Is Alltel jumping on Verizon's GPS bandwagon???

**azstar** · #1 04-21-2008 -

I was excited this morning to see the news about Alltel getting the new 8330 Curve May 1st. I jumped online ASAP to Alltel's site to get the details.

I was so disappointed to read in the details GPS with "Alltel" navigation! No mention of BlackBerry maps!!!

I will try to find out later how much they will charge for this Alltel navigation.......if anyone else gets more info, please post it here.

JR_Rider · #2 04-21-2008 -

I say you are jumping the gun. Can't confirm one way or another until the phone becomes available. I have an 8830 with Alltel and the navigation feature is not locked on this phone. I will let you know when I get the 8330.

**jblackfish** · #3 04-21-2008 -

Typical Alltel behavior IMO. Alltel even blocks the use of the BB as a tethered modem, or they used to - I bet they still do. I guess it's because they want to sell a wireless card and service. Business is business. I was with them for 12 years - no more Alltel for me.

JR_Rider · #4 04-21-2008 -

Quote:

Originally Posted by jblackfish

Typical Alltel behavior IMO. Alltel even blocks the use of the BB as a tethered modem, or they used to - I bet they still do. I guess it's because they want to sell a wireless card and service. Business is business. I was with them for 12 years - no more Alltel for me.

Your experience is very interesting. We have been with Alltel/360 Communicatios for over 15 years and in my opinion the service has gotten better and better. I think that Alltel has the best prices for their services and don't understand why other carriers charge so much more. Just so you know, you can add the tethering to a Blackberry for $10 extra per month

**jblackfish** · #5 04-21-2008 -

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR_Rider

Your experience is very interesting. We have been with Alltel/360 Communicatios for over 15 years and in my opinion the service has gotten better and better. I think that Alltel has the best prices for their services and don't understand why other carriers charge so much more. Just so you know, you can add the tethering to a Blackberry for $10 extra per month

Not trying to bash Alltel. I'll admit, I had GREAT coverage with Alltel...but they charged $45-50/mo for Blackberry service - that included BES which I had no use for. T-mobile, by comparison, charges $20/mo for BB unlimited service. Also the BB tethered modem service if free. For me it was simple math.

My guess is that the use of the GPS service will also be a specific charge and not allow BB Maps in it.

**azstar** · #6 04-21-2008 -

OK, now don't get me wrong, I love Alltel's service, the coverage is the best in my area and they have been very quick to take care of any issues I've had and at this point have no plans of switching carriers.

But, I just got off the phone with Alltel customer service and tech support. The CS rep I spoke to said that their new Curve will not get the service books required for any GPS service including Blackberry Maps, unless you purchase Telenav service.

Hopefully he was mistaken, we'll just have to wait for people to get it in their hands and report back.

It won't make me switch carriers at the moment, but it definitely dampered my enthusiasm for the new Curve

**KalebsDad78** · #7 04-21-2008 -

Yeah, I've been with Alltel for many years and I have had better coverage and Customer Service interaction than any other carrier I've been with in the last 10 years. I do quite a bit of traveling within the U.S. and I never have a coverage issue.

Before I became a business customer with Alltel, I switched to Alltel because of their plans and how much better I thought they were compared to other carriers.

Even if the BB Curve is shipped without GPS functionality for a price, that will be fine with me. I utilize Google Maps moreso than Telenav (when I subscribed to it) or BB Maps. You can go by a Tom Tom or a Garmin now for less than $200 and that a way you can have GPS and STILL use your BB while driving

.

**azstar** · #8 04-21-2008 -

The bad thing about buying a device just for GPS is it's another gadget to bring in and out of the car........and you have to pay for updated maps as needed.

With using it on my BB with free Blackberry Maps, there is no need to pay for new map upgrades, and here in Phoenix, you don't leave electronic devices in your car during the warm months, they don't live very long if you do. And here the warm months are most of the year, this weekend the temps will be very close to 100 degrees......which means your car's interior will be closer to around 200 degrees. So I don't want to have another device to remove from the car.....just my BB!

So like I said, I'm not running away from Alltel, just not running in to pick up the new Curve just yet.........

JR_Rider · #9 04-21-2008 -

Quote:

Originally Posted by azstar

OK, now don't get me wrong, I love Alltel's service, the coverage is the best in my area and they have been very quick to take care of any issues I've had and at this point have no plans of switching carriers.

But, I just got off the phone with Alltel customer service and tech support. The CS rep I spoke to said that their new Curve will not get the service books required for any GPS service including Blackberry Maps, unless you purchase Telenav service.

Hopefully he was mistaken, we'll just have to wait for people to get it in their hands and report back.

It won't make me switch carriers at the moment, but it definitely dampered my enthusiasm for the new Curve

That is exactly what I had to do on every BB 8830 I have had on Alltel. And I am on my 3rd now (no fault of the BB, my negligence). Anyway, all you do is call Telenav, set the service up and turn it off after 1 month. $10 for navigation doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

BB8703 · #10 04-21-2008 -

i own a 8830 with alltel here in MT and have BB maps installed and working with no problem.

**leob** · #11 04-21-2008 -

The company I work for has approx 60% of our BB's with Alltel. I don't have any big complaints about Alltel, if anything their customer service has slightly improved within the past 6 months. Prior you couldn't get anywhere unless you spoke to data support.

When the BB 8130 was released we found out quickly that you needed Telenav in order to get the GPS to work. I spoke to Alltel data support and they have confirmed that you need Telenav to use the GPS function. AT&T does something similar.

On a side note, Alltel doesn't block tether modem. A number of our users use this function and it seems to work great. I hope they don't block this in the future.

**azstar** · #12 04-21-2008 -

I have an 8130 and I've been able to use Blackberry maps with the GPS function for months now without ever activating Telenav.....I just started a trial of Telenav about 1 1/2 weeks ago just to try out the voice directions and 3D maps, but I never needed it to get my GPS working..........

JR_Rider · #13 05-02-2008 -

I can confirm that the Alltel 8330 does come preinstalled with Blackberry Maps. Additionally, just as was the case with my 8830s in order to get Maps to work, Ihad to order Telenav. Since there is not a Telenav application designed for the 8330, I just used the app for the 8830 and it worked fine.