o2 phone with GPS

SeanElec1

Hello, I am with O2 (billpay) & a few months to run on contract. Phone has died & must be replaced. I would like to get phone with reasonable GPS but all O2 phones I have investigated use A-GPS, which is very data hungry & therefore pushing me into a more costly contract. Is there a phone available with native GPS (not Assisted GPS) which functions reasonably well. Thanks.

rolion

A-GPS can be enabled OR disabled !!
Mot of the phones are ok with GPS.

For example,Xperia Arc has (i think )32 Channels for GPS.
HTC HD2 only 12.

I use iGo for Windows Mobile (with no data access required) and Google Maps / Navigation on Android (with data access required and some basic mapping caching functionality)

All running fine,quick cold/hot power-on,first location...they are phones at the end of the day !

GreenWolfe

If you value GPS navigation above all else, you should consider Symbian. Nokia/Ovi Maps has saved my arse a number of times in Dublin, so I'd certainly recommend it.

I've never had much use for voice-guiding, so I'll leave it to others about that. The maps and updates are free of charge, and store on the phone for offline use. And once it gets a 'cold' GPS lock my own Nokia C7 holds onto it very well. Another handy thing that with the latest version of Maps (3.08), you don't need Nokia Suite on your computer to update maps. As long as you're connected to wifi, you can update them on the phone itself.

At a glance, the E5, 701, and C7 offer this. You'd have to ask in a shop if other Symbian^3 models are available.

If Nokia isn't for you, you'll have to set aside extra money to get a decent GPS app. OpenStreetMap-based ones are available free of charge, but personally they're not great IMHO.

BostonB

The issue isn't A-GPS but that the maps aren't stored locally.

OVI stores the map locally on Nokia phones. So no data charges.

Anything that uses Google or bing won't unless you download an app to cache the maps locally.