Quote:
Originally Posted by Dubdub
At least on the 8800, you do not get turn-by-turn voice directions or auto reroute with either BBMaps or GoogleMaps. I would assume the Curve would be the same. The only true turn by turn and auto reroute is to use TeleNav for about $10 a month extra. The current BBMaps/Google Maps is OK, but not as good as a true GPS device. Plus the screen is small. I would be afraid of it being more of a distraction than an aide.
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Turn-by-turn directions are available with Google Maps and others - but only in text form (actually works rather well). This is fine if you have somebody else sitting next to you navigating, or if you're comfortable driving with one hand and scrolling your Curve with the other, reading and driving simultaneously (probably not a real safe practice!).
InfoSpace Find It! actually offers spoken turn-by-turn directions on the Curve - and it works. Just a bit crude, since you have to hit a button and wait for it to download the next chunk of voice direction before it "plays". With a standard EDGE connection, this is not ideal. It would be really nice if it could buffer the entire vocal description of your route onto your microSD card and then let you play it back with no delays - but this hasn't been done yet (and may never be?).
The company that creates the voice recognition software used in Blackberry's (VoiceSignal) also has software that does text-to-voice translation. It's totally conceivable that they could add that module to Blackberry's, and have the Blackberry "read" the text turn-by-turn directions that Google maps generates now -- and if you add a GPS puck, or get an 8310, the whole thing could be "live" just like a "real" GPS device, sensing your position and directing you as you move along your route. No reason for this NOT to work - except that RIM may choose not to undercut Telenav's business by making a non-subscription spoken GPS solution available just yet (and this may even be part of a Telenav / RIM agreement).