GPS - Is it free? What about on cell phones?

[MrBisonDevil]

I had my 1st car GPS experience last week. It was interestingly fun (and a little creepy in a "1984" kind of way).

Is GPS free for all navigation systems?

I know some smartphones have GPS capabilities. Are there any cell phones that provide free GPS? I notice some phones require you to pay for GPS. Can someone help me understand if this is the case for all (most) phones?

[hurleyfor3]

I have a little GPS receiver I take hiking sometimes. It's a pay-per-use GPS, and there's a slot on the side I have to put quarters into every couple of hours. Then when it completely fills up with quarters I have to mail it to the government so they can take the quarters out before I can use it again. It usually takes a month or two before I get it back.

Just kidding. GPS is free, or more precisely, your taxes have already paid for it. However, anything in addition to what the government provides (latitude, longitude and elevation), such as the location of roads or buildings, may come with a charge.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I had my 1st car GPS experience last week. It was interestingly fun (and a little creepy in a "1984" kind of way).

Is GPS free for all navigation systems?

I know some smartphones have GPS capabilities. Are there any cell phones that provide free GPS? I notice some phones require you to pay for GPS. Can someone help me understand if this is the case for all (most) phones?

I was going to suggest you search for the threads here on GPS systems, but I did and nothing showed up, which is strange. We talked about them in the last couple of weeks, plus a thread last December that I remember.

That said, I love my Garmin Nuvi 680.

If you buy one, be sure to get it either at Costco or Sams Club, as they have by far cheaper prices than Best Buy or other retailers, cheaper by as much as $100 to $200 on the same models.

The consensus of the older threads was get either a Garmin or a Magellan. Tom Tom users complained of old maps and high costs to update them, even on new units. With my Garmin, map updates are free when they come out (not sure if that is true for all Garmin models).

[-jk]

"GPS" is too short to search on. Search on Garmin.

-jk

[DevilAlumna]

Folks are kind of skimming over what, exactly, "GPS" entails.

Global Positioning Satellites = GPS. (Or in Europe, Satellite Navigation = SatNav)

Using GPS to find your way around requires:

* A GPS receiver -- a hardware device -- it can be *in* a cell phone, a car nav system, a little watch (for hiking), a boat, wherever. it's not that big. Just needs line of sight to the sky.

* Something to read the signals from the GPS receiver and translate it into something sensical. (usually, a computing device, be it an actual computer, or some other piece of hardware like a car nav system or phone.)

* Software -- to allow the user to input destination points and queries, etc., but this requires:

* Maps -- the computer takes the GPS location coordinates, and needs to plot them against something. The more frequently you can download updated maps, the more accurate your location/directions will be.

For most devices discussed about on here, all are usually combined. But, for a cell-phone nav system, you can frequently choose different software systems (Garmin vs. Google vs. Live) and/or a different GPS receiver. Some actually have both a GPS piece + triangulate your location via cell towers.

So Mr. Bison, you have a few choices if you'd care to be more specific?

[MrBisonDevil]

For most devices discussed about on here, all are usually combined. But, for a cell-phone nav system, you can frequently choose different software systems (Garmin vs. Google vs. Live) and/or a different GPS receiver. Some actually have both a GPS piece + triangulate your location via cell towers.

So Mr. Bison, you have a few choices if you'd care to be more specific?

I should have been more direct.

If there are no subscription fees for GPS receivers, why are phone companies like Verizon + Sprint charging $10-$20/mo or $2.99/day to use GPS navigation on a smartphone? I don't want to pay a monthly or daily fee.

Maybe the answer is on: http://cellphonegps.blogspot.com. I need to do more research...

[hc5duke]

I should have been more direct.

If there are no subscription fees for GPS receivers, why are phone companies like Verizon + Sprint charging $10-$20/mo or $2.99/day to use GPS navigation on a smartphone? I don't want to pay a monthly or daily fee.

Maybe the answer is on: http://cellphonegps.blogspot.com. I need to do more research...

Verizon and Sprint charge you monthly fees for using their software/server. The GPS signal itself is worthless to you unless you have some software to translate the X/Y/Z coordinates into the nice map/street information you want to see. This is likely what Sprint/Verizon are charging you for.

I also wanted to add that receiving the GPS signal on your phone is probably free, and there are free map software like Google Maps (I think) that will utilize this information.

[DevilAlumna]

I should have been more direct.

If there are no subscription fees for GPS receivers, why are phone companies like Verizon + Sprint charging $10-$20/mo or $2.99/day to use GPS navigation on a smartphone? I don't want to pay a monthly or daily fee.

Maybe the answer is on: http://cellphonegps.blogspot.com. I need to do more research...

Why? Because a standalone GPS device costs $299+ = that's 100 days of $2.99/day. I could stretch that out over 3-4 years, as I don't drive to areas I don't know all that frequently.

But, if you don't need fancy, voice-activated turn-by-turn directioning, you could use Google maps, or Windows Live Mobile (http://m.live.com, or if you have a Windows Mobile phone, http://wls.live.com)

[DevilAlumna]

Forgot to add that you would need a data plan from your cell service provider, to use the online mapping, so they're not _totally_ free in that regard.

[hughgs]

I had my 1st car GPS experience last week. It was interestingly fun (and a little creepy in a "1984" kind of way).

Is GPS free for all navigation systems?

I know some smartphones have GPS capabilities. Are there any cell phones that provide free GPS? I notice some phones require you to pay for GPS. Can someone help me understand if this is the case for all (most) phones?

Think about GPS as the same as broadcast media transmissions. You can receive the signals for free. But to use the signals you need something to decipher them such as a TV or radio. Same thing with GPS. You need something to decipher the GPS signals. Then, you can either rent a receiver (TV) or buy a receiver depending on how much you think you'll need it.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Why? Because a standalone GPS device costs $299+ = that's 100 days of $2.99/day. [/url])

Costco still has a dandy Magellan 3250 for $149.99
http://www.costco.com/ and search for the Magellan 3250. The full link I entered didn't want to work properly.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Costco still has a dandy Magellan 3250 for $149.99
http://www.costco.com/ and search for the Magellan 3250. The full link I entered didn't want to work properly.

It is the Magellan 3225 that is $149.99, the 3250 is $149.99. Just search for "magellan" and it will show you both units.

[MrBisonDevil]

I will pick up a Garmin or Magellan (w/ text-to-speech feature) for my wife this weekend at Sam’s Club or Costco.

I will probably wait to pick up a Sprint Instinct uberphone for myself when it launches Jun 08. This seems like the phone I’ve been waiting on. Some tech marketing & tech blogs are calling this phone a iPhone killer. Interesting comparison.

Also, I wouldn't mind paying a flat $100 rate for unlimited use of gps, internet, tv, radio and phone. My personal cell/home phone bill averages $90 without the bells and whistles.

I’ll keep researching, but I think I found my cellphone holy grail.

[hc5duke]

I will pick up a Garmin or Magellan (w/ text-to-speech feature) for my wife this weekend at Sam’s Club or Costco.

I will probably wait to pick up a Sprint Instinct uberphone for myself when it launches Jun 08. This seems like the phone I’ve been waiting on. Some tech marketing & tech blogs are calling this phone a iPhone killer. Interesting comparison.

Also, I wouldn't mind paying a flat $100 rate for unlimited use of gps, internet, tv, radio and phone. My personal cell/home phone bill averages $90 without the bells and whistles.

I’ll keep researching, but I think I found my cellphone holy grail.

Um, how in the hell do you rack up $90 in cellphone bills a month? (unless it's a family plan) I pay $50/mo for my EVDO Sprint service, and I can use my Treo for internet, phone , tv, and radio (but I only use it for the first two). The only thing I'm missing from your list is a GPS, but I think you'd be much happier going with a stand-alone GPS route. That should save you $50/mo, and in 6 months you've paid for a $300 GPS unit.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I will pick up a Garmin or Magellan (w/ text-to-speech feature) for my wife this weekend at Sam’s Club or Costco.

Costco should have the Magellan 3225 for $149.99 on display as noted above. The 3250 is $249.99 and probably only available on-line. They also have the Garmin 680 for $399.99 in stock (in Raleigh, anyway). Last time I was in Sam's, the only GPS on the shelf was the Garmin Nuvi 750 for $398.99.

[devil84]

Amazon has some great prices online. I'm really happy with the Garmin 350 I got for my husband for Christmas. I got a great price back then, and it's even cheaper now. I've been watching the prices, as family members are contemplating purchasing one. Amazon's prices have consistently been very low.

Of course, you have to wait to get it shipped. With new toys, sometimes it's hard to be patient while it ships!

[ArkieDukie]

After doing a lot of research, I bought a Garmin nuvi 760 yesterday from Circuit City (celebration for selling my house). I really wanted the 780, but they're way more expensive. I'm very happy with my purchase so far. Selling point for me was the "where am I" feature that remembers where you parked your car.

For the Garmin users, my POIs seem a bit out of date. Do these get updated like maps do?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

After doing a lot of research, I bought a Garmin nuvi 760 yesterday from Circuit City (celebration for selling my house). I really wanted the 780, but they're way more expensive. I'm very happy with my purchase so far. Selling point for me was the "where am I" feature that remembers where you parked your car.

For the Garmin users, my POIs seem a bit out of date. Do these get updated like maps do?

Congrats on selling your house!

You can buy 3rd party POIs from the Garmin site, but can be expensive. One link sells individual franchise stores, like all Hooters restaurants , for $5 or there entire inventory of retail outlets for $180. There were several sellers of POI's in different categories.

[SilkyJ]

I should have been more direct.

If there are no subscription fees for GPS receivers, why are phone companies like Verizon + Sprint charging $10-$20/mo or $2.99/day to use GPS navigation on a smartphone? I don't want to pay a monthly or daily fee.

Maybe the answer is on: http://cellphonegps.blogspot.com. I need to do more research...

Here's the deal (for the record I'm a Research Associate for an investment bank covering wireless and digital media):

Not too long ago, the government enacted something commonly called E-911 which essentially states that all new phones must have a form of GPS a receiver built into the PHONE so that if you call 911 they can trace the call. (Note the emphasis on " PHONE" b/c Verizon/Sprint are service providers, NOT phone manufacturers Like Nokia, Motorola, etc.) In most phones, its not a pure GPS receiver but rather something that uses nearby cell towers to triangulate your location. The accuracy is something like within 1000ft, usually. Now, you can also purchase phones (usually smartphones) with an actual GPS receiver in it, that does NOT use triangulation, but rather functions the same way a Garmin device does via a direct signal with a satellite.

So the costs, if any, for having a GPS-enabled device are passed on to you when you purchase a phone. ALSO, please note that "smartphones" are not the only phones with GPS capability, as you suggest above. All new phones have a type of GPS chip in them.

Now what you are really asking about in terms of navigation on your phone is "applications." As I said you've already paid for the GPS "hardware" when you purchased the phone. Now if you want to access that information and get directions, or do anything else with it, the answer is generally YES, you have to pay for the service/application. These services and applications are called Location-based services, or LBS. A great example is Loopt (loopt.com) which brings up a map with a dot showing you where you are, and then dots showing you where your friends are (if they have the service). So if you're out and about and you check your phone and see ur buddy is down the street, you can invite him to wherever you are to grab dinner/drinks or whatever...

(Again, these services are available on regular phones in addition to smart phone. The reason many people associate them with smartphones only is b/c these services often require a "data plan" in addition to a voice plan, which is the standard minutes & text messages per month you have. Data plans are for email, internet browsing, etc. so they are commonly associated with smartphones only, but some people have them on "regular" phones.)

Google maps, however, is a free application that now provides directions. Its not a pure navigation application in that it doesn't provide a "real-time flyover" of where you are as you move (by real-time flyover I'm referring to the Garmin interface), but it does provide turn by turn directions, just like if you had gone to google maps online.

The entirety of the below post is accurate as well.

Verizon and Sprint charge you monthly fees for using their software/server. The GPS signal itself is worthless to you unless you have some software to translate the X/Y/Z coordinates into the nice map/street information you want to see. This is likely what Sprint/Verizon are charging you for.

I also wanted to add that receiving the GPS signal on your phone is probably free, and there are free map software like Google Maps (I think) that will utilize this information.

[SilkyJ]

I will pick up a Garmin or Magellan (w/ text-to-speech feature) for my wife this weekend at Sam’s Club or Costco.

I will probably wait to pick up a Sprint Instinct uberphone for myself when it launches Jun 08. This seems like the phone I’ve been waiting on. Some tech marketing & tech blogs are calling this phone a iPhone killer. Interesting comparison.

Unfortunately, nothing Sprint does can be an iPhone killer as they are almost a 2nd tier provider now (behind Verizon and AT&T). Looks like a solid phone, and as one of their few loyal customers you might be able to haggle them for a good price (they really are desperate to keep their customers and acquire new ones). If I were you, however, I'd switch to Verizon or At&t, but that's not really here nor there.