It's not always immediately clear what's included and isn't in the cost of your cell phone. When it comes to smartphones, this is doubly true: Most applications use small bits of your data connection, which means that you could rack up additional costs for using any web-based application. While the GPS feature on your smartphone doesn't cost anything, using applications connected to it could.
Understanding GPS
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Your Android phone's GPS capability works without an Internet connection. That is, GPS satellites can locate your phone without the Internet. If you use the Maps or Navigator app, your phone draws your position from those satellites and updates your position on a map it has stored locally or that it has previously downloaded from the Internet.
Data Usage
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When GPS navigation begins to cost you is when you exceed your data usage on your contract. If you have 1 GB of data, for example, and use it extensively for streaming videos and looking at large photos, it's possible that you could exceed your limit and pay a premium on additional MB of data. This means that when using GPS, Maps may download additional information to push you over your limit, in which case you could be charged additionally.
Data Usage of Android's Maps Program
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Typically, however, Maps doesn't use a lot of data. Google's maps are programmed into your phone when it leaves the factory, but occasionally the software will update, which requires an Internet connection. If you aren't using WiFi, this will eat up the data usage on your account. This rarely amounts to more than 20 MB per month, but varies from device to device and depends on usage.
Ensuring GPS Stays Free
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You can take simple precautions to ensure that your GPS navigator on your Android phone doesn't use up your data usage on your account. Before leaving your office or home, connect your smartphone to WiFi and ask for directions. The directions will stay programmed into the phone and, as long as you aren't zooming in on maps to load high-resolution satellite images, your phone won't need to connect to the Internet again until you're at your destination.
