoom.

FYI I decided to test Navigation on the way home the other night after the recent update. With no precaching a ~12 mile journey with a couple of detours to test rerouting that took 30 mins used about 8MB of data at the default zoom apart from a couple of mins while I was stuck in traffic so had a play.

 

[PARAD0X]

I hope they fix it so that it stores all the mapping data on the sdcard.

 

[wuthton]

I hope they fix it so that it stores all the mapping data on the sdcard.

It's never going to happen. Google = Cloud computing.

Call me Mr Suspicious but i would be surprised if we did not see location based advertising on Nav before much longer. Google haven't gone to all that effort for no return.

 

[anoniemouse]

It's never going to happen. Google = Cloud computing.

Call me Mr Suspicious but i would be surprised if we did not see location based advertising on Nav before much longer. Google haven't gone to all that effort for no return.

There is a java based free solution that you can store all maps from nearly everywhere in the world on your sd card.
As the Desire is according to specs java capable, i can't see any reason it won't work.

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