Telenav, GPS, Google Maps and Gold

I used Telenav for the first time over the weekend on my trip to Gulf Breeze and I have to say that I was very impressed. Some of the things I liked about it included the fact that I did not have to load any maps in advance (you get these via the Internet on your device). The voice directions were great. She says, “Turn right on Washington street in one minute”, not just “Turn right” like some all in one units. Also, I found a hotel by searching for nearby hotels from the device in the store parking lot and then driving to the one that was the shortest drive. Since the data all comes from the Internet, they can update roads, restaurants and hotels on the server and your not forced into a cycle of buying new maps every year, but, at $99 a year the savings is not that great versus buying stand alone GPS software. I used it with my Blackjack and a separate GPS “puck”. A couple of years ago, I would have used my hw6500, the HP monstrosity with the built in GPS chip, but that was retired. Alternately you could buy a Blackberry 8800 with a built in GPS chip.

Incidentally, anyone selling or buying a Blackberry 8800 MUST install the Google map client for it since it is 100% free and will do everything Telenav does with the important exception of no turn by turn voice directions and the very cool addition of satellite photos streaming to the device. That’s right, with a Blackberry 8800 and Google maps, you can see a Satellite picture of wherever you are at that moment. Useful for finding lakes, hidden structures and many other fascinating outdoor activities. The Satellite photos mixed with GPS are the rare mix that creates something bigger than the sum of its parts. It is a kind of “magic camera” that is floating above you revealing your surroundings in ways that were impossible before.