Nokia 95 - GPS / Mapping Demonstration

[bjh_101]

Maps application start up:
http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?t=55049

And here is a good demo of the GPS in action in a car!
http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?t=53944

[Richard G]

the guys over at All About Symbian have just got up a great and indepth review of the GPS software and it's capabilities (http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Nokia_N95-part_2_the_Navigator.php) as well...steve certainly knows what he's on about :)

[glenrover]

"the N95's battery life isn't exactly stellar and that prolonged GPS use with screen backlight on (i.e. when using it for navigating) really brings this point home. I'd estimated that a fully charged N95 would only last an hour or two at most in this mode"

:speechles

[Locoblade]

"the N95's battery life isn't exactly stellar and that prolonged GPS use with screen backlight on (i.e. when using it for navigating) really brings this point home. I'd estimated that a fully charged N95 would only last an hour or two at most in this mode"

:speechles


That isn't as bad as it seems, my N70 will only last a couple of hours running TomTom with the screen on all the time.

[bjh_101]

As mentioned in the review - it is a perfect oppertunity to actually charge the phone while in the car.

[Major_Grooves]

I actually envisaged using the GPS more for when I am walking about town rather than in a car (no car and I have TomTom Rider for my motorbike).

I hate wasting time getting lost on holiday (and I don't mean in the good "get lost and find more interesting stuff" kind of lost).

I guess my day trips on holiday will be only two hours long.

Well, I guess as long as the GPS is good and quickly finds the satellites then it can be turned on and off fairly quickly whilst on foot.

[bjh_101]

Well the GPS can take upto 2mins to get a fix, its not that good.

And true, I had forgotten about use on foot. I am planning some of that myself - although I wouldn't have it on all day. Heck - not even a TomTom would last all day!!!

[Locoblade]

I would imagine it will have the option to allow the screensaver to kick in whilst still running in the background. Failing that, could you not just press and hold the Menu key and switch apps away from Smart2Go, back to Phone for example, then the screensaver will kick in. Thats what I do with TomTom on my N70 when I need to make a call etc, and the screensaver does kick in if I leave it like this, ie leave the app running but in the background.

[bjh_101]

That does make sense yes.

[fab]

Do you have to pay extra each time you use the GPS maps?

[Locoblade]

You dont have to pay at all for the maps themselves (unless you pay for data transmissions and dont have a PC to download them to).

From what I understand, you only pay if you want turn by turn nagivation (eg "100 metres, turn left, after 1 mile turn left" etc etc). With the free version you can still download all the maps and still plan routes, it just won't guide you turn by turn, it will simply overlay the route onto the map and show your current location in relation to that.

[fab]

Thanks locoblade... Uit will sure come in handy as i travel a lot. normally i print off maps from street map uk to find a place, now i can use the N95 instead of having a pocket full of photocopies in my pocket :)

It would be nice if google earth did a mobile version

[Gamst]

Thanks locoblade... Uit will sure come in handy as i travel a lot. normally i print off maps from street map uk to find a place, now i can use the N95 instead of having a pocket full of photocopies in my pocket :)

It would be nice if google earth did a mobile version

Mobile Gmaps, is just what you need :) It can use the GPS in the N95 and has the option of displaying the google earth pictures, instead of the plain road maps.

http://www.mgmaps.com/

[bjh_101]

That is a good program for the satellite imagry. Shame it won't do navigation tho.

It is certainly a must have on your phone though. Showing GPS to your friends is one thing, showing satellite images of your current location is another. They will be amazed. :)

Edit: upon reading the site, it appears that the new version does support directions. even better. (i was basing my post on a previous experience with this software on my N80)

[fab]

i can't wait to get my hands on a N95 now! hurry up orange

[Black Tie]

That isn't as bad as it seems, my N70 will only last a couple of hours running TomTom with the screen on all the time.
Hello. I have an N70 but i can't get Tom Tom navigator 6 to work with it. Can you help??

[Putneyitag]

Just a quick question. Can you set mgmaps to look at maps on a memory card without having to constantly download maps via the internet. The cost of downloading data is expensive with vodaphone. I thought it would be better if you could down load maps to your memory card and use the built in GPS reciever to locate.

Can this be done?

[Graffen]

Just a quick question. Can you set mgmaps to look at maps on a memory card without having to constantly download maps via the internet. The cost of downloading data is expensive with vodaphone. I thought it would be better if you could down load maps to your memory card and use the built in GPS reciever to locate.

Can this be done?

From a quick look around the faq, atm maps can't be pre-loaded onto the memory card but they are working on that.

[mikrt]

Does anyone know if tomtom 6 will work on the N95 ( I have tomtom 6 on my N73 and it's great), and will it use it's own GPS, as opposed to the bluetooth/GPS I use with my N73 /?:rolleyes:

[shooms]

The 2nd link doesn't work & that's what I'm most interested in...

When you use the turn by turn 'voice' navigation I take it you also get visual navigation too ? (ie. roundabout indicators etc etc).. I'd be using mine in my car with the music LOUD so voice-only navigation is useless

Also cany anyone confirm the Map folder structure so I can create it on the SD card & then xfer files to that folder ? Thanks :)

[Palastanga]

The 2nd link doesn't work & that's what I'm most interested in...

When you use the turn by turn 'voice' navigation I take it you also get visual navigation too ? (ie. roundabout indicators etc etc).. I'd be using mine in my car with the music LOUD so voice-only navigation is useless

Also cany anyone confirm the Map folder structure so I can create it on the SD card & then xfer files to that folder ? Thanks :)

Yep, the navigation shows you which direction to travel in, and your speed, time, direction etc. I added the nav trial last night and had a limited play around with it. All using symbols etc and shapes etc.

Copying the folder structure might not work with partial downloads. I previously had no memory card with using MAPS and the data was downloaded over GPRS. When it came to loading the full England maps on through the Map Loader PC software - I found I had to click "Clear all maps on device" otherwise the download would be very slow and crawl to a stop. I assume it was still using the internal phone memory for storage at this point.

After clearing the maps, the install went much quicker and without any problem. Got England, Wales and Northern Ireland loaded on so far.

The folder structure is strange, the diskcache folder contains many subfolder with numbered directories (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc) and then with other files and sub folders within them. I think it would be very tricky to try and merge your already existing maps with maps installed using Map Loader.

(by the way, Map Loader can't even resume downloads, so if you stop it at 90% you have to start over again. It's for this reason I'm guessing that you'd be best off loading the maps from scratch).

[shooms]

Yep, the navigation shows you which direction to travel in, and your speed, time, direction etc. I added the nav trial last night and had a limited play around with it. All using symbols etc and shapes etc.

Copying the folder structure might not work with partial downloads. I previously had no memory card with using MAPS and the data was downloaded over GPRS. When it came to loading the full England maps on through the Map Loader PC software - I found I had to click "Clear all maps on device" otherwise the download would be very slow and crawl to a stop. I assume it was still using the internal phone memory for storage at this point.

After clearing the maps, the install went much quicker and without any problem. Got England, Wales and Northern Ireland loaded on so far.

The folder structure is strange, the diskcache folder contains many subfolder with numbered directories (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc) and then with other files and sub folders within them. I think it would be very tricky to try and merge your already existing maps with maps installed using Map Loader.

(by the way, Map Loader can't even resume downloads, so if you stop it at 90% you have to start over again. It's for this reason I'm guessing that you'd be best off loading the maps from scratch).

Thanks for the reply - much appreciated :D

I'm getting 2 cards of 2 gb each - how much space does the UK take ?

[Major_Grooves]

Well, I guess as long as the GPS is good and quickly finds the satellites then it can be turned on and off fairly quickly whilst on foot.

Ha ha, how I can laugh now at the irony of ever thinking that!

I do find the GPS virtually unusable.:(

[Palastanga]

Thanks for the reply - much appreciated :D

I'm getting 2 cards of 2 gb each - how much space does the UK take ?

It's split up into each country, rather than just UK.

England ~90mb
NI: ~6.6mb
Wales: ~12mb
Scotland: ~18mb

All approximate, I don't have the software open infront of me at the moment. :cheeky:

[redirack]

Bit fed up.... used smart2go to download maps. After several attempts still not sure whether or not they have downloaded. Why can't I see them in the memory card. When it seems they are working when I switch from GPRS to Internet ?

[cobra248]

hi im new to this forum and to this phone. i am very confused about this gps thingy. i cant seem to get it work i can never get gps signal the bottom right sattalite icon always has a X nxt to it:S how do i make this work?
thanks

[redirack]

First of all make sure you are outside. GPS works on satilite signals - see your user manual. Then try different locations - some areas are better than others. When moving in a car place on dashboard to get a signal this usually works. If all else fails you may have a problem with the phone itself.

[bjh_101]

Make sure the keypad is open, angled at about 45 degrees to the sky.
The first fix can take up to 30mins. Future fixes are quicker.

[cobra248]

ar oh k ill leave my phone in my garden for 10 min and see does it work. i mean my phone has no problems so i dont think it is the phone. do i need to set up any sort of options?
Thanks for replies

[cobra248]

hmmm just another quick question i downloaded the UK map onto my memory card with nokia maploader but it didnt do anything?