Comments on: AT&T, the BlackBerry 8820, and GPS: BGR MythBusters Edition

By: Jibi

Jibi — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:51:33 +0000

AT&T will begin disabling BlackBerry Maps through service books with OS 4.5, so the ALX workaround will no longer be applicable. With that said, all other GPS applications (Google Maps, Windows Live Maps, Yahoo Maps, InfoSpace FindIt!, etc) work just fine.

By: Free??? GPS on Mobile - AllDeaf.com

Free??? GPS on Mobile - AllDeaf.com — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:06:23 +0000

[...] found that att did locked GPS to Telenav only for BB. AT&T, the BlackBerry 8820, and GPS: BGR MythBusters Edition | The Boy Genius Report __________________ Mac [...]

By: hab

hab — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:26:19 +0000

search for them on the PC that you attach to. If they are not there, reload the operating system to the PC and it will be there. Then make the change and reinstall. (It saves and restores data.)

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 12:57:11 +0000

hab,
I can’t even find the alx file. When I connect my 8820 to my PC, the only thing I can get to is the onboard memory card. How do I get access to the files that were copied to the device?

By: hab

hab — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:21:55 +0000

I did get the hack to work. Just edit the alx file in wordpad and reload it. If it isn’t on your system, then re-download the operating system to your pc and search for the file, and resinstall the operating system. That got BB maps to work but not with the GPS (I have a bluetooth gps for my 8800). Amaze still wouldn’t work. Any thoughts?

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:46:17 +0000

I’m embarrassed to say that I, too, have no idea how to implement this hack. I’ve got the Desktop Manager software installed, but how do I get to the XML or ALX files? Are they simple text files that can be modified with any editor? I’ve got a 8820 with service from AT&T.

By: hab

hab — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:47:34 +0000

So it is software. I have version 102 (Blackberry 8800). Can it be disabled. If so how. If you said so in the article, it was a bit too technical for me. Thx.

By: AIRacer

AIRacer — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:01:27 +0000

Has AT&T “fixed” the work-around for BB Maps? I just purchased an 8820 have downloaded all of the software, only to find that their is no .alx file to be found anywhere.

By: M1styrX

M1styrX — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:20:34 +0000

What pucks (other than telenav) work with telenav?

By: Karlos

Karlos — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:49:46 +0000

Google Maps is *not* working on my 8820 which I purchased October 4th.

By: hanstoppable

hanstoppable — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:47:46 +0000

For the record, Google Maps + GPS works without restriction on the 8820. I simply downloaded Gmaps from http://www.google.com/gmm and it started working instantly, finding my location within 6 meters. I haven’t tried to unhide BB Maps yet (and probably won’t because I like Gmaps so far). I didn’t have to modify the .lbs file or anything- worked right out of the box. Very nice.

By: KingMoMo

KingMoMo — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 20:26:13 +0000

BTW, for my area, ATT is far preferable to T Mobile. I also travel a lot to South America and Canada.

By: KingMoMo

KingMoMo — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 20:24:49 +0000

so gentlemen,
Let me make sure I have this right by expressing it in layman’s terms:
Simple file editing will restore GPS functionality to the BB 8800 becasue the hardware and software is already present, only the icon is hidden. However, the BB 8300 lacks both the hardware and software for GPS.
Overall, the 8300 best suites my needs. If I want GPS with this unit, what is my best option for addware?

By: blah

blah — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 14:42:09 +0000

theres an old adage… “be careful of what you ask for”

with unlocked GPS on devices, what’s to stop some kid from writing a cool trojan that broadcasts your location to others?

Kinda scary if you ask me.

By: backbeat

backbeat — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:04:55 +0000

Like it or not, *capitalism* is not what founded the USA. Nor is it a religion (until it’s paired with politics), though many are addicted to its kool-aide.

By: Chuck Angel

Chuck Angel — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:58:36 +0000

T-Mobile is fine in some areas but as far as coverage everywhere, they’re down the totem pole. If you live in a good T-Mobile area and don’t plan on leaving that area, it would be fine. But if you travel to places other than maybe NYC, LA and Dallas, you would probably think of switching to a different carrier.

By: Chuck Angel

Chuck Angel — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:55:33 +0000

How did you ever get through to Telenav Support – I’ve emailed them multiple times because my 8100 gives a low GPS signal often and I have to reboot it in order to get access to maps and driving directions. Then never respond to emails.

By: et

et — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:04:42 +0000

the 8820 will launch soon…with wifi.

DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR AND READ!!! It’s really frustrating to see some of the uneducated comments made here at BGR, or any other tech forum for that matter…

My job requires me NOT to discuss any confidential information, but know this…

T-Mobile is the absolute worst carrier in the nation, all around!

Stick with AT&T or Verizon…

By: test5477

test5477 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:32:30 +0000

its called capitalism, like it or not its what the world is based on. Unless your in Cuba or North Korea.

By: backbeat

backbeat — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:10:41 +0000

Esoth – Despite all the thinly veiled claims otherwise, here and elsewhere, the money is the only value regarded as worthy of pursuit. Woefully sad, but true.

By: test5477

test5477 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:12:49 +0000

BBmaps and all other map apps work fine on the 8800. Shenee, you say service is most important and I agree with you, for my area its ATT. no problems at all.

By: Shenee'

Shenee' — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:32:04 +0000

If you want better maps and have GPS then download Yahoo! GO. There map is way better. I used that map and my GPS to drive to Washington state from Las Vegas. Yahoo’s maps gave me a shorter drive time and better route than TELEnav. I got dupped once by telenav not again. T-Mobile is better all the way around. What it all boils down to is which carrier has the best service since they all have BB’s. They all get a new BB each year or 2 and 3 times in a year. T-Mobile is the way to go. Yahoo! GO can be used on any new BB from what I’ve seen.

By: Pras

Pras — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:05:43 +0000

Ok Ok Ok. I will buy the At&T 8800 if somebody can confirm that you have BBMaps working after this hack. Please reply

By: daddybear

daddybear — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:45:12 +0000

hey-

if you don’t like the death-through-a-thousand-cuts game, then mobile technology is not for you. They are ALL (and I defy anyone to prove me wrong) a bunch of thieving whorish self-serving capitalist corporations (and god bless them for it…it is after all the AMRICAN way) and they make the rules and break the rules and bend and twist and stretch them…and just when you think you have it figured out…they screw you over one more time. No music, no tequila, just stick it in…and then (the best part…wait for it…) YOU GO BACK FOR MORE…
so…buy lots of band-aids apply where necessary…and always remember…only the first couple hurt…after that it starts to feel like the same old thing….

or… I could be wrong…

-db

By: Esoth

Esoth — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:46:23 +0000

I had the 8800 and the on-board GPS worked fine with Telenav, now comes Curve, and I buy it and bite the bullet and get a puck, a brand which Telenav endorsed, but which is nonetheless spotty in its performance. While I never leave my BB in the car, I don’t carry the damn puck with me everywhere I go, so it stays in the car. . . . until its stolen. So I’m hooked on GPS and I like the Curve a lot better than the 8800 but for the GPS, so I buy another puck, this time a non-approved brand, but one which is reviewed as a better unit than Telenav’s choice. . . and Telenav doesn’t want to offer any tech support unless you buy their choice of puck, not even to strip the embedded BT profile from the stolen puck. . . . I fiddle around, get the old setting out, and guess what? Even thought Telenav swears it ain’t so, the better-made-though-non-approved puck functions better with Telenav, so Telenav functions better with pucks made by companies that haven’t cut a deal with RIM, ATT, Telenav, etc., etc. Fascinating stuff, I know, but even while its fun to work around, there is a point of being jerked around (even by RIM itself) thereafter it ceases to be amusing. Its frustrating that all of these companies have the wherewithal to give their customers what they want, know what their customers want, but won’t give it to them, instead preferring to bleed their customers white through a thousand cuts

By: Ashton

Ashton — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:45:07 +0000

Looks like jibi is the “jedi of blackberry” haha check out the link.

By: TJhood

TJhood — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:31:37 +0000

Great Info! Definitly got this one bookmarked for future reference if I have any problems when I get my new model.

Just another thought, for alot of people it is probbly easier for them to pay the monthly fee’s than to learn how to get around them.

With this in mind, maybe you can shine some light on the 8320 and 8820 models for a AT&T customer pertaining to the use of the Wi-Fi and how it has been said to have been limited to use threw a data plan. Is there any truth to this and if so would it be a similar fix to get it to work like say wi-fi in your laptop?

By: Jibi

Jibi — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:31:34 +0000

If the BlackBerry 8310 is ever released by AT&T, expect more of the same. But that is the only BlackBerry Curve series device that has built-in GPS. Connect a bluetooth GPS puck to the Curve and you can expect to have the same experience as AT&T customers using the 8800 and 8820 have, though.

Think of it this way. You install a program on your computer and it doesn’t put an icon on the desktop. The application is still installed, but sometimes you have to go through a bit of an extra effort (although not much of one at all) in order to get the shortcut icon where you want it. Really, that’s all there is to it.

By: Esoth

Esoth — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:23:30 +0000

The 8300 is different, in that it lacks the GPS hardware entirely? No software disabling with the 8300 (Curve), simply a purposeful limitation in the unit itself?

By: mickeyp

mickeyp — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:22:48 +0000

I guess a bad source could be to blame but I think to put up the apple part was all for attention. that was just stupid of bbcool.