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Maps 2.0 – Thoughts

Well hats of to nokia (and those that know me will know I never take of my hat :-)) the new Maps 2.0 is much improved.

Firstly any of the issues that I have had with the beta seem to have all gone away.  So someone must have been listening.  Secondly a lot of the map issues have been updated.  Even with Maps 1.0 there were a few strange things such as railway lines that just stopped and started again and they are all working as they should.

However… why oh why for Melbourne do they not show tram tracks.  Come on people, anyone who drives in Melbourne will really want to avoid roads with tram tracks.  But you can’t.  I have lived here for 5 years now and still get caught out on some roads.  Navigation needs to avoid things like this.

Also river crossings for the Yarra.  There are a few pedestrian only crossings.  Why doesn’t the ‘Walk mode’ have them.  You have to walk a long way to cross the river unless you knew the area.  So tourists are going to have issues.

But overall it is stable, it works and I am happy 🙂

And google does mapping as well now.

http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html

I’ll try this out over the weekend as well. But unless it can cache the maps, it is not going to be a lot of use in Australia due to the horrific data charges that we have in the mobile space.

  • Just Launched! Google Maps on Nokia/Symbian (S60 3rd edition)
    Get a faster Google Maps experience specifically designed for your Nokia/Symbian device, including GPS support for the N95 and other GPS enabled phones. Find out more about Nokia/Symbian phones, or get the app by downloading the SIS or visiting www.google.com/gmm on your mobile web browser.
  • Get GPS-Enabled Google Maps
    GPS functionality
    helps you find yourself (the little blue dot) right on the map.

Map Monsters..

Nokia are really about to push the mapping world and gps judging by this site.

http://www.themapsters.com/preview/

They are doing the whole cute animation instruction manual for building and using maps….  This is going to tie in the with OVI think I put on the blog the other day I am sure.

Whilst it is a bit cutsie for me as a power user I don’t think I am the intended audience for this anyway. But the Flash Animations are worth looking at anyway.

Thanks to allaboutsymbian

Nokia Maps goes 2.0

from the nokia press release… – (once again my comments over the weekend :-))

first comment….  (the bugs I had in the last beta have gone away… the product is usable once more!

and here is the download link as well

http://europe.nokia.com/A4984199

Downloaded over 240,000 times since announced in February, Nokia Maps 2.0 has improved its optional Car Navigation, enhanced its pedestrian navigation, added multimedia city guides, now offers satellite images, and is sporting a redesigned user interface. Nokia’s mapping and navigation solutions give people navigation features, local content and world maps directly on their mobile device, in a way that only connected devices can.
A partial list of the updated features in Nokia Maps 2.0 includes:
DRIVE:
– Improved optional Car Navigation equals PND-level car navigation experience with faster routing.
– Easy-to-use, updated User Interface features including a new navigation carousel with pre-defined navigation views – i.e. navigation, arrow, bird-eye.
– Top-of-the-line navigation features: signposts, multi-stop route planner
WALK:
– Optional pedestrian navigation efficiently walks you from A to B with visual guidance. It helps you to locate yourself by giving information about the surrounding buildings, streets and parks and, if the device supports it, notifies the direction you are walking.
– Nokia Maps 2.0 includes public transportation information (station entrances) data in 17 cities with localized icons for stops.
– Advanced multi-sensor positioning using A-GPS, and pedestrian orientation using the compass feature (Nokia 6210 Navigator needed for built-in compass usage)
DISCOVER:
– Satellite images with hybrid rendering overlays for selected cities worldwide provide real aerial views on your mobile.
– Signature “one-box search” allows you to search through places, addresses, restaurants, nightlife, outdoor, accommodation.
– New premium multi-media city guides including features photos, video, audio streams.