Ivan Makarov Blog

If you are a Blackberry user like me who also happens to love outdoors, there is one application I recently discovered that you may find very handy while outdoors, whether you are a photographer or you simply enjoy running or hiking and it’s called BlackStar. What it does is that it turns your Blackberry into handheld GPS device, the one you typically buy for 100+ dollars. I been using BlackStar for several weeks now and here is why I love it.

I’ve always wanted to have GPS tracking device connected to my camera so that the camera records the exact location of where I took my photos. However, I could never justify paying $150 for such a toy. I simply consider it a luxury I could live without. However, now I no longer need a device like this as long as I have my Blackberry with me. When I’m on a spot taking pictures, all I have to do is go into BlackStar application, record a new Waypoint that will record my exact coordinates, and then come home and enter these coordinates durectly into EXIF data while importing into Lightroom or into Flickr Map when mapping my photos online.

Not only that, I recently used BlackStar to locate a hidden beach where I took “Links into the Past” image that I posted in my last post. I’ve never been to that beach, but I’ve seen pictures that were taken there, and Flickr Map helped me see the exact coordinates of where that beach was located, since my buddy Jim Patterson, who’ve shot at that beach before, geotags all his photos. All I had to do was keep BlackStar on when driving on Highway 1 and it would tell me exactly how close I was to the beach I was looking for. Once I was within 100 feet, I pulled over, found a trail and getting to the beach was simply a matter of hiking down. I can now pre-map the exact locations where I want to shoot, and then find the location with precision of few feet.

Another feature of this application that I like is that it is fully integrated with Google and Blackberry Maps. You can list a Waypoint, and then jump into Google Maps, switch to Satellite or Street view and see exactly what is around you. In fact, you can check local weather while you’re at it and if even play geocatching, if you’re into that sort of thing.

If you are into running or hiking and would like to track your mileage, you can do that too by turning on tracking feature and you’ll know the exact distance you have traveled. You can export all that data into your computer afterward. I have not yet tried the exporting feature yet to see how good it works.

So far it’s it’s available for Blackberry devices only, but I’m thinking it won’t be too long before it’s available for iPhone users as well.

The best part about this application is that it’s absolutely free.