Verdict on Nokia Maps 2.0?

[king arthur]

I got my hands on a N95-2 this weekend, this brings me back to Nokia after several years my previous phone being a SE K750i. One of the functions I wanted to try out was the GPS navigation capability. I'd read elsewhere that Nokia Maps is not much good as an in-car sat nav and is more intended to be used on foot to find your way around city streets. But perhaps this was in reference to the first edition.

Well I've actually found it to be pretty good. Maybe not as easy to use as the latest Tom Tom Go with their touch screen interface, but once you get the hang of inputting the street name, number, and / or postcode, it really does do a competent job of getting you there. Voice instructions are good; occasionally the female voice will tell you to exit a roundabout at the second exit when she really means the third, for example, but if you glance at the display you'll soon see where you really need to go.

It so far has only tripped me up once, at the junction of the A30 and the A308 in Surrey. This is a confusing junction; the unit told me to go right coming up the A308, when it really meant take the first exit onto the A30. I ended up going up the wrong road but no harm done as I knew exactly where I was going by this time anyway. But in an unfamiliar part of the country this could have cost me a few minutes.

GPS positioning seems pretty accurate. I like the way it seems to zoom out showing you more of the road ahead the faster you are going. It was also very quick at recalculating the route on the two or three times I mis-interpreted what it was telling me and went the wrong way.

I've come across a couple of niggles, but I wondered has anyone else used this combination extensively as an in car sat nav, and can add anything to what I've experienced so far?

[mcbain]

Like you king arthur, i have found Maps 2.0 to be very good.
I have used it a fair bit in recent months and have not got one complaint about it.

[Mr G]

Same here,i've not used any other GPS and this does the job very very well for me.


Moved to GPS

[dynomot]

TBH I've found it good too. It us pretty basic but it does the job and does it fairly well.

[fldude99]

Unfortunately I cannot concur. The routes that Nokia maps creates are, for the most part, nonsensical and the search function is awful. The fact that google maps can create a favorite place that Nokia maps can then use is a helpful workaround.

[Bartmanekul]

Everyone knows my opinion on Maps ;)

However, I thought Id share something I wrote for Rafe of AAS to give to them when that event is on in London. Comments very welcome.

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Nokia Maps ideas and comments.


I daresay a lot of this is already under development or being thought of, but here is a list of features which would be very welcome.

(note: ‘Maps’ is referring to Nokia Maps, the application, and ‘maps’ – lowercase m – is referring to actual map data)


Send location - You need to be able to send a location – be it your current location, or from your favourites – to another Maps user. Garmin’s peer points allow you to send a text, and it’s automatically picked up if Garmin is on the phone.

I feel that’s a very crucial function, and is critical considering how widespread Maps will be.


Tagged image location – The ability to navigate to a location contained within images that have been tagged. I believe this is being implemented on some new phones, but sadly a picture sent via MMS seems to strip that data.


Custom POI – To compare to PNDs, and even other satnav software (Garmin, Copilot etc) Maps needs to have a lot more functionality. The ability to add custom POI easily would certainly be good, and is one feature that would bring over some of the more hardcore satnav users.

Mapshare – I hate to make a comparison to TomTom, but it has to be done. The cost of navigation for Maps obviously takes into account that your getting updated maps free. However, this is nowhere near as accurate as mapshare. I’ve seen the same old errors in my locale regardless of how updated the map is. However, I have seen these are gone on a relations Tomtom using mapshare.

Mapshare also vastly increases POI, far more than any mapping company could possibly do. 1 man alone added over 100 whisky bars in Scotland, correct names and locations! It would also make people feel the subscription is more worth it.


Speed cameras – I’m guessing this is in the works, but since so many people want it I thought it worth mentioning.

General improvement and integration – Things like route itinerary need improving, and I’m sure so much more can be done about integration. For example, being able to tag a location to a contact. This is now information sent with the contact if you send a business card to others, via Bluetooth etc. Then maps picks up this information, and allows you to navigate to that contact.

Data usage – I feel Maps is really bad in this area. There is a huge advantage of Maps in that you can download and install the maps you need on PC. Saving huge data costs.

But it then goes to ruin that by needing to be online all the time. In short, you cannot get decent search results by being offline. I have never had a full postcode found being offline, and never had a good result for POI offline.

I assume they are online because they are updated more frequently than maps are. However, I know that they are extremely small files, so why not just put updates on maploader, and allow full postcodes and POI on the device. And if people want a more up-to-date list, they can still search online if they wish.

I have heard from many people about how Maps isn’t suitable for them because of the data usage needed, and they are not on data plans. Sure, it’s a small amount of data, but they don’t want to use it when it costs them a few pence each time they want to look up a postcode or POI. These people then go on to ask what other satnav packages there are, and spend £50 + on them, mainly because they don’t use data.



Maploader – This would benefit from giving more information to the user. Simply being able to tell the user at a glance which version of Maps app and which version of maps they have on the device would be a start.

And showing the latest version of both Maps app and maps available, and obviously recommending an update if needed.

Also, separate information about other downloads, such as POI and postcodes/addresses if the idea from data usage is used.


The big issue about pricing.

I know a lot of people initially said ‘Subscription? No way, that’s a rip off.’ I am not one of those, even though I would far prefer to pay a flat fee and pay for updates when I choose.

Almost everyone I have spoken to thinks the subscription options are far too expensive. As do I. There has been a number of polls done (but no more than 40 people voting), and they confirm this.

Not only that, it’s that for a subscription based application, it has very poor options. Where’s the day option, for 50p or £1? Where’s the week option, for a fiver?
And where’s the decent value 2-3 year option for the hardcore that hate paying subscription, or just the heavy users?

People are going to be annoyed having to pay for a months navigation if they only need it at that moment, which is far more likely as it’s not a PND, it’s on a mobile phone.

I wouldn’t be happy paying any of the current options given the current functionality of Maps, nor would I if it gets to the same standard as the other available applications, such as Copilot and Garmin.

If the current prices are going to stay, then many users expect a lot more. For it to be worth it to me, I would expect something similar to mapshare, free speed cameras, and much better functionality.

[Leong]

I too am using Nokia Maps nowadays, but i still keep my Garmin Mobile XT.

IMO Nokia Maps has improved a respectable bit and i find it actually usable now, unlike last time. Routing takes a bit of time, but other than that, i'm actually starting to like it.

[buxz777]

nokia maps 2 is better then previous attempts but still missing alot of features which i think bartman has covered allready , if they included these features and improoved the liscence method then it could be a market winner but it needs alot of attention in certain areas

nokia could have had this market killed by now , i mean if it was really good software then no one would bother looking for an alternative , which alot of people have done including myself , so they have the buisness there someone buys a ne wphone and its loaded with maps but because there product (nokia maps) isnt great and has a few flaws the they loose the custom to say garmin , tomtom etc etc then to get the custom back is even harder as people have had bad experiences with the software in the past ,

its defently got better and iam hoping they improove it much more as well

iam sure it used to have peer points on the original nokia maps why they got rid of it ill never know its such a top feature in sat nav

[Leong]

I just upgraded from Map Loader 1.2 to 1.35 and updated my maps.

Now it seems like there's a new bug in the system.... or maps.











See that? The last time i checked i wasnt living in the middle of the ocean, but Nokia Maps seems to say otherwise. Has anyone else experienced this or have a workaround.

P.S. can someone please try downloading Malaysia maps from map loader 1.35 and see whether you get the same error?

Please?

[Bartmanekul]

I would, but it means uninstalling maploader beta2, and messing about with transferring maps on my phone. And I have had a real nightmare the past few days with satnav software.

Changing device when you have all the ones I do is just a horrible expirence. Currently the only one working properly is Nokia maps :S

Garmin XT = Will not work on FP2 at all.

Copilot = cannot seem to get a working reactivation key, even after support tried.

Sygic = Works, but cuts off any voice instruction halfway through.

Navigon = need a new key for the new phone, support hasnt even given me a reply yet.