I posted about the HTC S730 a couple of weeks ago and was a little disappointed to hear that the GPS which had been initially rumoured wasn’t present in the specifications.
Well over at Smartphone Thoughts sources have confirmed that GPS is present even though HTC will not be supporting it.
In my eyes that makes the S730 a powerhouse in the specs department, with a 400MHz processor, 256MB ROM, 64MB RAM, HSDPA/UMTS, QuadBand, 2 MegaPixel camera, front facing camera and a built-in GPS.
It will definitely be on my Christmas list!
Greetings from Portugal! So what’s up with this GPS stuff? Does it have GPS? I’ve just bought one and there is no remark to the GPS. Is it possible to turn the GPS on with some kind of software?
Jose,
There have been mixed reports and as far as I am aware the GPS is included but HTC do not support it. The best method is to install a free mapping program like Windows Live Search Mobile or Google Maps Mobile and see if that picks up the GPS.
Tracy and Matt last week reported that the UK version does not have GPS although I am not sure how much investigation they have done into this.
Also the forums at Smartphonethoughts.com support what I say that the device DOES have GPS:
http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/showthread.php?t=23205&page=2
You are the brick! Reading stuff like this written in the way like this is a great pleasure for me.
I can confirm that the HTC S730 DOES have GPS. I downloaded Google Maps today and it pinpointed my position straight away (in Norway). Well, to be honest, ‘pinpointing’ is a bit of an exaggeration – it put me about 200 metres away from my exact position, but that aint bad for a device that isn’t supposed to be GPS enabled at all. Route planner worked well too.
It seems that the chipset supports GPS but there are rumours that there is no antenna inside, which might explain the lack of accuracy. Why HTC have done this is a mystery to me. If you’re going to have a GPS enabled chipset, why not have the antenna too and turn this neat little phone into a world-beater?
I contacted HTC after i bought the S730 and complained about the quality of the software.
I told them it would not qualify for beta-status. I suggested that their staff uses each product at least 6 weeks before general availablility. I received a response (several months later !!!) asking about my complaints but i did not bother to answer. I mean not even beta (that is my personal opinion about this device).
I bought it on the assumption i would have a working gps….. and a telephyone and something to run a internet browser.
I will stop complaining, i do not use the device because it lacks everything, i just use my old siemens.
I will try to find a linux distributions to play with this ‘thing’, but it is not to used in the real !
Hi Guys,
I got this phone about 6 weeks ago and on reading the articles here, I decided to test the GPS availability myself. I downloaded google maps, installed and teset and VOILA!!!! IT IS THERE!!! I am in Ghana and my location was pointed out. I was in reality about 200-250 metre away from my on-screen location. But basically, GPS IS IN HTC S730
Just like David, I just downladed and installed google earth to test my GPS; I’m in Accra, Ghana and IT WORKED!!! I was about 250 metres away from where my on-screen position was. I love this phone.
google use the 3G to position you. That not a GPS but a service who cost some money
(my English is bad… I know xD)
There is also an option in Google maps to use GPS if the device has a GPS receiver. Google maps mobile can also use cell tower location to give an approximation of your location.
For syncing the s730 use funambol (myfunambol.com). it has a client for Mac, Win and Linux.
It’s a bit quirky to set it up in Linux but it works. Simplest way is Thunderbird with the funambol plugin.
As for GPS i tried the s730 without a sim card and it positioned me in London (beeing in Norway).
That means it’s lost without GSM connections witch is what Google Maps use for positioning on this phone.
If there is a GPS unit on this device, it’s sertainly not activated by G. Maps.
“Bobsynk says:
If there is a GPS unit on this device, it’s sertainly not activated by G. Maps.”
Oh yes it is…
Does GPS work or not? if yes, how do i activate it?
I am on a small oilfeild camp location in Atyrau, Kazakshtan and the city has only one GSM Antenna. While using Gmaps it always showed my the antenna location with a 200m circle but which was always wrong. Today I happened to find the Use GPS function in Options. It performed a satellite search and I was more than glad. I was driving, the positioning was delayed (maybe a minute or so) but I could see my self going exactly the route I was taking. I just crossed a bridge and stopped at the cross-roads, the new position came up maybe a few seconds or a minute later but it was damn right although still showing an area of 200m.