Hands on with Zonetag v3.0 for Symbian

Yahoo Research Berkeley has finally released the S60 v3 version of Zonetag. Zonetag was one of those apps which worked beautifully on s60 v2 phones ,letting you upload your photos to flickr or your blog , at the same time allowing you to tag them with location specific tags. The new version for s60v3 devices does all this and more .. !!!

To download the app for your symbian phone you will first need a yahoo ID . The next step would be to go to http://zonetag.research.yahoo.com/managezt.php and login using your yahoo account. After logging in you should be greeted with a screen like this.



Just click on the install button on the top of the screen and you can choose between having the link sent to your mobile (cingular and t-mobile only ) , download via web browser ..or download the app to your p.c. After choosing the correct s60 edition.. You are all set to go.




I downloaded the App using the web link method. The installation was pretty straightforward. If the app asks you for a code while installing , you have to get it from the yahoo zonetag page you logged into on your p.c .



The best part about the new s60 v3 version is that it supports the internal GPS of the nokia N95. It can automatically get your current coordinates and embed these into the EXIF data when you click a snap. But mind you .. Zonetag has to be up and running in the background , and you should have a GPS fix on the satellites if you want the photo to be tagged.



You can tag the photos based on where you want them to be uploaded and even create custom tags through the yahoo zonetag page. For example ... I create a tag named "!blog: flickr" and all the photos tagged with this tag will automatically be uploaded to my flickr account too. Zonetag even has the ability to get RSS feeds ..although you have to set this up from the "customize my tag suggestions" on the zonetag webpage. You can change the post title , set permissions and privacy levels ( if you are uploading to flickr) , and manually enter the location (in case gps coordinates are not available).


Another improvement is the addition of SCANR to the zonetag app. Scanr is a service that lets you snap any documents / visiting cards and when you upload them , it automatically scans the photos and sends it to your email in a digital format.



To conclude ..I would say this app totally Rocks !! Uses very less memory , very stable ..and very very useful !! Other options to geo tag photos would be LocR and Shozu ..both of which i have reviewed earlier... but i can safely say that this nifty little app beats them all !! Although it might not offer as much media integration as shozu does (i.e webcasts , channels etc) ..but if you want a basic app which will allow you to geo tag your photos , and upload them on the fly ..then this is probably the best application out there. N95 owners ... this is one app you must have on your handset !!

Geotagging photos on the N95 using LOCR

Remember how i always used to rant that the current apps available for Geo tagging on the N95 really suck. I mean ....there's shozu of course ...but its way too unstable ...and then there's zonetag... which hasn't come out with a symbian s60 v3 version yet.

But guess what ... all your N95 enthusiasts out there ..your prayers have finally been answered !! LOCR ...is a brand new FREE app which allows you to geotag your photos taken from your camera , on your camera ..or even on your p.c . There are several different flavors . There's the P.C edition ..which you can use to geotag photos on your p.c ..and then there's the symbian o.s versions ...which support symbian os v2.0 , v2.0 FP 1 and v3.0 . So that means you can use it even with an external bluetooth gps device . Cool...!!

All you have to do is first register on the Locr website . After doing that you can download the app from the download section . Install it on your device and you are all ready to go.



The best part is this app recognizes the inbuilt N95 gps module , and even when you arnt getting a GPS signal , it allows you to use your last known co-ordinates to tag the photo. Of course , you can edit it manually too. The photos can be uploaded to the Locr website via GPRS or Wi-fi and you can view them through your phone's web browser. Another cool feature is the ability to find photos near you...by using your current GPS co-ordinates. The only downside i've found in this app is the lack of third party support..i.e ability to upload your photo's on sites other than the locr website.Also the Max resolution supported is 1024 x 768 (0.8 mega pixels) :(



In all..this IS the best Photo geotagging app I've used on the N95 so far. Doesn't hog memory , doesn't crash and of course has all those excellent features which i mentioned before. I would recommend all you N95 users out there to give it a try ..and don't forget to let me know how it works out for you . :)