LightSquared has been plagued with issues as they build out their own LTE network. LightSquared will be a wholesale LTE provider (think Clearwire). In fact they just signed a $20 billion contact as reported here by Lives2Learn. Well in light of all that they have had a major GPS interference issue – one that would stop them cold in their tracks. Well they announced they have found a way to fix it.

The company, which owns spectrum in the L-band (1525 through 1559 MHz and 1626.6 to 1660.5 MHz) has found a way to push through and past the GPS issues. Basically their initial idea was to run on the lower 10 MHz block of the L-Band. This is close enough to GPS that they caused issues and in some cases cancelled each other out. Now the company [LightSquared] has come out to say that they are going to use the higher 10 MHz for deployment. They state that they were saving this resource for future expansion but given light to the issues that they will just stop development in that lower range and go to the higher range; this in return seems to resolve any GPS issues they were having. To see the full press release click here.

So PPCGeekers does this mean that you will want to trust their decision and use them for LTE? Do you think this will eventually re-pop up if they expand and need that other 10 MHz band? Tell me down below – as it has me pondering what will happen in a few years when Sprint grows their LTE network using LightSquared technology.

Source: fierceWireless

UPDATE: You thought we were joking didn’t you, when our tipster told us of the new, 3D navigation? Now that it’s been released take a look at the video on Youtube for an idea of just how good VZNavigator VX in 3D will be.

What do you think? If you don’t have an Android device will you be getting this feature on your phone? If you use Google as of now, any chance you may switch? Yes, it’s still $9.99 a month. Let us know what you think in the comments box below.

END OF UPDATE

Verizon Wireless is bringing you the latest enhanced, 3D version of VZ Navigator in just a few more days. Thanks to our tiptser we have confirmation that this will be called VZ Navigator VX. This version includes several exciting enhancements, including 3D city driving, real highway signs and more.

Availability

The update is available on the following Android devices at launch:

• Motorola Droid X
• Samsung Fascinate
• HTC Incredible

*Version Vx will be available on additional devices later in 2011*

Enhancements

• Real Views and 3D Cities
• Real Highway Signs: Know where to go by seeing the real highway signs as you pass by.
• Real City View: Enhanced reality navigation with the most detailed 3D buildings and graphics available.
• Real Highway Views: With Real Highway views you always stay informed about upcoming junctions and lane changes.

Maps & Traffic

• SatelliteView: A satellite view of everything around you. Drive in satellite view and see exactly where you are.
• SmartTraffic: 1.8 billion traffic probes in the U.S. and 60-second updates keep you informed and offer detours to avoid jams.
• SmartStart Enhanced: Clearly see where your car is and where you need to go for your first turn.

SmartViews

• Choose the navigation style that works for you
• Low Resolution for low data use
• High Resolution for moderate data use
• View streets in day or night mode

We all know Google already has navigation so do you really think this is a great idea for Verizon? 3D maps may be a new feature for them but other GPS applications have this too. Is it worth paying for it when you can get Google turn-by-turn directions on most Androids? As of now the price is set to be the same as VZ Navigator, $9.99 a month. Will you give it a shot? Let us know what you think in the comments box below.

1) “Cache not Found” issue fixed.

2) “Internet Connection Failed” issue fixed. (In case of proxy uname/passwd required)

GCz is all-in-one application for Geocaching.

– Seek cache by
“Addr/Postal/GC Code/GPS/etc…”.
– Cache list and detail infomation.
(Title/Owner/Description/Hint/Log/Map/etc…)
– Post cache log.
– Pickup and Drop TB/GC.
– GPS Monitor.
– Mobile GoogleMap.
– AppToDate

Gech (also referred to as just “Tom”) from XDA-Developers has just updated this application to resolve issues that were caused by the April update to Http://www.geocaching.com. Site changes made gathering data about a cache with this app cause a “cache not found” error. The Update was rolled out Sunday April the 11th 2010 after the error was brought to his attention earlier the previous week.

Although the changes to the Geocaching home site may not have been done to thwart this application directly, there is speculation this is so, because it’s not an “official” Geocaching.com authorized application. This application is thought to be in breach of there terms of use agreement according to Groundspeak, INC.  A short explanation of the breach specifically, is this app is considered to “scrape” information from the website. This means automatically connecting and downloading cache information to the user. This is not entirely true. Although this application does download cache information and organize it for you it does not automatically do so you have to manually initiate the process. This is why the app seems to be in a gray area right now, and is not authorized as an official app nor banned from the Groundspeak forums for topic of chat.  back to the speculation of why it’s not authorized, as one user has stated on XDA-Developers is because it provides information and layouts in par with the abilities of a GPX waypoint and information exchange file, this GPX file/Information is usually only available for download from the site to Premium members of the Groundspeak network.  This is what raises the speculation that they have not authorized the app as it thwarts the sites requirement to be a premium member to download all the cache information in one easy step.  While this is an understandable concern, users of this application do hope that Groundspeak, INC and NICQUE Freeware can come to some sort of agreement that will allow the app to be official, giving the developer access to the sites API and thus making the app less prone to breaking when site updates occur.

I myself am a GroundSpeak Premium member, so I’ve paid my dues. I also really like this app because it’s the best one, if not the only fully loaded and functional Geocaching application out there for Windows Mobile. So it’s a real bummer when I’m out on the road and the app breaks for me. I personally hope that Tom, and GroundSpeak can come to some sort of agreement allowing Tom to use the Groundspeak and Geocaching logos and access to their API.

Download found Here

Tom’s Personal Blog (in Japanese) Here

XDA-Developers GCzII Support Thread Here

This app lets you download the maps you need and store them on your phone or storage card. It was developed by Cipher at XDA-Developers and uses data from OpenStreetMap.org.

Source: WMPowerUser

Download: XDA-Developers (must be a member to download attachments)

Sprint has revealed GPS data 8 million times between September 2008 and October 2009 to the U.S. Government for various reasons. This article, which I highly recommend reading, details everything that occurred. The best part of all this? Not only did they charge the government for the information, Sprint apparently set up some sort of portal that made such requests easier to handle.

Video of admission after the break.

The video below is of Paul Taylor, Manager of Sprint’s Electronic Surveillance Team, admitting the release of information.

Source- Slight Paranoia via TechDirt