Nokia Maps V2.0 Beta Released !!

The guys over at nokia beta labs are on a roll and have recently rolled out yet another juicy beta .this time of the new n improved Nokia Maps application. The New v2.0 Nokia Maps features a all new interface with the options to view maps in 3D , Google maps and hybrid maps. It also includes the "pedestrian" mode where you can have breadcrumb trails of your walk around the city streets. This is something unique which i have never seen in any other GPS mapping software. Kudos to Nokia for including this. I tried out the app and found the new interface very refreshing and less buggy than the old version.




Head over to http://betalabs.nokia.com/blog/tag/maps/ to download the application , and do let me know what you think !

Nokia Launches New Maploader v1.2 and Maps !!

Yesss... !! After months of delays , Nokia has finally launched the newest version of its maploader and a new maps client for the Nseries and Eseries phones.
The Good news is that the maps for countries like India are back !
Thank you Nokia !

Full downloads are now available for the Nokia E61i and E65, as well as full 1.0 upgrades for the Nokia N95 and E90..!!

Head over to nokia europe to download v1.2 of the nokia maploader and phone client.





I just installed it on my N95 ...and it doesnt seem much different from the older version ..apart from a new version number on the about screen. All in all ...I am really happy that nokia re-released the India maps again. So if any of you guys had your country maps missing ..now is a good time to check and see if nokia maps has maps for your country...and do let me know if you find any major improvements on the way !

Nokia N95 v12 Firmware Rants...

Whoooooooo Hooooooo !!

V12 firmware for the nokia N95 is finally here. I just upgraded my phone last night.Went through the usual half an hour of "waiting" for the 113 MB rom to download ..and the five minutes of "heart attacks" when the actual flashing takes place.But in the end...its really worth it !! And the new firmware is swwwwwwweeeeeeet !!



Okay...One thing that nokia has to figure out is the re-installation mechanism. After you reset your phone or flash it to a new firmware ..all the registry entries in the c: drive of your phone get erased. so when you put in your memory card ..the applications try to re register themselves on the phone boot up ..and the "installer" starts running. Somehow ..this installer has never really worked its magic for me . It either hangs ..or i have to terminate it using swiss knife utilities...but the next time i reboot the phone ...it starts running all over again. I even tried going to the app manager and manually installing the apps (which appear as some combination of hex numbers..and you really don't know what is what until you install them)...but considering my phone is always full with about 50-60 apps/games at any give time...this is gonna be quite a task. So the only quick solution i see would be to backup my contacts , images and videos ..and format the memory card . :( Sad ..i know...but at least it gives me a clean slate ..and i can start anew all over again.




Regarding the new firmware ....I was disappointed NOT to see the latest version of Nokia Maps bundled with this firmware upgrade. The AGPS really doesn't work out well for me . I have a gprs plan and all the settings are right ...data is getting transferred when i use the maps application ...but I didn't notice any improvement in the lock time.(its still a pathetic 2-5 minutes for me ) ..and i wonder if this AGPS support is only country specific. Anyone knows anything more about this ?? Another thing that pisses me off is the lack of Maps for India in the Nokia map loader ?? What gives ?? They were there in the older version ..so why aren't they there in the new one ? Hello Nokia...are you listening ??


Some improvements I've noticed are ..
1.The interface feels zipper on the whole.
2.Slightly more ram on boot up.
3.Gallery is much quicker ..and now pictures zoom in till 800%
4.The camera is much more responsive...Better focusing.


About the battery life...I'll have to wait and see if that has improved. Another thing I've noticed..is when the screen light times out ..the photo preview button momentarily comes on for a bit ..as if to signal that the screen is switching off.Don't know if this is a bug or they've just kept it that way.

Feel free to add any more bugs / improvements you've noticed . I'll be posting more of my findings here.

Nokia N95 v12.0 firmware coming soon....

Symbian Guru Rcadden has got his hands on the latest version (v12) firmware for the N95.
Key features in this upgrade are not clear yet ...but one major upgrade is in the form of a new nokia maps application and a much faster GPS lock on (due to Nokia using A-GPS technology by storing your nearest cell-id's in their centralized servers for a faster lock ).




I also hope nokia has optimized the ram and improved the response time of the camera. Also a bit of optimization on battery life wouldnt hurt either.. :)

To read more about the new firmware head on to..

http://symbianguru.typepad.com

UPDATE : V12 IS OFFICIALLY OUT. CHECK YOUR NOKIA SOFTWARE UPDATER !!

New Nokia N95 GPS Maps ??

Apparently there's been much hullabaloo about a new version of the maps application on the nokia N95. I found an upgrade sis file of the same on some forum and installed it on my N95. But i really don't know if its been upgraded..as it seems just the same as the previous version...although the installation did complete successfully. I checked the about screen and it shows me v3.0 ...and i've seen screen shots of people claiming v1.0 is the latest. Hmmmm..maybe nokia makes a different version of the Maps application for the N95 coz its got inbuilt gps ?? Then again ..i Could be wrong ...what version does your N95 have ??
Attached a screen shot below...