Cingular 8525 Has No GPS Locator?

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Juan Pablo - 15 May 2007 14:16 GMT

This finally dawned on me, the (Cingular) 8525 apparently
does not have a built-in GPS locator function as does the
(Sprint)(HTC) PPC-6700 that also has Win. Mobile 5.0.
Other late model cell phones are prone to include GPS
locator these last few years.

I searched the (not provided-in-the-box) actual HTC 8525
User Manual, and found zero info about utilizing any
internal GPS locator function.
For such an overall sophisticated and pricey cell phone I
thought that GPS locator omission was somewhat bazaar.

Cheers. ---Juan

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Todd Allcock - 15 May 2007 16:35 GMT

> This finally dawned on me, the (Cingular) 8525 apparently
> does not have a built-in GPS locator function as does the
> (Sprint)(HTC) PPC-6700 that also has Win. Mobile 5.0.

The 6700 doesn't really have GPS either- at least not for YOUR use.

All Verizon and Sprint phones use an "assisted GPS" system that combine
GPS and cell tower location data so the CARRIER can locate you for 911
calls. In addition, the carrier will also use that data to sell you GPS
services by monthly subscription like navigation or tracking. However,
you, as a user, don't have access to that data to use with your own GPS
software. It's a carrier-supplied feature.

> Other late model cell phones are prone to include GPS
> locator these last few years.

True, but again only for the carrier's use, either to locate you in a 911
call, or to sell you location data. You can't just load a GPS navigation
app on that 6700 and expect it to read the GPS data- it won't.

Cingular did offer a (now discontinued) Windows Mobile phone, the HP
6515, that had a "real" GPS built-in that any GPS app could access.

> I searched the (not provided-in-the-box) actual HTC 8525
> User Manual, and found zero info about utilizing any
> internal GPS locator function.
> For such an overall sophisticated and pricey cell phone I
> thought that GPS locator omission was somewhat bazaar.

Again, very few phones have an end-user-accessible GPS function built-in.
In fact the 8525 can be located by Cingular, just as the 6700 can be
located by Sprint, but Cingular uses a less accurate system, and, to my
knowledge, doesn't sell a monthly nav-software subscription like Verizon
(and perhaps Sprint) does.

For either phone, the 6700 or 8525, you'll need a bluetooth GPS module to
use your own GPS software or a nav service like Google Maps for Mobile or
Windows Live Search.

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SMS - 15 May 2007 19:50 GMT

> This finally dawned on me, the (Cingular) 8525 apparently
> does not have a built-in GPS locator function as does the
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> For such an overall sophisticated and pricey cell phone I
> thought that GPS locator omission was somewhat bazaar.

Bizarre, not bazaar.

In any case, the Sprint model has to have a GPS as part of the E-911
system used by CDMA carriers. The GSM carriers use a less accurate, but
less expensive system that does not require the GPS functionality.

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clifto - 15 May 2007 19:59 GMT

>> For such an overall sophisticated and pricey cell phone I
>> thought that GPS locator omission was somewhat bazaar.
>
> Bizarre, not bazaar.

I dunno, I also thought it was kind of marketplace.

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