GPS for Blackberry

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

can anyone help a colleague here at LandG......

he and some friends go MTB'ing ranmore/leith hill at weekends, and often get lost.
He has a blackberry and wondered if there is anything he could download/purchase that would give him location maps?

Many thanks

GuruP

[Jon H]

[img]http://leisure.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/content/products/9/7/8/9780319467008_A_p.jpg[/img]

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Oh how I've missed your wit!!
GuruP

[Andrew G]

There's always the option to just look at the internet and go to google maps and flick between map, satellite, and terrain views.

To be honest I think the OS map will be the best option as the screen on a blackberry is quite small to look at maps on.

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Thanks Marco - can't view here as blocked - will look at later.

Andrew - he just wants something simple that will show bridleways......yes I know the OS map is good, but it's not quite the same as "getting out the blackberry" is it?

MarkyMark - I think yours was a Garmin???

[Elliot M]

he could try openstreetmap (http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=51.20 ... rs=B000FTF) on the blackberry's web browser.

google maps is unlikely to be much practical help.

even the garmin topo maps don't have much bridleway detail, so i load the openstreetmaps onto my garmin.

[Andrew G]

I stumbled across [url=http://www.addiscombe.org/members/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10297]this[/url] which although a bit clunky shows all the bridleways etc, you can click on or off what you want and zoom in to areas. To be honest I don't think it would be viable on a blackberry but if he could force himself to take a piece of paper with him then you can print a section or two out and stuff them in your pocket.

I spotted [url=http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2009/03/23/gps-offline-topographic-map-application-topoexplorer-for-blackberry-now-available-for-free/]this[/url] which maybe US only but I expect there's a similar thing for the UK, just google about and search a blackberry forum - bound to be one.

[George]

Tell him to get an Iphone

[Elliot M]

before i had the garmin i tended to take a colour photocopied chunk of map stuffed in a pocket (much handier than a full map, disposable if damaged or if scribbled on), plus a compass.

(edit: andrew already suggested this...)

you could actually load a scan onto the blackberry and zoom in as required -- when i rode off the edge of my map in Marin County CA recently, i took a photo of a map at an info post with my phone - saved me from a wrong turn later.

[higg]

Old school map for me.

The gadget industry is still years away from producing
(i) a large enough foldable screen with good enough resolution,
(ii) long battery life
(iii) fast enough processor
to challenge a paper map and a bit of kop on.

If gadgets and programming are hobbies then try. A few years ago, a friend of mine (who was a mobile phone programmer and a map geek) had a system (downloaded for free on internet) on his phone with a scanned map and a GPS location. It worked fine in a controlled environment of a car, but on the trail, it took 5 mins to boot up and locate satellites, crashed when he put it in his pocket, ran the battey dry after half an hour, got mud, rain and sweat on his high tech phone. He uses a map now.