Efficasoft GPS Utilities for Symbian v1.3.0

Features

Designed GPS information overview.
Free image map real-time navigation. (Advanced caching technology supports fast map operation & ULTRA LARGE map image)
“Go To” function - define your destinations and be guided all the way with distance, TTA, direction guider, proximity alert…
World map view navigation with free-scale zooming.
Digital speedometer & customizable speed alarms.
Two-mode digital compass with dest. information display.
New! Google KML, GPX, CSV format track logger & trip statistics.
Waypoint & POI Manager + 30+ pre-defined POI icons.
Night view mode, fast 0~7 view switch.
Advanced smooth animation effects.
Advanced “5 Sec. Average” and “Kalman Filter” processors for high precision navigation.
Supports built-in & Bluetooth NMEA0183 GPS receivers. Auto detects Bluetooth GPS receiver.

Compatible Phones

All Symbian S60v3 phones with Built-in GPS Receiver e.g. Nokia 6110, 6210, E90, N82, N95, N96 etc.

Download :

Efficasoft GPS Utilities for Symbian v1.3.0

N95 - Get Lost?? How dare you?! ;)

I'd recently had a read of the Granny Buttons Blog by Andrew Denny where he's standing on the bad side of Nokia Maps with a slight problem from the GPS.. hmm..mind you it doesn't seem slight the way he's worded it!

ANyways it seems his n95 took him on a ride around the city. He says that it cussedly avoided the straight route, and in one case (No.2) it actually wanting him to drive away from the direction he wanted, cross a t-junction instead of turning left, and then going right round the neighbourhood and returning to exactly the place he set off! :D .., before going on his way again.

Andrew it's just your phone's way of showing you that it's bored sitting around the house all day doing nothing..must've been bored the poor chap! I'm planning to take mine on a trip on one of those one way highways soon, I'm sure he won't let me down. Pray for me!

P.S: If you update your phone with the new firmware I'm sure it will set things right.

Using MGMaps on the N-Series (incl. stored maps)

This is a great application for all those users who don't have a Nokia Map available for their home town and have been longing at those beautifull maps on Google. Ofcourse we can use Google Maps on the mobile but the data rates that come with it would have made you think otherwise..well not any more!! WIth MGMaps you can use a whole range of maps on your phone, varying from Yahoo!, MSN!, STreet Maps, and ofcourse Google.

The following page will give you a real deep understanding on how it works...all thanks to our dear friend Reef Reid... and Cristian Streng ofcourse for creating this excellent app.

Download and install Mobile Gmaps to your Nokia N95(or other Nseries GPS enabled phone). Download map tiles and configure Mobile Gmaps to use them as "stored maps"

Assumptions:

You have a Nokia N95(or other Nseries GPS enabled phone).This is the first attempt at installing Mobile Gmaps and stored maps (eg. not previously installed). You are running Windows XP SP2 as the OS on the computer for which you will be executing the perl script and downloading map tiles.The PC you are using to download the map tiles has a native internet connection and does not rely on the use of a proxy. The microSD memory card in your phone has sufficient free space for the stored maps. You know how to establish a connection between your N95 and your PC (bluetooth or USB cable), or you know how to transfer files to your microSD memory card. You will use the software and process that follows to achieve the desired outcome. You understand english(if not, you've persisted well and are probably attracted by the pretty colours on the page while not understanding a word).

If "no" to any of the above, then it's possible that certain "steps" will fail and this brief instruction will not cater for every alternative software or process. I can only say that the following worked for me and I took the points from the forums that "tripped" other people up. (lol @ the disclaimer of sorts...)

What you will Need to Download:

N95 Alpha JAD File: mgmaps_n95-1_34_02-signed.jad (Current at the time of writing)
N95 Alpha JAR File: mgmaps_n95-1_34_02.jar (Current at the time of writing)
Perl Script: MapTileCacher.perl (current at the time of writing)
Perl for Windows: ActivePerl version 5.8.8.820
WGET: wget for Windows

Go here for the full instructions!

New Version of Nokia Maps - v1.2

A new version of Nokia Maps is now available for the N95, in addition to a new version of the Nokia Map Loader. Unfortunately the Map Loader's working also recquires the installation of the .NET framework 3.0 on a Windows XP computer, don't ask me why..

You can get the updates here.

I recommend downloading both of them as having the latest version always has it's benefits.

THe new app is very different on my N95. Start-up splash screen shows Nokia Maps and there is the usual network question to click through (I have mine disabled).

The globe screen is also different, scrolling East/West and North/South now follows the long and lat axes and there is a three dot icon in the lower left that cycles red until a lock is achieved, when they all turn green. The cross-hair did NOT zoom in automatically to my GPS position either, so I had to do this manually with the * key and when I did this, none of my map data was available. SO i had to re-install all the maps... such a pain..

Which is when i found that there are new maps available for the new Nokia Maps..to download these this is what you've gotta do:

Method 1

1 - download and install Maps 1.2 to your phone BUT DON'T RUN IT YET.
2 - download and install Map Loader to your PC, connect your phone and run it.
3 - select the option to delete/remove the existing maps from your phone.
4 - Disconnect your phone and run the Maps program once allow it to get a fix and then exit Maps
5 - Reconnect your phone to Map Loader and download your maps, you should now get the latest maps.

Method 2

1 - download and install Maps 1.2 to your phone BUT DON'T RUN IT YET.
2 - download and install Map Loader to your PC, DON'T RUN IT
3 - connect your phone in mass storage mode and find the old maps folder, should be in E:/Private/20001f63 - Delete it
4 - Disconnect your phone and run the Maps program once allow it to get a fix and then exit Maps
5 - Reconnect your phone to Map Loader and download your maps, you should now get the latest maps.
In N95 the GPS receiver is located in the bottom of the device, below the numeric keyboard. When using the receiver, slide the numeric keypad open
and hold the device upright in your hand at an angle of about 45 degrees, with a clear view of the sky. Make sure, that your hand does not cover the GPS receiver.
Establishing a GPS connection may take from a couple of seconds to several minutes. Establishing a GPS connection in the car may take longer.

If your device cannot find the satellite signal, consider the following:
- If you are indoors, go outdoors to receive a better signal.
- If the numeric keypad slide is closed, open it.
- If you are outdoors, move to a more open space.
- Check that your hand does not cover the GPS receiver of your device.
- If the weather conditions are bad, in such a case the signal strength may also be affected.
- Establishing a GPS connection may take from a couple of seconds to several minutes.
- Avoid to use screen saver when GPS connection is establishing.

That's ol folks, have a great mapping time.. :)

New N95 coming to town !!

A few days ago i had blogged about a rumour concerning another N95 coming to town. And it's turned out to be true! Not only that, but it's coming out with the same name as well!! And Nokia says that they respect Customer Satisfaction.

:(

But the thing is, the new n95 seems to be the perfect phone to be nokia's flagship. The nokia team has sorted out all the problems that had been plaguing the old n95 ( OLD?? i jus' bought it a few months ago!! ) .

For instance the battery problem has been solved by including a far more powerful battery in the phone that has around 1200 mA. The battery problems had been a major part of all debates concerning the N95, especially in the N95 VS iPhone fights.

Also improved is the multimedia buttons and the back part of the phone. I really like the new multimedia keys - the old ones were a little more difficult to press as they were in the same level. The new ones protrude out thereby increasing it's usablity.

The rear end has also been modified to accomodate the new bigger battery - by removing the camera cover as well as sinking the camera set-up into the body removing the protrusion that used to be there thus making it comparatively thinner than before.

The graphic work has also changed comparatively with an added nseries spoiler in addition to the usual NOKIA(see the images).

According to Ricky Caden of SymbianGuru the old battery can be used in the new phone but the new battery can't be used in the old phones.. sheesh..nokia is gonna be gettin' some real sad customers...

Courtesy SymbianGuru and Ricky. thanks buddy :)

Free mapping and navigation service,The amAze

And i must say that it has really amazed me. LocatioNet has really put all their expertise into this one with a very neat application here. And it seems that the company itself are veterans in the fiels with around 16 years of expertise in it. For instance it uses a technique similar to the A-GPS found in the new nokia firmware for speeding up calculations by sending data over to their servers for calculations. And it just gets better !! It even has voice-guided navigation if you’ve got yourself a bluetooth GPS ; or if you’ve got an N95 and a little bit of patience.Remeber that voice navigation in the Nokia Maps is a paid feature. All in all, the amAze is a really cool app that is definitely a must get for all you people out there.

amAze enables regular, Java-enabled mobile phone users to access with satellite images, clear maps, route-planning, weather forecasts and local search information from anywhere in the UK. An additional voice-guided navigation feature can be accessed using any external bluetooth GPS device or phones with a built-in GPS such as the n95. This is in comparison to the paid to use feature currently available for the N95 users.

amAze delivers the following easy to use features:

• Easy to use visual and voice guidance to any destination
• Ability to search any location by address
• Highlight any required location on high quality map or Satellite imagery
• Search and navigate to businesses listed in Yellow Pages directories
• Calculate the fastest route between two locations
• Save and manage personal favourites
• View graphical weather forecasts displayed on maps

Get yourself a free copy of amAze at www.amazegps.com .