3 things you need to know about using GPS on your AT&T phone

With GPS becoming more and more common on mobile phones, you may be wondering if you can get GPS on your AT&T phone. How can you find out?

AT&T provides a helpful resource for customers, showing instructions on how to activate the GPS option on your phone. There are a range of AT&T phones that support GPS including:

• RIM BlackBerry Pearl 9100
• Sony Ericsson Z525a
• Pantech Reveal (C790)
• Nokia Surge (6790)
• Motorola Z9
• HP iPAQ hw6925
• AT&T Quickfire

There are about a hundred AT&T phones that support GPS and can take advantage of AT&Ts GPS navigation software – AT&T Navigator (formerly TeleNav GPS Navigator). This application provides turn-by-turn directions to your destination.

The two steps involved in getting GPS on your AT&T phone are (1) enabling GPS and (2) installing the navigation software from http://att.telenav.com/nav if you don’t already have it.

You can extend the functionality even further by using the AAA Mobile application. This gives you nearby points of interest, weather and traffic information and automatic re-routing if you miss a turn.

Why GPS on your phone is a great idea

Getting GPS built-in to your phone is becoming a very popular option. In fact, there is talk that smartphones will replace standalone GPS devices but manufacturers like TomTom are arguing that there is still a strong case for standalone devices.

But for some consumers they just want one device that does everything, even if that means sacrificing some screen size or functionality that a dedicated device can offer.

AT&Ts range of GPS-enabled phones means people who want the flexibility of one device that does everything can take advantage of the built-in GPS to get them to their destination without having to purchase and manage a separate device.

The GPS experience on smartphones is improving all the time with applications becoming more user-friendly, screens getting bigger and purpose-built brackets that can be fitted into your car to hold the phone as if it was a dedicated PND.

3 things you should know about using GPS on your AT&T phone

There are three important things you should be aware of before enabling GPS on your AT&T phone to make sure you don’t get hit with any nasty surprises.

1. Data charges – Since map data is often off-board (which means it must be downloaded as it’s needed) frequent users of GPS can rack up expensive data charges, with each route using around 50Kb of data and the setup of Navigator uses about 200Kb. AT&T recommend subscribing to a data plan if you are planning on using GPS regularly.
2. A-GPS or GPS? – Some phone uses A-GPS (Assisted GPS) to find their location, which is helpful when line of sight to a satellite is not available (such as when in a shopping mall, covered car park or tunnel). This means the phone will calculate its current location by triangulating with the aid of nearby cell phone towers. The downside to this is it is less accurate than true GPS, sometimes up to a few miles where there are not many towers around, such as in remote areas. Some phones, such as the iPhone only use A-GPS.
3. Battery Life – Using GPS on your phone can drain the battery more quickly than making voice calls or sending emails, so it’s a good idea to have it plugged in or use it sparingly.

While the GPS functionality on your AT&T phone might not be what you need, and a dedicated GPS device or child-tracking service is more what you’re after, it can be a very handy backup device when you need directions to your next destination.