BGR has recieved word that the BlackBerry 8820 is now being stockpiled, and ready to ship to stores that run out of BlackBerry 8800s. This will be a slow-rolling release, rather than shipping off to all stores at once, apparently with the goal of running the 8800s dry and fully replacing them in stores with the new Wi-Fi model. With that said, and September 15th. still the rumored release date, you might end up seeing these on shelves sooner or later depending on your retailer’s stock situation. This also means we’ll sooner be able to see if AT&T is pulling a Verizon and keeping the GPS for TeleNav only. Price is rumored to be around $299 on a two-year plan. There’s also a bit in BGR’s leaked docs that references the BlackBerry Stealth, which was the BlackBerry 8100’s codename back in the day. Speculation points to this as the BlackBerry 8130 (CDMA, Pearl 1.5ish) or the Pearl 2 (GSM, potentially wicked), but all this really tells us is that whatever it is, you can’t buy insurance for it.
Tag: telenavPage 2 of 2
AT&T’s BlackBerry 8820 hits the warehouses
We’re GPS freaks here at BlackBerry Cool, so any time we can welcome more to the fold, we do so gladly. T-Mobile Austria announced yesterday that they’re now offering the famed Telenav GPS navigation solution for their BlackBerry 8800 customers. BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry 7130 and BlackBerry 8700 users can also use the service with the help of a GPS puck.
T-Mobile is offering a free 30 day trial of the Telenav solution to get their subscribers hooked, and then charging €8 per month after that. Sounds like the perfect solution to make sure you don’t get lost while backpacking the Alps on a European vacation. Go here for more info.
Wowee, do we have a bunch of European news today. Jem Telecom, a UK mobile data distributor of BlackBerry, announced today the launch of its Navigation Solution Bundle aimed at UK business employees who spend a significant amount of time out of the office. The bundle includes TeleNav’s GPS Navigator, live traffic information from Traffic TV and journey planning tools from PlanaJourney. Here’s what Jason Theakston, CEO of Jem Telecom, had to say:
“Bundling applications improves ROI for our clients and delivers solutions that address the needs of different departments within their organisation.”
I agree with Jason. Getting things in bunches is always more fun: sacks of money, back-to-back sports titles, a barrel of monkeys… etc. Jem’s bundle is priced at £9.99 per month and is compatible with the BlackBerry Curve, Pear, and the BlackBerry 8800. You can go here for more info.
One thing that slipped by with Bell’s announcement of the BlackBerry 8830 (which sold out on day one here in Ottawa), was a built-in GPS Nav software offered by Bell for $10/month. The biggest hurdle to either of these is data rate issues. Ever tried to use Google Maps on anything less than unlimited data? It’s not a pretty phone bill. TeleNav’s press release for Bell’s rebranded software even says “Ongoing subscription to the service costs $9.99 per month, plus a data plan for unlimited usage”, which Bell doesn’t even offer (they top out at 250 MB, with $3 for each additional MB, and that’s not even counting voice). While Bell will generously be offering unlimited data on EVDO for early adopters on the BlackBerry 8830, after that, users are back to square one.
If location-based services are going to have any hope of flying up north, developers are going to have to get a much more data-efficient system in place, because carrier rates up here aren’t showing any signs of letting up. BBCool will be testing out TeleNav’s release on Bell sometime in the near future, and we’ll give you the straight story on handheld GPS in Canada – namely whether or not the costs justify the service.
TeleNav’s taking a step away from the strictly utilitarian, now that Navigator 5.2 will now let you broadcast your position to your buddies via SMS. On top of that, you can save the locations for your favourite locales – restauraunts, businesses, you name it, and rate them on the go. Lastly, you can check gas prices at particular stations in your neighbourhood, making sure you get the best deal. It sounds like Sprint is going to be the only one getting the upgrade right now, but you can expect a roll-out on your carrier soon enough. Broadcasting your position like that sure would make playing Pac-Manhattan a little more viable, wouldn’t it?
Our trusty LBS provider, TeleNav, is now offering the handy services of TeleNav Traffic to AT&T customers using a BlackBerry 8800, BlackBerry 8100, BlackBerry 8700c, and the newfangled BlackBerry 8300. AT&T joins the ranks of Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile (among others) to carry TeleNav GPS Navigator, even though it’s been packing Track for awhile now.
Traffic is a free upgrade for anyone already subscribing to the TeleNav GPS Navigator for $10/month to get up-to-date traffic information and quick rerouting options. The 8800’s built-in GPS receiver gets some use out of the service, which means one less Bluetooth doohickey to carry around if you’ve got one. TeleNav has a solid reputation, which is important considering how hard it is to find a good GPS system these days. GPS was right up there with Wi-Fi on the hype-o-meter at WES, helped in no small part by TeleNav’s presence there.
